Psalm 12

Psalm 12 concerns God’s protection of vulnerable people facing deception and oppression, not the preservation of Scripture. Understanding why requires examining what the psalm actually addresses and the grammatical evidence within it. The Psalm’s True Focus: Human Protection The psalmist laments that godly people are disappearing while the wicked and boastful are rising in power, with the wicked oppressing the poor and needy.[1] God responds by promising safety to the oppressed, and the psalmist affirms that unlike the unreliable words of the wicked, God’s words have been tested and proven dependable—pure like refined metal.[1] This contrast establishes the psalm’s real concern: the words in question are God’s promises to protect the oppressed and punish their oppressors.[1] The critical grammatical detail appears in verse 7. The verse contains two different pronoun suffixes—one plural (“them”) and one singular (“him”).[1] While these pronouns could theoretically refer to God’s words, it’s difficult to explain why both suffixes wouldn’t be plural if that were the case, or what “him” would mean as a reference to words. The more preferable interpretation is that the pronouns refer to the poor and oppressed mentioned in verse 5.[1] What the Psalm Actually Teaches The only thing this psalm teaches about God’s words is their purity and dependability—that they can be trusted—which relates more to God’s reliability and truthfulness than to Scripture preservation.[1] Though verses 6–7 might seem to comment on Scripture when isolated, within the context of the whole psalm, verse 7 is the psalmist’s affirmation that the Lord will protect the poor and afflicted, just as He promised.[1]

Cross References:]

Ps 10:18

Defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.

Ps 16:1

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.

Ps 27:5

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

Ps 37:28

For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish.

Ps 97:10

Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Jn 17:12

While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 

Footnote: [1] John S. Feinberg, Light in a Dark Place: The Doctrine of Scripture, ed. John S. Feinberg, Foundations of Evangelical Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 719–720.