Psalm 12

PSALM 12

"The Pure Words of the Lord"

Psalm 12 concerns the frustration of the godly who live in an ungodly society.  Do you ever despair, like David, at the evil around you?  Do you, like David, pray for God to intervene?

Hmmm . . . . may we all examine ourselves today.  Do we sin with our tongue?  Do we speak idly with our neighbors (gossip)?  As women, we are so prone to this! 

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God's words are pure
• God is all-powerful
• Safety is with the Lord
• The Lords sees the oppressed and hears their sighs
• Our help is from God

"The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace . . . " ~ Ps. 12:6

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I praise God that He is my source of  help.  May I remember to go to Him first, rather than try to "fix" things on my own and rely on the Lord as my last resort.
• In verses 5-7, we praise the Lord because HE IS IN CONTROL.  Do we recognize the pattern that is developing in these psalms?  A recurring truth is that GOD IS IN CONTROL. 
  

  So often, our vision is so short-sighted - if we can't recognize that God is working in the situation, we mistakenly conclude that (a) He doesn't know of our suffering, (b) He doesn't care about our suffering, or (c) He is powerless to remedy our suffering. It's times like these that our feelings don't match the facts.  We can praise God that He is in control of every situation, working each circumstance - even our suffering - according to the wisdom of His will.  I love this prayer:

Dear Lord,

Before Your throne

I bring the agony of a broken heart.

I heap on You the anxiety

that comes

with living in a fallen world.

To You

I confess my pride, my greed, my vanity.

At Your feet I question, worship, grieve, rejoice.

I share with You my anger and my love.

Lord of lords, Alpha and Omega,

the one thing I cannot bring

before Your throne

is a "surprise."

• Don't you love knowing that we can't "surprise" God - I praise the Lord that He is all-knowing!
• I praise God that His words are pure.  They are forever faithful.
• I praise God that our safety is His provision.

PRAYER:

Verse eight brings us to our knees in prayer for our nation:

“The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.”  ~ Ps. 12:8

     O Lord, forgive me when my words are sinful.  Forgive me when my tongue is a burning fire.  Grant me strong discipline over my tongue - that I may bridle it when needed!  May my words be pure words, used for edification, sanctification, encouragement, and love. 
      Father, our hearts are gripped by verse 8.  There is so much that is vile to You, things that Your word specifically calls sin that are honored among our nation.  Even Your own people’s hearts have grown callous to the sin around us.  So often, we don’t even see things as “sin” anymore – we have learned to dilute wrongdoing in this culture.  I pray that our country would experience revival among Your people – would You give us a hunger & thirst for righteousness again?  May the values of society change, beginning with Your people.  Would You give us a fervent desire to read Your word, to seek Your mind on issues that face our country, that we would honor what You honor and value what You value.  
      Father, it is scary that the wicked prowl on every side!  Please protect my family from the attacks of the evil one.  May You be pleased to place Your hedge of protection around us, behind and before, and lay Your hand upon us (Ps. 139:5).  Set us in the safety You provide, for which we yearn.

      Father, I long to be a godly woman, and a woman of great faith.  May You be pleased with Your servant.  In Jesus’ name I pray ~ Amen