PSALMS 12


                   THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                           Chapter 12

verse 1  "Jehovah help; the godly cease; Among the sons of men
          decrease Those who uprightly live. With flattering lips all
          falsehood speak, And with a double heart they seek Their
          neighbors to deceive."
verse 2  "The Lord shall flattering lips destroy, And tongues that
          boastful words employ; That say with one accord, Our tongue
          shall in our cause be strong, Our lips to us alone belong;
          Who over us is lord?"
verse 3  "For those that are oppressed indeed, For all the poor that
          sigh in need, Lo, now will I arise; Thus saith Jehovah in
          his grace, And them I will in safety place From such as them
          despise."
verse 4  "God's words are pure as silver tried, In furnace sev'n times
          purified. Thou from this race, O God, Shall keep thy
          servants evermore. When vilest men are raised to power, The
          wicked walk abroad."

     We will now begin the verse by verse study of this 12th chapter
of Psalms taken from the King James version of the Bible.  Psalms 12:1
"{To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David.} Help, LORD;
for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the
children of men."

     David cried for the Lord, because he said the godly man is no
more. It seems that he has described our generation more than all the
rest. Society has fallen into such a state of degradation today, that
it is even as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Even in the
time of Noah, when God looked down and was sorry that He had ever made
man, it was not as bad as the day we live in. Sometimes, I feel like
Elijah did when he thought he was the only one left who loved and
obeyed God. We know from the Scriptures that, God told him there were
still thousands that had not bowed their knee to Baal. I am sure there
are thousands, even today, who love and obey God. I can surely say
they are not in the majority, however. Even many in the church have
compromised to the extent that God would find many of them wanting, if
they were weighed in the balance. To know what our society is today,
we must read 2 Timothy chapter 3. I will give part of it here. To get
the full picture, read it all. II Timothy 3:1 "This know also, that in
the last days perilous times shall come."  II Timothy 3:2 "For men
shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy," II Timothy
3:3 "Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers,
incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good," II Timothy 3:4
"Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of
God;"  II Timothy 3:5 "Having a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof: from such turn away."  The only answer is God. Help!
Lord! The faithful are becoming fewer and fewer. We are outnumbered by
the world. Don't give up. Read your Word and pray for God's help. He
will help you. The main thing is, to stay in the Bible and draw your
strength from God.

     Psalms 12:2 "They speak vanity every one with his neighbour:
[with] flattering lips [and] with a double heart do they speak."

     Most of the time, flattery is like a con game. I will brag on
you, so that I can get what I want from you. Another way to say a
double heart, would be to say two faced. Proverbs 26:28 "A lying
tongue hateth [those that are] afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth
worketh ruin."

     Psalms 12:3 "The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, [and]
the tongue that speaketh proud things:"

     Not only does God not like flattering lips and proud statements,
but people are turned off by that kind of person, as well. I always
wonder what they are up to, when flattery begins. Pride comes just
before a fall. James 1:26 "If any man among you seem to be religious,
and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's
religion [is] vain." It is a very dangerous thing to have a tongue
that is not controlled by the Holy Spirit of God. I will give one more
Scripture on the evil tongue, and then go on. James 3:5 "Even so the
tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how
great a matter a little fire kindleth!" The tongue is the most evil
part of our body, until we turn our tongue over to God.  Let God
control your tongue, and it will speak life, and not death.

     Psalms 12:4 "Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our
lips [are] our own: who [is] lord over us?"

     Life and death are in the power of the tongue. James 3:8 "But the
tongue can no man tame; [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly
poison."  James 3:9 "Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and
therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God."
If God does not rule our tongue, we are evil to the core. In Isaiah,
there is the most beautiful suggestion of how to purify unclean lips,
in all the Bible.  Isaiah 6:5 "Then said I, Woe [is] me!  for I am
undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst
of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the
LORD of hosts." Isaiah 6:6 "Then flew one of the seraphims unto me,
having a live coal in his hand, [which] he had taken with the tongs
from off the altar:" Isaiah 6:7 "And he laid [it] upon my mouth, and
said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken
away, and thy sin purged." In the very next verse, we see why it was
necessary for him to have clean and truthful lips. Isaiah 6:8 "Also I
heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will
go for us?  Then said I, Here [am] I; send me."

     Psalms 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."

     We know that the Lord is longsuffering to those who are living in
sin.  We, also, know that He listens and hears the prayers of His own.
Sometimes it seems to us, that God is taking a long time to hear and
answer our prayer. God is not controlled by time, as we are, but is in
fact, the Controller of time. We are God's children, and He will fight
our battles for us. He is never so far away that He does not hear our
cry. I Samuel 8:20 "That we also may be like all the nations; and that
our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles."
It is not our place to fight our enemies, God fights for us.

     Psalms 12:6 "The words of the LORD [are] pure words: [as] silver
tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."

     Notice in the following Scripture that, God cannot lie. Titus 1:2
"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before
the world began;"  Jesus, not only spoke the truth, but is, in fact,
the Truth. Man does not understand the Godliness that is contained in
absolute truth, because man was born in flesh whose human nature it is
to lie. Silver that is tried in the fire is pure silver. It has no
trash at all in it. The seven times, as we know, means that it is
spiritually complete. The Truth of God needs no improvement. If we
were looking into the hidden message in this Scripture, we would see
that redemption {silver}, that has been tried by fire and made pure is
the type of redemption a person must have to please God. Man may lie,
but God will not and cannot lie, because He is Truth.

     Psalms 12:7 "Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve
them from this generation for ever."

     We spoke, earlier in this lesson, about the evil generation you
and I are living in. We are in a world that is full of sin. The only
protection we have is the hedge that the Lord builds around us and
protects us with. We are in the world with these evil people, but we
must not be influenced by them. We must be stayed upon God. We must
put on our battle armour to fight the devil and His crowd. Ephesians
6:10 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of
his might." Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6:12
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]."  Ephesians
6:13 "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
Ephesians 6:14 "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with
truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;"  Ephesians
6:15 "And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;"
Ephesians 6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye
shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." Ephesians
6:17 "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God:"

     Psalms 12:7 "Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve
them from this generation for ever."

     II Samuel 22:3 "The God of my rock; in him will I trust: [he is]
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge,
my saviour; thou savest me from violence."  One of the promises God
has made to the righteous, is that He will protect and keep us unto
the end. The fact that we have been adopted in to the family of God,
assures us of our Fathers care and attention.

     Psalms 12:8 "The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men
are exalted."

     We are living in an evil world. The leaders are, also, evil in
some cases. This world is not the home of those who are believers. We
are just passing through {this wilderness} on our way to the promised
land {heaven}. We are like Abraham, looking for a city whose maker is
God. Let the evil have the world, I will take heaven.







































                             Questions 12

1.  In verse 1, David said who ceaseth?
2.  Our society is so evil today that it could be compared with what
    time in the Bible?
3.  When God looked down and saw the evil in Noah's day, what did He
    wish?
4.  Elijah saw the evil around him and thought he was the only what?
5.  If God were to weigh many in the church today, he would find
    them _______.
6.  Where, in the Bible, do we find a description of our day?
7.  How is the only way for the true followers today, to stay true?
8.  What is flattery most of the time?
9.  What is another way to say a double heart?
10. A flattering mouth worketh ____.
11. Quote James chapter 1 verse 26.
12. What is the most evil part of the body?
13. When God controls your tongue, it speaks _____ not ______.
14. Life and death is in the power of the ______.
15. What man can tame the tongue?
16. Where is the most beautiful Scripture in the Bible on purifying
    the tongue?
17. What cleansed Isaiah's lips?
18. Why was it necessary for Isaiah to have clean and truthful lips?
19. God is not controlled by time as we are, He is the _________ of
    time.
20. Who fights the battles for the believers?
21. Where do we find the Scripture that says, God, that cannot lie?
22. What kind of silver has been tried in the fire?
23. What does the seven times indicate?
24. What is the spiritual message in verse 6?
26. What protection does the believer have from this evil world we
    live in?
27. Describe the armour of the Christian.
28. What is the sword of the Spirit?
29. 2 Samuel chapter 22 verse 3 says, whom will I trust?
30. This world is not the ______ of the Christian.
31. We are looking for a _____ whose maker is ___.