Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19960121.htm

PSALMS: DIARIES OF GODLY OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
Psalm Twelve: Overcoming The Paranoia Caused By Manipulating Words From The Ungodly
(Psalm 12:1-8)
  1. Introduction
    1. A formidable challenge that anyone might face is the problem of discerning and countering manipulation by use of words that the ungodly use. Whether we are talking with a crooked sales person, a difficult associate or carnal believer, the challenge is formidable: the manipulating party seeks to redefine his victim's definition of reality, and then control the thinking of his victim to his own ends!
    2. Psalm 12:1-8 faces this challenge with an appropriate divine solution for the afflicted involved:
  2. Overcoming The Paranoia Caused By Manipulating Words From The Ungodly, Psalm 12:1-8.
    1. David cried out to the Lord, his "I Am" (Jahweh) because the godly appeared to cease to exist on the earth, Psalm 12:1. We know that God always has His faithful few from the hard lesson Elijah learned in 1 Kings 19:9-18. Thus, David is expressing a form of paranoia due to an affliction he had faced!
    2. The affliction David faced was manipulation by way of speech from his oppressors, Ps. 12:2,3b-4:
      1. Many of the opponents were speaking false flatteries to their neighbors with double motives, 12:2.
      2. In reality, pride was behind this activity as those who performed it sought to manipulate others to their own ends, thinking they were great enough to control the perceptions of reality in their victims, and thus be rulers of all around them, Ps. 12:4!
      3. In effect, David realized that there were efforts to manipulate by way of false motives and flatteries, and this made him distrust all men in a paranoid manner!
    3. The solution was found in God and in GOD'S WORDS as follows, Psalm 12:3a, 5-7:
      1. David knew that God would judge those who lied in order to manipulate others by flattery, Ps. 12:3a. That hope was a bedrock of encouragement to him, for he realized that there was a limit that God would enforce to what flatterers would achieve.
      2. David knew that God would step in to help the afflicted in God's perfect timing, Ps. 12:5a.
      3. He also knew that God would protect the godly from the control of verbal manipulators for God's purposes to be achieved, Ps. 12:5b
      4. The vehicles David could count on for a sure measure of REALITY were the words of God, Ps. 12:6.
        1. The words of God are free of false misrepresentations, either given in a false flattering manner or in a deceitfully cutting manner, Ps. 12:6a.
        2. The words of God are absolutely pure of false manipulation, being likened to silver purified seven times in a clay furnace smelting unit, Ps. 12:6b.
        3. Thus, David could TEST the input by all men with the words of God to determine reality again!
      5. Accordingly, David could count on God preserving the godly and guarding them from verbal manipulators perpetually, Ps. 12:7!
    4. In an interesting conclusion, David comments on his paranoia of verse 1: when the wicked proudly try to manipulate the godly by means of false words, and do so unchecked, the afflicted are so confused that they tend not to trust anyone! (Psalm 12:8)
Lesson: (1) If it is in our power to reveal the truth of God to counter the false manipulations of the ungodly, we need to do so lest the victims become PARANOID and trust NO ONE to their harm, Ps. 12:1,8! (2) We avoid such paranoia and manipulati on ourselves by (a) trusting the sovereignty and goodness of GOD to counter deceitful verbal manipulators, Ps. 12:3a, 5. (b) We must also use the WORD of GOD, SCRIPTURE to critique and test all input we get from people so as to discern false verbal manipul ation for our own good, Ps. 12:6-7 with 2 Timothy 3:12-17. After all, is complete and completely pure of false manipulation so that we can subject all we hear and see to its testing.