Purified Seven Times
Posted on
Psalm 12:6-7 reads thus in the KJV.
"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."
Modern translations usually, if not always, alter 'them' in verse seven to 'us', thereby changing the antecedent to 'the poor and needy' in verse five, instead of 'The words of the LORD' in verse six.
This destroys the testimony of the psalm regarding God's preservation of his word and words.
There are a couple of very interesting facts in relation to the making of the KJV and Psalm 12:6-7 as found therein. I am not suggesting that these two facts, and they are facts, prove anything but they are nevertheless quite striking.
King James gave the translators sixteen rules which were to be followed when preparing the KJV. Rule 14 stated specifically which previous English translations were to be consulted, namely, Tyndale, Matthew's, Coverdale's, Whitchurch's, Geneva and the Bishop's Bible. Thus, SIX English Bibles were specifically named on royal authority to be consulted, making the resulting KJV the seventh.
"The words of the LORD are pure words, purified SEVEN times."
But there is more.
In Daniel chapters three and four the words 'seven times' are used. In both these chapters there is a spritual reference to the seven years of great tribulation. In chapter four, the king's madness lasts while 'seven times' pass over him. This foreshadows the godless madness of the Gentiles during the tribulation. Three and a half years in the book of the Revelation is called 'a time and times and half a time'. Rev. 12:14. So the reference in Daniel four to 'seven times', means seven years.
In Daniel chapter three the furnace is heated seven times hotter. This by interpretation means just what it says and is not a reference to years. But what of the spirital significance? The three friends of Daniel surely prefigure the sufferings and persecution of Israel when Anti christ, the antitype of Nebuchadnezzar, shall command his image to be worshipped. A premillenial view of prophecy will have no quibble with these simple facts. So, in chapter three, particlarly in the light of chapter four, there is a spiritual application of the words 'seven times' again to seven years.
What is my point? Sometimes in the word of God, 'seven times' means seven years. What does Psalm 12 say?
"The words of the LORD are pure words, purified SEVEN times."
How long was the KJV in the making? The work began in 1604 and came off Robert Barker's printing press in 1611. The work took seven years.
Dismiss the two striking facts as coincidence if you like, but methinks I see the hand of the LORD in this.