Psalm 12
Confidence in the Word of God.
CONFIDENCE IN THE WORD OF GOD
For the Chief Musician; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
VERSE 1. Help, LORD; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from among the children of men.
the godly man ceases. The godly people were apparently extinct.
the faithful. The Hebrew word for “faithful” is khaseed. It means loyal love or covenant loyalty.
VERSE 2. Everyone lies to his neighbor. They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.
VERSE 3. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts,
VERSE 4. who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?”
VERSE 5. “Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD; “I will set him in safety from those who malign him.”
the groaning of the needy. That is, “as they have longed for me to do” (NLT translation).
I will now arise. The LORD will rise up to rescue his people.
The Douay-Rheims translation adds a final phrase:
I will deal confidently in his regard.
That phrase evokes the imagery of the LORD God moving swiftly, decisively, with finality.
VERSE 6. the LORD’s words are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Psalms and from the entire Bible.
the LORD’s words. Most translations use the expression “The promises of the LORD.”
It refers to the wonderful, comforting statements God makes in the Bible.
When people come a verse that stands out to them in some special way, they say that God has given them a special promise.
They believe that God will cause it to happen for them.
Has God given you any personal promises? What are they? How do you treasure them in your life?
VERSE 7. You will keep them, LORD. You will preserve them from this generation forever.
keep. Most translations use the word “protect.” The Hebrew word is shamar.
It means to keep, to guard, to have charge of, to protect, to save life, to wait for, to observe, to retain, to treasure up in memory, to preserve, to be on one’s guard, to take heed, to take care, to beware.
preserve. Most translations use the word “guard.” The Hebrew word is natsar.
It means to guard, to watch, to watch over, to keep, to preserve, to guard from dangers, to guard with fidelity, keep secret, to be kept close, be blockaded, a watchman.
VERSE 8. The wicked walk on every side, when what is vile is exalted among the sons of men.
PSALMS
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150
Deuterocanonical chapter: 151
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, David’s Fasting
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.