By reason of the misery of the needy, and the groans of the poor, now will I arise, saith the Lord. I win set him in safety; I will deal confidently in his regard.

“When Israel had left Egypt, God forbade the people to even touch the mountain where he was giving the Law, because they were far from being "on fire" for the Lord. He did, however, call the blessed Moses to that mountain. Moses was totally committed to him and clung to his grace, so God said, "Let Moses alone draw near." So Moses climbed up the mountain into the cloud, and although that mountain smoked with the heat and presence of the Lord, Moses was unharmed. Rather, through "the words of the Lord, which are pure silver refined in a furnace," he came down more pure than when he went up.”

“"Because of the wretchedness of the needy and the sighing of the poor, now I will arise, saith the Lord" [Psalm 12:5]. For so the Lord Himself in the Gospel pitied His people, because they had no ruler, when they could well obey. Whence too it is said in the Gospel, "The harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few." [Matthew 9:37] But this must be taken as spoken in the person of God the Father, who, because of the needy and the poor, that is, who in need and poverty were lacking spiritual good things, vouchsafed to send His own Son. From thence begins His sermon on the mount to Matthew, where He says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." [Matthew 5:3] "I will place in salvation." He does not say what He would place: but, "in salvation," must be understood as, in Christ; according to that, "For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." [Luke 2:30] And hence He is understood to have placed in Him what appertains to the taking away the wretchedness of the needy, and the comforting the sighing of the poor. "I will deal confidently in Him:" according to that in the Gospel, "For He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." [Matthew 7:29]”

“Because of the plunder of the poor Because of the plunder of the poor who are robbed by you for example, I myself and my men and the priests of Nob and because of the cry of the needy, the Lord shall say, “Now I will rise to their help.” I will grant them salvation, He shall speak I will grant them salvation, He will speak concerning them. יפיח is an expression of speech. There are many [examples] in the Book of Proverbs, and in Habakkuk (2:3): “and He shall speak (יפח) of the end, and it shall not fail.” However, Menachem (p. 141), interpreted it as an expression of a snare, as (below 124:7) “the snare (הפח) broke.””

“In the foregoing group of ten Psalms the Psalmist treated of the persecution which he himself suffered from Absalom his son, by which was figured the persecution which Christ was to suffer from Judas; but in this second group of ten, as appears from the titles of certain Psalms, he treats of the persecution which he suffered from Saul, by which was figured the persecution which Christ was to suffer from the princes of the priests. Now this group of ten is divided into two parts. In the first he asks to be freed from his enemies. In the second, now freed, he prays for his own exaltation, in the Psalm "May the Lord hear you," which indeed fits as regards the history of David — because, Saul having died, David was promoted to be king — and as regards the mystery, Christ, whose kingdom was confirmed in his death: Philippians 2, "wherefore," namely because he was made obedient to the Father even unto death, "God exalted him." In the first part he does two things. First he asks for liberation. Second, he gives thanks for the liberation: and this in Psalm 17, "I will love you." As to the first, he does three things. First he sets forth at length the malice of his persecutors. Second he calls to mind his own righteousness, at the place, "Lord, who shall dwell." Third, on account of his righteousness, he asks for the efficacy of being heard, at the place, "Hear, O Lord," and so on. As to the first, he does two things. First he reproves the deceitfulness of his adversaries. Second he charges them with their iniquity, at the place, "The fool has said." As to the first, he does two things. First he calls to mind their deceitfulness. Second he asks for the divine light, lest he be ensnared by them, at the place, "How long, O Lord." This too fits well enough as regards the history of David, against whom Saul proceeded deceitfully. Now he prefixes to this Psalm this title: "Unto the end, for the octave, a Psalm of David," which has been expounded above. As to the first, he does three things. First he describes his calling to mind of their deceitfulness; second he asks for their destruction, at the place, "May the Lord destroy"; third he sets down the ground for being heard, at the place, "Because of the misery," and so on. As to the first, he does two things. First he describes their defect; second he adds the sign of the defect, at the place, "They have spoken vain things." As to the first, it must be known that David, considering the malice of his adversary growing strong against him, as one stupefied, first has recourse to the divine help, saying, "Lord, save me." And rightly so, because besides him there is no savior, as is said in Isaiah 45. Second, he enumerates their defects. Now two things preserve a man from evil: namely the fear of God — Ecclesiasticus 2, "he who fears God will keep his commandments" — and the love of truth; because right works are called true, as it were, in agreement with the rule, and if they are not right, they pertain to infamy. For some, even if they do not avoid evils on account of the fear of God, are nevertheless drawn back from them on account of infamy. But someone fears neither infamy: hence it is said in Luke 18, of a certain man who "neither fears God nor respects man." And these two things the Psalmist excludes from his adversaries. First indeed the fear of God, when he says, "for the holy man has failed" — for holiness consists in the fear and worship of God. Hence too the things dedicated to divine worship are called holy; as if he were to say: there is not found in this world a man who fears God. Micah 7: "the holy man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men." Second, he excludes the love of truth when he says, "for they are diminished." But it must be asked, why does he say "truths" in the plural? Hosea 4: "there is no truth of God on the earth." To which it must be said that there is one primordial truth, which is in the divine intellect. John 14: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Now just as from one face of a man diverse likenesses result in diverse mirrors, and likewise in one mirror when broken, so in diverse souls, from the one divine truth, diverse truths result. And likewise in one soul, because it does not attain to the divine simplicity, but is composed of that by which it is and that which it is, there appear, from that one truth by which the holy soul is illumined, diverse truths; and these truths indeed, when the soul withdraws from God through sins, are diminished. Or it must be said that he says "truths" on account of the threefold created truth that is in the saints: namely, the truth of life, concerning which Isaiah 38: "remember how I have walked before you in truth"; the truth of doctrine, Matthew 21: "we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in truth"; and the truth of justice, concerning which Exodus 18: "provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, in whom there is truth." It is of this truth that this Psalm seems to speak: namely, of the truth of justice; from which indeed Saul withdrew when he unjustly persecuted David himself. It must therefore be said that truths of this kind are diminished not of themselves, but "by the sons of men," through whose faults they are depraved. And indeed the truth of life is diminished when good is judged evil. The truth of doctrine, when light is called darkness. But the truth of justice, when the bitter is judged sweet, and conversely. Isaiah 5: "woe to you who call good evil, and evil good; putting light for darkness, and darkness for light; putting bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." Now he says that holiness fails, because since it is from God through grace, it is taken away at once by a single mortal sin. But truth is diminished, as it were, successively. Jerome has: "for the merciful man has failed"; and "for the faithful are diminished," because mercy and justice are required toward one's neighbor. Proverbs 20: "but a faithful man, who shall find?" Accordingly, when he says "vain things," he sets down the sign of the defect of holiness; and it is twofold, namely vanity and deceit. The first sign of the defect is vanity: and as to this he says, "they have spoken vain things," and so on. Vain is that which has no subsistence. True things, therefore, are those beneath which nothing of vanity lies; hence 1 Timothy 1: "the end of the commandment is charity from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and an unfeigned faith: from which some, having gone astray, have turned aside to vain babbling." Jeremiah 9: "let every one take heed of his neighbor." Gregory: "vain speech is the index of a vain mind." Likewise vain is that which is not grasped by the intellect: superfluous words too are vain. Proverbs 14: "where there are many words, there is frequently want." Likewise vain is that which is not stable: and thus words about temporal things are vain, John 3: "he who is of the earth speaks of the earth"; Isaiah 29: "your speech shall mutter out of the ground." But to whom do they speak vain things? "To his neighbor," to whom they ought to speak the truth. Ephesians 4: "speak each one of you the truth with his neighbor." The second sign of the defect of holiness is deceit; and as to this he says, "with deceitful lips, in heart and heart have they spoken." The doubling signifies a double heart. For they show that with their mouth they have one thing, while in heart they have another. They show themselves to grieve, and they rejoice; to love, and they hate; to have compassion, and they are glad. James 1: "a man of double mind is inconstant in all his ways." Ecclesiasticus 2: "woe to the double heart, and to wicked lips." "May he destroy." Here he asks for their destruction. And first he asks for it; second he indicates the cause, at the place, "all the lips," etc.: as if to say, may he destroy them doubly, namely in soul and in body. Jeremiah 17: "bring upon them the day of affliction, and destroy them with a double destruction, O Lord God." Accordingly he sets down the cause of their malice: and he sets down three things — namely fraudulence, because "deceitful lips": for deceit is when someone does one thing and feigns another. Deceit is conceived in the heart, but it is covered over by words or deeds. Proverbs 12: "deceit is in the heart of them that think evil things." These God scatters, in that he uncovers them; for then deceit does not have the character of deceit, since deceit is a hidden malice. Hence he does not ask for their destruction, but for the uncovering of their malice. Or he asks for their perdition through grace. Proverbs 19: "when the pestilent man is scourged, the fool will become wiser"; hence he says, "deceitful lips." The Gloss: as it were, the ground of the petition is their deceit. Or "he will destroy them," as it were by punishing them out of their own malice, so that they themselves fall into it, by the just judgment of God, as is said of Haman, Esther 7, against Mordecai: "Haman was hanged on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai." Ezekiel 3: "I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth: and you shall be dumb," as if no longer daring to practice frauds. Proverbs 21: "the pestilent man being punished, the simple will be wiser." The same, 22: "foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, and the rod of correction will drive it away." Second, he sets down their boastfulness, and "the tongue that speaks great things" about themselves before those who consider them great. Psalm 72: "they have set their mouth against heaven, and their tongue has passed through the earth." Now that which is greater in another we are accustomed to revere, and that which is lesser we do not reckon of account. In order, therefore, that they may appear great, and equal to God, they hold God in contempt — that is, divine honors. So it is said of the Antichrist, that he speaks against the God of gods. 2 Thessalonians 2: "he opposes and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God." And of Antiochus, 2 Maccabees 9: "it is just to be subject to God, and that a mortal should not think himself equal to God"; and Acts 12, of Herod, that the people cried out to him "the voice of a god, and not of a man." And lest they should be able to excuse themselves that they did not do it on purpose, he adds: "who have said" — namely on purpose — "we will magnify our tongue." Third, he sets down their blasphemy or pride: "our lips are our own." For this is the first species of pride, when someone reckons that he has something from himself. 1 Kings 2: "do not multiply to speak lofty things, boasting." 2 Corinthians 3: "we are not sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God." The second species of pride is when someone wishes to glory in something above the rest; hence he says, "who is our lord?" Job 21: "who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?" Hosea 7: "they have returned that they might be without a yoke, and they have become like a deceitful bow." Job 11: "a vain man is lifted up into pride, and thinks himself born free like a wild ass's colt." "Because of." Here, thirdly, he sets down the being-heard of his prayer. And first he prefixes it; second he sets down its certainty, at the place, "the words of the Lord"; third he sets down his own belief, at the place, "you, O Lord." He says, therefore, "because of the misery" — that is, the manifold defect — "of the needy" — that is, those lacking resources — "and the groaning" — that is, the sobbing — "of the poor" — that is, those having little. Psalm 9: "to you is the poor man left." Exodus 2: "he heard their groaning, and remembered the covenant." "Now will I arise, says the Lord." "Now," in the opportune time. Psalm 9: "a helper in due time, in tribulation." Isaiah 9: "in an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you." "I will put him in safety" — that is, I will add — "I will deal confidently in him" — that is, I will be in him. Jeremiah 1: "do not fear before their face, for I am with you." Isaiah 14: "the Lord of hosts has decreed: and who shall be able to disannul it? His hand is stretched out: and who shall turn it away?" Jeremiah 1: "they will fight against you, and will not prevail, because I am with you to deliver you." And 39: "your life shall be to you for a salvation, because you have put your trust in me, says the Lord." Accordingly he sets down the certainty of the promise: "the words of the Lord are chaste words" — not adulterated by the admixture of anything foreign; or chastened from superfluity; or incorrupt, because someone is called chaste before experience, but continent after. Not vain, but firm. Matthew 24: "heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Second, they are full of truth; hence, "silver tried by fire." Silver is white without stain, sonorous without pretense, fragrant without taint. "Tried of the earth" — that is, from the earth: for the Greeks lack the ablative. Now this is a translation from the Greek — "purged seven times" — that is, perfectly. And the prophet responds: "You therefore, O Lord, will preserve us from evil. And you will keep us in good, from this generation forever." "Therefore the wicked walk round about," in such a way that they will never arrive at the end of the journey which they intend, namely to afflict others as they wish. Isaiah 59: "their paths are crooked." And why? Because, "according to your height you have multiplied the sons of men" — because in my house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earthenware; and some indeed sanctified unto honor, prepared for every good work. 2 Timothy 2. Or "the wicked walk round about," in a circle of vices, not attaining to the mean of virtue. 1 Kings 25: "the soul of your enemies shall be whirled about," and so on.”

“The words of the Lord are pure words,.... This observation the psalmist makes in reference to what is just now said in Psa 12:5,, and in opposition to the words of wicked men in Psa 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 fraud and deceit; they are the Scriptures of truth. The promises are the words of God, and they are firm and stable, and always to be depended on, and are ever fulfilled, being yea and amen in Christ Jesus. The Gospel, and the doctrines of it, are the words of God; that is the sincere milk of the word, pure and incorrupt; as it is in itself, and as it is dispensed by the faithful ministers of it; and they are all according to godliness, and tend to encourage and promote purity and holiness of heart and life; See Pro 30:5; as silver tried in a furnace of earth; they are as "silver" for worth and value; yea, they are more valuable than silver or gold, Psa 19:10. The Bible is a mine of rich treasure, and to be searched into as for it; the promises in it are exceeding precious; they are like apples of gold in pictures of silver, and yield more joy than the finding a great spoil. The doctrines of the Gospel are comparable to gold and silver and precious stones, and to be bought at any rate, but to be sold at none: and they are as silver "tried", which is pure, and free from dross. The words of men, of false teachers, are as dross and reprobate silver; but the words of the Lord are tried, and are pure, and free from all the dross of error and falsehood, Psa 18:30. And they are as silver tried "in a furnace of earth", which some (o) render "by the Lord of the earth"; but the word rather signifies a furnace, or an refinery, in which metal is melted and purified; and may be applied to the Lord Jesus Christ in human nature, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and who came full fraught with the doctrines of the Gospel; and in whom they have been "tried", by his sufferings and death, and are found to be pure, solid, and substantial: or to the ministers of the Gospel, who have this treasure in earthen vessels, whose works and words and ministry are tried by many fiery trials, and abide: or to all the people of God in general, who dwelt in earthly tabernacles; and who, in the midst of various afflictions, have a comfortable and confirming evidence of the purity and truth of the words of God, of the promises of his covenant, and the doctrines of the Gospel; purified seven times; that is, many times, Pro 24:16; and so completely and perfectly pure, and clear of all dross whatsoever, as silver so many times tried must needs be: and so the words of God are not only pure, but very pure, exceeding pure, Psa 119:140. (o) Vid. Jarchi, Kimchi, & Ben Melech in loc. so some in David de Pomis, Lexic. fol. 11. 1. taking in to be radical, and doubled as if it was”

“Arise, and redeem lost man; (Theodoret) or, protect my servants (Calmet) from such insolent oppressors. (Haydock) — Regard. This may be put in the mouth of the afflicted. (Calmet) — “I will place my confidence in the Saviour, and will act boldly in him.” (Haydock) — His promises give me full assurance, ver. 7. The Hebrew seems to be incorrect, and very different from what the ancients read. (Calmet) — St. Jerome has, “I will place their aid in salvation;” (Haydock) which he explains of Jesus Christ. See Isaias xii. 2. (Calmet) — Moderns insert many words. “I will save him, that they may learn to trust in me.” (German.) — “I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.” (Protestants) Or “would ensnare him.” (Marginal note) We may better translate, “I will put in safety, the Lord will act freely herein;” or, “safety which will act freely upon him,” the poor. (Berthier) — “I will raise up a Saviour, who with his breath will destroy the wicked.” (Prin. disc.)”

“That is : I will deal openly with him, manifesting to all that he is protected by Me. The text, which is obscure, implies that God will secure from danger His servant, on whom the oppressor breathes con- tempt, and against whom he threatens vengeance. P. "I will set him in safety /rom Mm that puffeth at him. Modern interpreters generally explain it to this effect : " I will set in oafety him that longeth after it."”