Pure Words for Perilous Times

The Psalms, they just reflect life.

It's no wonder that their intended, their initial intention was to be incorporated into the liturgy of Israel's worship.

They don't water down anything about the realities of this life, do they?

They don't try to sugarcoat anything.

They actually speak to the rawness of hardship, to the confusion of understanding, on one hand, what God has proclaimed himself to be,

seeing examples of that, living out examples of that goodness of God in real time,

but then also being confused at why they don't seem to experience that at all times.

I mean, just over and over and over, it's this struggle, isn't it?

They acknowledge the tremendous hardship and doubts that are part and parcel of human existence,

but they help us to process life in light of God, who he is, and how he promises to act.

And we come to these things, and we think about them, and we can apply them in various ways, of course.

And how can we not sit back and think, okay, this is not only the experience of Christians,

this is the experience of just humanity, right?

We live in a fallen world.

We struggle with life in a fallen world.

How is it possible that anybody who doesn't know Christ,

who doesn't understand the things that have the promises of God,

the hopefulness that is the person and the work of God,

how can they cope with these things?

We come to them, and the Psalms are quite helpful for us

because they acknowledge the realities of the difficulty of living life under the sun,

as Solomon called it,

a fallen world, tremendous hardship and suffering,

while also helping us to interpret those things in light of the promises of God.

David and the other psalmists,

they show us what it looks like to face the realities of life

while still clinging trustingly to God,

trustingly to Christ.

The situation presented in Psalm 12

is probably best understood as an expansion

on the idea that is put forward in Psalm 11 in verse 3,

where we're told that the moral foundations of society were being destroyed.

They were eroding.

We dealt with that in great detail last week.

It's as if when we get to Psalm 12,

certainly these two are connected,

David is now unpacking what that means.

He's unpacking what the moral erosion of society looks like,

and in this case, he's narrowed his focus.

He's not including every possible circumstance

or every possible moral decline.

He's zeroed in on just one facet of it.

He's highlighting the unrestrained deceit

that has permeated his culture.

Lies are everywhere.

Flattering lips,

double-hearted speech,

boasting,

so much so that David looks around and he says,

there's no more faithfulness left.

Everybody,

it has permeated our society

so that the moral foundations have been destroyed.

I can't find righteousness and honesty and truth anywhere.

His world was dominated by the destructive power of the tongue

as he explains it here.

And so David does what he always does.

He brings that observation to the Lord.

He makes his complaint,

if we can call it that,

really probably lament is the better word.

He makes his lament to the Lord,

and he asks for God to act.

He asks that God would rescue the faithful

from such a terrible predicament,

that he would bring resolution to it,

that he would do something.

But then he also reaffirms his confident hope

that believers have in taking God as their refuge.

So while seeking the Lord's help for present issues,

David teaches us that we must also just trust in his promises

and trust that his purposes are good

as we wait his action.

Easy thing to say to do.

Really hard thing to live, isn't it?

Let's think about just the structure of the psalm itself.

Just briefly, I think it will be helpful for us in this case to do it.

As a song for worship, Psalm 12,

contrast, really the primary thing happening here,

it's contrasting the deceitfulness of the wicked,

the deceitfulness of the world,

if we're going to think of it in connection to 1 John 2

that we read a minute ago.

The deceitfulness of the world

is being contrasted with the absolute trustworthiness of God.

In the first half, we're presented with,

this is the deceit-dominated society.

In the second half, we are lifted up by the reality

that though we can trust no one else,

we can trust the Lord.

His words are pure words.

He is able to be trusted.

While we live in a society

in which using deceptive means

to take advantage of people is all too common,

we can actually always trust the word of God.

Deceit may reign in our world.

God's truth will ultimately prevail.

And there is a chiastic structure to this.

I know we could probably find a chiism everywhere in the Psalms.

I don't intend to just confuse you with that,

but it is actually helpful to us.

It's interesting to see it in this case.

There's a diagram for you on the screen

so that you can see what I mean.

Remember, a chiism, it takes a particular poetic shape

to emphasize a particular point.

So verse 1 corresponds with verse 8.

Verse 1 deals with the fact that the faithful have vanished.

Verse 8 closes that same thought by saying,

David is surrounded by the wicked.

So think about how those relate together.

David looks around.

He's observing his situation.

He says, there's not faithfulness anywhere.

And then he connects that then at the end with,

I'm surrounded by the wicked, right?

And then as we move a little bit closer,

a little bit more narrow in the structure,

verse 2 corresponds to verse 7.

In verse 2, we're told that his society is dominated by deceit.

In verse 7, in contrast to that,

David emphasizes that God will keep his word.

That all around you is lies, flattery,

but God's going to keep his word.

He's not deceiving you.

And then it moves in a little more narrower,

where verse 3 corresponds to verse 6.

Verse 3, what do we find?

God will judge these deceivers.

David prays for that.

He says, let them cut off their tongues, he says.

Cut off the person who boasts.

And what do we find in verse 6?

That God's words are pure.

The fact that God's words are pure

is an indication of his righteousness,

which gives him the right and the authority

to carry out the judgment that is displayed in verse 3.

See how they're connected?

And then we get to the very center of the chiasm.

This is kind of the point.

It's driving the focus here.

In verse 4, we have the speech of the deceivers.

Verse 5, we have the speech of God.

God makes his statement.

Now that's helpful for us,

because it helps us to understand

what David is doing poetically,

in song, in rhyme, in lyric,

in order to emphasize a particular truth.

That in this world,

there's lies and deceit,

it's inundated with it,

but you can trust God.

You can trust the Lord.

His words are pure.

That's the main drive of this psalm.

If you don't get anything else out of what I say,

that's the main drive.

That as you look around the world around you,

and you get discouraged at the fact

that you can't trust anybody,

you can trust the Lord.

You can trust his word.

You can cling to him.

He is trustworthy.

He is a true shelter and refuge.

So let's unpack it.

Let's unpack it all by considering

two distinct things.

We want to consider the real experience

of living in a society

that is dominated by lies,

and then we want to consider after that

how we can find hope

in the pure words of God, okay?

Number one, look at a deceitful society.

Deceitful society.

Verse one again.

Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone.

For the faithful have vanished

from among the children of man.

Everyone utters lies to his neighbor

with flattering lips

and a double heart they speak.

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,

the tongue that makes great boasts.

Those who say with our tongue,

we will prevail.

Our lips are with us.

Who is master for us?

Now it's interesting to me

that David speaks,

that before David speaks

about the specific issue

of a deceit-dominated society,

he first states that there seem

to be no faithful people left

among the children of man.

What's he communicating here?

Not just the reality

that he's surrounded by wickedness,

but there's no trace of faithfulness.

The emphasis is on a different thing.

I think he's communicating

that feeling of loneliness

and isolation

as one who truly wants

to live in obedience to the Lord.

He observes the world around him.

Finding truly faithful people

was incredibly difficult to do.

Perhaps he's discouraged

over the fact that

many who would have been committed

to obeying the Lord,

standing shoulder to shoulder

with David at some point

in honoring the Lord

and worshiping the Lord

and being faithful to him

and living in holiness

according to his law.

Maybe he's discouraged

by the fact that those people

now are walking

in the counsel of the wicked.

They're standing

in the way of sinners.

They're sitting

in the seat of the scornful,

the scoffers.

The moral foundations

were collapsing around them

and he felt alone

in being concerned about it.

Surely you understand

what this is like.

You can not only be discouraged

at the great wickedness

that is our world,

but then it's devastating

when you look around

and you say,

this person used to say

they love the Lord.

They used to stand with me

on truth

and now I can't find

faithfulness anywhere.

The faithful have vanished.

It's an emotion

so often felt

by those standing for truth.

It's overwhelming

to consider the raging

wickedness of society.

Even more challenging

to see those

who once contended

for the faith

now abandoning that faith.

It can be spiritually

debilitating, can't it?

The feeling of loneliness.

Elijah experienced that,

remember?

After this tremendous victory

over the prophets of Baal,

Elijah cries out to the Lord.

He runs to the wilderness.

He cries out to the Lord

and he says,

he says,

Lord, will you just take my life?

I'm the only one left, God.

There's nobody left.

Which, of course,

is an emotion

that we often feel

but isn't actually

conveying truth, is it?

God always has his remnant.

He's always doing his work

and that's exactly

how God responded to Elijah.

He said,

Elijah,

stop whining.

I got 7,000 people

in Israel

that have not yet

bowed the knee

to Baal, Elijah.

Just keep going, Elijah.

We know what this is like.

This is common

in the scriptures.

It's common

in our real lived experience.

Things being so bad

that the faithful

seem to have vanished

and what does David do

in response to that?

Save us, God.

Do something, God.

Rescue the faithful

that remain.

But then beginning

in verse 2,

David explains

the particular issue

at hand

and you'll notice

that it all has to do

with sins of the tongue.

Four different kinds

of sins related to speech

are mentioned here.

First, David says

that everyone is lying

to everyone else.

Everyone utters lies

to his neighbor.

Culture is dominated

by deceit.

And based on the impact

that these sins had

on the vulnerable

in verse 5,

what we find is that

this isn't merely

just like vain lies.

This isn't stretching

the truth to make ourselves

look better to other people.

That probably is happening.

This sounds like scheming.

Deceptive schemes

meant to take advantage

of others

in order to benefit

oneself.

Then David recognizes

flattery

as a particularly

devastating problem.

We might understand

flattery

as smooth talking.

Offering

disingenuous compliments.

Or feigning interest

in a person

in order to gain

something from them.

ladies ever

get hit on

by a smooth talker?

Some of you

married some smooth talkers,

right?

It worked.

Feigning a little bit

of interest,

overdue compliments

that they don't really

intend in order

that they might

gain something

from you,

of course,

that happens

all the time.

It's a sin

frequently overlooked,

to be honest with you,

but routinely present

among Christians.

People using

flattery in order

to advance

themselves in the church,

in order to gain

maybe some kind

of power,

in order to

do something,

in order to

have advantage

for themselves.

it's disingenuous.

Still,

the scriptures

speak of its dangers.

Solomon said

in Proverbs 26

that a flattering

tongue works

ruin.

It's not

merely that

you're giving

somebody encouragement

that you don't mean.

It's going to

ruin them

is what it does.

Daniel said

that flattery

would be

key

to the seduction

of the Antichrist

at the end of the age.

Daniel 11,

32.

He will be

by nature

a flatterer.

Jude included

flatterers

among the ungodly

who will face

God's eternal

judgment

in Jude 16.

And yet,

it seems to be

a sin of the tongue

that Christians

don't speak

much about.

Rather,

they tend

to indulge it.

Third,

David speaks

of double-hearted

speech.

double-hearted

speech.

James Johnston

describes it

this way,

the double-hearted

man is thinking

two things

at the same time.

What he wants

and what he needs

to say

to get what he wants.

Truth

takes a backseat

to selfishness.

sin.

And then the final

kind of sin

is in verses

three and four,

which underscore

boasting.

The people

that David

sees,

they've gotten

so good

at deception

that they now

boast of prevailing

over God

and his people.

Their strength

is in their ability

to persuade

people.

and they know

it

and they're

using

that ability

to

gain

advantage

for themselves

and to

abuse

the vulnerable.

They've

deceived

themselves

into thinking

also that

they're going

to get by

with it.

Now it's bad

enough

for these

kinds of sins

to exist

in society.

It's devastating

when they are

commonplace.

I mean,

who can you

actually trust?

We know,

our society

is no different

than this,

right?

We can look,

we see this

corruption

everywhere.

We can point

to politicians

or maybe

used car

salesmen.

That's low

hanging fruit,

right?

We can say

that,

okay,

we all get

that there's

probably a lot

of deceit

going on there.

A little bit

of flattery

happening there.

Certainly

some boasting

going on.

But this is

everywhere.

We see this

in the medical

community,

don't we?

On both

extremes of it.

On one side,

we see

pharmaceutical

companies that

are pushing

medicines that

are very,

very expensive.

And when you

watch those

ads,

what is it?

They get to

the part

where they

actually tell

you what

the medicine

does to you

and it's

like super

fast and it's

like this may

cause you to

die,

but these

people are

really happy.

They're really

happy about it,

right?

You go to the

other extreme

and you have

the naturalists

that are giving

themselves over

to lies and to

slander and

conspiracy just

to make a point

to drive all

of that influence

away from the

pharmaceutical

company over

to their

side instead.

And then you

get to the

end of it and

you go to the

doctor and you

think,

well,

who can I

trust here?

This doctor

seems to be

taking advantage

of me.

This person

seems to be a

quack.

Who can I

actually trust?

And you may

determine,

I don't know

that I can

trust anyone.

And maybe you

can't.

It's not just

that.

Again,

that's maybe

low-hanging fruit.

Journalists

understand the

power of the

tongue,

don't they?

They understand

it well.

They use it to

their advantage.

They know how

they can formulate

their words in

order to drive a

particular emotion.

And we see it

constantly in these

election cycles,

don't we?

Driving fear on

one hand in order

to push people to

one particular

candidate,

right?

Driving maybe

empty promises on

the other hand with

the language that

they use,

all reporting on

the same thing,

but using language

to their advantage

in order that they

might deceive.

Now,

that's not

universal,

but they

understand the

power of it,

and it certainly

is commonplace.

Perhaps there's

no greater place

where this

is seen

and where the

danger exists

than in the

church.

Charlatans

who understand

that they have

the power of

persuasion,

and they stand

at a pulpit

Sunday by Sunday

and they know

how to manipulate

the people that

hear their voice

and they will

work that to

their advantage

to build a

platform or

influence or

pad their

pockets,

whatever it may

be.

We can look

around,

we can see

every part of

society and say,

yeah,

I get what

David was

saying.

Everybody's

kind of lying

here.

Everybody's

trying to take

advantage of me

here.

people are

boasting that

they're good

at it.

What do we

do?

Save us,

Lord.

Help us,

Lord.

Almost every

lament David

has offered

involved these

sins in some

way.

Have you noticed

that?

In all these

Psalms, so much

of it comes

back to sins

of the tongue.

The reason

for that is

that sins of

speech are

among the

most destructive

sins.

They have

the ability

to disintegrate

the moral

fabric of

society.

James makes

this clear

for us.

In James

James 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3,

he writes,

the tongue

is a fire,

a world

of unrighteousness.

The tongue

is set among

our members,

staining the

whole body,

setting on fire

the entire

course of

life,

set on fire

by hell.

Every kind

of beast

and bird

and reptile

and sea creature

can be tamed

and has been

tamed by

mankind,

but no

human being

can tame

the tongue.

It's a

restless evil,

he says.

It's full

of deadly

poison.

With it,

we bless

the Lord

and Father

on Sunday

morning,

and with it

we curse

people that

are made

in the likeness

of God

Monday to

Saturday.

From the

same mouth

come blessing

and cursing.

Brothers,

these things

ought not to

be so.

He understood

the destructive

power of the

tongue.

If death

and life

are in the

power of the

tongue,

which is

what Solomon

tells us

in Proverbs

18,

what must

that mean

for a

society

that is

permeated

by lying?

Permeated

by flattery

and double

speech?

It was

David's

circumstance.

It's ours

as well.

And it's

not hard

for us

to see

why David

felt this

was a

desperate

circumstance

that needed

God's

intervention.

So he

prayed that

the Lord

would rescue

them and

that he

would do

so by

dealing a

decisive blow

to the

wicked,

cutting off

the flattering

lips and the

boasting

tongue.

Again,

the Psalms

emphasizing,

warning us

of the

reality of

God's

judgment,

his people

praying for

it,

and then God

responding with

the promise

of it.

Now,

before we move

on,

let's

consider

this.

Where do

we fall

into this?

Have you

ever broken

God's moral

law with

a sin of

the tongue?

Of course.

Most of us

are probably

pretty good

at it.

Have you

ever lied

or flattered

or deceived

someone to

gain some

kind of

personal

advantage?

Maybe you

did it in

your business.

Maybe you

did it with

your spouse.

Maybe you

did it in

the church.

Maybe you

did it with

friendship.

Whatever.

We're all

probably guilty

of it,

right?

This

judgment

against

deceivers

that is

prayed for

by David

and then

promised by

God later

in the

Psalm,

it extends

to all of

us who

have sinned

in this

way.

All of

us.

You and

me included.

So,

where does

that leave

us?

there is

some hope.

In fact,

it's a

certain hope.

There was

a man

who never

flattered,

who never

boasted,

who never

deceived.

Peter said

that Jesus

committed no

sin,

neither was

deceit found

in his

mouth.

Even when

he was

reviled,

he did not

revile in

return,

but he

continued

entrusting

himself to

the judgment

of the

Father.

The good

news of

the gospel

is that

though we

should be

condemned by

God for

our lies,

our sins

can be

forgiven.

Christ's

righteousness

can be

applied to

our account.

Peter

continues in

the next

verse,

he himself

bore our

sins in

his body

on the

tree,

that we

might die

to sin

and live

to

righteousness.

By his

wounds

we are

healed.

Peter says,

quoting Isaiah,

by repenting

of your

sin,

trusting in

Jesus'

atoning

death and

resurrection,

you will

escape the

judgment of

God for

your sins.

Jesus has

taken the

punishment for

sin,

and he

offers

forgiveness

and eternal

life to

all who

will come

to him

in personal

faith to

receive it.

This is the

promise of

the gospel,

the offer

of new

life through

Jesus Christ,

the perfect

one,

the sinless

one,

who takes

the place

of sinners

like you

and me.

So there's

the perilous

condition of

a deceitful

society.

Now we see

in the second

half of the

psalm,

we see the

trustworthy

God,

the trustworthy

God.

Three truths

in the second

half of the

psalm give

us hope in

perilous times.

The first

one is this,

the Lord

will save

the poor

and needy.

The Lord

will save

the poor

and needy.

Look at

verse 5.

This is

God's statement

now.

God is saying

these words,

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.

David

asks for

salvation

in verse

1,

which is

precisely

what God

promises

in verse

5.

He knows

the plight

of the

vulnerable

who are

the first

to suffer

in a

deceitful

society,

and he

will come

to their

defense.

That's the

promise here.

The Lord

hates the

wicked.

He seeks

justice

for the

helpless.

But we

need to

understand

what God

is actually

promising

here.

In the

context of

this psalm,

poor and

needy are

terms that

are representing

what Psalm

11 called

the upright

in heart.

Those at

whom the

wicked aim

their arrows

in 11

and verse

2.

David

includes

himself in

this group.

Just look

at the

very next

verse.

Or excuse

me, in

verse 7.

You, O

Lord, will

keep them,

your words,

you will

guard us,

he says,

from this

generation

forever.

He includes

himself in

this group,

this group

of poor

and needy.

Well, David

physically

speaking was

neither poor

nor needy,

nor weak,

nor vulnerable.

He was

the king.

He was

the king.

He had

power.

He had

wealth,

prestige,

and yet

he includes

himself in

this.

So that

forces us

to go back

and say,

well, what

is God

actually promising?

Is he

promising that

every person

who experiences

an injustice

in this life

will find

rescue from

that judgment,

that injustice

in this life?

No, that's

not the

promise that

he's making.

While God

certainly cares

about injustices

against the

physically vulnerable,

this psalm has

those who

are faithful,

especially

in mind.

Think about

it in

relationship to

Jesus'

ministry.

God's

concern for

the physically

vulnerable

is exemplified

in Jesus.

He was

constantly

gravitating

toward the

helpless

and the

needy.

MacArthur

emphasizes

often that

during the

three years

of Jesus'

earthly

ministry,

he

essentially

eradicated

disease

from Israel.

I mean,

everywhere he

went,

hundreds and

thousands of

people are

receiving his

healing touch.

Amazing.

He gravitated

toward those

people.

His heart

broke for

those people.

He wanted

to help

those people.

However,

miraculous

healings were

not the

purpose of

Jesus'

ministry.

He himself

underscored

the deeper

meaning of

the promise

that is

highlighted here

in this

psalm.

That God

will save

his people

represented

as poor

and needy,

weak and

vulnerable

from the

wickedness

of this

world.

He will

redeem

them.

He will

save

them.

He will

rescue

them.

It's a

promise

that's

guaranteed.

Think about

it in

Jesus'

own

teaching.

In Luke

Luke 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4,

we're told

that

he came

to

Nazareth

where he

had been

brought up

and as

was his

custom,

he went

to the

synagogue

on the

Sabbath

day and

he stood

up to

read.

And the

scroll of

the prophet

Isaiah

was given

to him.

He unrolled

the scroll

and found

the place

where it

was written,

the spirit

of the

Lord is

upon me

because he

has anointed

me to

proclaim good

news to

the poor.

He has

sent me to

proclaim liberty

to the

captives.

And

recovering

of sight

to the

blind

to set

at liberty

those who

are

oppressed

to proclaim

the year

of the

Lord's

favor.

And he

rolled up

the scroll

and gave

it back

to the

attendant

and sat

down and

the eyes

of all

in the

synagogue

were fixed

on him

and he

began to

say to

them,

today

this

scripture

has been

fulfilled

in your

hearing.

Jesus

interpreted

Isaiah's

message

as referring

to his

gospel

purpose.

The

poor,

the

captive,

the

blind,

the

oppressed,

they

represented

sinners

in need

of

salvation

and

Jesus'

purpose

in coming

was to

bring that

salvation

through his

death and

resurrection.

Did he

meet the

physical

needs of

people?

Did he

care to

do that?

Absolutely.

Is that a

partial

fulfillment

of Isaiah's

words?

Of course

it is.

Is it

the point?

No.

Will Jesus

eradicate

all evil

in the

end?

Yes,

we cling

to that

hope.

But the

promises

made by

God

must be

interpreted

with their

spiritual

meaning.

When we

come to

a passage

like Psalm

12,

the promise

is not

a guarantee

that God

will bring

justice

to the

oppressed

in this

life,

though he

often does

that.

The promise

is that he

will bring

spiritual

salvation

for all

who will

repent

and believe.

Not a

single one

will fail.

The physical

fulfillment of

this promise

in Psalm

12 will

come at

the final

judgment.

All of

the wicked

will be

judged by

God.

All of

the weak

and vulnerable

who are

believing

will be

vindicated

in that

moment.

But the

spiritual

fulfillment

of this

promise,

it's already

taken place.

It was

fulfilled in

the crucifixion

and the

resurrection

of Jesus.

That's why

we can

hope in

it.

God

says,

I will

now

arise.

I will

deal with

it.

And he

did.

He dealt

with it

in the

person and

work of

Jesus

Christ,

bringing

salvation to

the poor

and needy,

the lost

and oppressed

by sin.

That's the

first thing

that gives

us hope.

Number two,

the Lord's

promises are

trustworthy.

They're

trustworthy.

Verse six,

the words of

the Lord are

pure words,

like silver

refined in a

furnace on

the ground,

purified seven

times.

Now think about

what the

psalm is doing.

Think about

the progression

here.

We're first

presented with

the predicament.

Here is the

deceitful

society.

This is

troubling.

We need

salvation from

this.

And then we

have God's

promise that

he will

redeem the

faithful.

And immediately

following that

promise, we

might look at

it and say,

well, if I

can't trust

anybody else,

what makes

me think that

I should be

able to

trust God?

And David

answers that

for us in

the very next

thing.

And he

says, oh,

listen, the

words of

God, they're

very different

from the

words of

this world.

They are

pure words,

he says.

They're like

silver that's

been refined

seven times.

It doesn't

have a single

trace of

dross or

impurity left.

That's how

trustworthy the

Lord's words

are.

You can trust

his promises,

David says.

In another

psalm, he

says, this

God, his

way is

perfect.

The word

of the

Lord proves

true.

He really

is a

shield for

all who

take refuge

in him.

That gives

us hope,

doesn't it?

That God

promises to

save his

people.

And that

his promises

never fail.

Says

Spurgeon,

so clear

and free

from all

alloy of

error and

unfaithfulness

is the

book of the

words of

the Lord.

The Bible

has passed

through the

furnace of

persecution,

literary

criticism,

philosophic

doubt,

and scientific

discovery,

and has

lost nothing

but those

human

interpretations

which clung

to it as

alloy to

precious

ore.

The

experience of

saints has

tried it in

every conceivable

manner,

but not a

single doctrine

or promise

has been

consumed in

the most

excessive

heat.

faith.

What a way

to say

you can

trust him.

It's true.

You can

believe him.

He'll never

fail.

Which brings

us to the

final promise

in verses

seven and

eight.

The Lord

will not

forsake his

people.

He will

not forsake

his people.

Okay,

again,

think about

the progression

here.

Here on one

hand we have,

okay,

here's a promise

of the Lord

for salvation,

and then that's

followed up

with the emphasis

that,

and you can

trust it,

you can

trust his

word,

which is

then followed

up by,

and he's

never going

to change

his mind.

He's never

going to

change his

mind.

He's never

going to

turn around

from this.

He'll never

forsake his

people.

Look at

verse seven.

You,

O Lord,

will keep

them.

You will

guard us

from this

generation

forever.

On every

side,

the wicked

prowl,

his vileness

is exalted

among the

children of

men.

In this

final note,

David confessed

his faith

in the

Lord.

In the

last verse,

the wicked

are still

prowling.

The vile

are being

exalted

by the

world still

yet,

but David

was confident

that God

would guard

those who

trust him

to the

very end.

there's a

shift that

has happened

here,

a shift

that takes

place

throughout

the psalm.

It opens

in verse

one with

fear.

Lord,

save.

But after

David considers

God's perfect

word,

his fear

transforms

to an

act of

faith,

the

circumstances

do not

change.

He's still

going to have

a hard time

finding faithful

people.

He's still

surrounded by

wickedness.

the world

in which

he lives

exalts

the vile.

That has

not changed.

What's

changed?

David has

changed.

David has

changed.

This is

why we

must remain

grounded and

rooted in

the scriptures.

Like the

blessed men

of Psalm

1,

our

flourishing

will only

come through

being planted

by the rivers

of water,

which is

God's

word.

In

perilous

times,

we have

the pure

words of

God as

our hope.

And as

we bring

our frustrations,

as we bring

our fears,

and our

concerns,

and our

laments to

the Lord,

as we come

to the

scripture,

and to

prayer,

what is it

that happens?

The circumstance

will very rarely

change.

God changes

us instead.

He puts

faith in

our hearts.

He strengthens

us.

He becomes

a refuge

for us

rather than

delivering us