Psalm 12 — The Promises of the Lord are Pure

When you see the arrogance of the crowd and evil spreading everywhere so that there seems to be no one left who is pleasing to God take refuge in the Lord and say Psalm 12.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

I am fascinated by the fact that in this psalm all the threat comes from words. And all the protection comes from words. It lets us see how powerful the Hebrews considered words. And we ourselves know that words do have special power to wound or to heal.

Silver nugget

 These two quotes are from my hand-written prayer journal.

The Effective Word

The spoken word in Hebrew was fearfully alive. It was not merely a sound dropped heedlessly from unthinking lips. It was a unit of energy charged with power. It is energized for weal or for woe.

John Paterson, quoted by William Barclay

The word of God is living and active sharper than any two-edged sword.

Hebrews 4:12

With those two quotes in mind, let's look at what that concept really means and what it reveals of God himself.

The Effective Word and Divine Transparency

In Bible times ... properly chosen and configured [words] were thought to accomplish what they said. for this reason, on the one hand, curses were not simply cathartic venting of inner rage, as we might think of them today, but were dangerous attempts to injure another that had to be countered or protected against by some ritual or amulet. On the other hand, words spoken in blessing were not just expressions of wishful thinking but really added to the well-being and health of the one blessed.

[...]

The "flawless" character of Yahweh's word, refined like the finest silver seven times, is more than an illustration of the ultimate effectiveness of the divine word. The point of the psalm is not just that God will have the last word. The purity of the divine word also illumines a certain transparency in God. What Yahweh says reveals his true character. God does not dissemble or deceive. he says what he means and he does what he says. Therefore, not only can one trust Yahweh, one can also understand who god is by attending to his words.

Psalms Volume 1 (NIV Application Commentary)

One last thing comes from the Church Fathers who are paying close attention to what the psalmist is actually asking for — a change of heart on behalf of the enemy. That's not something you see every day in the psalms.

12:3 Flattering Lips

Prayer Against the Sin. St. John Chrysostom: Do you see the solicitude of the inspired author, how he prays for them? The remark is not against them, no but on their behalf. He did not ask for them to be destroyed, note, but for the evil to be done away with. He did not say "the Lord will destroy them," note, but the "deceitful lips." Again he asks for the destruction not of their being but of their tongue, their folly, their deceit, and for an end to be put to their arrogance. Commentary on the Psalms

Cassiodorus: Note his piety as he says this, for he inveighs not against people, for many of them were to be converted, but against the vices themselves. Explanation of the Psalms

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here.