Help, O Lord

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Scripture: Psalm 12:1-8 (NLT)

Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!

The faithful have vanished from the earth!

2 Neighbors lie to each other,

speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.

3 May the Lord cut off their flattering lips

and silence their boastful tongues.

4 They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content.

Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”

5 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.”

6 The Lord’s promises are pure,

like silver refined in a furnace,

purified seven times over.

7 Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed,

preserving them forever from this lying generation,

8 even though the wicked strut about,

and evil is praised throughout the land.

 

Devotion:

 

            Psalm twelve is a psalm that pleads with the Lord to help the righteous in their trouble. David, the writer, looks around him and sees the wicked prospering and liars succeeding in spreading their lies. The Lord himself answers David’s complaint by promising to make straight the ways the wicked have made crooked by their evil schemes. God affirms what David sees and promises deliverance from these wicked people who constantly are proud of their wickedness.

 

            This psalm is a fitting companion to psalm eleven we looked at yesterday. Only here are we presented with the Lord himself answering David’s concerns in verse five. In this verse the Lord indicates that He sees what the wicked are doing and says that He will rescue them from their distress. The Lord will fulfill their desires for peace and dignity that have been assaulted by those who work evil. Verses six through eight comfort us that the Lord is working even though we may still see wickedness and evil abroad in the land.

 

            This psalm speaks to us today. When we look around at the current situation in our nation and the world we see wickedness and evil. We hear lies told without even the slightest blush on the part of those who tell them. We live in the midst of a lying generation. People are telling lies to their neighbors and even to themselves. How can we have any hope? The words of this psalm speak to our need for hope that God will not remain distant and uninvolved. Jesus has come and lived among us. Proof that God loves his people and will do whatever it takes to save us if we trust in Him.

 

Prayer:

 

            Lord God Almighty, you are the God of righteousness and truth. You are not an absentee God; you are involved with your people daily. Open our eyes to your salvation found in your Son Jesus Christ. Teach us to reach out to you for justice. Help us wait if justice seems delayed. We praise you for your glory. Amen

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