5 Because of the crushing of the poor and the weeping of those in need, now will I come to his help, says the Lord; I will give him the salvation which he is desiring.
Now will I come forward, says the Lord; now will I be lifted up; now will my power be seen.
He who is hard on the poor puts shame on his Maker; but he who has mercy on those who are in need gives him honour.
Now after a long time the king of Egypt came to his end: and the children of Israel were crying in their grief under the weight of their work, and their cry for help came to the ears of God. And at the sound of their weeping the agreement which God had made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob came to his mind.
See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies.
Who gives their rights to those who are crushed down; and gives food to those who are in need of it: the Lord makes the prisoners free; The Lord makes open the eyes of the blind; the Lord is the lifter up of those who are bent down; the Lord is a lover of the upright;
Up! O Lord; let your hand be lifted: give thought to the poor.
He will keep you safe from the evil tongue; and you will have no fear of wasting when it comes.
So they put away the strange gods from among them, and became the Lord's servants; and his soul was angry because of the sorrows of Israel.
And God said, Truly, I have seen the grief of my people in Egypt, and their cry because of their cruel masters has come to my ears; for I have knowledge of their sorrows; And I have come down to take them out of the hands of the Egyptians, guiding them out of that land into a good land and wide, into a land flowing with milk and honey; into the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. For now, truly, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me, and I have seen the cruel behaviour of the Egyptians to them.
Do not be glad because of my sorrow, O my hater: after my fall I will be lifted up; when I am seated in the dark, the Lord will be a light to me. I will undergo the wrath of the Lord, because of my sin against him; till he takes up my cause and does what is right for me: when he makes me come out into the light, I will see his righteousness;
As for his father, because he was cruel, took goods by force, and did what is not good among his people, truly, death will overtake him in his evil-doing.
Has done wrong to the poor and to him who is in need, and taken property by force, and has not given back to one in his debt what is his, and has given worship to images and has done disgusting things, And has given out his money at interest and taken great profits: he will certainly not go on living: he has done all these disgusting things: death will certainly be his fate; his blood will be on him.
And it will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of armies in the land of Egypt: when they are crying out to the Lord because of their cruel masters, then he will send them a saviour and a strong one to make them free.
It is good generally for a country where the land is worked to have a king.
Do not take away the property of the poor man because he is poor, or be cruel to the crushed ones when they come before the judge: For the Lord will give support to their cause, and take the life of those who take their goods.
Why may the nations say, Where is their God? Let payment for the blood of your servants be made openly among the nations before our eyes. Let the cry of the prisoner come before you; with your strong arm make free the children of death;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 12
Commentary on Psalms 12 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 12
Ps 12:1-8. On title, see Introduction and see on Ps 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.
1. the faithful—or literally, "faithfulness" (Ps 31:23).
2. The want of it is illustrated by the prevalence of deceit and instability.
3, 4. Boasting (Da 7:25) is, like flattery, a species of lying.
lips, and … tongue—for persons.
5. The writer intimates his confidence by depicting God's actions (compare Ps 9:19; 10:12) as coming to save the poor at whom the wicked sneer (Ps 10:5).
6. The words—literally, "saying of" (Ps 12:5).
seven times—thoroughly (Da 3:19).
7. them—(Margin.)
8. The wicked roam undisturbed doing evil, when vileness and vile men are exalted.