Bible Commentary - Psalms 12

It has become my tradition to provide an overview for each psalm by simply studying the first verse.  In this case, verse 1 tells us that this is another prayer psalm, it is a psalm of David (from the title), and it expresses David’s concern that the righteous are suffering oppression and “disappearing” from society.

Interestingly, this psalm is almost entirely about words.  Verses 2-5 describe the words of the wicked, who use “falsehood” and “flattering” (v. 2) to cause “devastation of the afflicted” (v. 5).  It’s interesting because there is no overt description of violence in this entire psalm.  We don’t see any murder or assault or whatever; it is only flattering and deceptive words that causes “the groaning of the needy” (v. 5).

In contrast, verses 6-8 describe the words of the LORD, which are pure like silver.  Unlike the double-minded words of the wicked, the words of the LORD are trustworthy and dependable.  One way this contrast is demonstrated is through the words of the wicked and the words of God in verses 4-5.  In verse 4, the wicked speak words of pride, claiming that through their deception they would dominate and conquer others.  In verse 5, God replies that he will arise to protect the afflicted.  These two verses are put directly next to each other to strengthen the contrast.

I think it’s easy to read this psalm and to understand what David is saying.  It is harder to read this psalm and to understand why David is saying it, though.  It seems clear from both v. 1 and v. 7-8 that David feels some sense of isolation from the rest of society, and this is reflected both in his sense that the faithful are “disappearing from among the sons of men”, as well as his perception that “the wicked strut about on every side”.  It’s as if David feels surrounded by evil men who are lying to him and seeking to betray him, and he is left wondering where are the good and faithful men?

I can’t help but wonder why.  Was this song precipitated by a specific event?  Did David recently experience some particular betrayal that triggered this emotion in him?  Or is this an accurate reflection of the society he lived in and their moral character?  This psalm is so emotional that I can’t help but question its objectivity.  At the same time, I know that David would not have written this song if he didn’t have some reason to believe in the depravity of his culture at the time.

This psalm, much like the ones before it, highlights God’s role as the righteous judge, and it divides people into the camp of “the godly man” and the lying, deceiving masses (the wicked).  In verse 5, we see the LORD arise to judge between these two groups and to deliver the afflicted and needy.  That is the role of the righteous judge.

In other ways this psalm differs considerably, however.  For one, David seems to be thinking of the wicked as members of his own society, rather than the foreign nations that were criticized in e.g. Psalm 9.  It’s also unusual how pervasive the wicked appear to be in this psalm, where they have the godly ones surrounded and seemingly exterminated.  There are many psalms where David feels surrounded or at a disadvantage to the wicked, but this is the first one where he seems to believe that the righteous are being wiped out entirely.  For instance, in Psalm 11 we see the wicked threatening the righteous, and we see God as the righteous judge, but we don’t see David despairing over the seemingly overwhelming power of the wicked like what we see in this psalm.

In spite of the relatively grim imagery, David also says that God would preserve the righteous in the midst of these challenges.  This chapter begins describing God by saying that his words are pure and faultless, but it doesn’t just talk about his words.  In verse 7, David goes on to say that God would also preserve the righteous.  This is true in both directions.  The deceptive lying words are somehow resulting in “the devastation of the afflicted”, while on the other hand the “pure words” of the LORD result in the salvation of the “afflicted” and “needy”.  Between these two, the word of God is stronger and prevails over the flattering words of evil men.  The end result is at least somewhat hopeful, in keeping with the exaltation of God that we see throughout the bible.

However, the conclusion in v. 8 ends this psalm on a bit of a sour note.  In the same way that the first verse is significant in defining the themes and tone of a given psalm, the ending verse is significant because that is the final thought we are left with and take away from the psalm.  That’s why so many psalms ends with praise or thanksgiving.  This psalm, however, ends with the wicked “strutting about” and “vileness exalted among the sons of men”.  Both of these mean that mainstream culture has adopted and honors evil values, and this is obviously not a positive or uplifting conclusion.  It’s a somewhat depressing conclusion that closely parallels the depressing introduction, and it sets a negative tone for the psalm as a whole, in spite of the somewhat positive middle section.

In the midst of all this negativity, David’s prayer becomes just one word: “help” (v. 1).