Psalm 12 - The Faithful Have Vanished

1 Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.

7 You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

      Have you ever felt all alone? I mean, FELT like you were the last righteous one in the middle of all the people you know? That there is no one else around trying to do right and to be right? Perhaps you have. If you have, then you were just expressing what even Elijah feels in 1 Kings 19:10, “He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” Of course Elijah wasn’t alone, and God demonstrated that to him in an incredibly powerful way.

   David’s concern will be answered throughout the discourse of this Psalm. Beginning with being able to identify who is wicked and who is truly righteous among us. That is an important step for us to take if we feel all alone. You can do that by noting the words of the wicked which are:

     Idle (vs. 2)

     Flattery (vs. 2)

     Deceitful (vs. 2)

     Boastful (vs. 3-4)

     Malicious (vs. 5)

However, the Lord’s words are:

     Flawless (vs. 6)

     Valuable (vs. 6)

     Words of protection and safety (vs.5,7)

   Verse 8 is interesting to me. “On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.” Why would David end this Psalm on this note? I think one writer said it best, “If the wicked exalt only vile and evil things, then it is a good thing that they do not exalt us. If they exalted us, then there would be something wrong, for we would be too much like them. However, because we are trying to serve the Lord, they are going to use their words against us. The wicked will continue to strut around honoring that which is vile. We do not want their honor. We want the honor and glory of God. Let us seek out His honor by serving Him and obeying Him today.”

…Amen.