Biblical Support For The Doctrine of Verbal Plenary Preservation
(II)
-- Psalm 12:6-7 and Psalm19:7-10
Lesson 4
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I. |
INTRODUCTION The unending attacks on the
Word of God know no bound. God’s people must be vigilant and
sober for the day of deliverance is nearer than we think. To
let our guard down would signify the spiritual death of our
present and future generations.
When the doctrine of
inspiration came under attack the defenders of the Word of
God in times past had only one clear-cut verse to support
the doctrine. It was 2 Timothy 3:16. They fought tooth and
nail defending this truth amidst all the distortions and
misinterpretations.
Finally the battle was over
and the line was clearly drawn. On the one side there were
the fundamentalists who held on to the doctrine of
inspiration as stated in our church Constitution which is
our heritage. On the other side were the modernists and
neo-evangelicals who believe in limited inerrancy and
infallibility where inspiration was only in spiritual
matters or matters that pertain to man’s salvation. Anything
else would have mistakes, which they called minor ones.
Today we thank God that we
have more than one verse from God’s Word defending the
doctrine of preservation. Even though there are many verses
that teach preservation, the same attack that was used to
undermine the doctrine of inspiration is also employed
today. Re-interpretation or misinterpretation of Bible
verses is also used.
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INTERPRETING PSALM
12:6-7—Perfect Word of God preserved Psalm 12:6-7: "The words
of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of
earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD,
thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."
The teaching from these two
verses appears quite clear that God would preserve His Holy
Word for ever. Yet many have argued otherwise. They say
that the preservation in verse 7 refers to people only.
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Grammar and Syntax
arguments
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Those who
interpret Psalm 12:7 as referring to people
and not the Word of God say that since the
pronominal suffix “keep them” in verse 7a is
in the masculine gender (plural) and “the
words of the LORD” in verse 6 is in the
feminine gender (plural), “them” must refer
to “people.” In order for it to refer to
God’s Word the pronominal suffix must also
be in the feminine gender like the
substantive. This is a faulty reasoning
based upon a wrong assumption. As Gesenius,
a classic Hebrew grammarian teaches,
“Through a weakening in the distinction of
gender, which is noticeable elsewhere. And
which probably passed from the colloquial
language into that of literature, masculine
suffixes (especially in the plural) are not
infrequently used to refer to feminine
substantives.” [Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar,
edited and enlarged by E. Kitsch, second
edition by A. E. Cowley, (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1910, 2nd edition), page 440, Section
O].
Some
examples from the OT where this phenomenon
occurs include:
Genesis
31:9, "Thus God hath taken away the cattle
of your [masculine plural pronoun suffix
-- referring to Rachel and Leah) father,
and given them to me."
Genesis
32:15, "Thirty milch camels with their
[masculine plural pronoun suffix -
referring to the thirty female camels)
colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she
asses, and ten foals."
Exodus
1:21, "And it came to pass, because the
midwives feared God, that he made them
[masculine plural pronoun suffix -- a
reference to the midwives] houses.
Psalm
119:111, “Thy testimonies [feminine
plural noun] have I taken as an heritage
for ever: for they [masculine plural
pronoun] are the rejoicing of my heart.”
Psalm
119:129, “Thy testimonies [feminine
plural noun] are wonderful: therefore
doth my soul keep them [masculine plural
pronoun suffix].”
Psalm
119:152, “Concerning thy testimonies
[feminine plural noun], I have known of
old that thou hast founded them
[masculine plural pronoun suffix] for
ever.”
Psalm
119:167, “My soul hath kept thy testimonies
[feminine plural noun]; and I love
them [masculine plural noun suffix]
exceedingly.”
These are
only a few examples cited to demonstrate the
nature of feminine plural nouns in relation
to their masculine pronouns. According to
the Hebrew language, it is most legitimate
to refer the suffix pronoun “them --
masculine plural pronominal suffix
(verse 7a)” to “the words -- feminine
plural substantive of the LORD (verse
6).” For them to insist that the gender
must be the same is eisegesis. We cannot
force the Word of God to say what we want it
to say. Also it is wrong to insist that
biblical Hebrew grammar and syntax must
conform to the English grammar and syntax.
Thomas
Strouse agrees and wrote, “…it is not
uncommon, especially in the Psalter, for
feminine plural noun synonyms for the
‘words’ of the Lord to be the antecedent for
masculine plural pronouns/pronominal
suffixes, which seem to ‘masculinize’ the
verbal extension of the patriarchal God of
the Old Testament. …As the KJV/TR
bibliologists have argued all along, both
the context and the grammar (proximity rule
and accepted gender discordance) of Psalm
12:6-7 demand the teaching of the
preservation of the Lord’s pure words for
every generation.” [http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/strouse-psalm127.html]
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Another
argument they cited is that the pronominal
suffix “preserve them (verse 7b)” is in the
singular and KJV translators have no right
to change it to “them (plural).” It is true
that the pronominal suffix for “preserve
them” in verse 7b is a third person
masculine singular suffix (him).
Why did the
KJV translators translate it as “them”?
The key is
that in the addition of the suffix, the Holy
Spirit wanted to emphasize the verb
“preserve” so that an “energetic nun” (the
letter “n”) is added before attaching the
pronominal suffix. When this occurs an
additional rule comes into operation in the
Hebrew language. There is no masculine
plural pronominal suffix in the third person
when the energetic nun is applied to a verb.
[See Gesenius, page 157-158 Section
4, I]. Hence the Scripture writer, through
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, used the
singular masculine pronominal suffix,
retaining the same gender as in “keep them
(verse 7a).”
Therefore
it is very legitimate and consistent with
Hebrew grammar for the KJV translators to
translate the masculine singular pronoun
suffix with the energetic nun as a masculine
plural pronoun -- “them.”
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B. |
Contextual argument
When we speak of
context, it is the immediate context that is
considered first, and not the distant context. The
immediate context is of course the Words of the
LORD. Hence the preservation and keeping (guarding)
would be the Words of the LORD. We know that the
syntax and grammar allow it.
Verse 6 is what is
known as an emblematic parallelism where the purity
of God’s Word is likened to the sevenfold
purification (as pure as you can ever get) process
of purifying silver where every bit of dross is
burned away leaving behind the purest silver
[Tremper Longman III, How to Read the Psalms,
(Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 100].
This verse teaches that the Words of the LORD are
without error or fallibility and it is 100% perfect.
Verse 7 is known as
a synonymous parallelism where the second line
restates what is mentioned in the first, but using
different words (Longman III, 99). As mentioned
before, the use of the energetic “nun” emphasizes
the act of preservation. This preservation is
forever.
The relationship
between verses 6 and 7 is what we call synthetic
parallelism where the second verse adds or expands
on the teaching mentioned in the first verse. These
two verses combined together teach that the Words of
God which are perfect like silver purified seven
times will be preserved by God forever!
The contrast within
the entire psalm would be the words of these evil
men pitted against the Words of the LORD. These
evil men speak vanity and flattery (verse 2) and
boast that their words will prevail and no one is
lord over them (verse 4). The Words of the LORD
counter that it is the Lord’s Word that will prevail
over the words of the evil ones.
This is the
assurance and comfort that the LORD gives to His
people. Do not fear the words of these evil
flatterers and boasters; trust in the Words of the
LORD that is purified seven times as opposed to the
words of the evil men which are vain, proud and stem
from a double heart (verse 2). God will keep (guard)
His Holy Words and preserve (action is emphasized by
the energetic nun) them from this generation
forever. The LORD gave this verbal assurance to that
generation and after because He knew they needed it.
God’s people were plagued by the many wicked words
that came from evil men to confuse and confound
them.
The faith of the
believers was put to the test, they had to choose to
believe and trust in the inerrant, infallible and
divinely inspired Word of God Almighty or the
errant, fallible words of sinful men. The same
decision is asked of every Christian today on the
issue of the doctrine of preservation of God’s Holy,
inerrant, infallible Word.
It must not be
intimated that from before this time, God did not
preserve His Holy Word. This is faulty hermeneutics.
Argument from silence is very dangerous and can lead
to all kinds of wrong doctrine. For example,
Ephesians 1:4 teaches us that the believers’
salvation have been chosen in Him [Christ] before
the foundation of the world. Does it mean that the
believers in the Old Testament were not chosen
before the foundation of the world? Of course we
cannot arrive at this erroneous conclusion.
Progressive revelation teaches that it took more
than one thousand five hundred years for the Bible
to be given to us completely intact and perfectly
[from Moses around 1445 B.C. to the Apostle John who
wrote Revelation, the last book of the New
Testament, around 95 A.D.]. When a truth is revealed
to God’s people, it does not mean that this was the
“activation” of that truth. It simply points to the
fact that this was the first time God has revealed
or taught this truth to His people, something which
He has been doing all the time. The doctrines of the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Election, the
doctrine of the Trinity, the Trinitarian involvement
in the giving of gifts, God giving gifts according
to His sovereign will, and every Christian being
given at least one gift are some of the doctrines
which are found clearly taught in the New Testament
but not taught or implied only in the Old Testament.
These doctrines are clearly taught in the New
Testament.
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C. |
Bible
Translations—past and present on Psalm 12:6-7
David Cloud wrote
correctly, "The bifurcation of the Reformation Bible
tradition and the post-19th century English Bibles
is seen in the New Revised Standard Version
render[ing of] Psalm 12:7, "You O Lord, will protect
us; you will guard us from this generation forever."
In a similar manner, the New International Version
translates verse 7, "O Lord, you will keep us safe
and protect us from such people forever." In spite
of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia reading "keep
them" and "preserve him," both the NRSV and NIV have
elected not to translate the Hebrew and have, in its
place, substituted a translation from the Greek and
Latin rendering of these two pronouns. By so doing,
the editors of these translations have endorsed one
exegetical tradition, the Greek-Latin, to the
exclusion of the other, the Hebraic, and by doing so
have censured any further debate within the Hebrew
exegetical tradition itself.
"This essay will
show the diversity of the textual and exegetical
tradition of Psalm 12:6-7 ... By so doing, the
inadequacy of modern renditions of Psalm 12:7 will
be exposed...
"Michael Ayguan
(1340-1416) ... On Psalm 12:7 Ayguan comments,
Keep them: that is, not as the passage is generally
taken, Keep or guard Thy people, but Thou shalt
keep, or make good, Thy words: and by doing so,
shalt preserve him--him, the needy, him, the
poor--from this generation...
"Martin Luther's
German Bible ... Following the arrangement of
this Psalm, Luther penned a hymn, two stanzas of
which reflect his understanding of verse 6 and 7:
... "Thy truth thou wilt preserve, O Lord, from this
vile generation..." In poetic form, Luther grasps
the significance of this verse both for the
preservation of those who are oppressed and for the
Word of God. The two-pronged significance of this
interpretation to both people and God's words in
Luther's Psalter was to have wide-ranging
significance in the English Bible tradition.
"Calvin's
Commentary on the Psalms ... in the body of the
commentary he writes, 'Some give this exposition of
the passage, Thou wilt keep them, namely, thy words;
but this does not seem to me to be suitable." [Thus
while Calvin did not believe Psalm 12:7 referred to
the Word of God, he admits that others did hold this
view in his day.]
"Coverdale
Bible, 1535 ... reads for [verse 7] of Psalm 12:
"Keep them therefore (O Lord) and preserve us from
this generation for ever." With the absence of "Thou
shalt" to begin verse 7, there is a direct
connection between 'words' and 'keep them.' In the
first clause, Coverdale intended the words to be
kept; in the second clause people are in view..."
"The Matthew
Bible 1537. ... In Psalm 12:67 Rogers
translated, "The words of the Lord are pure words as
the silver, which from the earth is tried and
purified vii times in the fire. Keep them therefore
(O Lord) and preserve us from this generation for
ever." Following Coverdale, Rogers makes a clear
connection in his translation between the words
being the antecedent to "them." ... The significance
of Roger's marginal note is that two of the greatest
Hebrew scholars referred to by the Reformation
writers differed on the interpretation of "them" in
Psalms 12:7. [Thus we see that the interpretation of
this verse was also divided among Jewish scholars.]
"The Third Part
of the Bible, 1550. Taken from Becke's text of
1549 this edition of the scriptures contains the
Psalter, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of
Songs. ... In verse 7 there is a note at them which
states, 'some understand here certain men, some
others word." Again, the translators and exegetes
allowed breadth of interpretation of "them" to
include people and words.
"The Geneva
Bible, 1560. ... The preface reads, "Then
comforting himself and others with the assurance of
God's help, he commendeth the constant vigil that
God observeth in keeping his promises." The text
reads, "The words of the Lord are pure words, as the
silver, tried in a furnace of earth, fined seven
fold. Thou wilt keep them, O Lord: Thou wilt
preserve him from this generation forever." [The
margin reads, "Because the Lords word and promise is
true and unchangeable, he will perform it and
preserve the poor from this wicked generation." Thus
the Geneva took a position that verse 7 applies both
to the preservation of the Bible and of God's
people.]
"Annotations by
Henry Ainsworth, 1626. Briggs commends Ainsworth
as the "prince of Puritan commentators" and that his
commentary on the Psalms is a "monument of
learning." ... Ainsworth states that "the sayings"
[of Psalm 12:7] are "words" or "promises" that are
"tried" or "examined" "as in a fire." He cross
references the reader to Psalm 18:31; 119:140; and
Proverbs 30:5, each reference having to do with the
purity of the word.
"Matthew Poole's
1685 Commentary of the Psalms ... writes at
verse seven, "Thou shalt keep them; either, 1. The
poor and needy, ver. 5 ... Or, 2. Thy words or
promises last mentioned, ver. 6. ...
"In summary ... [t]he
only sure conclusion is that there is no consensus
within the English Bible tradition for the
interpretation of "them" in Psalm 12:7 and it was
precisely this lack of agreement within the
tradition which was the genius of the ambiguity of
the King James Version's rendering. ... by choosing
a Greek-Latin basis the modern versions elect to
overlook the Reformation's Hebrew basis for
translation in Psalm 12:6-7; and the churchly
tradition in the new versions is censored by not
including a translation that is broad enough to
include both interpretations--oppressed people and
God's words" (Peter Van Kleeck, The Translational
and Exegetical Rendering of Psalm 12:7 Primarily
Considered in the Churchly Tradition of the 16th and
17th Centuries and Its Expression in the Reformation
English Bibles: The Genius of Ambiguity, March
1993). [Taken from [http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/fbns/fbns88.html] |
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INTERPRETING PSALM
19:7-10—Nature of the Word of God explained
Psalm 19:7-10:
“The law of the LORD is
perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is
sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are
right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is
pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and
righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than
gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and
the honeycomb.”
Contextual Observations
Psalm 19 teaches God’s
revelations. Psalm 19:1-6 refers to the general revelation
of God through His creation. Psalm 19:7-14 teaches special
revelation through God’s Holy Word. The Word of God is
described by the Psalmist in these six ways: the law, the
testimony, the statutes, the commandments, fear and
judgments. The nature of the Word of God is described as:
perfect, sure, right, pure, clean and true. The effect of
the Word of God in the heart and lives of the believer is
described as: converting the soul, making wise the simple,
rejoicing the heart, enlightening the eyes, enduring for
ever and righteous altogether.
The totality of the
richness of the Word of God is seen here by the use of these
six different nouns. Its infinite value is seen in the
description by the Word of God in using “perfect”
which means “without blemish” i.e. absolutely no mistakes; “sure”
which means “faithfulness and trust worthy”; “right”
which means “straight and righteous”; “pure” which
means “clean and clear and void of impurities”; “clean”
which means “pure in the moral sense”; and “true”
which means “trustworthiness or verity i.e. contains no
falsehood or errors,” to capture the depth and breadth of
the Word of God in its totality.
On the meaning of the word
“perfect” as used here Barnes wrote, “The meaning is that it
lacks nothing in order to its completeness; nothing in order
that it might be what it should be. It is complete as a
revelation of divine truth; it is complete as a rule of
conduct. As explained above, this refers not only to the law
of God as the word is commonly employed now, but to the
whole of divine truth as revealed. It is absolutely true; it
is adapted with consummate wisdom to the wants of man; it is
an unerring guide of conduct. There is nothing there which
would lead men into error or sin; there is nothing essential
for man to know which may not be found there. [Albert
Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, Swordsearcher 4.7]”
That the Word of God was
perfect to the Psalmist is an understatement. For the
Psalmist to ever think that the Word of God contains the
slightest degree of impurity or error or mistake was
unthinkable. The highest regard the psalmist gives to the
Word of God is clearly seen in the use of the six nouns. |
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CONCLUSION
The Word of God is the only
“catalyst” used by the Spirit of God to transform lives and
make children of darkness into children of God’s marvelous
light, why would God then after more than 1,500 years of
inspiration and writing of God’s Word not preserve all His
words for future generations? We thank God that He did.
Psalm 12:6-7 teaches us
that God has preserved His perfect Word perfectly for His
people. God inspired His Word perfectly, inerrant,
infallible and He also preserved the same Word for His
people throughout the ages so that every generation can
assuredly say, “Thus saith the LORD!” with absolute
confidence.
Psalm 19:7-10 teaches us
that the Word of God is more than perfect in all its glory
but also purity, verity, surety, righteousness and
truthfulness. The Word of God cannot have mistakes and must
be perfect at inspiration and perfectly preserved by God
Himself throughout the ages for all of God’s people.
Anything less would be foolishness like a man shooting his
own foot! AMEN. |
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