Psa 12:6-8 | KingComments | STEP | The torrent of ungodly words is now cut off and silenced by the sudden action of the LORD. He begins to speak. He responds to “the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy” ( ). He hears their cry (cf. ) and arises. When He arises and lifts up Himself and exalts Himself ( ), it is to judge evil and deliver His people. The wicked are humbled and blown away, and His people He sets in the safety for which they long. The God-fearing’s assurance that God will intervene is in “the words of the LORD” ( ). He has promised to stand up for His own, and what He says, He does. His words are promises; you can trust them. The Old Testament is full of promises that are “yes” in Christ and “amen” through Him ( ). Here He acts by speaking (cf. ). In doing so, He terrifies the wicked. If we are wise, we will hold to this, no matter what may happen. The Word of God, what He says, is the unshakable foundation of our trust (cf. ). We may find ourselves in circumstances that challenge our faith. God uses those circumstances to free us from trusting in ourselves. In return, He wants to teach us to rely on every word that comes from His mouth. As a result, we will live for certain ( ). God’s words “are pure words”. They are without any ulterior motive, completely pure, without any mixture, true and trustworthy. God’s words are as pure as silver that has been “refined seven times”, that is to say, perfectly refined. Any falsity or hypocrisy is absent. They are words without the deceit, flattery, and duplicity of which the words of the wicked are steeped. This is what David spoke of in . The words of God are the greatest contrast imaginable with that. The words of the LORD are “tried in the furnace of earth” (Darby Translation). The purification is not meant to make it purer, but to show that it is perfectly pure. There has been and is attempted to eradicate the Word of God by burning Bibles. The Word has endured. There has been and is attempted to make the Word of God implausible by Bible criticism. The Word has demonstrated the absurdity of criticism and has proven to withstand all criticism. Philosophy and science have tried to show that God’s Word is not the truth, for example, by supposedly proving that the world came into being through evolution. God’s Word mocks them openly, for man without God is a blind man who also steps and gropes around in the dark. The Word has been in every conceivable “furnace of earth” and has come out each time as pure as it went in. The believer has experienced it as a fully reliable Word. In the heat of the trial and the temptations that can accompany it, it has been clearly proven that no teaching of Scripture and no promise has suffered in the slightest through the trial and challenge.

‏ Psalms 12:6-8

The Words of the LORD

The torrent of ungodly words is now cut off and silenced by the sudden action of the LORD. He begins to speak. He responds to “the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy” (Psa 12:5). He hears their cry (cf. Exo 2:24) and arises. When He arises and lifts up Himself and exalts Himself (Isa 33:10), it is to judge evil and deliver His people. The wicked are humbled and blown away, and His people He sets in the safety for which they long.

The God-fearing’s assurance that God will intervene is in “the words of the LORD” (Psa 12:6). He has promised to stand up for His own, and what He says, He does. His words are promises; you can trust them. The Old Testament is full of promises that are “yes” in Christ and “amen” through Him (2Cor 1:20). Here He acts by speaking (cf. Psa 2:5). In doing so, He terrifies the wicked.

If we are wise, we will hold to this, no matter what may happen. The Word of God, what He says, is the unshakable foundation of our trust (cf. Mt 7:24). We may find ourselves in circumstances that challenge our faith. God uses those circumstances to free us from trusting in ourselves. In return, He wants to teach us to rely on every word that comes from His mouth. As a result, we will live for certain (Mt 4:4).

God’s words “are pure words”. They are without any ulterior motive, completely pure, without any mixture, true and trustworthy. God’s words are as pure as silver that has been “refined seven times”, that is to say, perfectly refined. Any falsity or hypocrisy is absent. They are words without the deceit, flattery, and duplicity of which the words of the wicked are steeped. This is what David spoke of in Psa 12:2-4. The words of God are the greatest contrast imaginable with that.

The words of the LORD are “tried in the furnace of earth” (Darby Translation). The purification is not meant to make it purer, but to show that it is perfectly pure. There has been and is attempted to eradicate the Word of God by burning Bibles. The Word has endured. There has been and is attempted to make the Word of God implausible by Bible criticism. The Word has demonstrated the absurdity of criticism and has proven to withstand all criticism. Philosophy and science have tried to show that God’s Word is not the truth, for example, by supposedly proving that the world came into being through evolution. God’s Word mocks them openly, for man without God is a blind man who also steps and gropes around in the dark.

The Word has been in every conceivable “furnace of earth” and has come out each time as pure as it went in. The believer has experienced it as a fully reliable Word. In the heat of the trial and the temptations that can accompany it, it has been clearly proven that no teaching of Scripture and no promise has suffered in the slightest through the trial and challenge.

Protection From the Wicked

In response to the assurance of God’s words, David ends his cry for salvation of Psa 12:1b with the assurance of God’s keeping (Psa 12:7). Just as he put his trust in God earlier (Psa 11:1), he now puts his trust in His Word. He does not say this only with regard to himself, but sees the truth of this for “them”, that is, all God-fearing people. Regardless of the circumstance of life, the children of God are sure of the special protection of their Father in heaven.

The wicked can turn the world upside down, but God preserves His own “from this generation”. Here the wicked have not yet been eradicated, they are still going on, but the righteous have learned to put their trust in God (Psalm 11) and in His words (Psalm 12; Acts 20:32). ”This generation” are David’s contemporaries, but it also has the meaning of an “unbelieving and perverted generation” or an “evil and adulterous generation” that is present throughout the ages (Pro 30:11-14; Mt 17:17 ; Mt 12:39). God’s preservation and protection do not apply occasionally or for a defined period of time, but are “forever” (cf. Jn 17:12).

God’s preservation is a reality, even though the wicked strut about on every side trying to wipe out the God-fearing (Psa 12:8). They strut about on every side as if they are lord and master everywhere. While “the faithful disappear from among the sons of men” (Psa 12:1b), “vileness is exalted among the sons of men”. The lowest and most worthless among the wicked have gained a position of power with flattery and their elbows, including going over dead bodies.

We recognize them in politicians who say in unctuous voices that it is a good thing to murder children in the mother’s womb and to give the elderly people the opportunity to commit suicide. These politicians are elected by the people and have the mandate of all who voted for them. They are hoisted on the shield to impose these nicely packaged, debauched things on the entire nation.

It is truly a psalm to be sung accompanied with “an eight-stringed lyre“ (Psa 12:1a), that is, in a low voice. The developments that David has described give the ‘choir members’, who recognize themselves in this, every reason to do so.