Psalm 12:4 Kommentar

It is supposed that David penned this psalm in Saul's reign, when there was a general decay of honesty and piety both in court and country, which he here complains of to God, and very feelingly, for he himself suffered by the treachery of his false friends and the insolence of his sworn enemies. I. He begs help of God, because there were none among men whom he durst trust (Psa 12:1, Psa 12:2). II. He foretels the destruction of his proud and threatening enemies (Psa 12:3, Psa 12:4). III. He assures himself and others that, how ill soever things went now (Psa 12:8), God would preserve and secure to himself his own people (Psa 12:5, Psa 12:7), and would certainly make good his promises to them (Psa 12:6). Whether this psalm was penned in Saul's reign or no, it is certainly calculated for a bad reign; and perhaps David, in spirit foresaw that some of his successors would bring things to as bad a pass as is here described, and treasured up this psalm for the use of the church then. "O tempora, O mores! - Oh the times! Oh the manners!" To the chief musician upon Sheminith. A psalm of David.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 12 To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, a Psalm of David. The word "sheminith" is used in the title of Psa 6:1, and signifies "eighth"; and intends either the eighth note, to which the psalm was sung, or rather the harp of eight chords, to which it was set, as the Targum and Jarchi interpret it. Some Jewish writers (y) understand it of the times of the Messiah; and the Syriac version entitles the psalm, "an accusation of the wicked, and a prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah:'' and the Arabic version says, it is concerning the end of the world, which shall be in the eighth day; and concerning the coming of the Messiah: but Arnobius interprets it of the Lord's day. (y) Sepher Lekach Shechachah apud Caphtor, fol. 64. 1. & Ceseph Misnah in Maimon. Hilch. Teshuvah, c. 9.

Who have said, with our tongue will we prevail,.... Either through the eloquence of them, or the outward force and power with which they are backed. The sense is, as we say, so shall it be; our words are laws, and shall be obeyed, there is no standing against them; our edicts and decrees shall everywhere be regarded: or "we will make one to prevail", or "have the dominion" (g); meaning antichrist, the man of sin; for all this is true of the tongues of the antichristian party, and of their laws, edicts, and decrees and which have obtained everywhere, and by which the wicked one has been established in his tyrannical power and authority; our lips are our own, or "with us" (h): we will say what we please, and make what laws and decrees we think fit, and impose them upon men; and so change times and laws without control, Dan 7:25; who is Lord over us? which is the very language and conduct of antichrist, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, Th2 2:4; and is indeed the language of the hearts and lives of all wicked and ungodly men, sons of Belial, men without any yoke or restraint; who walk, and are resolved to walk, after the imagination of their own evil hearts; not knowing the Lord, and being unwilling to obey him, or to be restrained by him; see Exo 5:2. (g) "prevalere ac dominare, faciemus, scil. aliquem regem, dominum", Cocceius. (h) "nobiscum", Musculus, Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Ainsworth.

Let us cleave, therefore, to those who cultivate peace with godliness, and not to those who hypocritically profess to desire it. For [the Scripture] says in a certain place, "This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." [Isaiah 29:13] And again: "They bless with their mouth, but curse with their heart." [Psalm 62:4] And again it says, "They loved Him with their mouth, and lied to Him with their tongue; but their heart was not right with Him, neither were they faithful in His covenant." [Psalm 78:36-37] Let the deceitful lips become silent, [and "let the Lord destroy all the lying lips, ] and the boastful tongue of those who have said, Let us magnify our tongue: our lips are our own; who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, and for the sighing of the needy, will I now arise, says the Lord: I will place him in safety; I will deal confidently with him." [Psalm 12:3-5]

“Our lips are our own; who is our master?” These are words of insane and deranged people. For this very reason Paul says the opposite to them in the words, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price,” and bids them not to live for themselves. Your lips are not yours, he is saying, but the Lord’s. He it was, in fact, who made them, who fitted you together, who breathed life into you. But you—what do you have? Not all that we have, by contrast, is ours; for even the possessions we have others have entrusted to us, and the land we lease others have given to us. Exactly so has God let these things out on lease to you, not for you to bear thorns but to convert the seed into something useful; not for you to make folly flourish by them, not for deceit but for humility, benediction and love. He gave you eyes, not to indulge in unrestrained gazing but to embellish them with temperance; and hands, not for striking but for giving alms.

"Who have said, We will magnify our tongue, our lips are our own, who is Lord over us?" [Psalm 12:4]. Proud hypocrites are meant, putting confidence in their speech to deceive men, and not submitting themselves to God.

With mouths agape they heedlessly utter whatever occurs to them, scornful of divine long-suffering and giving no thought to their falling under the lordship of God.

"May the Lord destroy." Here he asks for their destruction. And first he asks for it; second, he suggests the cause, at "all deceitful lips," etc. -- as though he would destroy them twice, namely in soul and body. Jer. 17: "Bring upon them the day of affliction, and with a double destruction destroy them, O Lord God." Then he sets forth the cause of their malice, and he mentions three things: namely, fraudulence, because of "deceitful lips" -- for deceit is when one does one thing and pretends another. Deceit is conceived in the heart but concealed by words or deeds. Prov. 12: "Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil." God scatters these, because He uncovers them; for then it no longer has the character of deceit, since deceit is hidden malice. Hence he does not ask for their destruction, but for the detection of their malice. Or he asks for their perdition through grace. Prov. 19: "When the pestilent man is scourged, the fool shall become wiser." Hence he says, "deceitful lips." The Gloss says this is, as it were, the reason for the petition: deceitfulness. Or God will destroy them, as if punishing them for their malice, so that they themselves fall into it by God's just judgment, as is said of Haman in Est. 7, against Mordecai: "Haman was hanged on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai." Ezek. 3: "I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth, and you shall be mute," as though not daring to commit frauds any longer. Prov. 21: "When the pestilent man is punished, the little one becomes wiser." Likewise Prov. 22: "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, and the rod of discipline shall drive it away." Second, he sets forth their boasting and their grandiloquent tongue, about themselves among those who consider them great. Ps. 72: "They set their mouth against heaven, and their tongue passed through the earth." Now what is greater in another we are accustomed to revere, and what is lesser we disregard. In order therefore to appear great and equal to God, they despise God, that is, divine honors. Thus it is said of the Antichrist that he speaks against the God of gods. 2 Thess. 2: "He opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God." And of Antiochus, 2 Macc. 9: "It is just to be subject to God, and a mortal should not think things equal to God." And Acts 12, of Herod, that the people acclaimed him with the voices of a god and not of a man. And lest they could be excused that they did not do it deliberately, he adds: "who have said," namely on purpose, "we will magnify our tongue." Third, he sets forth their blasphemy or pride: "our lips are our own." For this is the first species of pride, when someone considers that he has something from himself. 1 Sam. 2: "Do not multiply speaking lofty things, boasting." 2 Cor. 3: "We are not sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God." The second species of pride is when someone wishes to glory in something above others; hence he says, "who is our lord?" Job 21: "Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?" Hos. 7: "They have returned so as to be without a yoke, and they have become like a deceitful bow." Job 11: "A vain man is lifted up in pride, and thinks himself born free like a wild donkey's colt."

On title, see Introduction and see on Psa 6:1. The Psalmist laments the decrease of good men. The pride and deceit of the wicked provokes God's wrath, whose promise to avenge the cause of pious sufferers will be verified even amidst prevailing iniquity. (Psa 12:1-8) the faithful--or literally, "faithfulness" (Psa 31:23).