John Calvin Commentary Psalms 12

To the chief musician upon the eighth. With respect to the word eighth, there are two opinions among interpreters. According to some, it means a musical instrument, while others are rather inclined to think that it is a tune. But as it is of no great importance which of these opinions is adopted, I do not trouble myself much about this matter.

The conjecture of some, that it was the beginning of a song, does not seem to me to be as probable as that it refers to the tune and was intended to point out how the psalm was to be sung.

In the beginning, David complains that the land was so overspread with wicked men, and persons who had burst forth into the commission of every kind of wickedness, that the practice of righteousness and justice had ceased, and no one was found to defend the cause of the good; in short, that there remained no longer either humanity or faithfulness.

It is probable that the Psalmist here speaks of the time when Saul persecuted him, because then all, from the highest to the lowest, had conspired to destroy an innocent and afflicted man.

It is very distressing to relate, and yet it was perfectly true, that righteousness was so utterly overthrown among the chosen people of God, that all of them, with one accord, from their hostility to a good and just cause, had burst forth into acts of outrage and cruelty.

David does not here accuse strangers or foreigners, but informs us that this deluge of iniquity prevailed in the Church of God.

Let the faithful, therefore, in our day, not be unduly discouraged at the melancholy sight of a very corrupt and confused state of the world; but let them consider that they ought to bear it patiently, since their condition is just like that of David in the past.

And it is to be observed that when David calls upon God for aid, he encourages himself in the hope of obtaining it because there was no uprightness among men, so that from his example we may learn to turn to God when we see nothing around us but black despair.

We ought to be fully persuaded of this: that the greater the confusion of things in the world is, God is so much the readier to aid and help His people, and that it is then the most fitting time for Him to intervene with His assistance.

The merciful man hath failed. Some think that this is a complaint that the righteous had been unjustly put to death, as if the Psalmist had said, Saul has cruelly cut off all who observed justice and faithfulness. But I would understand the words in a simpler sense, as meaning that there is no longer any beneficence or truth remaining among men.

In these two words, he has expressed what true righteousness consists of. As there are two kinds of unrighteousness—violence and deceit—so men live righteously when, in their dealings with each other, they conscientiously abstain from doing any wrong or injury to one another and cultivate peace and mutual friendship, when they are neither lions nor foxes.

When, however, we see the world in such a state of disorder as is here described, and are afflicted by it, we ought to be careful not to howl with the wolves, nor to allow ourselves to be carried away with the dissipation and overflowing flood of iniquity which we see prevailing around us, but should rather imitate the example of David.

Every man speaks deceit. David in this verse describes that part of unrighteousness which is contrary to truth. He says that there is no sincerity or uprightness in their speech, because their primary goal is to deceive.

He next describes the manner in which they deceive: namely, that every man tries to ensnare his neighbor by flattery. He also points out the source and root cause of this: They speak with a double heart.

This doubleness of heart, so to speak, makes people double and variable in their speech, in order to disguise themselves in different ways, or to make themselves appear to others different from what they really are. Thus the Hebrew word חלקות, chalakoth, which means flattery, is derived from a word which means division.

Just as those who are resolved to act truthfully in their interactions with their neighbors freely and ingenuously lay open their whole heart, so treacherous and deceitful persons keep a part of their feelings hidden within their own hearts, and cover it with the veneer of hypocrisy and a pleasant exterior, so that from their speech we cannot discern anything certain about their intentions. Our speech, therefore, must be sincere so that it can be, as it were, a mirror in which the uprightness of our heart can be seen.

To his complaint in the preceding verse, he now adds a plea for judgment, that God would cut off deceitful tongues. It is uncertain whether he wishes that deceitful men might be utterly destroyed, or only that the means of doing mischief might be taken from them; but the scope of the passage leads us rather to adopt the first sense, and to view David as desiring that God, by some means or other, would remove that plague out of the way.

Since he makes no mention of malice, while he denounces their poisonous tongues so vehemently, we therefore conclude that he had suffered much more injury from the latter than from the former; and certainly falsehood and slanders are more deadly than swords and all other kinds of weapons. From the second clause of the third verse, it appears more clearly what kind of flatterers were mentioned in the preceding verse: The tongue that speaketh great or proud things. Some flatter in a servile and excessively flattering manner, declaring that they are ready to do and suffer anything they possibly can for our benefit. But David here speaks of another kind of flatterers: namely, those who, in flattering, proudly boast of what they will accomplish, and mingle shameless audacity and threats with their deceitful arts. He does not, therefore, speak of the crowd of lowly, conceited persons among the common people who make a trade of flattering so they may live at other people’s expense; but he directs his plea for judgment against the powerful slanderers of the court to which he was attached, who not only insinuated themselves by gentle arts, but also lied deliberately in boasting of themselves, and in the arrogant and haughty speech with which they overwhelmed the poor and unsuspecting.

The Psalmist confirms this more fully in the following verse: Who have said, we will be strengthened by our tongues. Those who think that, even in the falsehood to which they are addicted, they have enough strength to accomplish their purposes and to protect themselves must possess great authority.

It is the utmost height of wickedness for people to break out into such presumption that they do not hesitate to overthrow all law and equity by their arrogant and boasting language; for, in doing this, it is as if they openly declared war against God himself. Some read, we will strengthen our tongues. This reading is acceptable as far as the meaning is concerned, but it scarcely agrees with the rules of grammar, because the letter ל, lamed, is added.

Moreover, the more suitable meaning is this: that the wicked persons spoken of, being armed with their tongues, go beyond all bounds and think they can accomplish whatever they please by this means; just as this group of men so distorts everything with their slanders that they would almost cover the sun itself with darkness.

Because of the spoiling of the needy. David now sets before himself, as a matter of consolation, the truth that God will not permit the wicked to wreak such havoc endlessly and without limit. To establish himself and others more effectively in the belief of this truth, he introduces God Himself as speaking.

The expression is more emphatic when God is represented as coming forward and declaring with His own mouth that He has come to deliver the poor and distressed. There is also great emphasis in the adverb now, by which God intimates that, although our safety is in His hand and therefore securely kept, He does not immediately grant deliverance from affliction. For His words imply that He had until now been, as it were, lying still and asleep, until He was awakened by the calamities and cries of His people.

Therefore, when the injuries, extortions, and devastations of our enemies leave us with nothing but tears and groans, let us remember that now the time is at hand when God intends to rise up to execute judgment. This doctrine should also serve to produce patience in us and prevent us from resenting that we are counted among the number of the poor and afflicted, whose cause God promises to take into His own hand.

Regarding the meaning of the second clause of the verse, expositors differ. According to some, to set in safety, means the same thing as to give or bring safety, as if the letter ב, beth, which signifies in, were superfluous. But the language rather contains a promise to grant full restitution to those who are unjustly oppressed.

What follows presents more difficulty. The word פוה, phuach, which we have translated as to lay snares for, sometimes signifies to blow out, or to puff, — at other times to ensnare, or to lay snares for; and sometimes, also, to speak. Those who think it is here used for to speak also differ among themselves regarding the meaning.

Some translate it as God will speak to Himself; that is, God will determine with Himself. But as the Psalmist had already declared God's determination, this would be an unnecessary and vain repetition. Others refer it to the language of the godly, as if David introduced them speaking to one another concerning the faithfulness and stability of God's promises; for with this word they connect the following sentence: The words of the Lord are pure words, etc. But this view is even more strained than the preceding one.

The opinion of others, who suppose that to God's determination to arise, there is appended the language addressed to the godly, is more plausible. It would not be sufficient for God to determine with Himself what He would do for our safety if He did not speak to us expressly and by name.

It is only when God makes us understand by His own voice that He will be gracious to us that we can entertain the hope of salvation. God, it is true, also speaks to unbelievers, but without producing any good effect, since they are deaf. Just as when He treats them with gentleness and liberality, it is without effect because they are uncomprehending and consume His benefits without any awareness that they come from Him.

But as I perceive that under the word יאמר, yomar, will say, God's promises may be suitably and properly understood, to avoid repeating the same thing, I adopt without hesitation the meaning of the last clause, which I have given in the translation: namely, that God declares He will arise to restore to safety those who seem on all sides to be surrounded by the snares of their enemies, and even caught in them.

The import of the language is this: The ungodly may hold the poor and afflicted entangled in their snares as prey they have caught, but I will set them in safety.

If it is objected that the reading in the Hebrew is not for whom, but for him, I would observe that it is nothing new for these words, him, for him, to be used instead of whom and for whom. If anyone prefers the sense of puffing at, I am not strongly opposed to him. According to this reading, David would elegantly taunt the pride of the ungodly, who confidently imagine they can do anything, even with their breath, as we have seen in Psalm 10:5.

The words of Jehovah. The Psalmist now declares that God is sure, faithful, and steadfast in His promises. But the incidental insertion of this commendation of the word of God would serve no purpose if he had not first called himself and other believers to meditate on God’s promises in their afflictions.

Accordingly, the Psalmist's order should be noted: namely, that after telling us how God gives His servants the hope of speedy deliverance, even in their deepest distresses, he now adds, to support their faith and hope, that God promises nothing in vain or to disappoint people.

This, at first sight, seems a matter of little importance. However, if anyone considers more closely and attentively how prone human minds are to distrust and ungodly doubts, they will easily perceive how necessary it is for our faith to be supported by this assurance: that God is not deceitful, that He does not delude or mislead us with empty words, and that He does not exaggerate either His power or His goodness, but that whatever He promises in word, He will perform in deed.

It is true, there is no one who will not frankly confess that they entertain the same conviction David records here, that the words of Jehovah are pure. However, those who, while living comfortably and at ease, liberally extol the truth of God’s word, when they come to struggle with adversity in earnest, although they may not venture openly to pour forth blasphemies against God, often charge Him with not keeping His word.

Whenever He delays His assistance, we question His fidelity to His promises and murmur just as if He had deceived us. No truth is more generally accepted among people than that God is true, yet there are few who frankly give Him credit for this when they are in adversity.

It is, therefore, highly necessary for us to remove the cause of our distrust. Whenever any doubt about the faithfulness of God’s promises creeps into our minds, we should immediately lift up this shield against it: that the words of the Lord are pure. The analogy of silver, which the Psalmist adds, is indeed far beneath the dignity and excellence of such a great subject, but it is very well suited to our limited and imperfect understanding.

Silver, if thoroughly refined, is valued at a high price among us. But we are far from showing an equal regard for the word of God, whose price is inestimable; and its purity is of less account to us than that of a corruptible metal. Indeed, many fabricate mere dross in their own minds, by which to erase or obscure the brightness that shines in the word of God.

The word בעליל, baälil, which we have translated crucible, is interpreted by many as prince, or lord, as if it were a simple word. According to them, the meaning would be that the word of God is like the purest silver, from which the dross has been completely removed with the greatest art and care, not for common use, but for the service of a great lord or prince of some country. I, however, rather agree with others who consider that בעליל, baälil, is a word compounded of the letter ב, beth, which signifies in, and the noun עליל, alil, which signifies a clean or well-polished vessel or crucible.