Psalms 12:1. Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.
One might have thought that David still lived among us, his cry is so timely, so exactly true to the position of affairs today. What a prayer he offers! Driven away from confidence in men, he cries, «Help, Lord! Thou mighty One, put forth thy power! Thou faithful One, display thy truth! ‘Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.'»
Psalms 12:2. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
They speak vanity; there is nothing in it. It is all froth, no reality; vain speech about vain subjects, having no real spiritual power to help the man that heareth: «They speak vanity.» «With a double heart do they speak:» saying one thing, and meaning another; trifling with words; orthodox to the ear, heterodox to the heart. Oh, how much there is of this falseness in these days! Still are there many who «speak with flattering lips and with a double heart.» It is some comfort to us to know that no new thing has happened unto us; we are merely going through an old part of the road which David traversed long ago.
Psalms 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?
There is the point in dispute. Man will be lord of himself, and God will be Lord of all and everything; and there can be no compromise between these two. Not even a man's lips are really his own. Who gave the gift of speech? Who created the mouth? Who is LORD over us? Why, the answer is simple enough! He that made us, he that redeemed us, he should be Lord over us. Let us willingly put ourselves in subjection to him.
Psalms 12:5. For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD;
God takes notice of the oppression of poor men, and especially of poor saints when they are tried by the wickedness of the age: «Now will I arise, saith the Lord.»
Psalms 12:5-6. I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
There is no mistake about the words of this blessed Book. The very words themselves are as accurate, as infallible, as silver is pure when it has been seven times refined by the most skillful artist. There is no improving upon God's words. We dare not leave one of them out. We would not presume to put one of our own side by side with them: «The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.»
Psalms 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 sin gets into the high places of the earth, then it becomes very abundant. Every evil man takes liberty to creep out into public life when some great leader in vice occupies the throne. God save the people when such is the case!
This exposition consisted of readings from PSALMS 12, 13, and 14.