Dave Hatcher, “The psalm-singer laments over the state of his contemporary culture and civic realm. The kinds of words spoken by men have deteriorated so that vileness is the normal speech, lying is expected, and flattery is required to get you a place at the table of influence. However, God is the Word, speaking all that is into existence and redeeming a people to Himself. Men’s words employed by deceitful men are a perversion of words as given to us by God for communication, worship, dominion, service, persuasion, enlightenment and revelation. This is why the psalm-singer’s chorus is that God would cut out the lips and tongues of such violators. This is why the psalm-singer’s refrain is that God would rise up and see His Word vindicated in this generation.”

1. PSALM 12 COMME

2. TARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
PREFACE
My goal has been to collect the comments of those who add to our understanding of the Psalms.
These comments are available to everyone, but I have brought them together in one place to save
the Bible student time in research. There is a great deal more, but this gives a good foundation to
build on. If I quote anyone who does not wish to be quoted in this study they can let me know and
I will remove their wisdom. My e-mail is glenn_p86@yahoo.com
I

3. TRODUCTIO

4. 1. Spurgeon, “In Psalms 12:1-2 David spreads his complaint before the Lord concerning the
treachery of his age; Psalms 12:3-4 denounce judgments upon proud traitors; in Psalms 12:5,
Jehovah himself thunders out his wrath against oppressors; hearing this, the Chief Musician
sings sweetly of the faithfulness of God and his care of his people, in Psalms 12:6-7; but closes on
the old key of lament in verse 8, as he observes the abounding wickedness of his times. Those holy
souls who dwell in Mesech, and sojourn in the tents of Kedar, may read and sing these sacred
stanzas with hearts in full accord with their mingled melody of lowly mourning and lofty
confidence.”
2. Dave Hatcher, “The psalm-singer laments over the state of his contemporary culture and civic
realm. The kinds of words spoken by men have deteriorated so that vileness is the normal speech,
lying is expected, and flattery is required to get you a place at the table of influence. However,
God is the Word, speaking all that is into existence and redeeming a people to Himself. Men’s
words employed by deceitful men are a perversion of words as given to us by God for
communication, worship, dominion, service, persuasion, enlightenment and revelation. This is
why the psalm-singer’s chorus is that God would cut out the lips and tongues of such violators.
This is why the psalm-singer’s refrain is that God would rise up and see His Word vindicated in
this generation.”
TITLE
For the director of music. According to sheminith. A
psalm of David.
1. Spurgeon, “This Psalm is headed "To the Chief Musician upon Sheminith, a Psalm of David,"

5. which title is identical with that of the sixth Psalm, except that

6. eginoth is here omitted. We have
nothing new to add, and therefore refer the reader to our remarks on the dedication of Psalms
6:1-10. As Sheminith signifies the eighth, the Arabic version says it is concerning the end of the
world, which shall be the eighth day, and refers it to the coming of the Messiah: without
accepting so fanciful an interpretation, we may read this song of complaining faith in the light of
His coming who shall break in pieces the oppressor. The subject will be the better before the
mind's eye if we entitle this Psalm: "GOOD THOUGHTS I

7. BAD TIMES." It is supposed to
have been written while Saul was persecuting David, and those who favored his cause.”
1 Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
1. This is about as short as prayer can be, but it can be just as effective as a long Puritan half
hour prayer. Peter singing in the water had no time for a long prayer, and so he cried for help,
and he got his answer just as fast as Jesus reached out to save him. Short prayers are the rule,
and long prayers the exception in the Bible. Here we get a glimpse into the mind of the pessimist.
He always tends to exaggerate the negative. It was doubtless a bad time, but when is it not? He is
much in the same mind as Elijah who reported to God that he was the only one left, and God had
to reveal to him that there were seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Like Elijah,
David was feeling all alone and isolated, and this leads to pessimism. God is never without his
faithful witness somewhere, but David is saying that is no longer true, for no one is faithful
anymore, and the loyal have vanished completely. You don't get any more alone than this. Beware
of making excessive negative judgments when you are discouraged and alone, for such pessimism
just makes you feel worse.
In 2000 B. C. an Egyptian author wrote this poem called “The Dispute With His Soul of One Who
Is Tired of Life.” This was a thousand years before David wrote this poem. It just shows that
pessimism was not born with David. Many before and many after him have felt it was an age of
moral chaos, and nobody cared for anybody.
To whom do I speak today?
Brothers are evil.
Friends of today, they are not lovable.
Gentleness hath perished.
Insolence hath come to all men.
There are none that are righteous.
The earth is given over to the workers of iniquity.
Death is before me today,
As the odors of myrrh.
1B. Jamison, “The Psalmist laments the decrease of good men. The pride and deceit of the wicked
provokes God’s wrath, whose promise to avenge the cause of pious sufferers will be verified even
amidst prevailing iniquity.”

8. 1C. Spurgeon, “The prayer itself is remarkable, for it is short, but seasonable, sententious, and
suggestive. David mourned the fewness of faithful men, and therefore lifted up his heart in
supplication—when the creature failed, he flew to the Creator. He evidently felt his own
weakness, or he would not have cried for help; but at the same time he intended honestly to exert
himself for the cause of truth, for the word “help” is inapplicable where we ourselves do nothing.
There is much of directness, clearness of perception, and distinctness of utterance in this petition
of two words; much more, indeed, than in the long rambling outpourings of certain professors.
The Psalmist runs straight-forward to his God, with a well-considered prayer; he knows what he
is seeking, and where to seek it. Lord, teach us to pray in the same blessed manner.
The occasions for the use of this prayer are frequent. In providential afflictions how suitable it is
for tried believers who find all helpers failing them. Students, in doctrinal difficulties, may often
obtain aid by lifting up this cry of “Help, Lord,” to the Holy Spirit, the great Teacher. Spiritual
warriors in inward conflicts may send to the throne for reinforcements, and this will be a model
for their request. Workers in heavenly labour may thus obtain grace in time of need. Seeking
sinners, in doubts and alarms, may offer up the same weighty supplication; in fact, in all these
cases, times, and places, this will serve the turn of needy souls. “Help, Lord,” will suit us living
and dying, suffering or labouring, rejoicing or sorrowing. In him our help is found, let us not be
slack to cry to him.
The answer to the prayer is certain, if it be sincerely offered through Jesus. The Lord’s character
assures us that he will not leave his people; his relationship as Father and Husband guarantee us
his aid; his gift of Jesus is a pledge of every good thing; and his sure promise stands, “Fear not, I
will help thee.”
2. Barnes, “Help, Lord - Hebrew, “Save, Yahweh.” The idea is that there was no human help,
and, therefore, the divine help is implored. The psalmist saw that those on whom reliance was
usually placed for the promotion of the cause of truth and virtue now failed, and hence, he invites
the divine interposition.
For the godly man - The word used here properly denotes the “merciful” man - חסיד châsı̂yd. It
is a term applied to the righteous, because it is a prominent trait in the character of a pious man
that he is merciful, kind, benignant. Hence, the general character is often denoted by the special
characteristic; in the same way as we speak of a pious man as a good man, a just man, a
righteous man. The idea suggested by the use of the term here is, that it is always a characteristic
of a pious man that he is merciful or benignant. Compare Psa_4:3; Psa_32:6, where the same
word is rendered “godly;” Psa_30:4; Psa_31:23; Psa_37:28; Psa_50:5; Psa_52:9; Psa_79:2;
Psa_85:8, where it is rendered saints; and Deu_33:8; Psa_16:10; Psa_86:2; Psa_89:19, where it is
rendered “holy.” “Ceaseth.” The word used here - גמר gâmar - means properly to bring to an
end; to complete; to perfect. Hence, it means to come to an end, to cease, to fail.
Gesenius. - This might occur either by their being cut off by death; or by their ceasing to exert
their influence in favor of religion; that is, by a general prevalence of wickedness among those
who professed to be the friends of God. The latter seems to be the meaning here, since, in the
following verses, the psalmist proceeds to specify the manner in which they “fail;” not by death,
but by speaking vanity, falsehood, and flattery. That is, their conduct was such that their
influence failed, or was lost to the community.

9. o reliance could be placed on them, and,
therefore, the psalmist so earnestly calls on God for his interposition. The idea is, that when men
professing religion become conformed to the world - when they live like other men - when they

10. cease to exert an influence in favor of piety - when they fall into habits of sin, it is a time to call on
God with special earnestness for his aid. Often such conduct on the part of the professed friends
of religion makes such an appeal to God more proper than even the death of good men does, for,
in the latter case, their influence is simply withdrawn; in the former, not only is this influence
which they might exert lost to the church, but there is a positive bad influence to be counteracted.
The fall of a professor of religion into sin is a greater loss to the church than his death would be.
For the faithful - Those who profess faith; those who are bound by their vows to be faithful to
God and to his cause. The word is equivalent to the believing, and is properly expressive of trust
or faith in God.
Fail from among the children of men - Fail, as above noted, by their misconduct; by being false
to the trust committed to them.”
3. Clarke, “Save me, O Lord; for merciful men fail, and faithful men have passed away from the
sons of Adam.”
4. Gill, “Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth,.... A godly man, according to the notation of the
word (z), is one that has received grace and mercy of the Lord; as pardoning mercy, justifying
and adopting grace; and who has principles of grace, goodness, and holiness, wrought in him;
who fears the Lord, and serves him acceptably, with reverence and godly fear, and sorrows for
sin, after a godly sort; who loves the Lord, and hopes and believes in him; who is regenerated and
sanctified by the Spirit of God, and is a true worshipper of God, and lives in all holy conversation
and godliness; and, particularly, is "beneficent", "kind", and "merciful" (a) unto men: such may
be said to "cease" when there are but few of them; when their number is greatly reduced (b),
either by death, or when such who have seemed, and have been thought to be so, prove otherwise:
in a view of which, the psalmist prays for help and salvation; "help", or "save" (c) Lord;
meaning himself, being destitute of the company, counsel, and assistance of good and gracious
men; or the cause and interest of religion, which he feared would sink by the ceasing of godly
men. When all friends and refuge fail, saints betake themselves to God, and their salvation is of
him; and he is their present help in a time of trouble; and he saves and reserves for himself a
number in the worst of times; as he did in Elijah's time, who thought there was no godly man left
but himself; see Rom_11:1;
for the faithful fail from among the children of men; so that there are none left among them but
carnal, unregenerate, ungodly, and unfaithful men. The "faithful" are such who are upright in
heart and conversation; who trust in the Lord, and believe in the Messiah; who abide by the
truths and ordinances of God; and are faithful in what is committed to their trust, whether they
be gifts of nature, Providence, or grace; and to their fellow Christians, in advising, reproving, &c.
when needful: these may fail in the exercise of grace, and in the discharge of duty, but not so as to
perish eternally. The words design the paucity of them, and the sad degeneracy of the times to
which they refer: and they may belong either to the times of David, when Saul's courtiers
flattered him, and spoke evil of David; when the men of Keilah intended to have delivered him
up; when the Ziphites discovered him to Saul, and invited him to come and take him; or when
Absalom rose up in rebellion against him, and so many of the people fell off from him: or else to
the times of Christ; the people of the Jews in his age were a wicked and faithless generation; and
even among his own disciples there was great want of fidelity: one betrayed him, another denied
him, and all forsook him and fled; after his death, some doubted his being the Redeemer, and one
of them could not believe he was risen from the dead, when he was. And these words may be

11. applied to the antichristian times, the times of the grand apostasy, and falling away from the
faith, upon the revealing of the man of sin; since which the holy city is trodden under foot; the
witnesses prophesy in sackcloth; and the church is in the wilderness, and is hid there. Yea, to the
second coming of Christ, when there will be great carnality and security, and little faith found in
the earth. A like complaint with this see in Isa_57:1.
5. Henry, “This psalm furnishes us with good thoughts for bad times, in which, though the
prudent will keep silent (Amo_5:13) because a man may then be made an offender for a word, yet
we may comfort ourselves with such suitable meditations and prayers as are here got ready to
our hand.
I. Let us see here what it is that makes the times bad, and when they may be said to be so. Ask
the children of this world what it is in their account that makes the times bad, and they will tell
you, Scarcity of money, decay of trade, and the desolations of war, make the times bad. But the
scripture lays the badness of the times upon causes of another nature. 2Ti_3:1, Perilous times
shall come, for iniquity shall abound; and that is the thing David here complains of.
1. When there is a general decay of piety and honesty among men the times are then truly bad
(Psa_12:1): When the godly man ceases and the faithful fail. Observe how these two characters are
here put together, the godly and the faithful. As there is no true policy, so there is no true piety,
without honesty. Godly men are faithful men, fast men, so they have sometimes been called; their
word is as confirming as their oath, as binding as their bond; they make conscience of being true
both to God and man. They are here said to cease and fail, either by death or by desertion, or by
both. Those that were godly and faithful were taken away, and those that were left had sadly
degenerated and were not what they had been; so that there were few or no good people that
were Israelites indeed to be met with. Perhaps he meant that there were no godly faithful men
among Saul's courtiers; if he meant there were few or none in Israel, we hope he was under the
same mistake that Elijah was, who thought he only was left alone, when God had 7000 who kept
their integrity (Rom_11:3); or he meant that there were few in comparison; there was a general
decay of religion and virtue (and the times are bad, very bad, when it is so), not a man to be
found that executes judgment, Jer_5:1.”
6. Spurgeon, “Help, Lord. A short but sweet, suggestive, seasonable, and serviceable prayer; a
kind of angel's sword, to be turned every way, and to be used on all occasions. Ainsworth says the
word rendered "help," is largely used for all manner of saving, helping, delivering, preserving,
etc. Thus it seems that the prayer is very full and instructive. The Psalmist sees the extreme
danger of his position, for a man had better be among lions than among liars; he feels his own
inability to deal with such sons of Belial, for "he who shall touch them must be fenced with iron;"
he therefore turns himself to his all sufficient Helper, the Lord, whose help is never denied to his
servants, and whose aid is enough for all their needs. "Help, Lord," is a very useful ejaculation
which we may dart up to heaven on occasions of emergency, whether in labour, learning,
suffering, fighting, living, or dying. As small ships can sail into harbours which larger vessels,
drawing more water, cannot enter, so our brief cries and short petitions may trade with heaven
when our soul is wind bound, and business bound, as to longer exercises of devotion, and when
the stream of grace seems at too low an ebb to float a more laborious supplication.
For the godly man ceaseth; the death, departure, or decline of godly men should be a trumpet call
for more prayer. They say that fish smell first at the head, and when godly men decay, the whole
commonwealth will soon go rotten. We must not, however, be rash in our judgment on this point,
for Elijah erred in counting himself the only servant of God alive, when there were thousands

12. whom the Lord held in reserve. The present times always appear to be peculiarly dangerous,
because they are nearest to our anxious gaze, and whatever evils are rife are sure to be observed,
while the faults of past ages are further off, and are more easily overlooked. Yet we expect that in
the latter days, "because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold," and then we
must the more thoroughly turn from man, and address ourselves to the Churches' Lord, by
whose help the gates of hell shall be kept from prevailing against us.
The faithful fail from among the children of men; when godliness goes, faithfulness inevitably
follows; without fear of God, men have no love of truth. Common honesty is no longer common,
when common irreligion leads to universal godlessness. David had his eye on Doeg, and the men
of Ziph and Keilah, and perhaps remembered the murdered priests of

13. ob, and the many
banished ones who consorted with him in the cave of Adullam, and wondered where the state
would drift without the anchors of its godly and faithful men. David, amid the general misrule,
did not betake himself to seditious plottings, but to solemn petitionings; nor did he join with the
multitude to do evil, but took up the arms of prayer to withstand their attacks upon virtue.”
7. Treasury of David, “Verse 1. Help, Lord. It was high time to call to heaven for help, when Saul
cried, "Go, kill me up the priests of Jehovah" (the occasion as it is thought of making this Psalm),
and therein committed the sin against the Holy Ghost, as some grave divines are of opinion.
1 Samuel 22:17 . David, after many sad thoughts about that slaughter, and the occasion of it,
Doeg's malicious information, together with the paucity of his fast friends, and the multitude of
his sworn enemies at court, breaks forth abruptly into these words, "Help, Lord," help at a dead
lift. The Arabic version hath it, Deliver me by main force, as with weapons of war, for "the Lord
is a man of war." Exodus 15:3. John Trapp.
Verse 1. The faithful. "A faithful man", as a parent, a reprover, an adviser, one "without guile",
"who can find?" Proverbs 20:6. Look close. View thyself in the glass of the word. Does thy
neighbour or thy friend, find thee faithful to him? What does our daily intercourse witness? Is
not the attempt to speak what is agreeable oft made at the expense of truth? Are not professions
of regard sometimes utterly inconsistent with our real feelings? In common life, where gross
violations are restrained, a thousand petty offences are allowed, that break down the wall
between sin and duty, and, judged by the divine standard, are indeed guilty steps upon forbidden
ground. Charles Bridges, 1850.
Verse 1. A faithful man must be, first of all, faithful to himself; then, he must be faithful to God;
and then, he must be faithful to others, particularly the church of God. And this, as it regards
ministers, is of peculiar importance. Joseph Irons, 1840.
Verse 1. Even as a careful mother, seeing her child in the way when a company of unruly horses
run through the streets in full career, presently whips up her child in her arms and taketh him
home; or as the hen, seeing the ravenous kite over her head, clucks and gathers her chickens
under her wings; even so when God hath a purpose to bring a heavy calamity upon a land, it hath
been usual with him to call and cull out to himself such as are his dearly beloved. He takes his
choice servants from the evil to come. Thus was Augustine removed a little before Hippo (wherein
he dwelt) was taken; Paroeus died before Heidelburg was sacked; and Luther was taken off
before Germany was overrun with war and bloodshed. Ed. Dunsterville in a Sermon at the
Funeral of Sir Sim. Harcourt, 1642.
Verse 1. Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth, etc: --
Back, then, complainer, loathe thy life no more,

14. or deem thyself upon a desert shore,

15. Because the rocks the nearer prospect close.
Yet in fallen Israel are there hearts and eyes,
That day by day in prayer like thine arise;
Thou knowest them not, but their Creator known.
Go, to the world return, nor fear to cast
Thy bread upon the waters, sure at last
In joy to find it after many days. John Keble, 1792-1866.
Verse 1-2,4. Consider our markets, our fairs, our private contracts and bargains, our shops, our
cellars, our weights, our measures, our promises, our protestations, our politic tricks and
villainous Machiavelism, our enhancing of the prices of all commodities, and tell, whether the
twelfth Psalm may not as fitly be applied to our times as to the days of the man of God; in which
the feigning, and lying, and facing, and guile, and subtlety of men provoked the psalmist to cry
out, Help, Lord; for there is not a godly man left: for the faithful are failed from among the
children of men: they speak deceitfully every one with his neighbour, flattering with their lips,
and speak with a double heart, which have said, With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our
own: who is Lord over us? R. Wolcombe, 1612.”
2 Everyone lies to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips
but harbor deception in their hearts.
1. When you use the word everyone there is a good chance you are exaggerating, and David has
not taken a survey and found that 100 percent of people have lied to their neighbor. He is just
feeling like nobody is trustworthy anymore. He has had those who were supposed to be his
friends flatter him, as anyone does to a king, or others with high titles and positions. Everybody is
a con man out to use words to flatter and deceive for their own benefit. He just feels bad because
he knows that a lot of it is sham, and these who flatter will turn around and stab him in the back,
as many did when his Son Absolom tried to take over the throne and have him killed.
1B. Wiersbe, “Our world is filled with flattery. Sometimes it's called advertising or promotion,
but it's still flattery. God doesn't flatter people. He tells the truth. Flattery is manipulation, not
communication. It comes from a double heart, from mixed motives. David said, "Unite my heart
to fear Your name" (Ps. 86:11). Don't fall for flattery or flatter yourself into thinking you are the
only godly one left.”
2. Barnes, “They speak vanity - This is a statement of the “manner” in which the “godly” and the
“faithful” fail, as stated in Psa_12:1. One of the ways was that there was a disregard of truth;
that no confidence could be placed on the statements of those who professed to be pious; that they
dealt falsely with their neighbors. The word “vanity” here is equivalent to “falsehood.” What

16. they spoke was a vain and empty thing, instead of being the truth. It had no reality, and could not
be depended on. Every one with his neighbour - In his statements and promises.

17. o reliance
could be placed on his word.
With flattering lips - Hebrew, “Lips of smoothness.” The verb from which the word used here is
derived - חלק chālaq - means properly to divide, to distribute; then, to make things equal or
smooth; then, to make smooth or to shape, as an artisan does, as with a plane; and then, “to make
things smooth with the tongue,” that is, “to flatter.” See Psa_5:9; Pro_5:3; Pro_26:28; Pro_28:23;
Pro_29:5. The meaning is, that no confidence could be placed in the statements made. There was
no certainty that they were founded on truth; none that they were not intended to deceive.
Flattery is the ascribing of qualities to another which he is known not to possess - usually with
some sinister or base design.
And with a double heart - Margin, as in Hebrew, “a heart and a heart;” that is, as it were, with
two hearts, one that gives utterance to the words, and the other that retains a different sentiment.
Thus, in Deu_25:13, the phrase in Hebrew, “a stone and a stone” means, as it is translated,
“divers weights” - one stone or weight to buy with, and another to sell with. So the flatterer. He
has one heart to give utterance to the words which he uses toward his neighbor, and another that
conceals his real purpose or design.

18. o confidence, therefore, could be placed in such persons.
Compare the note at Job_32:22.
3. Clarke, “They speak vanity every one with his neighbor - They are false and hollow; they say
one thing while they mean another; there is no trusting to what they say. Flattering lips, and with
a double heart do they speak - בלב ולב beleb valeb, “With a heart and a heart.” They seem to
have two hearts; one to speak fair words, and the other to invent mischief.
4. Gill, “ They speak vanity everyone with his neighbour,.... That which is false and a lie, either
doctrinal or practical; what was not according to the word of God, and was vain and empty,
frothy, filthy, and corrupt; and which no godly and faithful man would do. And this being done in
common, by the generality of men, one with another, shows the degeneracy of the age, and
supports the complaint before made. They speak even
with flattering lips; as Cain did to Abel, Joab to Amasa, the Herodians to Christ, Judas to his
Master, false teachers to those that are simple, hypocrites to God himself, when they draw nigh to
him only with their lips, and all formal professors to the churches of Christ, when they profess
themselves to be what they are not. And this is a further proof of the justness of the above
complaint;
and with a double heart do they speak: or "with an heart and an heart" (d); such are double
minded men, who say one thing, and mean another; their words are not to be depended upon;
there is no faithfulness in them. The Chinese (e) reckon a man of "two hearts", as they call him, a
very wicked man, and none more remote from honesty.”
5. Henry, “. When dissimulation and flattery have corrupted and debauched all conversation,
then the times are very bad (Psa_12:2), when men are generally so profligate that they make no
conscience of a lie, are so spiteful as to design against their neighbours the worst of mischiefs, and

19. yet so base as to cover the design with the most specious and plausible pretences and professions
of friendship. Thus they speak vanity (that is, falsehood and a lie) every one to his neighbour, with
flattering lips and a double heart. They will kiss and kill (as Joab did Abner and Amasa in David's
own time), will smile in your face and cut your throat. This is the devil's image complete, a
complication of malice and falsehood. The times are bad indeed when there is no such thing as
sincerity to be met with, when an honest man knows not whom to believe nor whom to trust, nor
dares put confidence in a friend, in a guide, Mic_7:5, Mic_7:6; Jer_9:4, Jer_9:5. Woe to those
who help to make the times thus perilous.”
6. Spurgeon, “They speak vanity every one with his neighbour. They utter that which is vain to
hear, because of its frivolous, foolish, want of worth; vain to believe, because it was false and
lying; vain to trust to, since it was deceitful and flattering; vain to regard, for it lifted up the
hearer, filling him with proud conceit of himself. It is a sad thing when it is the fashion to talk
vanity. "Call me, and I will call thee." is the old Scotch proverb; give me a high sounding
character, and I will give you one. Compliments and fawning congratulations are hateful to
honest men; they know that if they take they must give them, and they scorn to do either. These
accommodation bills are most admired by those who are bankrupt in character. Bad are the
times when every man thus cajoles and cozens his neighbour.
With flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. He who puffs up another's heart, has
nothing better than wind in his own. If a man extols me to my face, he only shows me one side of
his heart, and the other is black with contempt for me, or foul with intent to cheat me. Flattery is
the sign of the tavern where duplicity is the host. The Chinese consider a man of two hearts to be
a very base man, and we shall be safe in reckoning all flatteries to be such.
7. Dave Hatcher has this excellent study making it clear that the culture was a matter of the war
of words. “Wicked Words – The conversations of a culture and what we expect of those
conversations, tells us much of the state of that culture. Has the church lost her saltiness due to
her words?
Idle Words/Lies (v2) – First, the culture carries on in empty talk, lies and gossip (accusations with
no opportunity for defense). The things we whisper to one another will be judged by God (Matt
12:36f, 1 Tim 6:20).
Flattering Words (v2) – Second, the culture engages in flattery in order to gain the approval of
others in power. God hates such grasping for acceptance and such perversion of true honor (Rom
16:18).
Double-Talk (v2) – Third, the culture is known as being a people who speak out of both sides of
their mouth. You speak well of someone when they are around and then wickedly of them when
they are gone. Or you speak well of them when others are around, but
you speak wickedly to them when no one else is around. In either case, you are double-minded,
and the Lord despises such a tongue (James 3:6-12).
Boasting (v4) – The proud say, “Our lips, our words, our belief-systems in the important areas of
life, are our own.” They demand neutrality from any other god other than themselves and their
own enlightened thinking.
Attack on the Weak (v5) – Once in their place of power, this kind of culture condemns all other
views and exploits the weak and poor for their own ends. Because they have done so by their lips
and tongues, the psalm-singer laments for their lips and tongues to be violently cut out – to the
glory of God. Some may cringe at such unbiblical, unloving language (except that it comes from

20. the Bible out of the mouth of God who is love). Is this evidence that we, the contemporary
church, have lost our saltiness and our sting?
God’s Words (v5-6) – In contrast, God’s Word is set, firm, secure, unchanging, and pure. Refined
seven times, God’s words can be believed and trusted. He has determined the choicest words to
use, He never lies, He never flatters, and He never speaks with duplicity. How flipped around we
have this, trusting the experts in their fields over the words of God. The scientists tell us that the
universe must be billions of years old. The psychologists tell us that sexual preferences are a
natural fabric of an individual. The well-lettered theologians tell us that God never intended to be
called “He,” to the exclusion of “She.” They all tell us that God’s Word is not very clear on these
things. But God’s Word tells us that His words are like silver refined seven times. The problem of
purity and clarity is not in the Word. God’s Promises (vv5-7) – God has promised that He will
arise and deliver the oppressed from their own generation (v5). The psalmsinger then remembers
the nature of God’s Word and promises (v6) and concludes that of course God will deliver (v7, 1
Pet 1:5). Considering the corporate nature of this prayer, we are singing about a cultural
reformation.”
8. Treasury of David, “Verse 1-2,. 4. See Psalms on "Psalms 11:1" for further information.
Verse 2. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart
do they speak. The feigned zeal is just like a waterman, that looks one way and rows another way;
for this man pretends one thing and intends another thing; as Jehu pretended the zeal of God's
glory, but his aim was at his master's kingdom; and his zeal to God's service was but to bring him
to the sceptre of the kingdom. So Demetrius professed great love unto Diana, but his drift was to
maintain the honour of his profession; and so we have too many that make great show of
holiness, and yet their hearts aim at other ends; but they may be sure, though they can deceive
the world and destroy themselves, yet not God, who knoweth the secrets of all hearts. Gr.
Williams, 1636.
Verse 2. They speak vanity. --
Faithless is earth, and faithless are the skies! Justice is fled, and truth is now no more!
Virgil's Aneid, IV. 373.
Verse 2. With a double heart. Man is nothing but insincerity, falsehood, and hypocrisy, both in
regard to himself and in regard to others. He does not wish that he should be told the truth, he
shuns saying it to others; and all these moods, so inconsistent with justice and reason, have their
roots in his heart. Blaise Pascal.
Verse 2. With flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. There is no such stuff to make a
cloak of as religion; nothing so fashionable, nothing so profitable: it is a livery wherein a wise
man may serve two masters, God and the world, and make a gainful service by either. I serve
both, and in both myself, by prevaricating with both. Before man none serves his God with more
devotion; for which, among the best of men, I work my own ends, and serve myself. In private, I
serve the world; not with so strict devotion, but with more delight; where fulfilling of her
servants' lusts, I work my end and serve myself. The house of prayer who more frequents than I?
In all Christian duties who more forward than I? I fast with those who fast, that I may eat with
those that eat. I mourn with those that mourn.

21. o hand more open to the cause than mine, and in
their families none prays longer and with louder zeal. Thus when the opinion of a holy life hath
cried the goodness of my conscience up, my trade can lack no custom, my wares can want no

22. price, my words can need no credit, my actions can lack no praise. If I am covetous, it is
interpreted providence; if miserable, it is counted temperance; if melancholy, it is construed
godly sorrow; if merry, it is voted spiritual joy; if I be rich, it is thought the blessing of a godly
life; if poor, supposed the fruit of conscionable dealing; if I be well spoken of, it is the merit of
holy conversation; if ill, it is the malice of malignants. Thus I sail with every wind, and have my
end in all conditions. This cloak in summer keeps me cool, in winter warm, and hides the nasty
bag of all my secret lusts. Under this cloak I walk in public fairly with applause, and in private
sin securely without offence, and officiate wisely without discovery. I compass sea and land to
make a proselyte; and no sooner made, but he makes me. At a fast I cry Geneva, and at a feast I
cry Rome. If I be poor, I counterfeit abundance to save my credit; if rich, I dissemble poverty to
save charges. I most frequent schismatic lectures, which I find most profitable; from thence
learning to divulge and maintain new doctrines; they maintain me in suppers thrice a week. I use
the help of a lie sometimes, as a new stratagem to uphold the gospel; and I colour oppression with
God's judgments executed upon the wicked. Charity I hold an extraordinary duty, therefore not
ordinarily to be performed. What I openly reprove abroad, for my own profit, that I secretly act
at home, for my own pleasure. But stay, I see a handwriting in my heart which damps my soul. It
is characterized in these sad words, "Woe be to you, hypocrites." Matthew 23:13. Francis
Quarle's "Hypocrite's Soliloquy."
Verse 2. With flattering lips, etc. The world indeed says that society could not exist if there were
perfect truthfulness and candour between man and man; and that the world's propriety would be
as much disturbed if every man said what he pleased, as it was in those days of Israelitish history,
when every man did that which was right in his own eyes. The world is assuredly the best judge
of its own condition and mode of government, and therefore I will not say what a libel does such a
remark contain, but oh, what a picture does it present of the social edifice, that its walls can be
cemented and kept together only by flattery and falsehood! Barton Bouchier.
Verse 2. Flattering lips. The philosopher Bion being asked what animal he though the most
hurtful, replied, "That of wild creatures a tyrant, and of tame ones a flatterer." The flatterer is
the most dangerous enemy we can have. Raleigh, himself a courtier, and therefore initiated into
the whole art of flattery, who discovered in his own career and fate its dangerous and deceptive
power, its deep artifice and deeper falsehood, says, "A flatterer is said to be a beast that biteth
smiling. But it is hard to know them from friends -- they are so obsequious and full of
protestations: for as a wolf resembles a dog, so doth a flatterer a friend." The Book of Symbols,
1844.
Verse 2. They speak with a double heart. The original is, "A heart and a heart:" one for the
church, another for the change; one for Sundays, another for working days; one for the king,
another for the pope. A man without a heart is a wonder, but a man with two hearts is a monster.
It is said of Judas, "There were many hearts in one man;" and we read of the saints, "There was
one heart in many men." Acts 4:32. Dabo illis cor unum; a special blessing. Thomas Adams.
Verse 2. When men cease to be faithful to their God, he who expects to find them so to each other,
will be much disappointed. The primitive sincerity will accompany the primitive piety in her
flight from the earth; and then interest will succeed conscience in the regulation of human
conduct, till one man cannot trust another farther than he holds him by that tie. Hence, by the
way, it is, that though many are infidels themselves, yet few choose to have their families and
dependents such; as judging, and rightly judging, that true Christians are the only persons to be
depended on for the exact discharge of social duties. George Horne.”

23. 3 May the LORD silence all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue—
1. Barnes, “The Lord shall cut off - This might be rendered, “May the Lord cut off,” implying a
wish on the part of the psalmist that it might occur. But probably the common rendering is the
correct one. It is the statement of a solemn truth, designed for warning, that all such persons
would be punished.
All flattering lips - The meaning is, that he will cut off all “persons” who use flattery; that is, he
will cut them off from the favors which he will show to his own people, or will punish them. The
word used here is the common one to denote disowning or excommunicating, and derives its
meaning from the act of separating offenders from a community. See Gen_17:14; Lev_17:10;
Lev_18:29; Lev_20:3, Lev_20:6; et soepe.
And the tongue that speaketh proud things - That boasts, or is self-confident. For an example
of this, see Isa_28:15; and compare the notes at that passage. It was this disposition to falsehood,
flattery, and boasting, which constituted the fact stated in Psa_12:1, that “godly” and “faithful”
men - men on whom reliance might be placed, whose word might be trusted, and whose promised
aid in the cause of truth might be depended on - had seemed to “fail” among men. That is, no
such men could be found.
2. Gill, “The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips,.... This is either a prophecy or a prayer, as Aben
Ezra and Kimchi observe; that God either would or should cut off such who used flattery with
their lips, by inflicting some judgment in this life, or everlasting punishment hereafter; by taking
them away by death "out of the world", as the Targum paraphrases it; or by casting them into
hell, where all liars and deceitful persons will have their portion; see Job_32:21;
and the tongue that speaketh proud things, or "great things" (f), as the little horn, Dan_7:20; and
the beast, or Romish antichrist, who is designed by both, Rev_13:5; and which will be
accomplished when Christ shall destroy him with the breath of his mouth, and the brightness of
his coming; and indeed every tongue that riseth up against God, Christ, and his people, will be
condemned; when ungodly sinners will be convinced of all their hard speeches, Isa_54:17,
Jud_1:15. Perhaps some regard may be had to the tongue of Doeg the Edomite; see Psa_52:3.
3. Henry, “ That God will certainly reckon with false and proud men, and will punish and
restrain their insolence. They are above the control of men and set them at defiance. Men cannot
discover the falsehood of flatterers, nor humble the haughtiness of those that speak proud things;
but the righteous God will cut off all flattering lips, that give the traitor's kiss and speak words
softer then oil when war is in the heart; he will pluck out the tongue that speaks proud things
against God and religion, Psa_12:3. Some translate it as a prayer, “May God cut off those false
and spiteful lips.” Let lying lips be put to silence.”

24. 4. Spurgeon, “Total destruction shall overwhelm the lovers of flattery and pride, but meanwhile
how they hector and fume! Well did the apostle call them "raging waves of the sea, foaming out
their own shame." Free thinkers are generally very free talkers, and they are never more at ease
than when railing at God's dominion, and arrogating to themselves unbounded license. Strange is
it that the easy yoke of the Lord should so gall the shoulders of the proud, while the iron bands of
Satan they bind about themselves as chains of honour: they boastfully cry unto God,
Who is lord over us? and hear not the hollow voice of the evil one, who cries from the infernal
lake, "I am your lord, and right faithfully do ye serve me." Alas, poor fools, their pride and glory
shall be cut off like a fading flower! May God grant that our soul may not be gathered with them.
It is worthy of observation that flattering lips, and tongues speaking proud things, are classed
together: the fitness of this is clear, for they are guilty of the same vice, the first flatters another,
and the second flatters himself, in both cases a lie is in their right hands. One generally imagines
that flatterers are such mean parasites, so cringing and fawning, that they cannot be proud; but
the wise man will tell you that while all pride is truly meanness, there is in the very lowest
meanness no small degree of pride. Caesar's horse is even more proud of carrying Caesar, that
Caesar is of riding him. The mat on which the emperor wiped his shoes, boasts vain gloriously,
crying out, "I cleaned the imperial boots."

25. one are so detestably domineering as the little
creatures who creep into office by cringing to the great; those are bad times, indeed, in which
these obnoxious beings are numerous and powerful.

26. o wonder that the justice of God in cutting
off such injurious persons is matter for a psalm, for both earth and heaven are weary of such
provoking offenders, whose presence is a very plague to the people afflicted thereby. Men cannot
tame the tongues of such boastful flatterers; but the Lord's remedy if sharp is sure, and is an
unanswerable answer to their swelling words of vanity.
5. Treasury of David, “Verse 3. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, etc. They who take
pleasure in deceiving others, will at the last find themselves most of all deceived, when the Sun of
truth, by the brightness of his rising, shall at once detect and consume hypocrisy. George Horne.
Verse 3. Cut off lips and tongues. May there not be here an allusion to those terrible but
suggestive punishments which Oriental monarchs were wont to execute on criminals? Lips were
cut off and tongues torn out when offenders were convicted of lying or treason. So terrible and
infinitely more so are the punishments of sin. C.H.S.
Verse 3-4. It need not now seem strange to tell you that the Lord is the owner of our bodies, that he
has so much propriety therein that they are more his than ours. The apostle tells us as much.
1 Corinthians 6:20 . "Glorify God in your bodies which are his." Our bodies, and every member
thereof, are his: for if the whole be so, no part is exempted. And therefore they spake proud
things, and presumptuously usurped the propriety of God, who said, Our lips are our own; as
though their lips had not been his who is Lord and Owner of all, but they had been lords thereof,
and might have used them as they list. This provoked God to show what right he had to dispose
of such lips and tongues, by cutting them off. David Clarkson.
4 those who say,

27. “By our tongues we will prevail;
our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
1. Barnes, “Who have said - Who habitually say. This does not mean that they had formally and
openly said this - for none would be likely to do so - but that they had practically and really said
this by their conduct. They acted as if it were the real principle on which they framed their lives,
that they might use their tongues as they pleased.
With our tongue - literally, “as to,” or “in respect to our tongue;” that is, by our tongue. It was
by the tongue that they expected to accomplish their purposes. It was not by direct power, or by
violence, but by the power of speech.
Will we prevail - literally, “We will do mightily;” that is, they would accomplish their purposes.
They relied on the power of speech - on their ability in influencing others; in deceiving others; in
persuading others to fall in with their plans.
Our lips are our own - That is, we may use them as we please; no one has a right to control us
in the use of what properly belongs to ourselves. It cannot be meant that they intended to assert
this openly as a right, for there are perhaps none who will not admit in words that they are
responsible for what they “say,” as well as for what they “do.” But their conduct was such that
this was the fair interpretation to be placed on what they said. They would speak this if they
openly professed and avowed what was their real opinion.
Who is lord over us? - That is, who has a right to control us in the case? There are many who
practically avow this as a principle of conduct, and who seem to feel that they are not responsible
for their words, however much they may admit their responsibility for their actions. There is
usually a greater degree of recklessness among men in regard to their speech than in regard to
their conduct; and many a man who would shrink from doing another wrong by an act of
dishonesty in business, may be utterly reckless as to doing him wrong by an unkind remark.
2. Clarke, “Our lips are our own - Many think, because they have the faculty of speaking, that
therefore they may speak what they please.”
3. Gill, “Who have said, with our tongue will we prevail,.... Either through the eloquence of them,
or the outward force and power with which they are backed. The sense is, as we say, so shall it be;
our words are laws, and shall be obeyed, there is no standing against them; our edicts and decrees
shall everywhere be regarded: or "we will make one to prevail", or "have the dominion" (g);
meaning antichrist, the man of sin; for all this is true of the tongues of the antichristian party,
and of their laws, edicts, and decrees and which have obtained everywhere, and by which the
wicked one has been established in his tyrannical power and authority;
our lips are our own, or "with us" (h): we will say what we please, and make what laws and
decrees we think fit, and impose them upon men; and so change times and laws without control,
Dan_7:25;
who is Lord over us? which is the very language and conduct of antichrist, who opposes and
exalts himself above all that is called God, 2Th_2:4; and is indeed the language of the hearts and
lives of all wicked and ungodly men, sons of Belial, men without any yoke or restraint; who walk,
and are resolved to walk, after the imagination of their own evil hearts; not knowing the Lord,

28. and being unwilling to obey him, or to be restrained by him; see Exo_5:2.”
4. Henry, “When the enemies of God, and religion, and religious people, are impudent and
daring, and threaten to run down all that is just and sacred, then the times are very bad, when
proud sinners have arrived at such a pitch of impiety as to say, “With our tongue will we prevail
against the cause of virtue; our lips are our own and we may say what we will; who is lord over us,
either to restrain us or to call us to an account?” Psa_12:4. This bespeaks, (1.) A proud conceit of
themselves and confidence in themselves, as if the point were indeed gained by eating forbidden
fruit, and they were as gods, independent and self-sufficient, infallible in their knowledge of good
and evil and therefore fit to be oracles, irresistible in their power and therefore fit to be
lawgivers, that could prevail with their tongues, and, like God himself, speak and it is done. (2.)
An insolent contempt of God's dominion as if he had no propriety in them - Our lips are our own
(an unjust pretension, for who made man's mouth, in whose hand is his breath, and whose is the
air he breathes in?) and as if he had no authority either to command them or to judge them: Who
is Lord over us? Like Pharaoh, Exo_5:1. This is as absurd and unreasonable as the former; for he
in whom we live, and move, and have our being, must needs be, by an indisputable title, Lord
over us.”
5. Treasury of David, “Verse 4. Who have said, With our tongues will we prevail; who is Lord over
us? So it was: twelve poor and unlearned men on the one side, all the eloquence of Greece and
Rome arrayed on the other. From the time of Tertullus to that of Julian the apostate, every
species of oratory, learning, wit, was lavished against the church of God; and the result, like the
well known story of that dispute between the Christian peasant and the heathen philosopher,
when the latter, having challenged the assembled fathers of a synod to silence him, was put to
shame by the simple faith of the former "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I command thee
to be dumb." Who is lord over us? "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel
go?" Exodus 5:2. "What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?" Job 21:15. "Who is that God
that shall deliver you?" Daniel 3:15. Michael Ayguan, in J. M.

29. eale's Commentary.
Verse 4. Our lips are our own. If we have to do with God, we must quit claim to ourselves and look
on God as our owner; but this is fixed in the hearts of men, We will be our own; we will not
consent to the claim which God makes to us: "Our lips are our own." Wicked men might as well
say the same thing of their whole selves; our bodies, strength, time, parts, etc., are our own, and
who is Lord over us? John Howe.
Verse 4. From the faults of the wicked we must learn three contrary lessons; to wit: 1. That nothing
which we have is our own. But, 2. Whatsoever is given to us of God is for service to be done to
him. 3. That whatsoever we do or say, we have a Lord over us to whom we must be answerable
when he calleth us to account. David Dickson.
5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the LORD.

30. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”
1. God is the defender of the poor and needy. People all through history take advantage of the
poor. They are treated like dirt and bullied by all who have a little more power. If God did not
protect them they would be helpless against oppressors.
2. Jamison, “The writer intimates his confidence by depicting God’s actions (compare Psa_9:19;
Psa_10:12) as coming to save the poor at whom the wicked sneer (Psa_10:5).
3. Barnes, “For the oppression of the poor - That is, on account of the wrong done to the poor in
the manner specified above - by the abuse of the power of speech. On account of the slanders
uttered against them, or the frauds perpetrated on them by the abuse of this power. The reference
is to the wrongs done when no confidence could be placed in men’s words; when they uttered
words of “vanity” and “flattery” Psa_12:2; when promises were made only to be broken, and
obligations assumed never to be fulfilled. In such a state of things the “poor” were the most likely
to suffer. In performing service for others - in daily labor on a farm or in a mechanical
employment - they would depend for support, on the promises made by their employers; and
when their pay was withheld, they and their families must suffer. Compare Jam_5:4. Rich men,
having other resources, would not thus suffer; but the poor must always suffer when there is in
the community a disregard of the obligation of promises. In like manner, the poor would be most
likely to “be taken in by the acts of unprincipled men, and to be deceived in their small dealings
with them. Other classes of the community would be on their guard; but the poor, unacquainted
with the arts of cunning men, are always liable - though on a small scale, yet of importance to
them - to be wronged by the false statements and promises of those against whom they can have
no redress.
For the sighing of the needy ... - The word “needy” here is synonymous with “poor.” It refers to
those in humble circumstances, who were especially liable to be wronged by deceitful statements
and promises.
I will set him in safety - I will make him safe. I will save him from the evils which they thought
to bring upon him. The general idea is, that God is the vindicator of the poor and the oppressed.
From him that puffeth at him - Prof. Alexander renders this, “I will place in safety him that
shall pant for it.” Gesenius renders it, “whom they puffed at; that is, the oppressed.” The
language in the original is difficult. It may mean either “he pants for it,” or “he puffs at him;”
and the meaning can only be determined by the connection. That would rather seem to be what is
indicated in our common version; to wit, that the persons referred to as oppressing the poor and
needy, “puffed” at them; that is, they looked upon them with contempt, and felt that with a puff
of their breath they could blow them away. They regarded them as insignificant and worthless.
By this construction, also, the connection with the main statement will be best preserved - that
the injury referred to in the psalm was done by “words,” by the breath of the mouth - thus
indicating that by a “word” or a “breath” they could destroy them.
4. Clarke, “For the oppression of the poor - This seems to refer best to the tribulations which the
poor Israelites suffered while captives in Babylon. The Lord represents himself as looking on and
seeing their affliction; and, hearing their cry, he determines to come forward to their help.

31. ow will I arise - I alone delivered them into the hands of their enemies, because of their

32. transgressions; I alone can and will deliver them from the hands of their enemies; and the
manner of their deliverance shall show the power and influence of their God.
From him that puffeth at him - Here is much interpolation to make out a sense. Several of the
versions read, “I will give him an open salvation.” My work shall be manifest.
5. Gill, “For the oppression of the poor,.... The servants and people of God, who, for the most
part, are poor in a temporal sense, and are all of them, and always, so in a spiritual sense,
standing continually in need of fresh supplies of grace; and being often afflicted, as the word
signifies, are mean and despicable in the eyes of the men of this world, and so oppressed by them,
as the poor generally are by the rich; and as the people of Israel were oppressed by the
Egyptians, so are the people of God by antichrist, and by his tyrannical laws and edicts, and by
such haughty and insolent persons as before described;
for the sighing of the needy; who groan under their oppressions; being stripped of all good things,
their friends, and worldly substance, they sigh inwardly, and cry unto the Lord, who sees their
oppressions, hears their groans; and though he cannot be moved, as men are, by anything
without himself, yet, according to his abundant mercy and sovereign will, he appears and exerts
himself on the behalf of his people, and for their relief and assistance;
now will I arise, saith the Lord; to have mercy on the poor and needy, and to avenge them on
their oppressors, and free them from them. And this the Lord promises to do "now", speedily,
immediately; God arises in the most seasonable time, when his people are in the greatest straits,
and in the utmost distress and herein displays his wisdom, power, and goodness. This is an
answer to the petition of the psalmist in Psa_12:1;
I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him; or "in salvation" (i); in Christ the Saviour.
All God's people are put into the hands of Christ, and are preserved in him; there they are in
safety, for out of his hands none can pluck them; and being built on him, the Rock, they are safe,
notwithstanding the waves and winds of temptation, persecution, &c. come with ever so much
force upon them. Here it seems to signify, that God would deliver his poor and needy from their
oppressions, and put them into a comfortable, prosperous, safe, and happy situation, in which
they will be out of the reach of their enemies; as will be the witnesses, when they shall ascend to
heaven, Rev_11:11; even out of the reach of him that "puffeth at" them, despises them, and treats
them with the utmost scorn and contempt; see Psa_10:5. Or that "breathes", or "let him
breathe" (k) threatenings and slaughters; as Saul did against the disciples of Christ, Act_9:1; or
that "lays snares for him" (l), as the wicked do for the righteous; or that "speaks unto him" in
such haughty and insolent language as before expressed. Some make this clause a proposition of
itself, "he puffeth at him"; meaning either that he that is secure, safety puffs at his enemy,
despises him, as he has been despised by him; or God, who breathes upon him, and whose breath
is as a stream of brimstone, which kindles in him a fire of divine wrath, which is unquenchable;
or else the sense is, God will "speak to himself", or "to him" (m); in which sense the word is used
Hab_2:4; that is, good and comfortable words to the poor; or "he will give him refreshment", or
"rest": which he will determine in himself to speak to him: or "he shall have breathing", or "let
him breathe" (n): he shall have times of refreshing from the Lord, and rest from adversity, from
the oppositions and persecutions of his enemies.”
6. Henry, “When the poor and needy are oppressed, and abused, and puffed at, then the times are

33. very bad. This is implied (Psa_12:5) where God himself takes notice of the oppression of the poor
and the sighing of the needy; they are oppressed because they are poor, have all manner of wrong
done them merely because they are not in a capacity to right themselves. Being thus oppressed,
they dare not speak for themselves, lest their defence should be made their offence; but they sigh,
secretly bemoaning their calamities, and pouring out their souls in sighs before God. If their
oppressors be spoken to on their behalf, they puff at them, make light of their own sin and the
misery of the poor, and lay neither to heart; see Psa_10:5.
That God will, in due time, work deliverance for his oppressed people, and shelter them from the
malicious designs of their persecutors (Psa_12:5): 0ow, will I arise, saith the Lord. This promise of
God, which David here delivered by the spirit of prophecy, is an answer to that petition which he
put up to God by the spirit of prayer. “Help, Lord,” says he; “I will,” says God; “here I am, with
seasonable and effectual help.” (1.) It is seasonable, in the fittest time. [1.] When the oppressors
are in the height of their pride and insolence - when they say, Who is lord over us? - then is God's
time to let them know, to their cost, that he is above them. [2.] When the oppressed are in the
depth of their distress and despondency, when they are sighing like Israel in Egypt by reason of
the cruel bondage, then is God's time to appear for them, as for Israel when they were most
dejected and Pharaoh was most elevated. 0ow will I arise.

34. ote, There is a time fixed for the
rescue of oppressed innocency; that time will come, and we may be sure it is the fittest time,
Psa_102:13. (2.) It is effectual: I will set him in safety, or in salvation, not only protect him, but
restore him to his former prosperity, will bring him out into a wealthy place (Psa_66:12), so that,
upon the whole, he shall lose nothing by his sufferings.”
7. Spurgeon, “In due season the Lord will hear his elect ones, who cry day and night unto him,
and though he bear long with their oppressors, yet will he avenge them speedily. Observe that the
mere oppression of saints, however silently they bear it, is in itself a cry to God: Moses was heard
at the Red Sea, though he said nothing; and Hagar's affliction was heard despite her silence.
Jesus feels with his people, and their smarts are mighty orators with him. By and by, however,
they begin to sigh and express their misery, and then relief comes post haste.

35. othing moves a
father like the cries of his children; he bestirs himself, wakes up his manhood, overthrows the
enemy, and sets his beloved in safety. A puff is too much for the child to bear, and the foe is so
haughty, that he laughs the little one to scorn; but the Father comes, and then it is the child's turn
to laugh, when he is set above the rage of his tormentor. What virtue is there in a poor man's
sighs, that they should move the Almighty God to arise from his throne. The needy did not dare
to speak, and could only sigh in secret, but the Lord heard, and could rest no longer, but girded
on his sword for the battle. It is a fair day when our soul brings God into her quarrel, for when
his bare arm is seen, Philistia shall rue the day. The darkest hours of the Church's night are those
which precede the break of day. Man's extremity is God's opportunity. Jesus will come to deliver
just when his needy ones shall sigh, as if all hope had gone for ever. O Lord, set thy now near at
hand, and rise up speedily to our help. Should the afflicted reader be able to lay hold upon the
promise of this verse, let him gratefully fetch a fulness of comfort from it. Gurnall says, "As one
may draw out the wine of a whole hogshead at one tap, so may a poor soul derive the comfort of
the whole covenant to himself through one promise, if he be able to apply it." He who promises to
set us in safety, means thereby preservation on earth, and eternal salvation in heaven.
8. Treasury of David, “Verse 5. For the oppression of the poor, etc. When oppressors and
persecutors do snuff and puff at the people of God, when they defy them, and scorn them, and
think that they can with a blast of their breath blow them away, then God will arise to judgment,

36. as the Chaldee has it; at that very nick of time when all seems to be lost, and when the poor,
oppressed, and afflicted people of God can do nothing but sigh and weep, and weep and sigh,
then the Lord will arise and ease them of their oppressions, and make their day of extremity a
glorious opportunity to work for his own glory, and his people's good. Mt 22:6-7. "And the
remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king
heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers, and
burned up their city." Thomas Brooks.
Verse 5. Fear ye, whosoever ye be, that do wrong the poor; you have power and wealth, and the
favour of the judges, but they have the strongest weapons of all, sighings and groanings, which
fetch help from heaven for them. These weapons dig down houses, throw up foundations,
overthrow whole nations. Chrysostom.
Verse 5. For the sighings of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord. God is pleased to take
notice of every grace, even the least and lowest, and every gracious inclination in any of his
servants. To fear his name is no great matter, yet these have a promise. To think on his name less,
yet set down in a "book of remembrance." God sets down how many good thoughts a poor soul
hath had. As evil thoughts in wicked men are taken notice of -- they are the first fruits of the evil
heart (Matthew 15:19) -- so good thoughts are they which lie uppermost, and best discover a good
heart. A desire is a small matter, especially of the poor man, yet God regards the desire of the
poor, and calls a good desire the greatest kindness; "The desire of a man is his kindness." A tear
makes no great noise, yet hath a voice, "God hath heard the voice of my weeping." It is no
pleasant water, yet God bottles it up. A groan is a poor thing, yet is the best part of a prayer
sometimes (Romans 8:26); a sigh is less, yet God is awakened and raised up by it. Psalms 12:5. A
look is less than all these, yet this is regarded (Jonah 2:4); breathing is less, yet (Lamentations
3:56), the church could speak of no more; panting is less than breathing, when one is spent for
lack of breath, yet this is all the godly can sometimes boast of. Psalms 42:1. The description of a
godly man is ofttimes made from his least quod sic. Blessed are the poor, the meek, they that
mourn, and they who hunger and thirst.

37. ever did Hannah pray better than when she could get
out never a word, but cried, "Hard, hard heart."

38. or did the publican, than when he smote his
breast and cried, "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner."

39. or Mary Magdalene, than when she came
behind Christ, sat down, wept, but kept silence. How sweet is music upon the waters! How
fruitful are the lowest valleys! Mourning hearts are most musical, lowest most fruitful. The good
shepherd ever takes most care of his weak lambs and feeble sheep. The father makes most of the
least, and the mother looks most after the sick child. How comfortable is that of our Saviour, "It
is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish!" And
that heaven is not to be entered but by such as are like the little child. John Sheffield, 1654.
Verse 5. The oppression of the poor. Insolent and cruel oppressing of the poor is a sin that brings
desolating and destroying judgments upon a people. God sent ten wasting judgments one after
another upon Pharaoh, his people, and land, to revenge the cruel oppression of his poor people.
"Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: for the Lord will
plead their cause." Proverbs 22:22-23. To rob and oppress the rich is a great sin; but to rob and
oppress the poor is a greater; but to rob and oppress the poor because he is poor, and wants
money to buy justice, is the top of all inhumanity and impiety. To oppress anyone is sin; but to
oppress the oppressed is the height of sin. Poverty, and want, and misery, should be motives to
pity; but oppressors make them the whetstone of their cruelty and severity, and therefore the
Lord will plead the cause of his poor oppressed people against their oppressors without fee or
fear; yea, he will plead their cause with pestilence, blood, and fire. Gog was a great oppressor of
the poor (Eze 38:8-14), and God pleads against him with pestilence, blood, and fire (Ezekiel

40. 38:22); "and I will plead against him, with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him,
and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great
hailstones, fire, and brimstone." Thomas Brooks.
6 And the words of the LORD are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold refined seven times.
1. Barnes, “The words of the Lord - In contrast with the words of the persons referred to in
Psa_12:2-4. Their words were vanity, flattery, and falsehood; and no reliance could be placed on
them. In contrast with these words, the words of the Lord were pure. They were to be relied on.
All his sayings were true and faithful. The design is to bring his words into contrast with the
sayings of such men, and to show how much more safety there is in relying on his promises than
on the promises made by such men. Man failed, but God would not. Reliance could not be placed
on the words of even the professedly “godly” and “faithful” Psa_12:1, but entire confidence
might be placed in the words of Yahweh. All his words were true, pure, faithful, so that even
when his own professed friends failed, and confidence could be placed in them, yet there was still
reason for unwavering confidence in God himself.
Are pure words - That is, they are without any mixture of falsehood - for this idea is implied in
the comparison which the psalmist makes when he says that they are like silver purified in the
furnace, that is, from which all the dross has been removed.
As silver tried in a furnace of earth - The word here rendered “furnace” properly means a
workshop. Perhaps it corresponds nearly with our word “laboratory,” as the term is now used by
chemists. It evidently refers to some place where the metal was tried and purified. The words
rendered “of earth” literally mean “on the earth,” or “in the earth?” The language does not mean
that the “furnace” was “made” of earth, as would seem to be implied in our version, but that the
“furnace” or laboratory was erected on the earth, or in the earth. It may refer to something like a
crucible placed on the ground, around which a fire of intense heat could be made. It is probable
that some such structure would be made near the mines where ore was obtained, and that the ore
would be thus purified from dross before it was removed.
Purified seven times - By passing it seven times - that is, very often - through the fire. The word
“seven” in the Scriptures denotes a complete or perfect number, and is often used to denote
frequency. The idea here would seem to be that the process was repeated until the silver became
entirely pure. The sense is, that the words of the Lord are “perfectly pure.” There is no
admixture of falsehood in his statements; there is no deception in his promises; there is no
flattery in what he says. This was the ground of confidence on the part of the psalmist - that while
men (even those who professed to be good men) so failed that no reliance could be placed on their
statements, the most perfect trust could be reposed on all the statements of God.

41. 1B. F. B. Meyer, “What a contrast is presented in this Psalm between God's words and man's!
"They speak vanity, with flattering lip and double heart." God never flatters; his words are
absolutely pure because they have passed through the furnace of his holiness, but they are
therefore absolutely reliable and trustworthy.
As silver enriches its owner, so does the Word of God enrich its lovers.

42. othing so strengthens the
intellect, clears the judgment, enlarges the views, purifies the taste, quickens the imagination, and
educates the whole man. The humblest day labourer who imbibes the Bible becomes rich in
thought and speech, and able to dispense his riches to others.
As silver is beautiful to the eye, so fair is the Word of God. After a boy born blind had been
suddenly possessed of sight through an operation by a skilful oculist, his mother led him out-of-doors,
took off the bandages, and gave him his first view of sunshine, sky, and flowers. "Oh,
mother," he cried, "why did you never tell me it was so beautiful?" With starting tears, she said,
""I tried to tell you, my dear, but you could not understand me." We need opened eyes, and then
the Bible is more to be desired than fine gold.
As silver is pure, so is the Word of God; and it purifies. It has been the main purifying agent of
the world. Though it deals with the corruptions of the human heart, it does so in such a delicate
and holy manner as to excite within us something of the abhorrence of the Holy God. Like the
passage of water through a sieve, it cleanses the heart and life.”
1C. F. B. Meyer from another source, “HELP, LORD!
The opening words suggest that this Psalm is an appeal for help in bad and evil days. There are
days when sin seems rampant, sweeping all before it. The great and godly men one by one are
taken away and the ungodly reign supreme. But when there is no help in man, let us turn to God
with the cry which broke from Peter's lips when sinking in the waves. It is a very convenient cry,
both from its brevity and its comprehensiveness. Help, Lord! (see Micah 7:2).
THE

43. EED OF HELP (Psalm 12:1, 2, 4).
A double heart is literally a heart and a heart; and such practice deceit on neighbors whom they
should love. On the contrary, we are bidden to put away lying, and speak truth to our neighbors
(Eph. 4:25; Col. 3:9). Oh for perfect transparency of heart and life!
THE CERTAI

44. TY OF HELP (Psalm 12:3-4).
The very prayer begotten in the heart carries the assurance of an answer. Besides, the world is so
made that daring wickedness rarely goes unpunished. Let us never act as if we thought our lips
were our own; for they too have been bought with the price of those dear parched lips which
cried, 1 thirst.
THE ARISI

45. G OF HELP (Psalm 12:5).
God hears sighs. One sigh will make Him arise, as the sighs of Stephen made Jesus stand (Acts
7:56).

46. THE BLESSED PROMISE OF HELP (Psalm 12:6-7).
There is no mixture of error in the words of God; all dross has been removed: they may therefore
be trusted to the uttermost. Bind the words of God to your heart, and fearlessly go forth into the
world. You shall be kept and preserved for evermore (Isa. 54:17).”
2. Clarke, “The words of the Lord are pure words -

47. one of his promises shall fall to the ground;
the salvation which he has promised shall be communicated.
Silver tried in a furnace of earth - A refer ence to the purification of silver by the cupel. This is
a sort of instrument used in the purification of silver. It may be formed out of a strong iron ring
or hoop, adjusted in width and depth to the quantum of silver to be purified, and rammed full of
well pulverized calcined bone. The metal to be purified must be mingled with lead, and laid on
the cupel, and exposed to a strong heat in an air furnace. The impurities of the metal will be
partly absorbed, and partly thrown off in fume. The metal will continue in a state of agitation till
all the impurities are thrown off; it will then become perfectly still, no more motion appearing,
which is the token that the process is completed, or, according to the words of the text, is seven
times, that is, perfectly purified.
3. Gill, “The words of the Lord are pure words,.... This observation the psalmist makes in
reference to what is just now said in Psa_12:5,, and in opposition to the words of wicked men in
Psa_12:2; which are deceitful, sinful, and impure. The Scriptures are the words of God; and they
are pure and holy, free from all human mixtures, and from all fraud and deceit; they are the
Scriptures of truth. The promises are the words of God, and they are firm and stable, and always
to be depended on, and are ever fulfilled, being yea and amen in Christ Jesus. The Gospel, and
the doctrines of it, are the words of God; that is the sincere milk of the word, pure and incorrupt;
as it is in itself, and as it is dispensed by the faithful ministers of it; and they are all according to
godliness, and tend to encourage and promote purity and holiness of heart and life; See Pro_30:5;
as silver tried in a furnace of earth; they are as "silver" for worth and value; yea, they are more
valuable than silver or gold, Psa_19:10. The Bible is a mine of rich treasure, and to be searched
into as for it; the promises in it are exceeding precious; they are like apples of gold in pictures of
silver, and yield more joy than the finding a great spoil. The doctrines of the Gospel are
comparable to gold and silver and precious stones, and to be bought at any rate, but to be sold at
none: and they are as silver "tried", which is pure, and free from dross. The words of men, of
false teachers, are as dross and reprobate silver; but the words of the Lord are tried, and are
pure, and free from all the dross of error and falsehood, Psa_18:30. And they are as silver tried
"in a furnace of earth", which some (o) render "by the Lord of the earth"; but the word rather
signifies a furnace, or an refinery, in which metal is melted and purified; and may be applied to
the Lord Jesus Christ in human nature, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
and who came full fraught with the doctrines of the Gospel; and in whom they have been "tried",
by his sufferings and death, and are found to be pure, solid, and substantial: or to the ministers of
the Gospel, who have this treasure in earthen vessels, whose works and words and ministry are
tried by many fiery trials, and abide: or to all the people of God in general, who dwelt in earthly
tabernacles; and who, in the midst of various afflictions, have a comfortable and confirming
evidence of the purity and truth of the words of God, of the promises of his covenant, and the
doctrines of the Gospel;

48. purified seven times; that is, many times, Pro_24:16; and so completely and perfectly pure, and
clear of all dross whatsoever, as silver so many times tried must needs be: and so the words of
God are not only pure, but very pure, exceeding pure, Psa_119:140.
4. Henry, “That, though men are false, God is faithful; though they are not to be trusted, God is.
They speak vanity and flattery, but the words of the Lord are pure words (Psa_12:6), not only all
true, but all pure, like silver tried in a furnace of earth or a crucible. It denotes, (1.) The sincerity
of God's word, every thing is really as it is there represented and not otherwise; it does not jest
with us, not impose upon us, nor has it any other design towards us than our own good. (2.) The
preciousness of God's word; it is of great and intrinsic value, like silver refined to the highest
degree; it has nothing in it to depreciate it. (3.) The many proofs that have been given of its power
and truth; it has been often tried, all the saints in all ages have trusted it and so tried it, and it
never deceived them nor frustrated their expectation, but they have all set to their seal that God's
word is true, with an Experto crede - Trust one that has made trial; they have found it so. Probably
this refers especially to these promises of succouring and relieving the poor and oppressed. Their
friends put them in hopes that they will do something for them, and yet prove a broken reed; but
the words of God are what we may rely upon; and the less confidence is to be put in men's words
let us with the more assurance trust in God's word.
5. Spurgeon, “What a contrast between the vain words of man, and the pure words of Jehovah.
Man's words are yea and nay, but the Lord's promises are yea and amen. For truth, certainty,
holiness, faithfulness, the words of the Lord are pure as well refined silver. In the original there is
an allusion to the most severely purifying process known to the ancients, through which silver
was passed when the greatest possible purity was desired; the dross was all consumed, and only
the bright and precious metal remained; so clear and free from all alloy of error or unfaithfulness
is the book of the words of the Lord. The Bible has passed through the furnace of persecution,
literary criticism, philosophic doubt, and scientific discovery, and has lost nothing but those
human interpretations which clung to it as alloy to precious ore. The experience of saints has
tried it in every conceivable manner, but not a single doctrine or promise has been consumed in
the most excessive heat. What God's words are, the words of his children should be. If we would
be Godlike in conversation, we must watch our language, and maintain the strictest purity of
integrity and holiness in all our communications.
6. Treasury of David, “Verse 6. The words of the Lord are pure words, etc. How beautifully is this
verse introduced, by way of contrast to what was said before concerning! Do sinners talk of
vanity? let saints then speak of Jesus and his gospel. Do they talk impure words? then let the
faithful use the pure words of God, which like silver, the more used, the more melted in the fire,
the more precious will they be. It is true, indeed, despisers will esteem both God and his word as
trifling; but oh, what an unknown treasure doth the word, the promises, the covenant relation of
the divine things of Jesus contain! They are more to be desired than gold, yea, than pure gold;
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Robert Hawker.
Verse 6. The words of the Lord are pure words, etc. They that purify silver to the purpose, use to
put it in the fire again and again, that it may be thoroughly tried. So is the truth of God; there is
scarce any truth but hath been tried over and over again, and still if any dross happens to mingle
with it, then God calls it in question again. If in former times there have been Scriptures alleged

49. that have not been pertinent to prove it, that truth shall into the fire again, that what is dross may
be burnt up; the Holy Ghost is so curious, so delicate, so exact, he cannot bear that falsehood
should be mingled with the truths of the gospel. This is the reason, therefore, why that God doth
still, age after age, call former things in question, because that there is still some dross one way or
other mingled with them; either in the stating the opinions themselves, or else in the Scriptures
that are brought and alleged for them, that have passed for current, for he will never leave till he
have purified them. The doctrine of God's free grace hath been tried over and over, and over
again. Pelagius begins, and he mingles his dross with it: he saith, grace is nothing but nature in
man. Well, his doctrine was purified, and a great deal of dross purged out. Then come the semi
Pelagians, and they part stakes; they say, nature can do nothing without grace, but they make
nature to concur with grace, and to have an influence as well as grace; and the dross of that was
burnt up. The Papists, they take up the same quarrel, but will neither be Pelagians nor semi
Pelagians, yet still mingle dross. The Arminians, they come, and they refine popery in that point
anew; still they mingle dross. God will have this truth tried seven times in the fire, until he hath
brought it forth as pure as pure may be. And I say it is because that truth is thus precious.
Thomas Goodwin.
Verse 6. The Scripture is the sun; the church is the clock. The sun we know to be sure, and
regularly constant in his motions; the clock, as it may fall out, may go too fast or too slow. As
then, we should condemn him of folly that should profess to trust the clock rather than the sun,
so we cannot but justly tax the credulity of those who would rather trust to the church than to the
Scripture. Bishop Hall.
Verse 6. The words of the Lord are pure words. Men may inspect detached portions of the Book,
and please themselves with some things, which at first view, have the semblance of conniving at
what is wrong. But let them read it, let them read the whole of it; let them carry along in their
minds the character of the persons to which the different portions of it were addressed; the age of
the world, and the circumstances under which the different parts of it were written, and the
particular objects which even those portions of it have in view, which to an infidel mind appear
the most exceptionable; and they may be rationally convinced that, instead of originating in the
bosom of an impostor, it owes its origin to men who wrote "as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost." Let them scrutinise it with as much severity as they please; only let their scrutiny be well
informed, wisely directed, and with a fair and ingenuous mind, and we have no fears for the
issue. There are portions of it on which ignorance and folly have put constructions that are forced
and unnatural, and which impure minds have viewed in shadows reflected from their own
impurity. Montesquieu said of Voltaire, Lorsque Voltaire lit un livre, il le fait, puis il ecrit contre
ce qu'il a fait: "When Voltaire reads a book, he makes it what he pleases, and then writes against
what he has made." It is no difficult matter to besmear and blot its pages and then impute the
foul stains that men of corrupt minds have cast upon it, to its stainless Author. But if we honestly
look at it as it is, we shall find that like its Author, it is without blemish and without spot.
Gardiner Spring, D.D.
Verse 6. The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven
times. The expression may import two things: first, the infallible certainty of the word; and,
secondly, the exact purity. First, the infallible certainty of the word, as gold endureth in the fire
when the dross is consumed. Vain conceits comfort us not in a time of trouble: but the word of
God, the more it is tried, the more you will find the excellency of it -- the promise is tried, as well
as we are tried, in deep afflictions; but when it is so, it will be found to be most pure. "The word
of the Lord is tried; he is a buckler to all those who trust in him" (Proverbs 30:5); as pure gold
suffers no loss by the fire, so the promises suffer no loss when they are tried, but stand to us in

50. our greatest troubles. Secondly, it notes the exact perfection of the word: there is no dross in
silver and gold that hath been often refined; so there is no defect in the word of God. Thomas
Manton.
Verse 6. Fry thus translates this verse: --
The words of Jehovah are pure words -- Silver refined in the crucible -- Gold, seven
times washed from the earth.
(qqzm) though sometimes applied to express the purity of silver, is more strictly an epithet of
gold, from the peculiar method made use of in separating it from the soil by repeated washings
and decantations.
John Fry, in loc.
Verse 6. Seven times. I cannot but admit that there may be a mystic meaning in the expression
"seven times," in allusion to the seven periods of the church, or to that perfection, implied in the
figure seven, to which it is to be brought at the revelation of Jesus Christ. This will be more
readily allowed by those who admit of the prophetic interpretation of the seven epistles of the
Book of Revelation. W. Wilson, D.D., in loc.
7 You, LORD, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked,
1. Barnes, “Thou shalt keep them That is, the persons referred to in Psa_12:5 - the poor and the
needy who were suffering from the wrongs inflicted on them. The idea is, that God would guard
and defend them. They were safe in his hands. Compare Psa_37:3-7.
From this generation - This generation, or this race of detractors, flatterers, and oppressors.
The idea is, that that entire generation was eminently wicked, and that none but God could
deliver the poor and the needy from their designs.
Forever - That is, “constantly,” or as long as they would need the divine protection. God would
not interpose and save them from the “present” trouble, and then leave them to the designs of
their enemies, but he would “always” interpose as often as there was any need of his help. That is,
they were now, and would be at all times, entirely safe. They had nothing to fear, for God was
their refuge and their help.
2. Clarke, “Thou shalt keep them - thou shalt preserve them - Instead of the pronoun them in
these clauses, several MSS., with the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Arabic, have us. The sense

51. is equally good in both readings. God did bring forth the Israelites from Babylon, according to
his word; he separated them from that generation. and reinstated them in their own land,
according to his word; and most certainly he has preserved them from generation to generation
to the present day, in a most remarkable manner.
3. Gill, “Thou shall keep them, O Lord,....

52. ot the words before mentioned, as Aben Ezra
explains it, for the affix is masculine and not feminine; not but God has wonderfully kept and
preserved the sacred writings; and he keeps every word of promise which he has made; and the
doctrines of the Gospel will always continue from one generation to another; but the sense is, that
God will keep the poor and needy, and such as he sets in safety, as Kimchi rightly observes: they
are not their own keepers, but God is the keeper of them; he keeps them by his power, and in his
Son, in whose hands they are, and who is able to keep them from falling; they are kept by him
from a total and final falling away; from the dominion and damning power of sin, and from being
devoured by Satan, and from the evil of the world: and this the psalmist had good reason to
believe, because of the love of God to them, his covenant with them, and the promises of safety
and salvation he has made unto them;
thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever; or "thou shalt preserve him" (p); that is,
everyone of the poor and needy, from the wicked generation of men in which they live, from
being corrupted or intimidated by them; and who are described in the beginning of the psalm.
Some take these words to be a prayer, "keep thou them, O Lord, and preserve them", &c. (q);
and so the following words may be thought to be a reason or argument enforcing the request.”
4. Henry, “That God will secure his chosen remnant to himself, how bad soever the times are
(Psa_12:7): Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. This intimates that, as long as
the world stands, there will be a generation of proud and wicked men in it, more or less, who will
threaten by their wretched arts to ruin religion, by wearing out the saints of the Most High,
Dan_7:25. But let God alone to maintain his own interest and to preserve his own people. He will
keep them from this generation, (1.) From being debauched by them and drawn away from God,
from mingling with them and learning their works. In times of general apostasy the Lord knows
those that are his, and they shall be enabled to keep their integrity. (2.) From being destroyed and
rooted out by them. The church is built upon a rock, and so well fortified that the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. In the worst of times God has his remnant, and in every age will
reserve to himself a holy seed and preserve that to his heavenly kingdom.
In singing this psalm, and praying it over, we must bewail the general corruption of manners,
thank God that things are not worse than they are, but pray and hope that they will be better in
God's due time.”
5. Spurgeon, “To fall into the hands of an evil generation, so as to be baited by their cruelty, or
polluted by their influence, is an evil to be dreaded beyond measure; but it is an evil foreseen and
provided for in the text. In life many a saint has lived a hundred years before his age, as though
he had darted his soul into the brighter future, and escaped the mists of the beclouded present:
he has gone to his grave unreverenced and misunderstood, and lo! as generations come and go,
upon a sudden the hero is unearthed, and lives in the admiration and love of the excellent of the

53. earth; preserved for ever from the generation which stigmatised him as a sower of sedition, or
burned him as a heretic. It should be our daily prayer that we may rise above our age as the
mountain tops above the clouds, and may stand out as heaven pointing pinnacle high above the
mists of ignorance and sin which roll around us. O Eternal Spirit, fulfill in us the faithful saying
of this verse! Our faith believes those two assuring words, and cries, Thou shalt, thou shalt.”
8 who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.
Barnes, “The wicked walk on every side - Everywhere. They have full license, or seem to be
wholly unrestrained.
When the vilest men are exalted - Margin, “The vilest of the sons of men are exalted.” This
expression has been very variously translated. Dr. Horsley renders it, “When the scorn of the
sons of men is exalted.” De Wette, “They exalt themselves; terror to the sons of men.” Luther,
“Where such wicked people rule among the sons of men.” Hengstenberg, “Like exaltation is
disgrace to the sons of men.” Prof. Alexander seems inclined to favor this last view. According to
this interpretation, the meaning is, that “although the wicked are now in the ascendant, and the
righteous are treated with contempt, this disgrace is realy an exaltation, because only ... in man’s
judgment, not in God’s, who will abundantly indemnity his people for the dishonor put upon
them.” The word rendered in our version “the vilest” - זלות zûllûth - means, according to
Gesenius, “trembling, terror.” It occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures. The verb from which it is
derived - זלל zâlal - means to shake, to tremble; then (as one shakes out, or casts away worthless
things) to be vile, abject, despised, worthless.
Perhaps, however, the common version expresses the idea more accurately than any of these
proposed amendments. I would offer the following as a fair translation of the passage: “The
wicked walk on every side; (it is) as the lifting up, or the exaltation of vileness among the sons of
men.” That is, the state of things is as if the vilest were exalted, or were honored. It seems to be
the very exaltation of wickedness or depravity in the world. A state of things exists in which, from
the prevalence of iniquity, the wicked seem to go unrestrained; in which no regard is paid to
truth; in which falsehood and flattery abound; and it is as if honor were done to the worst forms
of sin, and the most abandoned seem to be the most exalted. This appears to be the reason in the
mind of the psalmist why the divine interposition is necessary; with this idea the psalm
commences, and with this it appropriately closes. There was a state of widespread depravity and
successful iniquity, as if all honor were conferred on wicked and abandoned men, while the
virtuous were oppressed and degraded. The psalm expresses “confidence” in God - confidence in
his faithful word and promises; but the psalmist sees a state of things wherein it was eminently
desirable that God should interpose, for the righteous seemed to have failed out of the earth, and
the wicked seemed to be wholly in the ascendancy.”
2. Clarke, “The wicked walk on every side - The land is full of them. When the vilest men are
exalted; rather, As villany gains ground among the sons of Adam. See the Hebrew.
In this we find a number of singular expressions, which, while they elucidate the text, will not be