Psalm 12:1-8 Help, LORD; for the godly man ceases; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.… The poem is a picture of a morally rotten age. The devout author felt himself living in corrupt times. Hence he notes this degeneracy — I. AS A FACT FOR DEVOUT LAMENTATION. He mourns because of three things — 1. The absence of the true. "The godly man ceaseth." 2. The presence of the false, vain man, — "they speak vanity." Obsequious men "flattering lips." Insincere — "a double heart." They spoke one thing and meant another. Proud — they spoke "proud things." Cruel — "the oppression of the poor." What a spectacle for a devout eye. 3. The exaltation of the vile. "The vilest men are exalted." II. AS A REASON FOR DIVINE INTERPOSITION. 1. "Help, Lord." So he prayed. 2. Divinely promised. "Now will I arise, saith the Lord." This comes as an answer to the prayer. "Before they call I will answer." 3. Heartily expected. "Thou shalt keep them, O Lord. III. AS SUGGESTING BY CONTRAST THE EXCELLENCY OF GOD'S WORD. "The words of the Lord are pure words." They are so for — 1. They are unmixed with falsehood; and 2. They have been thoroughly tested. "As silver tried in a furnace of earth," etc. How thoroughly it has been tried these six thousand years, by persecution, by hostile criticism, by the profoundest experience of the good in all ages. (D. Thomas D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: {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.WEB: Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from among the children of men. |
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