Dwell in the World: Psalm 12

As we dwell in Psalm 12 consider these questions:

1. What is the central concern of the psalmist in Psalm 12, and how does he describe the state of the godly among the people?

2. How does the psalmist characterize the behavior of the wicked, particularly in terms of their speech and intentions? What impact does this behavior have on society?

3. What is the psalmist's hope and prayer regarding the actions of the Lord in response to the wickedness he observes? How does he contrast the words of the wicked with the words of the Lord?

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Transcription:

We find ourselves in Psalm 12 and once again we see the psalmist feeling overwhelmed with the state of the world around him. Right away with the first three words here in this chapter we have David asking for rescue from Yahweh. In this instance it isn’t David calling out to have his health restored in a sickness and he isn’t asking to be saved from a military attack or coup. Instead, the concern that we see being expressed here is that the godly one is gone. David says that those who are faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

‌We can understand that feeling and as we move down this psalm into verse two we see an expansion of what David perceives the problem to be. Everyone lies to their neighbors and he expands upon what their violation of the seventh commandment looks like by saying that they have flattering lips and they speak with a double heart. Whenever I read that description of flattering lips, I am reminded of the character Eddie Haskell from the classic television series Leave It to Beaver. I have been watching through some episodes of that show and Eddie is quite the character. He’s quite devious but to Beaver and Wally’s parents he is putting on the appearance that he is the nicest boy in the neighborhood. He’s the poster child for flattering lips and speaking with a double heart. But here it’s not just a great plot device for a sitcom. Acting this way is malicious and the goal is deception for personal gain, and we can understand why David is so concerned about a world where this is running rampant.

‌And so as we come to verses 3 and 4 we get a pretty gruesome hope from David. He would like the LORD to cut off all flattering lips and tongues. Now, this is figurative language being used here. David isn’t hoping to see the bloody carnage that this would create. He wants those who perpetuate falsehood to be stopped and we see that a part of this is that they that these falsehoods will give them power and make them masters over people. In other words, this is more than just words that can hurt someones feelings or cause them to believe incorrect information. It causing oppression.

‌And verse 5 shows the Lord answering. Notice what we’ve seen so far. A problem was stated, the wicked speak, and now the LORD is speaking. God is going to arise and set things right.. He is going to provide safety for the oppressed and notice the contrast David uses. The false speech of the wicked is set against the words of the LORD and they are pure. They are like refined silver and not just ordinary refined silver. Silver purified seven times. And David believes this word from God. He will keep his people. He will protect them from the wicked.

‌But verse 8 is interesting isn’t it. This isn’t how we would likely end this passage. You and I would stop it with verse 7 and the statement that God will guard this generation but that isn’t what happens here. It ends with a statement about the wicked prowling on every side and vileness being exalted among the children of man. As I read this I immediately think how true this is. Yes, the word of the LORD is pure but just as pure as he is, so is humanity wicked and this is where I want us to bring our emphasis for today. It is important that we seek the LORD and his pure word because everywhere we turn there is deception and falsehood. May this truth cause us to faithfully pursue the purity of God’s word that we may be lifted up and kept safe from the attacks of the world and the enemy.