<<  PSALM XII.  >>

For the Chief Musician; set to the Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

1. Help, Jehovah; for the godly man ceaseth;
For the faithful fail from among the children of men.
2. They speak falsehood every one with his neighbor:
With flattering lip, and with a double heart, do they
speak.
3. Jehovah will cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that speaketh great things;
4. Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail;
Our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
5. Because of the oppression of the poor, because of the
sighing of the needy,
Now will I arise, saith Jehovah;
I will set him in the safety he panteth for.
6. The words of Jehovah are pure words;
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth,
Purified seven times.
7. Thou wilt keep them, O Jehovah,
Thou wilt preserve them from this generation for ever.
8. The wicked walk on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

 

1. Help, Jehovah; for the godly man ceaseth;
For the faithful fail from among the children of men.

1-5. There are no longer any good, but only hypocrites. P. P.

2. They speak falsehood every one with his neighbor:
With flattering lip, and with a double heart, do they
speak.
3. Jehovah will cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that speaketh great things;
4. Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail;
Our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
 5. Because of the oppression of the poor, because of the
sighing of the needy,
Now will I arise, saith Jehovah;
I will set him in the safety he panteth for.

3. Vanity stands for the false of doctrine and of religion. A. 9248.
5. A lip signifies doctrine. Here lips stand for falsities. A. 1286.
6-9. The Lord will to eternity deliver the good as against the evil. P. P.

6. The words of Jehovah are pure words;
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth,
Purified seven times.
7. Thou wilt keep them, O Jehovah,
Thou wilt preserve them from this generation for ever.
8. The wicked walk on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

7. Seven signifies things that are holy. A. 720.
The silver purified seven times stands for Divine truth. A. 1551.
John to the seven churches — Revelation i. 4 — signifies to all who are in the Christian world. Numbers in the Word signify things, and seven all, thence also full and perfect. R. 10.
Here silver signifies truth derived from the Divine, purified seven times means that it is altogether and entirely pure, E. 257.

Author: EMANUEL SWEDENBORG (1688-1772)