Psalm 12:1 Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the
faithful fail from among the children of men.
At this point in David’s
life he is disturbed at the decreasing number of people who are living their
lives in submission to the LORD. It
seems to him as though men of faith and obedience to God are quickly
disappearing.
I can certainly identify
with David’s heart. It seems to me that “Christians” in America today seem to
be more interested in fellowship and social service than in equipping
themselves through the study of God’s word and investing in their personal
relationship to Him. The prevailing
trend seems to be to place more emphasis on experience than on truth. Many are even denying the truth and inerrancy
of the word of God.
At www.barna.org I found an
article reporting the results of a 2009 survey regarding the changing biblical
worldview in our nation. Most
disturbingly, this study revealed that less than one-half of one percent of
adults aged 18-23 have a biblical worldview, compared to about one out of every
nine older adults. Some of the results
pertaining to those who identify themselves as born again are also very
telling.
· Slightly less than half of the born again adults (46%) believe
in absolute moral truth.
· Not even half (47%) strongly reject the notion that one can
earn salvation through their deeds.
· Slightly less than two-thirds (62%) strongly believe that Jesus
lived a sinless life.
Obviously, to reject
absolute moral truth is to reject the Bible, the Word of God, since it declares
moral truth to be absolute. That one
fact is at the root of the other two revelations. If one does not accept God’s Word as
absolutely true, it leaves one free to interpret scripture through a distorted
lens and question the things that make one uncomfortable. It is truly amazing to me how such people can
have any confident expectation of their salvation on any grounds if they
consider God a liar.
Psalm 12:2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour:
with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
The Hebrew for “vanity”
makes reference to evil, deceptive and lying.
“Flattering lips” are a reference to false or insincere praise, and a
“double heart” is deceitful. David is
saying that very few people could be trusted, and deception was becoming the
norm rather than the exception among men.
Do either the government or media come to mind as you read this?
Psalm 12:3-4 The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud
things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
Most of the translations
word the beginning as a cry from the heart of David for God to act in judgment
against these evil men, and that makes more sense to me. He is describing a people who are so full of
pride that they feel they can accomplish anything with their deceptive, lying
but skillful use of words. They don’t
feel accountable to God or anyone else.
It is obvious from the
next verse that these men focus on taking advantage of the poor and needy among
God’s children. I can’t help but think
of those today who claim to be ministers of God and blanket the airwaves and
fill arenas with just such a mindset.
Psalm 12:5 For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing
of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that
puffeth at him.
The Spirit inspires
David with an answer from the LORD. He
is totally aware of what is going on. He
will intervene on behalf of those who are being robbed and mistreated through
the skillful manipulation of these smooth talkers. (We would call them “snake oil salesmen.”)
Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as
silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
As God promises to
intervene, David is reminded that God’s word is pure—without deceit, holy. David paints a picture of the purity of God’s
word by comparing it to silver that has gone through the furnace of
purification seven times. The number
seven in scripture represents completeness and gives emphasis to the purity of
God’s word; it does not contain one iota of deception; it is completely pure.
Psalm 12:7-8 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve
them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side, when the
vilest men are exalted.
When wicked men are the
ones held in esteem, the wicked become bolder in their evil practices. In spite of that truth, David knows that the
protection and security of those who are poor and needy among God’s people is
with the LORD as declared by His promise in verse 5 and guaranteed by the
purity of His word as expressed in verse 6.
The future of every child of God is one of eternal joy.
Isaiah 64:4 “For since the beginning
of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye
seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.”
Revelation 21:3–4 “And I heard a great
voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he
will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be
with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
David doesn’t
necessarily understand why wicked men are being allowed to prosper, but he
doesn’t let that fact affect his faith in God.
He knows that God will provide salvation for His own and will judge the
wicked. I think he knew the truth
expressed by the psalmist Asaph.
Psalms 73:12–17 “Behold, these are the
ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have
cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day
long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.
If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I
should offend against the generation of thy children. When I thought to know
this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then
understood I their end.”
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