THE WAR OF WORDS

Psalm 12

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    Men have a tendency to fight against God is many different ways.

1.      They rebel against His clearly revealed will as Pharaoh did in the days of Moses

a.      Moses requested that Pharaoh let God’s people go and Pharaoh refused (Exo. 5:1-2).

 

And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.  And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?  I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

 

b.      Even when Pharaoh’s magicians were convinced that God was involved in the plagues of Israel, Pharaoh continued to rebel (Exo. 8:18-19).

 

And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not:  so there were lice upon men, and upon beast.  Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God:  and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

 

2.      They attack his messengers and attempt to silence them as they did to the prophet of God named Jeremiah (Jer. 18:19-20a, 22).

 

Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.  Shall evil be recompensed for good?  For they have digged a pit for my soul…Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them:  for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.

 

3.      They give allegiance to false gods instead of honoring the true God of heaven (Hos. 13:2).

 

And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen:  they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.

 

4.      They establish false religions that stand in opposition to the religion of God as Jeroboam did in Israel (I Kings 12:28-30).

 

Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem:  behold they gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.  And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.  And this thing became a sin:  for the people when to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

 

B.      Evil men also fight against God and God’s people with words. 

1.      In our lesson tonight, we will see evil men using words to harm the godly and the faithful

2.      Our entire lesson will center upon one psalm, Psalm 12.

a.      The psalm is said to have been written by David.

b.      We are not informed as to when the psalm was written.  In other words, we do not know the exact occasion of the writing.

c.       The psalm consists of eight short verses, but is extremely informative. 

d.      If there is a key verse to the psalm, it is verse 6.

 

The words of the Lord as pure words:  as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

 

e.       We will divide the psalm into three sections:

 

i.                    THE SITUATION (Ps. 12:1-2)

ii.                  THE SALVATION (Ps. 12:3-6)

iii.                THE SUMMARY (Psa. 12:7-8)

 

I.                   THE SITUATION (Ps. 12:1-2)

 

A.    The Call for Help (Ps. 12:1a)

 

Help, Lord…

 

1.      From the opening word of the psalm, we realize the psalmist is in dire straits.  In other psalms, there are cries for help (Ps. 38:22; 109:26), but this is the only psalm out of 150 that begins with the word “help.”

2.      He does not state the case first.  He merely cries for assistance.

3.      He does not call for help from

a.      An army

b.      His friends

c.       His family

4.      He cries for help from the God of heaven.  This is the highest and most powerful being to which one can appeal.

5.      David appears to be relying on the very last words Moses spoke to Israel before departing from this life (Deut. 33:29).

 

Happy art thou, O Israel:  who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency!  and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shal tread upon their high places.

 

B.      The Concern of the Psalmist (Ps. 12:1b).

 

…for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

 

1.      The psalmist uses a literary device known as a couplet to express his concern.

a.      There are two statements found in this section

1)      They both says the same thing, but in different words.

2)      “Godly” and “faithful” correspond.

3)      “Ceaseth” and “fail” correspond.

b.      The use of this device vividly expresses the concern the psalmist has for the people of God.

2.      David describes God’s people with two words.

a.      Godly:  those who are God-like.

b.      Faithful:  those who are full of faith and manifest that faith in obedience to His Word.

3.      They were dwindling in number.

a.      Two words are used to describe their decline.

1)      Ceaseth:  this word simply means to bring to an end

2)      Fail:  this word means to disappear, vanish, cease to exist

b.      The faithful make up a small portion of the people upon the earth even in good times.  When the faithful begin to disappear from the earth, the earth is in trouble.

1)      Morality is gone.

2)      Light disappears.

3)      Salt ceases to preserve.

4)      God is no longer glorified.

4.      No wonder the psalmist cries out, saying:  “Help, Lord!”

 

C.     The Cause of the Disappearance (Ps. 12:2)

 

They speak vanity every one with his neighbor:  with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

 

1.      Two times the author uses the word “speak.”  He also mentions the word “lips.”  The wicked were using their words to bring an end to those who were faithful.

2.      LESSON:  Words have unbelievable power.

a.      They can influence minds.

b.      They can topple nations.

c.       They can destroy souls.

3.      The psalmist mentions two kinds of words spoken

a.      Vanity:  vain words. 

1)      These words are empty, useless, nothing, false, and unprofitable. 

2)      They are ruinous and destructive.

b.      Flattery:  flattering lips.

1)      These are smooth words. 

2)      They are words that tickle the ears, stroke the ego, and cause the proud of heart to swell.

c.       Words like these sound good.

They are desired by their listeners.

They are believed to promote peace and harmony.

However, they are lies.

Those who believe them will be led down a path of destruction.

d.      Paul warned about individual with these kinds of words in Romans 16:17-18.

 

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

 

4.      The psalmist not only mentions their words.  He also mentions their hearts.  The heart is where their words originated.  He says they have a “double heart.”

a.      Their words were pleasant words.  One would think that they came from a good heart.

b.      Such was not the case.  They really came from an evil heart.  The purpose of their words was to lead the faithful astray.

c.       LESSON:  This is what makes these individuals so dangerous.  Men cannot read their hearts.  Their words seem pleasant so everyone assumes their hearts are good, too.  But, they are not.  While the faithful are being deceived, these double-hearted men laugh because they are quietly carrying out their evil agendas.

 

 

 

II.                THE SALVATION (Ps. 12:3-6)

 

A.    The Conquest (Ps. 12:3)

 

The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things.

 

1.      The Lord knows all that is happening in the affairs of men.  Too, He hears the cries of his faithful servants (Ps. 34:15).

 

The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

 

2.      When He hears their cries, He is willing to come to their aid.  Here the psalmist says that he will “cut off” all flattering lips and tongues that speak proud things.

a.      Strong (3772):  to cut (off, down, asunder)

b.      BDB:  to cut, to cut off, cut down, cut off a body part

c.       The picture that the psalmist paints is that God will cut out the tongues of the evil ones.  He will bring their lies and smooth speeches to an end.

 

B.      The Conceit (Ps. 12:4)

1.      God has heard their boasts and conceits long enough.

2.      Psalm 12:4 reveals some of their words to us.

 

Who have said, With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own:  who is lord over us?

 

3.      These are the words that these evil one speak in private.  They spring from the dark side of their double heart.

4.      Their evil words involve three things:

a.      A false sense of victory:  “we will prevail”

b.      A false sense of ownership:  “our lips are our own”

c.       A false sense of lordship:  “who is lord over us?”

5.      In Obadiah 3, God tells Edom:  “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee…”  In like manner, the pride of these evil man deceived them as well.

 

C.     The Compassion (Ps. 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.

 

1.      The Lord now assures His people that He will arise and come to their aid.

2.      He does this because He is a God of compassion.

a.      He has seen the oppression of the poor.  He has heard the sighs of the needy.

b.      When He knew of their affliction, He suffered alongside them.  This is the very definition of the word “compassion,” that is, “to suffer with.”

3.      His intervention will bring salvation to His people.

a.      God tells them:  “I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.”

b.      The word “puffeth” refers to the words of the opponents of God.  It has a twofold meaning.

1)      It can mean simply “to speak.”  This is what the poor and needy were hearing.

2)      It can also mean “to scoff.”  This is what was being done behind the backs of the righteous.

4.      LESSON:  It is a blessing that God can deliver His people.  We are reminded of the words of Peter found in II Peter 2:9.

 

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

 

D.    The Certainty (Ps. 12:6).

 

The words of the Lord are pure words:  as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

 

1.      It is here that the psalmist contrasts the words of God with the words of those evil men.

2.      God’s words are pure.

a.      They are as pure as silver that has been refined in a furnace of fire. 

b.      In fact, they as pure as silver that has been refined seven times in a furnace of fire.

c.       The refinery purges out all impurities.

Do to it seven times assures that no contaminates are therein.

In fact, the number seven is a perfect number that indicates that the purity of God’s words is absolute.

3.      NOTE:  If God says that he will set His people in safety, they can rest assured He will do it.  His words are certain!

 

III.             THE SUMMARY (Ps. 12:7-8)

 

A.    The Comfort (Ps. 12:7)

 

Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

 

1.      Protection:  “thou shalt keep them”

a.      Keep

1)      Strong (8104):  to put a hedge about, the guard protect

2)      BDB:  to keep, guard, watch, observe, keep watch and ward

b.      Can you imagine having the Almighty protecting you from adversaries?

2.      Preserve:  “thou shalt preserve them”

a.      Definition

1)      Strong (5341):  to guard, protect, maintain

2)      BDB:  to guard, watch, watch over, keep, to preserve, keep from dangers, guard with fidelity

b.      In the opening the verse, the psalmist was fearful that the faithful were disappearing from the earth.

c.       This will not happen.  The Lord will make sure He maintains His people as long as the earth exists.

3.      Perpetuity:  “from this generation for ever”

a.      There will never be a time when God is not there for His people.

b.      He will fight for them.  He will sustain them.  He will protect them.  He will deliver them.  He will maintain them.  He will do these things until eternity calls them hom.

 

B.      The Caution (Ps. 12:8)

 

The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

 

1.      Evil men will always be part of the world’s environment.

2.      The righteous must be aware of them.  They must understand their methods of operation. 

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    There are two types of word that are at war with each other:  the vain words of the wicked and the pure words of God.

 

B.      We must put our trust in the words of God, not in the words of sinful men.

 

C.     As we conclude, let’s put together some of the phrases from this wonderful psalm.

1.      The wicked walk on every side.

2.      They speak every man vanity with his neighbor:  with flattering lips and with a double heart they speak.

3.      Who have said, With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own:  who is lord over us.

4.      Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

5.      For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord.

6.      The words of the Lord are pure words.

7.      The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things.

8.      I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.

9.      Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.