Psalm 12:2, 6, “Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.” /// “The words of YHWH are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.”
See the contrast implicit in the two verses above. Human words are alloyed with deceptive meaning, seek ulterior motives, and come from double hearts….while YHWH’s words are pure, like seven-fold refined silver. Recognizing this distinction has never been more important than it is in our present, communication-saturated age.
We are bombarded constantly by the words of other people….words that have a particular spin, a particular agenda, a particular nuance designed to push us in one direction or the other. Words, like swirling, conflicting winds, pour from phones and tablets and televisions, all calculated to achieve a desired outcome in the hearers, be it fear, anger, indignation, commitment, etc. etc.
What a grace, then, that into this chaos of speech, the pure words of YHWH are spoken…Like a rock in the midst of tossing waves, or a mountain above shifting mists, so are the words of the Lord in the midst of the transient crossfire of human words. And the specific focus of the Psalmist is the purity of the Lord’s words….they—unlike human words—are not alloyed with deception, are not secretly pushing toward a hidden motive, are not one thing on the outside and another on the inside….His words are clean, clear, pure, and true.
And, of course, the pure words of YHWH all flow from, aim toward, and speak of the Pure WORD of YHWH, the incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. He Himself IS the Word of the Lord, the personified embodiment of all YHWH has, will, or can say. Jesus Christ—in whom YHWH arises and places the needy and groaning into their desired haven (v.5)—Jesus Christ, slain and risen, IS the pure word of the Lord who mercifully silences the cacophony and exposes the impurity of every other word.
