Psalm 12
Sermon Summary (7/14/2024)
Text: Psalm 12
This Psalm is a prayer for salvation. The psalmist, King David, looks around at his society and finds no one who is righteous — everyone is faithless, corrupt, deceitful, and proud. So he cries out for the Lord to save him (verses 1-2). Right away, the opening word of this Psalm (“save”) teaches us an important lesson. We typically think of God’s salvation as salvation from sin and the punishments of hell. God does, indeed, save our souls from eternal judgment in the next life, but He also saves us from the hardships of this life. But since we forget that God cares about the everyday details of our lives, we often fail to ask God for help when we face difficult situations. Instead, we rely on our own strength or on worldly resources for help. Psalm 12 corrects us. It teaches us that whenever we face trials of any kind, our first response (as children of God) must be to cry out with David, “Save, O Lord”!
David asks God to save him from the kind of corrupt and proud men that surround him on all sides. Specifically, David says that these men use deceitful speech to get whatever they want from other people. As a result, these people have grown proud. They think no one is powerful enough to stop them; they believe they are the ‘masters’ of their lives and there is no master above them. No one, not even God, can stop them from doing what they want (verse 4; compare Psalm 2:1-3).
Yet, these men do not realize that God never overlooks evil. When the poor are robbed and the needy “groan” under the oppression of evil men, the Lord declares that He will save His people (verse 5). David’s hope is in this word from God. God will save him because He has said so, and God’s words do not fail: they are pure, “like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times” (verse 6). God’s words are trustworthy and true, they never fail. David, who was at first desperate, finds peace when He remembers that God has promised to save His people. David finds peace in God’s words because he knows those words do not fail.
Where do we find hope when we face trials? Where do we look for peace? As Christians, God’s word is our only source of true peace and security. We must not only acknowledge that the Bible is truly God’s word, we must also live like it. This means turning to Scripture for wisdom and hope, and also trusting that God will do what He said He would do, for God is always faithful to His word. Christians need never despair. Despair is for those who have no hope, but the Christian always has hope because he always has God’s promises. Even if the wicked “prowl” all around us, God will keep His word and guard His people from harm (verse 8).
Prayer: Father, we praise you for the many great and precious promises you have given us in your Word. We trust in your truth, but we also ask that you would help our unbelief and increase our faith in your promises so that, in all circumstances, we would abide in the peace that you alone can give, the peace that surpasses all understanding. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Text: Psalm 12
This Psalm is a prayer for salvation. The psalmist, King David, looks around at his society and finds no one who is righteous — everyone is faithless, corrupt, deceitful, and proud. So he cries out for the Lord to save him (verses 1-2). Right away, the opening word of this Psalm (“save”) teaches us an important lesson. We typically think of God’s salvation as salvation from sin and the punishments of hell. God does, indeed, save our souls from eternal judgment in the next life, but He also saves us from the hardships of this life. But since we forget that God cares about the everyday details of our lives, we often fail to ask God for help when we face difficult situations. Instead, we rely on our own strength or on worldly resources for help. Psalm 12 corrects us. It teaches us that whenever we face trials of any kind, our first response (as children of God) must be to cry out with David, “Save, O Lord”!
David asks God to save him from the kind of corrupt and proud men that surround him on all sides. Specifically, David says that these men use deceitful speech to get whatever they want from other people. As a result, these people have grown proud. They think no one is powerful enough to stop them; they believe they are the ‘masters’ of their lives and there is no master above them. No one, not even God, can stop them from doing what they want (verse 4; compare Psalm 2:1-3).
Yet, these men do not realize that God never overlooks evil. When the poor are robbed and the needy “groan” under the oppression of evil men, the Lord declares that He will save His people (verse 5). David’s hope is in this word from God. God will save him because He has said so, and God’s words do not fail: they are pure, “like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times” (verse 6). God’s words are trustworthy and true, they never fail. David, who was at first desperate, finds peace when He remembers that God has promised to save His people. David finds peace in God’s words because he knows those words do not fail.
Where do we find hope when we face trials? Where do we look for peace? As Christians, God’s word is our only source of true peace and security. We must not only acknowledge that the Bible is truly God’s word, we must also live like it. This means turning to Scripture for wisdom and hope, and also trusting that God will do what He said He would do, for God is always faithful to His word. Christians need never despair. Despair is for those who have no hope, but the Christian always has hope because he always has God’s promises. Even if the wicked “prowl” all around us, God will keep His word and guard His people from harm (verse 8).
Prayer: Father, we praise you for the many great and precious promises you have given us in your Word. We trust in your truth, but we also ask that you would help our unbelief and increase our faith in your promises so that, in all circumstances, we would abide in the peace that you alone can give, the peace that surpasses all understanding. In Jesus’ name, Amen.