What’s The Walk of Faith Like?

This summer we've been preaching through the Psalms, and today we're ready for Psalm 12.

It's another Psalm of David, according to the Shimoneth.

It's a Messianic Psalm, looking forward to God's vengeance one great day.

Psalm 12.

As I read this, we do so trusting that God's Word is inspired, it is inerrant, it's infallible,

it's clear, and it's sufficient for His people.

After I'm done reading, I'll say this is the Word of the Lord.

You can say thanks be to God.

Psalm 12.

Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains.

The loyal have disappeared from the human race.

They lie to one another, they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks boastfully.

They say through our tongues we have power.

Our lips are our own.

Who can be our master?

Because of the devastation of the needy and the groaning of the poor,

I will now rise up, says the Lord.

I will provide safety for the one who longs for it.

The words of the Lord are pure words,

like refined silver in an earthen furnace,

purified seven times.

Verse 7.

You, Lord, will guard us.

You will protect us from this generation forever.

The wicked prowl all around,

and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

Pray.

Pray.

Lord, your word is purified like silver seven times through the furnace.

There's no impurity, no imperfections in your word.

Lord, we pray, Lord, by the power of your Holy Spirit,

you will minister your word to your people today,

for our good and for your glory.

Amen.

Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

I want to talk with you today

about what the walk of faith is like.

I think Psalm 12 shows us the walk of faith

is not what many would hope or expect.

So what is the walk of faith like?

I want to share with you a story.

It's a true story that I heard just this week

from a little missionary book.

Take place in Egypt,

and the main character's name is Ramsey.

Ramsey wore the federal Egyptian uniform,

and he held a respected position

within the National Postal Service.

If you wanted to mail something into Egypt,

it will go through Ramsey's office.

Ramsey dreamed of owning a car himself one day,

and part of his culture was acceptable

to use some of the perks of your high position.

So when packages would come through,

he would shake them,

and he'd try to see what's inside the package.

Many times he would open them

and help himself to whatever it was

that was intended for someone else.

Culturally, Ramsey was Muslim,

lying, stealing.

These were normal parts of society.

To not do it would be weird and accepted.

It was a normal part of his walk

to steal and to lie about it.

This culture in which Ramsey lives

could be described in these words from Psalm 12.

Everyone lies to his neighbor, verse 2.

They say,

Who is Lord over us?

Verse 4.

Well, this one particular parcel

was intended for a Christian

who worked as a school teacher.

Ramsey shook it.

He thought there were some stacks of cash inside.

That's what it felt like.

So he opened it up,

and he was disappointed

because it was a New Testament.

It was the Bible.

Well, there's that Christian

living in this Muslim country

full of corruption

that never received his package,

never got the pure word of God.

And it felt to that Christian teacher

that wickedness is all around.

The wicked walk on every side,

and what is vile is exalted.

Verse 8.

Those verses describe

Denver Metro, Colorado, USA,

just as much as Muslim Egypt.

Everyone seems to lie to their neighbor.

Everyone's attitude seems to be,

who is Lord over me.

The wicked walk on every side

of every Christian, it feels.

And vileness is exalted in the land.

So what is the walk of faith like

for you and for me?

First observation from Psalm 12

is that your walk of faith,

it will be filled with lament.

You want to walk following Christ,

this walk of faith?

You should expect it to be filled

with lament.

Lament is to grieve,

to weep,

to bewail,

to mourn,

to express sorrow

with cries from your soul.

It's to cast up

pain-induced complaints

toward God.

Have you lamented recently?

I looked up how many psalms of lament

are there?

There are 42 psalms of lament.

Well, you know how many psalms

there are total,

150.

42 out of 150,

that's about one-third

of the psalms

are giving followers of God,

believers,

ways to pray through lament.

If,

to the extent of the psalms

are the prayer book

and the song book

of God's people,

which they are,

that's about one-third

of the emotions

we will feel

in the Christian life.

It's common

for it to be lament.

It's that common.

Well, what is it

that the psalmist laments?

Three things I see here.

In verse 1,

he laments

the feeling of loneliness.

To walk as a believer

feels very lonely

many times,

doesn't it?

He's praying,

Lord,

only you can save me.

I'm all alone.

In verse 1,

he says,

Help, Lord.

Save,

for no one is faithful anymore.

Those of faith

have all vanished

from mankind.

He laments

the feeling of loneliness.

Number two,

he laments

that it's not just

the words

of the people

all around him.

It's their hearts.

He says,

Lord,

everyone's speech

and hearts

seem evil

all the time.

Verse 2,

Everyone lies

to his neighbor

and they speak

with flattering lips

and a double heart.

To flatter

is to confirm

your good opinion

to yourself.

It's to tell someone

what you know

they want to hear,

to praise and exalt them

in their own estimation.

And it's always

for malicious

and tense.

That's the double heart

behind flattery.

Proverbs 29.5

says,

A man

that flatters

his neighbor

spreads a net

for their feet.

Don't fall for it.

And the truth is

that if God

were not pleased

to dwell inside

of you and me

by grace,

our hearts

are prone

toward evil.

We're prone

to deceive

and to want

to be greedy

and envious

and then use

our tongues

to get that.

That's the bent

of every one

of our hearts

as well.

And it's lamentable.

It's lamentable

when we feel it

and experience it

and suffer it

from another

and when I see

that bent

in my own heart,

I want to lament

it all,

don't you?

The third thing

he's lamenting

in this psalm

in verse 4

is that this evil

is directly

toward God.

He says,

Lord,

they boast against you.

Don't you see it?

In verse 4,

they have said,

with our tongues

we will prevail.

Our lips

are our own.

Who is Lord

over us?

They have no thought

for God.

God.

Why would the Lord

allow Christians

or followers of God

in any generation

to experience

so much sadness

and so much lament

as we walk

this life on earth?

Getting to know you

and the hardest times

you've been through

in your life,

you've also shared

those times

of deepest lament

have been the times

when God taught me

the most to pray.

Isn't that your testimony?

Lament,

sadness in my heart,

it puts me down

on my knees

in prayer.

It's not the fun way

to learn it,

but God makes

his people

depend on him.

He makes us

cry out

and pray.

Lament

drives

prayer.

Even though

we're justified

by our own flesh,

we would not

turn to God

in prayer

so often

unless he made us

feel that lament

so deeply.

It's gracious.

John Bunyan

felt this.

He said,

the truths

that I know best

I have learned

on my knees.

I never know

a thing well

till it is burned

into my heart

by prayer.

prayer.

So what's

the walk of faith

like?

The walk of faith

will be filled

with lament.

But that lament

drives us

to pray.

Amen?

The second way

we can answer

that question

is this.

while the walk

of faith

is hard

and sad

it will feel

like lament

maybe a third

of the time

the Lord

will continue

to fuel

your walk

of faith

by his word.

This is one

of the promises

in Psalm 12.

It will be hard

but the Lord

will fuel

your walk

of faith.

He will feed

energize

and increase

your faith

as you walk

with him

and he will do

that by his word.

The word of God

is trustworthy.

This is the witness

David is bearing.

He's saying

I've tested it

it's true

hear my witness

believers.

The word of God

you can trust.

God will not

deceive you.

Do you see the contrast?

See the problem

in this Psalm

that's getting to David

is the deceitfulness

of man.

It's their tongues

their lips

their words.

That's the problem.

Look at the contrast

in verse 6.

Yahweh's words

are flawless

words.

Yahweh's words

are refined

like silver

in a clay furnace

seven times over.

You can trust

the word of God.

To purify silver

you would take

you would take

that chunk

that mineral

you would slide

it into a furnace

these clay furnaces

on the ground

would get

extremely hot

so that it would

melt

and the dirt

would separate

from the fine metal

and then you would

pull it out

let it cool

remove the dirt

and do it a second time

removing more impurities.

It would not take

seven times

till you had pure silver.

Seven is the number

of completion.

We know this.

So to say

the word of God

is that trustworthy

there is nothing

impure

in what God

has given his people.

His word

is purified

and it's precious.

You can trust

God's word.

We not only

read God's word

we must meditate

we must let it

be our fuel

we must take it in

so that it can

energize

and sustain

and increase

our faith.

Thomas Brooks

one of the Puritans

he wrote this

remember that it is

not hasty reading

of God's word

but serious

meditation

on holy

and heavenly

truths

that makes them

prove sweet

and profitable

to the soul.

It is not

the mere touching

of the flower

by the bee

that gathers honey

but her abiding

for a time

on the flower

that draws out

the sweet.

Stay with God's word

meditate upon

God's word

receive his

heavenly truth

as that sweetness

as you take it in

soak it up

let it be your fuel

to walk with him.

Well not only

is God's word

trustworthy

he also fuels you

through his word

because his word

is extremely personal

in his word

he gives you himself.

Notice this

in verse 5

because of the

oppression

of the weak

and because of

the groaning

of the needy

I will now

arise

says the Lord

I will set him

in safety

from those who

malign

or puff

at him.

The Lord's word

is personal

he pledges

himself

he personally

hears your cry

and he personally

rises up

to come to save.

That's the source

of our energy

it's God

coming in

through his word

by faith

to dwell with his people

and to sustain

and preserve

and save you

once again.

the beauty

of Hebrew

poetry

in verse 5

is that

there's some

puffing going on.

Now who does

the puffing

different interpreters

have taken

different ways

I think both

are part of that

beautiful Hebrew

poetry

so you need

to hear them both.

On one hand

the Lord

says I will

set him

in safety

from those

who are

puffing

at you

you know

picture like

a dog

slobbering

and salivating

breathing in

and out

through their nose

coming to devour

you

God will

save you

from that

but I also

like how the

Christian Standard

Bible

has translated

I think it

handles the

Hebrew very well

also

which puts it

this way

God says

I will provide

safety

for the one

who longs

for it

or puffs

or breathes

it in

I'm panting

like a deer

as the other

psalm says

for God

to come

save me

so God's

word is

trustworthy

God's word

is personal

and God

specifically

pledges himself

to preserve

your walk

of faith

look at verse

seven

you will

preserve them

you will

keep them

Yahweh

David as the

king of Israel

he knows his

limits

he's just a

man

he can't

fight all the

evil that seems

to have spread

throughout the

whole kingdom

it has to be

the Lord

to preserve

his own

people

and he

trusts

and he

prays

you will

do this

Yahweh

because you've

promised

to do

this

the Lord

will continue

to fuel

your walk

of faith

by his

word

so stay

in his

word

number

three

we see

in Psalm

12

that it

is impossible

to walk

by faith

unless

God preserves

you

did you

notice how

this Psalm

ends in

verse 8

it ends

with even

more lament

begins with

lament

and it ends

with lament

the wicked

walk on

every side

when what

is vile

is exalted

among the

sons of

man

if we

follow the

history of

redemption

throughout the

Old Testament

it only gets

worse for

the next

generation

after David

throughout the

Old Testament

we hear

cries of

lament

Jeremiah's

whole preaching

ministry was

a ministry

of lamentation

they're lamenting

the failure

of the vineyard

the failure

of God's

old covenant

people to

bear the

fruit that

God requires

of them

in Micah

7 2

we read

that the

faithful

have been

swept from

the land

hear the

similarity

there is

not one

upright person

that remains

Micah

wrote

everyone lies

in wait

to shed

blood

they each

hunt each

other with

nets

it's impossible

for God's

people to

walk with

him and to

please him

and to bear

the fruit

unless God

himself puts

it in them

the Lord

Jesus when he

came to the

earth as the

son of the

owner of the

vineyard he

explained why

a righteous

walk is

impossible

in our

human condition

under the

curse of

Adam the

first federal

head

in Matthew

12 33

Jesus said

either make

the tree

good and

its fruit

good or

make the

tree bad

and its

fruit bad

for the

tree is

known by

its fruit

you brood

of vipers

how can you

speak good

when you

are evil

for out of

the abundance

of the heart

the mouth

speaks

have you

lamented the

words that

have come out

of your

mouth

recently

I have

that's even

more convicting

because it's

the overflow

of my heart

I need the

Lord to

purify my

heart

Jesus said

the good

person out

of his

good

treasure

brings forth

good and

the evil

person out

of his

evil treasure

brings forth

evil I

tell you on

the day of

judgment people

will give

account for

every careless

word they

speak for

by your

words you

will be

justified and

by your

words you

will be

condemned

in the

first coming

Jesus comes

to bring

grace and

to accomplish

that that

work that he

can offer

freely to all

will have

faith in him

but he's

warning even

in that first

coming there

is a greater

judgment and

the second

coming of

God is the

day when

psalm 12 will

finally be

fulfilled the

vengeance of

the Lord will

be poured

out the

wrath of

God will

be upon

those whose

unclean heart

is exposed by

their unclean

words you

need a clean

heart before

Christ returns

the walk of

faith is

impossible by

our own

strength but

even in

psalm 12 the

Lord promises

I am faithful

forever look

at verse 7

one more

time I

will preserve

them this

is referring

to the

people of

God who

have faith

in God

and he

says from

this generation

forever

every generation

that rises up

and is evil

within that

there has been

a remnant

a people set

apart for the

Lord that

receive him by

faith and he

promises to

preserve you

it's impossible

for us to walk

by faith unless

he does

well here's the

good news from

psalm 12

it is possible

for you and

me to walk

by faith because

the Lord Jesus

Christ has made

this lament

his own

it is possible

for you and

me to walk by

faith because

Jesus came to

the earth and

the lament in

psalm 12 he

made it his

own in verse

5 we read that

it's because of

the oppression

of the weak

because of the

groaning of the

needy the Lord

says I will

now arise

the Lord arose

in the fullness

of time and he

came to earth and

he took on flesh

and he had

compassion on the

multitudes that

were groaning

and needy

and the Lord

Jesus Christ he

arose to

experience even

the sting of

deceit the

lament in verse

two is flattering

lips and a

double heart

in Matthew

Matthew 15:8

15 verse 8

and 9 quoting

Isaiah 29 13

Jesus said

they draw near to

me with their

mouth and they

honor me with

their lips but

their heart is

far from me in

vain do they

worship me teaching

as doctrine rules

made by men

Jesus saw their

double heart he

saw their flattering

lips he felt that

sting and he

lamented it the

Lord Jesus Christ

also arose from

heaven to

experience the

screech of evil

men boasting that

there's no Lord

over us we just

heard the passage

in Matthew 21

Jeremy read Jesus

telling this parable

of God's people the

vineyard and the

father the owner of

the venue saying I

will send my own

son and in Matthew

21 37 finally he

sent his son to

them saying they

will respect my

son but when the

tenants saw the

son they said to

themselves this is

the heir come let

us kill him and

have his inheritance

and they took him

and threw him out

of the vineyard and

killed him Jesus

came with all the

authority of heaven

he declared to them

I am the promised

Messiah I am God

and they said we

will have no Lord

over us they

carried him out and

killed him the very

son of God the

Lord Jesus Christ

arose to experience

the burn of

loneliness in verse

one he laments

there is no one

faithful his was a

wicked and faithless

generation that same

crowd that had cried

Hosanna very soon

started crying crucify

him even the

disciples John

Gill commented

they were

faithless one

betrayed him

another denied

him all forsook

him and fled and

even at his death

they lost all hope

in Jesus

our Lord Jesus

experienced deceit

boasting

loneliness

holiness and you

and I are the ones

guilty of every one

of those toward him

had he left us on

our own

we read in Ephesians

2 2 that you

church once walked

according to the

course of this world

but our Lord Jesus

Christ in the words

of Hebrews 12 to the

author and perfecter of

our faith who for the

joy that was set before

him endured the cross

despising the shame

the Lord Jesus was

cut off

and buried

but then the Lord

Jesus arose and he

is now seated at the

right hand of the

throne of God

in verse 3 of Psalm

12 the psalmist

asked for God to take

justice into his own

hands he says Lord

may you cut off all

flattering lips and a

boasting tongue

David's a warrior and a

king in ancient times

and this was a practice

that continued all the

way up until the Roman

Empire maybe later

you capture your enemy

and you cut off their

tongues

usually it was it was to

make an example to

others

here's someone who

practiced treason

they spoke out against

the kingdom

cut off their tongue

a person who would speak

blasphemy against God

that's what they deserve

that very tongue

will be cut off

you can never speak

blasphemy again

it's a show of force

when a person's tongue

was cut off

normally they would not

bleed to death right

away but in those

ancient times they would

often become infected

and swell up making it

very difficult for them

to swallow or eat and

so they would die

eventually

David's prayer for the

Lord to cut off the

tongues of the wicked

is not answered

and David doesn't take

matters into his own

hands with the sword

and do that for God

either

I've meditated on

how did that part of

this psalm get fulfilled

if ever

maybe you're a little bit

ahead of me

you process faster

why did the Lord

not cut off the tongues

of the wicked

it's because he's coming

again

and on that day

when he returns

you know what happens

every knee

shall bow

what's the next part

every tongue

shall confess

that Jesus Christ

is Lord

amen

he fulfills

Psalm 12

my last encouragement

to you is that

the Lord

who walked by faith

who made this lament

his own

he calls you and me

to follow him

the Lord

walked on earth

by faith

according to his

human nature

and he calls you

and me

to follow him

trusting his word

maybe some of you

have had to be

in sales

or been a recruiter

and it's very hard

to not pull a bait

and switch on people

when you're recruiting

you promise something

better

something good

and you under deliver

you notice how

Jesus invites you

and me to follow him

Luke 9 23

if anyone

would come after me

let him deny himself

take up his cross

daily

and follow

me

God is real

God deals with truth

Psalm 12

a psalm of lament

is real

it's for real people

like you and me

and so you can go to God

because

there's no bait and switch

he's up front

it's going to be

full of lament

it's going to be

a cross daily

follow me

Yahweh's words

are flawless

words

as refined

in a clay

furnace

purified

seven times

and God's word

says

in Romans 8 1

there is

therefore now

no condemnation

for those

who are in

Christ Jesus

and who walk

according

to his spirit

Romans 6 4

Christ was raised

from the dead

through the glory

of the father

why

so that you

and I

may walk

in newness

of life

I started off

telling you about

Ramsey

who took away

that package

so the Christian

school teacher

never could get

his Bible

well Ramsey's name

was changed

to keep him safe

by the Bible

International League

Bible League

International

and Ramsey

didn't just

throw that

package in the

trash

he kept

this New Testament

and he started

reading it

from the very

beginning of the

cover

so he read

through the

gospel according

to Matthew

then he read

through the

gospel

the life and

work of Jesus

according to

Mark

then Luke

by the time

he got to the

gospel according

to John the

fourth time

he changed his

reason for wanting

to read it

at first he was

wanting to mock

and just understand

this is what

Christians believe

how crazy

by the fourth

time he said

this is what

I believe

I do believe

Jesus is the

son of God

how could he

not be what

I just read

and then he

kept reading

to get his

question answered

because he knew

if Jesus is the

son of God

but I'm a

sinner

I'm full of

vileness

my lips

are deceiving

there's no hope

for a person

like me

how could I

ever be saved

and this burden

was not lifted

but he kept

reading God's

word

finally the

Lord by his

Holy Spirit

answered Ramsey's

question

when he got

to Acts 16

30

that Philippian

jailer

who put these

believers in

prison

a corrupt

government

official just

like him

he asked that

question

what can a

person like

me do to

be saved

and they

preached the

gospel to

him

believe in

the Lord

Jesus Christ

and you

will be

saved

well Ramsey

got saved

by faith

in Christ

he looked

up that

Christian

school teacher's

address

found some

other Christians

bought a

copy of the

New Testament

from them

gave it to

that Christian

apologized to

him

joined the

Christian

fellowship

in Egypt

and now

he is

one of the

biggest

distributors

of Bibles

he gives

out New

Testaments

to Egyptian

Muslims

as much

as the

Bible League

International

can supply

him with

he is

giving them

out

so that

more people

can hear

the good

word

this is

the word

of God

purified

seven times

over

and it is

enough

for God

to use

to save

a person

like me

of course

he can

save you

that is

Ramsey's

testimony

and that is

why we are

here church

2 Corinthians

6 16

the word

of God

says that

you Christians

you are

the temple

of the living

God

even as

God said

I will

dwell in

them

and I

will walk

in them

I will

be their

God

and they

will be

my people

it's

through the

word of

God

he walks

with us

he ministers

among his

church

we just

sang and we

exhort each

other

speak oh

Lord

till your

church is

built

and the

earth is

filled

with your

glory

and by

grace

we'll

stand

on your

promises

and by

faith

we will

walk

as you

walk

with us

you can

walk by

faith

because the

Lord

walks with

his

people

he

feeds

his

people

he

ministers

to us

by his

word

and so

as we read

in Hebrews

12 1 and 2

let us also

lay aside

every weight

and sin

which clings

so closely

and let us

walk

no let us

run

with endurance

the race

that is set

before us

looking to

Jesus Christ

the author

and the anchor

of our faith

amen

amen

let us

spend some

time in

prayer

praising

the Lord

trusting

him

thanking

him

that he

turns

our

lament

into a

fulfilled

promise

that we

rest in

by faith

yet again

today

amen

amen

amen

amen

amen