“'Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,' says the Lord. 'I will protect them from those who malign them.' And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times."

Psalm 12:5-6

In Psalm 12, the psalmist’s particular anxiety is that society has become the province of the deceitful. ‘Everyone lies’ (v. 2). People engage in flattery, boasting, and deception (vv. 2, 3), and they disdain God (v. 4). The psalm repeats the words ‘lips’ and ‘tongue’ several times (vv. 2–4), conjuring up a grotesque visual image of this duplicitous society in which the poor and needy suffer (v. 5). Then, in a climactic central turning point, the Lord responds to the psalmist’s plea for help. He resolves to ‘arise’ and protect the poor and needy ‘from those who malign them’ (v. 5). By contrast with the liars’ ‘lips’ and ‘tongues,’ the psalmist talks of ‘the words’ of the Lord (v. 6), giving them comparative weight and substance. He emphasizes their purity and reliability: they are ‘flawless,’ like purified precious metals. The psalm ends with the observation that God’s intervention does not mean that the wicked completely disappear but that he will keep the needy safe and protect them (vv. 7-8).

Like many psalms, its aim is to draw a clear contrast between two philosophies—one in line with God’s purposes, the other not. It’s not difficult to see examples in our own world of the kind of ungodliness the psalm resents—but do we have faith to perceive and call upon the reliable words of God?

Closing Prayer

Omniscient God, I lift up those suffering in war-torn countries to you, asking you to bring peace. Use your church to bring comfort and hope in Jesus’ name (edited from Encounter with God).