John Calvin Commentary Psalms 12:6

"The words of Jehovah are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, Purified seven times." — Psalms 12:6 (ASV)

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.