Bible Study - Psalm 12

I read Psalm 12 recently and thought that it sounded very much like what many people say about the cultural and spiritual situation in our own day. See what you think. (I will use some helpful notes from Dr. Walter Roehrs in the old Concordia Self-Study Commentary by CPH.)

In v.1, David cries out to the Lord, Help! “Save, O Lord,” because there seem to be very few “godly” and “faithful” people left. This is a feeling that people often have when there are times of great trouble and persecution. When Elijah was being pursued by evil Queen Jezebel, who was trying to kill him, he thought that he was the only one left faithful to God’s covenant in all Israel. God comforts him and tells him that there are still 7,000 who had not gone over to false gods like Baal (1 Kings 19:10, 18). Isaiah said, “The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands” (Isaiah 57:1). Hosea wrote: “There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed” (Hosea 4:1-2). And Micah wrote: “The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net” (Micah 7:2). Things look so bad at various times, even though David says, “But I know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself; the Lord hears when I call Him” (Psalm 4:3).

In Psalm 12:2-4, David says that “everyone lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart, they speak.” And “tongues make great boasts” and people say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us, who is master over us?” We have many similar terms today. People speak with a “forked tongue; they talk out of “both sides of their mouth;” they are “two-faced.” James called a “double-hearted” person a “double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-8). James also warned about the dangers of a tongue, which can be a “restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:5-10).

Aren’t there many today who change the meaning of words into whatever they want for themselves and demand that others must accept their point of view? To some, there are no longer two genders, male and female, as the Bible and science say, but many “genders” - whatever people choose to say they are. Men can call themselves women if they think they are, though God and their genes and their bodies still say they are men. People become “a law unto themselves” and reject prophets of God like Jeremiah, saying, “Come, let us strike him with our tongues, and let us not pay attention to any of his words,” though they are the very Word of God (Jeremiah 18:18).

It may not always seem like it, but God knows and sees what is going on, David says in Psalm 12:3,5. “He cuts off flattering lips,” and He cares about people who are spiritually “poor and needy” and “groan” because they are being hurt and “plundered” by these false and hurtful words and ideas. The Lord says, “I will arise… I will place My faithful people in safety for which they long.” The Lord can and will help us through very difficult days when there seem to be fewer faithful believers in the Lord. Jesus Himself said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted… Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:3-6).

David also calls the Words of the Lord “pure Words.” They are like “well-refined silver” (Psalm 12:6) when we read and listen to them, instead of the false and misleading and self-centered words heard so much today. We can test what we hear by the Word of God, too. “For God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105). And “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” in what is truly right and good (2 Timothy 3:16).

Above all, the Scriptures keep pointing us to Christ Jesus our Savior and salvation through faith in Him (2 Timothy 3:15). Jesus lived in this world, and He knows our struggles and temptations and yet overcame them all for us, in His saving work in our place. He forgives us, too, when we realize that we have listened too much to the ways of this world and admit to our own failings. He restores us and helps us to follow Him.

There will always be some in every period of time who are a “crooked and twisted generation” (Deuteronomy 32:5, Philippians 2:15). Jesus Himself said twice, when He was here on earth, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah” - the death and three days in the grave and the resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 16:4. 12:39-40). David also wrote, in Psalm 12:8, “On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.” We cannot escape evil being around us, no matter when we live. But David also says, in Psalm 12:7, “You, O Lord, will keep Your believing people; You will guard us always from an evil generation around us.” That is God’s promise and our great hope, as we stay close to Christ and His Word (and Sacraments). “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, He will also provide a way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).