Psalm 12

To the Chief Musician. On an eight-stringed harp^. A Psalm of David.

1 Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”

5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the LORD;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

6 The words of the LORD are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O LORD,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

8 The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

I love the contrast here between with “flattering lips” and “double heart” of the wicked and their tongue “that speaks proud things” with the pure words of the Lord. He doesn’t flatter with them; He tells the truth even when it hurts; there is nothing deceitful or “double-hearted” about them. They are pure in their meaning, their motive, and in their freedom from sin. We can trust Him to keep them.

My understanding of the process of refining silver is that it is melted, then all the “scum” or dross is scooped out. But God’s words in themselves are already purer than silver that has gone though that process seven times.

Once again David encourages himself in his God. Others fail, but He will never fail. Poor and needy, we cry out to Him, and He sets us in the safety we yearn for.

Thanks to Erica at Butterfly Kisses for hosting Psalms Sunday. You can see more thoughts on this Psalm or add your own there.