With the pure You are pure. with the crooked, You are crooked.
This verse continues the thought of the previous one. God is pure, and all His ways are pure and righteous. The words “With the pure You are pure” show that a person who walks sincerely and uprightly comes to know perfect purity and righteousness in the Lord. The words “with the crooked, crooked” do not mean that God Himself becomes deceitful or unjust. The crooked person, who tries to build his way with cunning and injustice, meets God’s righteous response. The Lord can frustrate his plans and so direct them that his deceit does not reach its goal. A person cannot surpass God’s wisdom with his own cunning. For the believer this is a warning: not to live before God with outward, formal godliness while keeping twisted and hypocritical intentions within. The Lord sees not only a person’s outward conduct, but also the direction of the heart. Therefore it is better to confess sin sincerely and rely on His grace than to try to hide it. God’s purity exposes and condemns hypocrisy, and by His grace He gives confidence and comfort to the one who desires to walk uprightly.