The Insincerity of Men, The Sincerity of God
Psalm 12
The Psalms are a good place to learn more about both God and man. The writers
used various elements of Hebrew poetry to describe God, praise Him, complain to
Him, ask for relief and make promises to Him. As we read these we are put in
good position to learn more of our Creator, and what our response to Him ought
to be. Too, the psalms contain rare insights into humanity: the origin of man,
the needs of man, the guilt of sin we earn by wrong choices, and the
consequences. Importantly, the Psalms convey helpful direction, leading us to
the Messiah, in whom we can enjoy redemption. We can be trained and guided
further into the truth about both God and man when we read and study the Psalms.
Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
Who have said,
"With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?"
"For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise," says the LORD;
"I will set him in the safety for which he yearns."
The words of the LORD are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
You shall keep them, O LORD,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
The passage begins with a statement of lamentation, an
expression of grief: "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful
disappear from among the sons of men." The writer is revealing an emotion. At
least at the moment he wrote this, he loses sight of any remnant. His concerns
is, Where are all the faithful people? Have they died? Have they ceased the
activity of faith? Where are they? This is like a similar expression of sorrow
written by Micah. "The godly have been swept from the land; not one upright man
remains. All men lie in wait to shed blood; each hunts his brother with a net,"
(Micah 7:2). Now it may be argued, this is arousing embellishment or "poetic
hyperbole." Nevertheless, it is the genuine emotion of godly people, as they
become aware that their number and their way of life lies in demise.
I think God's people today must feel this way, and at times the emotion may be
this deeply felt. If we are God's people, we place great value on behavior
expressive of honesty, personal purity, modesty, generosity, prayer, following
the Scriptures, etc. But in our time we see these things either perverted,
debated or ignored. And, as verse 8 declares: "vileness is exalted among the
sons of men." We often see what Isaiah saw (Isa. 59:4-9), or we observe the
repulsive behaviors Paul documented in Romans one. We are led by the sight of
sin to complain that the faithful fail, the godly cease. Every child of God
lives with the sad knowledge of the absence of godliness all around us.
The author defines what he saw that caused his grief: "They speak idly everyone
with his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the
Lord cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things, who
have said, 'With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own; Who is lord
over us'?" Likewise in verse 8: "The wicked prowl on every side, when vileness
is exalted among the sons of men." What people say reveals who they are, because
the tongue is governed by the heart (Matt. 12:34). The writer of Psalms 12 drew
the conclusion, "the godly man ceases," because he heard how people were talking
- their conversation revealed their character. Our talk reveals our heart (see
also Jas. 1:26). Falsehood uttered reveals falsehood within. Idle talk says the
heart is idle. Boasting proves pride. And notice the claim of verbal victory and
self-rule: "...We will prevail, who is lord over us?" The lamentation of verse 1
was justified by the speech and behavior described in verses 2-4 and 8.
In verse 5, God replies to the complaint of the faithful. He says, "For the
oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise." This is
a reference to God's promise to give relief to the victims of the sinful
behavior defined. God has never overlooked any real victim! He doesn't check us
with, as to when and how to react. We cannot dictate to God, set deadlines or
demand that He use the methods we think best. But you cannot give the Bible a
fair hearing and miss this truth. He comes to the rescue of those who are
victims of the treachery of man. {In the gospel, there is the supreme evidence
of God's desire to deliver, even victims of their own sin! Rom. 5:6-8}. God
responds to the writer's call for help. He states His intent to arise and
deliver the victims to safety.
If verse 5 is God's promise to arise and help, verses 6 & 7 state the basis of
our confidence in God's word. "The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver
tired in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. You shall keep them, O Lord,
you shall preserve them from this generation forever." Now we arrive at the
point or theme I want to stress. Carefully observe the contrast between what men
say and what God says! In this chapter, men speak idly, "with flattering lips
and double heart." Men use their tongues to exalt themselves, gain their vile
purpose and thus reveal their evil purpose of heart. It was so bad, the writer
said, "the faithful disappear from among the sons of men."
But now, turn your attention from the vain talk of men to the words of the Lord.
"The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
purified seven times." You cannot place confidence in the idle talk of men. You
cannot reply upon the promises of the proud; "with flattering lips and a double
heart they speak." But there is good reason for unwavering confidence in God and
in what God says.
In those days metal was tried and purified with fire. A furnace would be dug in
the earth, an intense fire built, to test and purify silver. The process was
repeated until there was no doubt, the product was genuine silver. The point of
the illustration is, the words of the Lord are "perfectly pure." No falsehood
mixed in; no empty flatter; no false promises; no guile or deception in even
trace amounts! "The words of the Lord are pure words."
So, in regard to the Lord's promise to arise and rescue victims of man's
treachery, there is the greatest confidence. "You shall keep them, O Lord, you
shall preserve them from this generation forever." The writer was sure God would
save the victims, setting them in the safety for which they yearned.
Psalms 12 establishes the insincerity of man and the sincerity of God! When Paul
wrote so fully to document the sin of man he quoted from the Psalms: "Their
throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit," (Rom.
3:13). This is the insincerity of man. This is why, you cannot just follow where
men may lead, without discernment. We must not blindly accept the religious
teachings and practices of men. We cannot allow men to impose upon us their
standards and creeds (whether the men are baptized or not). There are false
teachers who by smooth words and flattering speech, deceive the hearts of the
simple (Rom. 16:18).
What we can do is, repose our souls in the hands of God. Everything is just
exactly as God represents it. He "cannot lie," (Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18). We can
enjoy great and absolute consolation in the words of God. His promises can bring
into our hearts, a real assurance that men try to imitate but cannot duplicate.
The Word of God has no other purpose, no other design upon us, than to do us the
highest eternal good. Psalm 12 marks the difference between the insincerity of
man and the absolute sincerity of God. The sum total of divine truth was given
for our good, but requires our response.
"What a contrast between the vain words of man, and the pure words of Jehovah.
Man's words are yea and nay, but the Lord's promises are yea and amen. For
truth, certainty, holiness, faithfulness, the words of the Lord are pure as well
refined silver. In the original there is an allusion to the most severely
purifying process known to the ancients, through which silver was passed when
the greatest possible purity was desired; the dross was all consumed, and only
the bright and precious metal remained; so clear and free from all alloy of
error or unfaithfulness is the book of the words of the Lord. The Bible has
passed through the furnace of persecution, literary criticism, philosophic
doubt, and scientific discovery, and has lost nothing but those human
interpretations which 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."
{Spurgeon, Charles H. "Commentary on Psalms 12:6". "The Treasury of David"}
By Warren E Berkley
From Expository Files 9.10; October 2002
