21 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Psalms 12 To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, a Psalm of David. The word "sheminith" is used in the title of Ps 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)...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth,.... A godly man, according to the notation of the word (z), is one that has received grace and mercy of the Lord; as pardoning mercy, justifying and adopting grace; and who has principles of grace, goodness, and holiness, wrought in him; who fears the Lord, and serves him acceptably, with reverence and godly...
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
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...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. One might have thought that David still lived among us, his cry is so timely, so exactly true to the position of affairs today. What a prayer he offers! Driven away from confidence in men, he cries, “Help, Lord! Thou mighty One, put forth thy power! Thou...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. The Psalm speaks of a very discouraging time, and records a very dreary fact, but the psalmist is wise, and turns to God with that short, sententious prayer, “Help, Lord.”
Spurgeon - Treasury of David - Charles H. Spurgeon
Ver. 1. Help, Lord. A short but sweet, suggestive, seasonable, and serviceable prayer; a kind of angel's sword, to be turned every way, and to be used on all occasions. Ainsworth says the word rendered "help, "is largely used for all manner of saving, helping, delivering, preserving, etc. Thus it seems that the prayer is very full and instructive....
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
They speak vanity everyone with his neighbour,.... That which is false and a lie, either doctrinal or practical; what was not according to the word of God, and was vain and empty, frothy, filthy, and corrupt; and which no godly and faithful man would do. And this being done in common, by the generality of men, one with another, shows the...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. They speak vanity; there is nothing in it. It is all froth, no reality; vain speech about vain subjects, having no real spiritual power to help the man that heareth: “They speak vanity.” “With a double heart do they speak:” saying one thing,...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: They will not be able to continue speaking falsely and proudly for over; a shovelful of earth from the grave-digger’s spade will silence them, and a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips,.... This is either a prophecy or a prayer, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe; that God either would or should cut off such who used flattery with their lips, by inflicting some judgment in this life, or everlasting punishment hereafter; by taking them away by death "out of the world", as the Targum...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? There is the point in dispute. Man will be lord of himself, and God will be Lord of all and everything; and there can be no compromise between these two. Not even a man’s...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. That is all it is, only a puff, — the biggest brag of the wicked, the most tremendous threat against the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For the oppression of the poor,.... The servants and people of God, who, for the most part, are poor in a temporal sense, and are all of them, and always, so in a spiritual sense, standing continually in need of fresh supplies of grace; and being often afflicted, as the word signifies, are mean and despicable in the eyes of the men of this world,...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; God takes notice of the oppression of poor men, and especially of poor saints when they are tried by the wickedness of the age: “Now will I arise, saith the Lord.”
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. There is no mistake about the words of this blessed Book. The very words themselves are as accurate, as infallible, as silver is pure when it has been seven times refined by the most skillful...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The words of the Lord [are] pure words,.... This observation the psalmist makes in reference to what is just now said in Psalms 12:5:, and in opposition to the words of wicked men in Psalms 12:2; which are deceitful, sinful, and impure. The Scriptures are the words of God; and they are pure and holy, free from all human mixtures, and from all...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt beep them, O LORD, thou shall preserve them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side when the vilest men are exalted. Now let us read in Jeremiah’s prophecy, chapter 8. Remember, dear brethren, that Jeremiah had the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thou shall keep them, O Lord,.... Not the words before mentioned, as Aben Ezra explains it, for the affix is masculine and not feminine; not but God has wonderfully kept and preserved the sacred writings; and he keeps every word of promise which he has made; and the doctrines of the Gospel will always continue from one generation to another; but...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted. When sin gets into the high places of the earth, then it becomes very abundant. Every evil man takes liberty to creep out into public life when some great leader in vice occupies the throne. God save...