Psalm 12 When All Faith on Earth is Gone

Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. Psalms 12:1

In the Gospel of Luke 18:8, Jesus asks the thought provoking question, “when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” With this question Christ is foretelling the profusion of unbelievers who will dominate the earth prior to His return. If Christ should not speedily appear, there will be almost none to look for him. Calvin wrote in the 16^th Century, “Would that we did not behold so manifest a fulfillment of this prediction!” His prayer was answered, but what about us? Are we witnessing such a time? Is 57:1, Jer 5:1-2, Hos 4:1-10, Mic 7:1-2, 2 Tim ch.3, 2 Pet 3:3-18, are all descriptions of the last days which emphasize the vanishing faith of those days.

In these few words Christ informs us that as we see all things in shameful confusion; as terrorism, treachery, cruelty, pretense, deceit, and violence, abound on every side; as regard for justice wanes and there is no longer any shame over disgraceful sins; as the poor groan under their oppressors; as the innocent are abused and insulted; as people more and more boast unashamedly of their disbelief and even hatred of God; as they murmur against the Lord in their hearts, saying, ‘where is the promise of His coming?’ As we see all this happening around us, remember that Jesus has already told us of the earth’s condition before His return. Before the Son of man comes to avenge the wrongs of this world, so low will the hope of relief sink, because of the length of the delay, that one would be fain to ask, ‘Is there any faith of a coming Avenger, any expectation that the Church’s Lord will ever return to her?’ Later in his Gospel, Luke reports Jesus’ hopeful words in light of the bleak conditions of the end times: “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:28

Like any kingdom, the kingdom of darkness and the rise of Antichrist, which is to come, is preceded by the spoken word. Scripture is full of verses which describe the attributes of the wicked, and perhaps the most common attribute found in these descriptions involves his tongue, which he uses to boast. (see Ps 10:3, 49:6, 52:1, Is 10:15, Acts 5:36, Rom 1:29-31, 2 Th 2:4, James 4:16, 2 Pet 2:18, Jude 16). Paul writes to Timothy of the condition of individuals in the last days. Take note of how many of Paul’s descriptive words relate to the tongue: But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, … boasters, proud, blasphemers, … slanderers, without self-control, brutal, … having a form of godliness but denying its power. (2 Tim 3:1-6). Daniel prophesies of Antichrist in chapters 7-11, he spoke pompous words; through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper, and he shall seize the kingdom by intrigue. The beast of Revelation was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies (Rev 13:5, Dan 11:36).

One can say that Psalm 12 is about the last days, but more than this, it is particularly about the use of words and speech in this or any age. It contrasts the words of the wicked with the pure words of the Lord. Kingdoms are built upon words – whether vane, flattering speeches which build the kingdom of Antichrist, or Gospel words which populate the Kingdom of God.

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Psalm 11 What Can the Righteous Do?

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Psalm 11:3

If you ‘Google’ Psalm 11:3, you will find several ideas ranging from the patriotic to the eccentric to even the absurd, appealing to this very popular verse of the Old Testament. Many a well-meaning, and not so well-meaning persons, have used this verse as a springboard to justify their own ideas about how the foundations of our world, nation, government, businesses, or the church are crumbling and what the righteous can do about it. Some point to the removal of prayer from the public school classroom in 1962 as the ruin of our nation’s foundations. Others point to the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, or the legalization of gay marriage. Many pastors of various denominations have asked the same question of their churches, following decisions such as permitting woman preachers or the ordination of homosexuals. ‘What can the righteous do?’ is a question that many Christians in the United States have been asking in the wake of the recent presidential election. Radical Christian groups have proposed the idea of gathering in Texas , South Carolina , or Alaska and subsequently seceding from the United States ; others have advocated fleeing the country completely.

Indeed the destruction of any national, business or church entity is the result of their being built upon a faulty foundation. Many a nation that have been built upon the sand of human reason and ingenuity have fallen; many a business built upon greed, have gone bankrupt; many a church built upon the sand of pragmatism, liberalism or psychology are crumbling as a result. However, to ask, ‘what can the righteous do?’ under such circumstances while a good question, is not really what the text of Psalm 11 does.

On the contrary Psalm 11 does not advocate that the righteous do anything, except take refuge in God. Though David’s antagonist in the Psalm is telling him to ‘flee like a bird to the mountain’ (v. 1), David knows better. Rather than being shaken into some extreme action, he knows that his foundation cannot be destroyed. As God told Isaiah (28:16), “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.” Psalm 118:22 reveals that our foundation stone is Christ, “the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” 1 Corinthians 3:11 tells us that, “no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” The whole world was made for Him and by Him, and it exists because of Him. In Him we live, move, and have our being. If this foundation were destroyed all things would cease to be. But the righteous can rest in Christ because He is the solid rock foundation of our very lives, who cannot even be shaken, let alone be destroyed. It is this kind of confidence the Psalmist intends to convey to his audience.

Scripture teaches that the foundation of the church is Christ and His Word. Christ and His Word, we are told, are eternal, and will endure forever; they cannot be destroyed (Ps 119:89, Is 40:8, Mt 5:18, 24:35, Jn 12:34); so His church may go weak for a season, which could be God’s chastisement for sin and indifference, but Jesus declares (Mt. 16:18), “upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” He does not say that the church will not be tried, but that it would remain.

David knows most certainly, that if the foundation be destroyed, there is nothing anybody can do, because the foundation determines everything. The argument He makes in Psalm 11:3 is not that there is a chance that the foundation may be destroyed, so we need an escape plan just in case it happens. Rather this is what is called, Reductio ad absurdum (Latin for “reduction to the absurd”), or reductio ad impossibile, (“reduction to the impossible”). In this type of logical argument, which appears on occasion in Scripture, one assumes a claim for the sake of argument and derives an absurd or ridiculous outcome, (If the foundations are destroyed) and then concludes that the original claim must have been wrong as it led to an impossible or absurd result (What can the righteous do?). Indeed, if Christ, our foundation could possibly be destroyed, then, where can we run? – the mountains, the hills, Texas , South Carolina , perhaps Alaska ? No. Pull our foundation out from under us and we are a people completely without hope. Perhaps that is why the question posed in Psalm 11:3 is unanswered. It is a rhetorical, even absurd proposition. Instead, take heart for even under the worst conditions on earth, the Psalmist assures us, The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD’s throne is in heaven (Ps 11:4).

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Psalm 10 Atheist Autopsy

God is in none of his thoughts.

Psalms 10:4

He has said in his heart,

“God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.”

Psalms 10:11

For several reasons related to the observation of ancient manuscripts and the text in the original language, scholars often link Psalm 10 to the previous Psalm. There are equally valid arguments for considering the two Psalms as separate. Some have suggested that the overall themes of the two Psalms are quite different; however, upon closer examination, the wicked nations described in broad terms in Psalm 9 are further described in minutia in Psalm 10.

Following the worship of Psalm 8, the singer of Psalm 9 continues to praise in the midst of the godless culture which surrounds him. The Psalm concludes with the Psalmist calling upon God to arise and judge the nations that they may know themselves to be but men. Though this is the earnest prayer of the godly, because the patience of God is greater than that of man, He waits before He pours out his wrath, until the sinful wickedness of ungodly, tip the scales of His justice, as it were. As Psalm 10 begins, it seems to the Psalmist that the LORD has not answered his prayer at the conclusion of Psalm 9, so he narrates a description of the wicked in quite some detail. In verses 2 through 11, he takes out his scalpel and probe in order to dissect and reveal the heart of the wicked, who he describes only generally in Psalm 9. In this way, Psalm 10 is very much linked to Psalm 9.

These verses of Psalm 10 are an “Atheist Autopsy,” an allusion to the 1995 hoax “documentary” entitled ‘Alien Autopsy.’ Each verse, like a forensic pathologist’s scalpel, cuts and reveals another layer of the heart and soul of the man who has “God in none of his thoughts.” He persecutes the poor, boasts of his heart’s desires, blesses the greedy, and renounces the Lord. As he prospers in his way, he sneers at his enemies, thinking that nothing can move him, considering himself untouchable by any misfortune. His mouth is full of boasting and deceit; he hides iniquity in palatable language; he murders the innocent, but does not call it such; using rhetoric, he seeks to trap the needy and draw them into his net. All the while this man is foolish enough to think that God will never see that which hides in the secret recesses of his own heart. Though he may publicly acknowledge God, when he is alone his prayer is, “God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.”

The scalpel of God’s Word penetrates to a level that reveals that which the man himself might not be consciously aware of, or that which in he deceives even himself. He is a man who lies, not only to others, but to himself and God. Such is the condition of the heart of the wicked. But “wicked” describes every one of us. In some capacity, a dissection of our own desperately wicked heart would reveal exactly what the autopsy of this Atheist reveals. Does not our old body of death neglect the poor and needy, while boasting in self-sufficiency? Is there not pride, greed and deceit in us, as a result of remaining sin? Does not indwelling sin still try to convince our minds that God does not see our sin? This week let the scalpel of God’s Word in Psalm 10 do an autopsy upon your own body of death – see what it reveals about the person you used to be. Then praise God that He has given you a new heart and new life in Christ.

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