I. (12:1–2) The Liars Prevail. Laments commonly begin by describing the particular situation for which they are suited, and that is how this psalm opens as well. Here the problem is the predominance of liars—liars of a specific sort: they use “flattering lips” and insincere speech (“a double heart”). As the rest of the psalm makes clear, they use this deceit to exploit others, especially “the poor” (v. 5), the most vulnerable members of God’s people.

Verse 1 declares that “the godly one is gone” and “the faithful have vanished.” Given the poetic, expressive, and public song nature of the Psalms, it is probably best to take this as a description of what it feels like to be caught in the circumstances described in verse 2 rather than as an actual statement of the numbers. In such an environment the godly and the faithful become so rare that it seems as if they have disappeared, either because they have been suppressed or because they have been seduced into lying themselves.

The term for “flattering lips” in verse 2 is literally “lips of smoothness,” the standard image for flattery in the Bible; Proverbs 5:3 shows that it is “smooth” perhaps because it is what the other wants to hear, and thus it goes down easily (cf. Prov. 2:16; 7:5, 21). Flattery, as opposed to sincere compliment, is a way of manipulating others, and thus circumvents the responsibility to think and choose, making it a hideous evil (cf. Prov. 26:23–28; 29:5; Isa. 30:10; Ezek. 12:24; Dan. 11:21, 32, 34). Here the flatterers have acquired illegitimate power to do harm.

The expression “with . . . a double heart” in Psalm 12:2 is literally “with heart and heart.” As Craigie observes, this “does not indicate the sense of the English metaphor ‘in two minds” (viz., uncertainty) but rather indicates a double standard. . . . They knew one thing, but said another.”131 Craigie’s explanation finds support in the other occurrence of the expression, at 1 Chronicles 12:33, where “with singleness of purpose” is literally “with not heart and heart.” The heart is the location of loyalty; thus this expression indicates divided loyalty.

II. (12:3–4) May the Lord Cut Off the Liars. The second stanza of the psalm moves on to prayer. The connection with the first stanza follows easily from the mention of “flattering lips” in Psalm 12:3, picking up the same term from verse 2.

The prayer begun in verse 1 (“Save, O Lord”) is filled out here, namely, that God would “cut off” these weapons of deceit by removing them (and those who use them) from their influence among God’s people. The Hebrew term “to cut off” (hikrit) can be used of removing either unfaithful Israelites (109:15; Mal. 2:12) or Gentiles who will lead Israel astray (Deut. 12:29; 19:1), so, as already noted, the psalm can be used in either case.

In Psalm 12:3 the words are “lips” and “tongue,” while in verse 4 the order is reversed, “tongue” and “lips.” This is an artistic device called a chiasmus, and its usual function is to convey some kind of unity among the parts. Here we are to see verse 4 as elaborating more fully the danger presented by the flatterers and boasters of verse 3.

12:5–6 The Reliable Promises of God Are Refreshing. After the prayer the psalm moves on to reassurance in the third and fourth stanzas. The theme of this stanza is that, in such a climate of insincerity, God’s promises give hope because they are worthy of trust.

The “poor” and “needy” (v. 5) are a familiar pair whom the true Israelites will be careful not to oppress but rather to care for (Deut. 15:11; 24:14). The setting of the psalm as a corporate song of Israel at worship shows that these are ordinary Israelites, whose poverty makes them easy to oppress. Although God takes notice of all kinds of wrongdoing, including when done by Gentiles to other Gentiles (Amos 2:1), he is particularly opposed to all abuses of power. Oppressing God’s poor arouses him to action (Ps. 9:18).

God’s words are “pure” (12:6). Although this word may denote moral and ceremonial purity, in the context of other words from the arena of metallurgy (“refined” and “purified”) the idea is that these words are free of all dross (as the gold in Ex. 25:11). Here the dross would be the lies, flattery, and insincerity found among those in power. God means what he says; his words are completely pure. This general truth gives bite to his specific promise of Psalm 12:5, 7 (cf. Prov. 30:5).

IV. (12:7–8) God Will Guard His Faithful. The closing stanza of the psalm rounds off its words of reassurance: God will protect his faithful followers.

The Lord will “keep them,” and we are left to infer whom “them” denotes. It is most likely the poor and needy (Ps. 12:5) and the godly (v. 1), since the Psalms commonly uses this word (Hb. natsar, “keep” or “preserve”) for God’s stance toward these people (e.g., 25:21; 31:23; 32:7; 40:11; 61:7; 64:1; 140:1, 4). This, by the way, shows that the disappearance was not absolute (cf. comment on 12:1–2).

Verse 8 returns to describe the prevailing conditions (cf. vv. 1–2); though this is a somber note on which to close, it keeps the faithful mindful of their constant dependence on God to guard them, and the psalm has also shown that this trust is well placed.