Psalm, Chapter 12

“Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth!

Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.

May the Lord cut off their flattering lips and silence their boastful tongues.

They say, ‘We will lie to our hearts’ content. Our lips are our own- who can stop us?

The Lord replies, ‘I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do.’

The Lords promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.

Therefore the Lord will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation, even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.”

WOW!

I looked up when this psalm might have been written and I quote “Most modern scholars believe the Psalms were written during the pre-exilic period (around 600 BCE), or possibly post-exilic (500 BCE), but they are infamously difficult to date, somewhat because of their poetic nature.” honors blog.uark.edu>psalms

BCE is an abbreviation for “Before the Christian Era”

Here is a perfect example of history repeating itself! The author of this psalm could very easily be sitting in his office in a downtown high-rise office building, penning these exact words.

As I was reading this chapter, it screamed of the days we are living in. The news reports basically what they want us to hear, or at the very least twisting the message to reflect their beliefs and worldly agenda.

Our world is cold, fast, and scary. We have lost people with no one and nowhere to go; as they search for a warm place to lay down they probably find the doors are locked, the buildings are secured, and safety fences are in place, why because among the poor and oppressed are those bent on evil. Sadly, those who would rob you as you try and hand them a warm meal!

We can only do what the Lord places in our paths, helping those he puts in our line of focus. We can help supply food kitchens and pantries. We can donate clothes, coats, sleeping bags, and such.

But…

The best thing we can do is PRAY taking the last section of this chapter and thanking the Lord that…

He sees the violence done to the poor and helpless.

Thanking him that his word tells us he will rise and rescue them.

Thanking him, that his words are pure, true and steadfast!

Thanking him for his protection over the lost but also over us and our families every day as we wade through the currents of life.

Preserving us from this lying generation, because wicked struts about and evil is praised throughout our land.

But, you Lord are in control. You know those who belong to you and are always with us. We thank you for your protection! We thank you for your direction! We thank you for open hearts, hearing ears, and seeing eyes. Lord help us to correctly represent you while we are walking this earth. Let us be bright shining ambassadors of your love and message. In your glorious name Lord Jesus, we pray! Amen 😌