Good Thoughts in Bad Times

Series on the Psalms

Text: Psalm 12

Title: Good Thoughts in Bad Times

Introduction

We must pause at this point to make a general observation. Of the first 11 Psalms six deal rather comprehensively with David’s enemies, and thus the persecution of God’s people. Perhaps our lack of interest in the Psalms or our failure to identify with them is that life is so easy for us. It is worth noting that David who was pursued by Saul, mocked and ridiculed by the multitude of Saul’s followers, and therefore by other ignorant persons as well, deals with this situation by prayer and praise in song. This Psalm follows the same pattern. We are reminded of Paul and Silas in prison in Philippi. At midnight they were singing to the Lord. Perhaps they were singing some of David’s psalms. The Christian under persecution cannot get enough of these Psalms. Those that are at ease in Zion will find little comfort. The desperation of this particular Psalm in the face of titanic and pervasive evil may suggest a particular catastrophic occasion. The Puritan commentator John Trapp suggests that the occasion was I Samuel 22:17-19, where we have the wholesale slaughter of the Priests of the Lord by Doeg. The civil government artfully using its fawning and hypocritical front man to persecute God’s people. Since this has been repeated so often in history, the Psalm has a very general application in all times. And whether this is the occasion or not, it is evident that public life is all too often exactly as David describes it here. We shall look at two things in this Psalm. Speaking lies, and Spreading love.

I. The Sinners Spreading Lies

According to verse 8, vain is the help of man, The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men. It is most characteristic of men that they speak lies, though they do not call it that. Flattery and boasting are the essence of worldly advancement. Flattery and boasting are the tools of polite society.

A. Pervasive

What first stands out this Psalm is the pervasiveness of this phenomenon, in verses 1 and 2, Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception. In ancient Greece, the politically crafty philosopher Aristippus had learned to get along in court by flattering the tyrant Denys. Aristippus looked down his nose at some of his less prosperous fellow philosophers and wise men who would not stoop that low. One day he saw his colleague Diogenes washing some vegetables and he said to him disdainfully: “If you would only learn to flatter King Denys you would not have to be washing lentils.” Diogenes looked up slowly and in the same tone replied, “And you, if you had only learned to live on lentils, would not have to flatter King Denys.” That about describes the way the world works. Aesop of fabled fame once said, ‘Men seldom flatter without a purpose; and they who listen to such music may expect to pay the piper.” There is a very narrow line between complimenting and flattery. Complimenting is good, but flattery is deceitful and manipulative.

B. Perverted

David not only points out the pervasiveness of this phenomenon but he reflects on the root of the problem. We own our lips, who is our master? Verses 3 and 4, May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, “We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips; who is our master?” It is the unbridled evil of the human heart that manifests itself in boasting and flattery. In the end it is to be expected that those who reject God’s rule will ultimately reject all rule and will live for self and use their tongues for advancement. Do you know any examples of this? I could bring any one of you up here and you would do a better job than I can of illustrating David’s observations.

II. The Sovereign Speaking Love

As is often the case David contrasts this sinful human behavior with the righteousness of God to whom he is appealing and in whom alone he can trust. There are two things which David emphasizes regarding God’s words. in verses 5-7 we learn that they are pure and they are protective, “Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever.

A. Pure

It is quite difficult to exaggerate the contrast here between the words of sinful men and the Word of the Lord. The words of the Lord are flawless, unadulterated, unalloyed, and pure. David refers to the most severe purifying process which was known in the ancient world for precious metals. Tried in the furnace to near perfection, gold and silver were still not as pure as the word of the Lord. Two things are implied here. First that the Word has been tried again and again and is still steadfast. No matter how it has been tested it is sure and certain, and secondly, it is pure and utterly dependable. Spurgeon says, “The Bible has passed through the furnace of religious persecution, literary criticism, philosophic doubt, and scientific discovery and has lost nothing but those human interpretations that clung to it as alloy to precious ore. The experience of saints has tried it in every conceivable manner but not a single doctrine or promise has been consumed in the most excessive heat.”

B. Protective

Proverbs 30:5 says, Every word of God is pure. He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. This verse brings out the protective nature of God’s pure Word. It is precisely because the Word is dependable that it is a refuge for the people of God. Indeed, while often evil seems to triumph, we have the promise of the Lord that it will not always be so. He will vindicate his own, as e read in verses 5 and 7. Sometimes sooner, sometimes later, but the pure Word guarantees that it will come to pass. Christ is the ultimate guarantee. He is the truth, he said the truth will set you free. His atoning death so fulfills God’s promise as to guarantee all other words of the Lord.

Conclusion

Psalms occasionally end on a depressing note as in verse 8, The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men. The reason is to reinforce the necessity for faith in God. Don’t trust in men. Trust in the Lord.

Summary of Psalm 12

In Psalm twelve, David , dreadfully tormented, reflects on the character of those who pursue him. They act out of pride and selfish ambition, boasting, and flattering one another in order to gain temporal advantages. This is a ubiquitous and universal characteristic of human society. But David is not defeated by their lies because the Word of the Lord, unlike human discourse, is absolutely pure and completely dependable. We must therefore commit our present reputation and our future vindication to the Lord’s promise of protection.