What Does II Samuel 22:27 Mean?

The reciprocity continues: "With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure, and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury." The "froward" (crooked, perverse) person encounters a God who appears "unsavoury" (twisted, hostile), not because God's character changes but because the froward person's distorted perspective makes God's actions appear antagonistic. The principle describes a perceptual reality: the crooked see crookedness everywhere, even in God, while the pure see purity, especially in God.

The contrast between the pure and the froward establishes the moral framework of the psalm: God's character does not change, but the human experience of God changes according to the moral posture of the perceiver. The froward man who fights against God discovers that God appears to fight against him, while the pure man who trusts God discovers that God appears to support him. The difference lies not in God's nature but in the human heart's capacity to receive what God gives.

The Lord Jesus declared: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." The promise is that purity of heart produces clarity of spiritual vision, and the pure heart sees God as He truly is: merciful, just, loving, and faithful. The froward heart cannot see God truly because its own distortion corrupts every perception, and the only cure for frowardness is the cleansing power of the gospel, which purifies the heart and restores the vision.