Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

IV. THE TENDERNESS OF THE LORD

“ For the Lord is righteous, and he loves justice. Those who do what is right will see his face.” (7) Those who love the Lord and worship him will live a life of openness in his presence. It is like being ‘face to face,’ with the living God, looking at him and he looking directly into your soul! “ No longer will any- thing be cursed. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.” (Rev. 22:3,4)

PSALM 12: THE LORD’S PROMISES ARE PURE Trusting in God’s Word

This is a psalm of the contrast between the defiled words of those who do not honor God and the purity of the words of the Lord. There are three voices heard in this psalm: first there is David who is singing and praying, secondly the ungodly who sing their lies and lastly the Lord who has the final stanza of the song through prophecy (verse 5) and his written word (verse 6). We are challenged to make a decision as to who will control our lips, the Father of lies or the Father of Light. Though concise, the poem is divided into these four segments:

I PROUD TONGUES - People of the Lie 1-4 II GROANS OF THE POOR -Prophecy From the Lord- 5 III PROMISES ARE PURE -Promises of the Lord- 6 IV PRESERVE THEM FOREVER - Protection From the Lord- 7,8

This psalm could possibly describe the circumstances David experienced in the city of Keilah where he had delivered them from being ravaged by the Philistines and yet they were ready to hand him over to Saul. David inquired: “ Again David asked, ‘ Will these men of Keilah really betray me and my men to Saul?’ And the Lord replied, ‘yes, they will betray you.’”(1 Sam. 23:12) On the one hand, they were flat- tering David and thanking him and on the other, they were conspiring to betray him to Saul.

INTRODUCTION:

“ For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument. (ac- cording to the sheminith) ” This same inscription is given in Psalm 6 and is thought to mean an accompaniment upon the lower bass instruments. This psalm is ‘low’ in its mood and is reflective of the importance of matching music that is appropriate to the words.

I PROUD TONGUES - People of the Lie 1-4

“ Help, Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth.”(1) When many difficulties confront us, it is easy to resort to exaggeration. Our human nature loves to magnify the negative situations as David does in this verse. Elijah experienced this similar lapse of con- fidence, he was sure that he was the only faithful person left in the land! “ But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you…I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too. ” The Lord brought him back into spiritual adjustment: “ Yet I will preserve seven thousand others in Israel who have never bowed to Baal or kissed him!”(1 Kings 19:14,18)

“ Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and insincere hearts. May the lord bring their flattery to an end and silence their proud tongues. (2,3)

There is one thing that Solomon learned very well from his father David and that was the lesson of the lips. David instilled in his son the insights that Solomon later gave us in his proverbs:

• “ A lying tongue hates its victims, and flattery causes ruin.” (Pr. 26:28) • “ In the end, people appreciate frankness more than flattery.” (Pr. 28:23) • “ To flatter people is to lay a trap for their feet.”(Pr. 29:5)

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