Words – Psalm 12:6-7

“The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.  You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.”

In this psalm, David expresses his frustration with the words of man around him.  He cries out to God for help “for the godly man ceases!  For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.” (Psalm 12:1)  When godly men disappear, their replacement is always unfortunate.  David and his men were warriors to be reckoned with, yet this psalm shows the difficulty in dealing with people who refuse to speak the truth.  David says they “speak idly” and “with flattering lips and a double heart” (Psalm 12:2).  “We can easily imagine a vicious whispering campaign against David among those who wanted to gain favor with the misguided king.  The essence of flattering lips is that they say what people want to hear. There are many such talkers today, even within the church; those who know the right answer for every occasion, but speak with no honesty or transparency of heart. They constantly speak what people hope to hear or what is assumed to be proper instead of their true thoughts, feelings, and deeds.” (David Guzik)  As to the ‘double heart’:  “The original is, ‘A heart and a heart:’ one for the church, another for the change; one for Sundays, another for working days; one for the king, another for the pope. A man without a heart is a wonder, but a man with two hearts is a monster.” (Thomas Adams, cited in Charles Spurgeon)

The psalm continues to reveal the escalating arrogance of man’s words: “the tongue that speaks proud things, who have said, “with our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”” (Psalm 12:3-4)  As we take note of the idle words of man, as well as man’s willfully false and maligning words, then the purity and honesty of God’s Word becomes more precious to us.  Or it should.  “What a contrast between the vain words of man, and the pure words of Jehovah. Man’s words are yea and nay, but the Lord’s promises are yea and amen.  The Bible has passed through the furnace of persecution, literary criticism, philosophic doubt, and scientific discovery, and has lost nothing but those human interpretations which clung to it as alloy to precious ore. The experience of saints has tried it in every conceivable manner, but not a single doctrine or promise has been consumed in the most excessive heat.” (Charles Spurgeon)

We are responsible for our words.  As a child of God, our lips are NOT our own since we are not our own.  We have surrendered to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We are His.  We may be frustrated by the double-talk of calling evil good and good evil, of the intolerant demanding tolerance, of the boasting from those who are all talk and no real accomplishment, and of those who flatter the poor while deceiving them from the truth.  These are words of man.  Whether we hear them from believers or unbelievers, they frustrate us because they are not truth.  Dear brothers and sisters, let us not waste our energy on frustration but let us delve deeper into the pure words of God.  These are words of truth, wisdom, promise, sin, grace, and of salvation.  God cannot lie.  Rest assured that His Word will be fulfilled and our Righteous King will someday reign this world.  “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow; of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)  It is precisely for these times of frustration that God wrote and preserved His Holy Word for all these years.  Just for you and just for now.  Open your Bible, let the Holy Spirit lead you to one of the promises of God that you need for this moment. 

While we are to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints,” (Jude 3), be certain that our Creator, in due time, will contend with the idle, flattering, proud and vile words of man.

May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Pride and Persecution – Psalm 10:2

“The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; let them be caught in the plots which they have devised."

The writer of this psalm begins by expressing frustration over what appears to be a lack of action on God’s part to protect the innocent and the poor.   The psalmist identifies pride as the source of the injustice.  “Two things are laid to their charge, pride and persecution, the former the cause of the latter. Proud men will have all about them to be of their mind, of their religion, to say as they say, to submit to their dominion, and acquiesce in their dictates; and those that either eclipse them or will not yield to them they malign and hate with an inveterate hatred. Tyranny, both in state and church, owes its origin to pride.” (Matthew Henry)

None of us experienced the persecution of the early church, or the Inquisition, or as the Protestants in their early struggles.  It is only by understanding the times of such difficult persecutions that we can understand this psalm.  Brothers and sisters, we may be near to seeing this heightened persecution again.  Pride is swelling up in so many aspects of life.  There is pride in skin color, pride in political parties, pride in employment position, pride in religion - including the religion of evolution, pride in elected politicians and non-elected politicians, gay pride, and pride in law enforcement, just to name a few.  Take a moment to consider each of these areas mentioned and then consider the truth in Matthew Henry’s observation of how pride causes persecution.  Pride elevates an individual or a group over others.  Once elevated, this puffed up group has great disdain for anyone who does not concur with or even with concede to their decrees or theories.  That disdain turns to hatred, which drives persecution – in many forms.  “By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom.” (Proverbs 13:10)

Is it any wonder that God hates pride?  Pride is the first item on the list of things God hates:  “These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.”  (Proverbs 6:16-19)

As we read Psalm 10, “let every phrase in this indictment be weighed; it presents as fearful a picture of human wickedness as any contained in the Word of God. It sets before us pride, persecution, device, boasting, ridicule, denial of Providence, hardness, scorn, evil-speaking, defying and denying of God, oppression and crushing of the poor, a glorying in deeds of shame, and expected impunity therein. And what is more trying still is, that God seems to let all this go on, and keeps silence, and stands afar off, and hides himself in times of trouble.” (C. Clemance)

Jesus said He would never leave us or forsake us.  He has not hidden and is not standing far off.  It only seems that way sometimes.  Scripture shows us that God cares for His people and will execute judgment against those who oppose them.  “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; you who say in your heart, ‘who will bring me down to the ground?’” (Obediah 1:3)  At the end, this psalmist gives us reassuring words that not a single sin has been missed by God.  Almighty God may delay His actions against the wicked, but it is in His wisdom and for His purposes.  We know our Creator hears our prayers because He says He hears the prayers of the humble and those with a contrite heart.  In these days of rampant pride, times may seem dark and growing darker:  remember that God will ultimately deal with the prideful wicked.  “The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations have perished out of His land. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; you will prepare their heart; you will cause Your ear to hear, to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may oppress no more.”  (Psalm 10:16-18)

“In singing this psalm and praying it over, we should have our hearts much affected with a holy indignation at the wickedness of the oppressors, a tender compassion of the miseries of the oppressed, and a pious zeal for the glory and honour of God, with a firm belief that he will, in due time, give redress to the injured and reckon with the injurious.” (Matthew Henry)

May you grow in the grace and knowledge and delight of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A Lying Spirit – 1 Kings 22:19-22

“Then Micaiah said, ‘Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right and on His left.  And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner.  Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’  And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’”

We know this lying spirit is Satan based upon what Jesus told us “When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”  (John 8:44b)  “Something that we don't often consider is that in a sense, Satan is a servant of God. He is serving God's purposes. That is why God has allowed him to exist. That's why God has allowed him freedom. He is acting in the sphere of his own free will, but yet the controls are ultimately held by God. We have made a tragic mistake in our thinking processes as we think of Satan as an opposite of God. Satan is not an opposite of God.  God is an eternal, omnipotent, self-existent being, whereas Satan is a created being and is in the rank of angels. So if you're looking for an opposite of Satan, you'd have to look at maybe Michael, one of the archangels. There you would have opposites. But in no way is he an opposite of God. No way does he rank even near God. He is existing under the total sphere of God, and though he is opposed to God, he is not an opposite of God in any sense of being an opposite to God Who is God, the eternal, omnipotent God.  Satan is definitely limited in his understanding, in his abilities, in his powers. They are limited by God. God says you can go so far, no further. Satan complained to God the fact of his limitations in the case of Job. "You put a hedge around that guy. I can't get to him." And he was complaining that God had put limitations on what he could do. So Satan is only allowed liberty within a limited spoke. God puts the limitations on him, but he does serve purposes of God. Thus, God can use and often does use Satan or his emissaries to fulfill God's purposes. Here is the case where God uses a lying spirit to fulfill His purpose.”  (Chuck Smith)

It is hard to call Satan a ‘servant of God’ – because that should be our title.  If Satan keeps that title, it should be preceded with words like rebellious, prideful, murderous, hateful, and deceptive.  Maybe the more appropriate way to look at it is that Satan must submit to God, and the things he does, God can use toward good.   Satan is limited, and he hates it.  He hates you.  He is most clever to deceive you.  Do not for an instant think you are more clever.  Oh, but God is gracious.  He will bring you the truth and you must decide.  How many times did God send a prophet to Ahab to give him the truth in these critical decisions?  Up to now, and even now, each time. 

Do you ever notice how some people will say they are seeking God’s counsel, and when you share with them what God’s Word says on the matter, they disregard it, or get mad and argue about it?  That is the thing about deception that makes it much easier for the deceiver.  The person that falls for the deception is already bent toward hearing the lie.  When a person already wants something, it is fairly easy to deceive them.  Ahab believes and wants to proceed with the war, so he is easily convinced of his future victory by the 400 prophets that all counsel him in unison.  “Unity is not always the mark of a true church or a true ministry.” (Matthew Henry) 

Jesus warned us not to be deceived at the signs of the end of the age “And He said: ‘Take heed that you not be deceived.  For many will come in My name, saying ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them.’”  (Luke 21:8)  Paul warns us that times will become more perilous, “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13). 

In this story, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah who loved God and His prophets, was unimpressed by the lie of the 400 prophets.  Jehoshaphat spoke up after Ahab’s prophets made their pitch, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here that we may inquire of Him?” (1 Kings 22:7)  God does not want His people to be deceived.  Scripture shows us how to discern.  As Paul told Timothy, “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God; and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14-17) 

The passage about Micaiah’s vision should give you pause.  Remember the spiritual warfare around us and about us.  Study God’s Word daily, not for justification of your actions, but to correct your actions.  Pray to seek God’s will, not your own.  Ask God for discernment and wisdom, He will give it to you.  It is the blindness and hardness of the heart that makes us subject to deception.  Through the Holy Scriptures and with the help of God’s Holy Spirit, our hearts will melt and we will discern the truth. 

May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.