Verses 1-8

The same subject may be traced here as in Psalms 9-11, viz. a time of persecution and oppression coupled with a conviction that God lives and will yet deliver.

Title as in Psalms 6.

2. Vanity] empty and false words. A double heart] a figure for treachery and deceit.

4. Our lips are our own] We have a right to say what we please, to gain our end.

5. Now will I arise] God's time for interposition always arrives sooner or later. The Psalmist pictures the proper moment as having come. From him that puffeth, etc.] RV 'at whom they puff.'

6. The words of the lord] His promises of help to the righteous. They are reliable, in contrast to the deceitful words of the wicked in Psalms 12:2. A furnace of earth] RV 'a furnace on the earth.' The meaning is perhaps, 'silver tried in a furnace (and flowing out) on the earth.'

7. This v. is the conclusion of the thought of the Ps., though Psalms 12:8 repeats the opening complaint.