Proverbs-Related Topical Wisdom

Does This Make You Want To Pray?

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2017-08-02

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver expounds Psalm 12, urging urgent prayer in light of the decline of godly and faithful men, the rise of a proud and deceitful populace, and the persecution of the righteous. He warns that God may withhold His Word from a rebellious generation, leading to spiritual famine and societal collapse. The message calls believers to cry out to God for help and to treasure His Word.

[John Weaver] Let's open our Bibles to Psalm 12 Psalm 12 And this is not working Lorraine yes it is I think it is yes Psalm 12 The title of the message today is, Does This Make You Want to Pray? I'm going to be quoting a lot of scriptures just to save time in order to try to save my voice since I'm coming down with a little silence problem. But there are a number of passages I do want you to turn to. So look in Psalm 12, we'll read all eight verses.

[John Weaver] Help, Lord, for the godly man seeth. and the fateful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things. Who have said with our tongue will we prevail? Our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord, I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the furnace of the earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.

[John Weaver] The wicked walk on every side when the vilest of men are exalted." When it comes to prayer, the truth of the matter is most of us pray. And I am sure that each one of us would probably acknowledge and confess that we do not pray as often as we should. And I think that we can also say that we can be in an attitude of prayer when it is absolutely impossible to be actually on our knees in prayer. But the truth of the matter is we miss many opportunities to pray. There are times that it is very convenient, there are times that it is inconvenient, but yet we must pray. It is possible to pray on our beds before we go to sleep. It is also possible to pray early in the morning when we awaken. In fact, the truth of the matter is we should be praying before we ever, ever put our feet on the floor.

[John Weaver] David said it like this in Psalm 63 and verse 6, I will remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches. So David says, when I lie down at night, I'm going to remember you. And when I awaken, I'm going to meditate on you in the night watches. So if you wake up during the night, one of the simplest things to do is just simply start praying.

[John Weaver] And that's a good opportunity to pray. David said in Psalm 119 verse 148 he said, My eyes prevent or precede the night watches that I might meditate upon my word. So David is saying again that even lying on his bed he is there and he is going to be meditating upon the Word of the Lord. Early in the morning before we get out of bed is another excellent time to pray. David said in Psalm 63 verse 1, Oh God, my God, early will I seek Thee. My soul thirsteth for Thee. My flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is. But known as He said, early will I seek Thee. Then Isaiah said it similarly in Isaiah 26 and verse 9, he said, with my soul have I desired thee in the night, yea with my spirit within me will I seek thee early for when my judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the world shall learn righteousness. So notice if you would please each time now we talk about praying and meditating upon the Word of God at night, also seeking the Lord early in the morning.

[John Weaver] But it is also true that David did have stated times of prayer. For he said in Psalm 55 and verse 17, evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice. So David had three specific stated times of prayer. Of course he prayed often times. Now I want you to look in your Bibles holding Psalm 12, but look in Psalm 32 and notice if you would please verses 5 and 6. The interesting thing is this is one of the penitential Psalms and David is confessing and acknowledging his sins, but he gives us some very important truths. He said in verse 5 of Psalm 32, I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. For this shall everyone that is godly pray unto thee, a time when thou mayest be found.

[John Weaver] Surely in the floods of great water they shall not come nigh unto thee." Now I want you to notice at least three truths here. First of all David said that everyone that is godly will acknowledge and confess his sins. A godly man does indeed know about his sins and they do weigh heavily upon him.

[John Weaver] Secondly, he said, the prayer of the godly would be in a time when God could be found. That is what he meant in verse 6 when he said, for this shall everyone that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found. And the implication is very clear. There is a time when God cannot be found. Many falsely and erroneously think and assume that their access to God will always be unhindered and unfettered. They are patently wrong. David says there is a time when God cannot be found. Thirdly, he says this in verse 6, surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto thee. So actually what he is talking about in verse 6 is times of great calamity, floods of great water that many would not be able to come to God. Why?

[John Weaver] Because of stress, because of distress, because of pressure, because of danger, because of death. And oftentimes when someone is hurting and is under extreme pressure and stress, they cannot think. They cannot set their minds upon God and spiritual things. All they can do is literally concentrate upon their hurt and upon their problem, and that is what David is talking about. So he says, number one, all the godly will confess and acknowledge their sin. Number two, they will do it in a time when God may be found. And number three, he is indicating that there is a time when people will not be able to pray and seek the Lord because of the stress of the situation. Undoubtedly There were people who prayed when the waters began to descend in Noah's time, but their prayer was too late. Undoubtedly, men and women probably prayed when the fire and brimstone fell upon Solomon and Gomorrah, but their prayer was too late. And undoubtedly, people probably prayed when the Tower of Siloam fell and killed those 18 people, but their prayer was too late.

[John Weaver] You see the Bible says in Isaiah 55 and verse 6, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. So the verse very clearly teaches that there is a time when God cannot be found and there is a time when God is not near. So our prayers then have to be timely, and I am going to use this word as well, they also have to be urgent. Now when you look at Psalm 12 We have an excellent example of what I would call a timely and an urgent prayer. When in the world should we pray and how should we pray in a timely and an urgent manner? Well, let me just give you an overview of this psalm. We're going to look at it verse by verse, but the truth of the matter is it's time to pray when the wicked are in control and prospering.

[John Weaver] and they are spreading corruption universally speaking. It's a time to pray when people are proud and arrogant and haughty. It's a time to pray when the righteous are persecuted and prosecuted and in grave bodily danger. It's a time to pray when there is faithlessness, idolatry, blasphemy and ridicule. So if we look at Psalm 12 we will understand this urgent praying. So look if you would please at verse 1.

[John Weaver] The very first point I'm going to give you today is a passionate petition, a passionate petition. Verse 1, Help Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

[John Weaver] Now I like the way David begins his prayer. He just simply says, help, Lord. There is no formality. It is a cry of urgency. David does not have time to be formal. He does not have time to be flowery. He does not have time to beat around the bush. The situation is urgent. And so he's very passionate in this petition. And he just cries, help, Lord. It kind of reminds me of the prayer of Peter. Matthew chapter 14 in verse 30 you remember how Peter was walking on the water and the Bible says when he saw that the wind was boisterous and The waves were great and he began to sink. What did Peter say help Lord? That's what he cried. He cried out basically Lord saved me. He did not have time to begin a formal prayer He did not have time for flowery language and posturing and What Peter realized was this, if the Lord Jesus Christ did not do something instantly, he was a goner. Now it's the same thing that David is praying about in verse 1 of Psalm 12.

[John Weaver] He is realizing and recognizing the urgency of the situation. Actually, the Hebrew word here for help is also the word save. So David is not just crying for divine help, he's also crying for divine salvation. So the word that is rendered help is largely used for what you and I would call all manner of saving, helping, delivering, and preserving. So David then is crying urgently. He sees the desperateness of his situation and he cries out to God. Let me just point it out very clearly.

[John Weaver] One of our problems in Christendom is this. We do not see the desperateness of the situation that we're really and truly in. We don't understand the times in which we're living. We do not understand the danger that we are genuinely in. We do not even understand the plans of the enemies. I'm afraid if you and I really and truly understood what was going on, it not only would depress us, But it would certainly make us cry to God in a desperate plea like David is doing, help Lord. And so when David cried, help Lord, he understood that no human could help him. Government would not help him. People cooperating would not help him. He understood that this call for divine aid and divine help and divine salvation, David needed help and he needed it now. It was urgently needed. And David's attitude was this, God if you don't help, if you don't save, all is lost, all is gone. He is acknowledging that only God could take care of the situation. So let me ask you this question, what is it that disturbed David so greatly that made him cry out in this passionate petition, help Lord.

[John Weaver] Well, one of the answers is given to us in verse 1. Look at it. He says, Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men. So let me ask you some questions. Has the deterioration of the church ever really bothered you? Have you ever become upset over the fact that there is a lack of godly, faithful men in our society. Has it ever bothered you that such men of honesty and integrity and character are few and far between and very rarely found? Have you ever contemplated that when the upstanding and the righteous and the faithful men perish that no one arises to take their place?

[John Weaver] They are just simply gone. So David is looking and David is seeing particular situation among His people and among His society that the godly man and the faithful man are dying out, they are failing. They are becoming less and less. Now we understand that if the godly die, well obviously they are gone. But have you ever thought about this? Why does God oftentimes Remove the godly and the faithful We look around and we think they're needed so desperately Well, let me show you I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 57 and look at verse 1 Isaiah 57 and verse 1. What's this passage? Very interesting Isaiah 57 and verse 1 God says, the righteous perisheth and no man laith it to heart. That is no man considers this, no man meditates upon this, no man is really concerned about the fact that the righteous are dying off. Now watch, the righteous perisheth and no man laith it to heart.

[John Weaver] And merciful men are taken away, here it is, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. Wow. So God says oftentimes He removes his righteous and godly and faithful men out of this world so that they will not see the evil that is coming upon them, or upon this world. This passage actually teaches us two truths. First of all, God often takes the righteous out of this world so that they will not experience the evil that is to fall upon it. You will find that in 2 Kings chapter 22 verses 18-20, there was a king by the name of Josiah and when he heard the Word of God when it was read to him he trembled.

[John Weaver] And he fell on his face and he rent his garments and he cried out to the Lord and he sent someone to inquire of the Lord. And here is what the Lord said to him, listen carefully, as touching the words which thou hast heard because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and has written thy clothes and wept before me. I have also heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold, therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered unto thy grave in peace. And thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place." So God said, Josiah you have been a godly man, I am going to remove you, you are going to die in peace, you will not see all the evil that I bring upon this place.

[John Weaver] Now when the Bible says that the righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart, and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. Secondly you have to understand this, when God removes the righteous, when God removes the godly and faithful men, evil cannot but help to come. Because now there is not going to be anyone around to fight against it, to expose it, and to decry it. And usually society becomes far more corrupt when the godly are taken away. Let me put it to you very plainly, without righteous men there cannot be any righteous influence. Without godly men there cannot be any godly influence. Without faithful men there is no one to communicate honesty and integrity. There is an interesting verse in Proverbs 11 in verse 8, the Bible says, the righteous is delivered out of trouble and the wicked cometh in his stead. So when God delivers the righteous out of trouble the wicked falls in his stead. Well what happens when a wicked man gets in trouble?

[John Weaver] He does whatever is necessary to to get himself out of trouble. That is he becomes more corrupt, more wicked, more vile. And when wicked men are in trouble corruption abounds. Have you ever noticed as you have studied Scripture that there is a difference between godly rulers and ungodly rulers? For instance in Proverbs 28 and verse 12 the Bible says this, when righteous men do rejoice there is great glory, but when the wicked man rises a man is hidden. When the wicked rise a man is hidden. In other words a righteous man or a godly man, a man with any sense is going to get out of the way of the wicked because he knows he is going to try to run over him. And then in Proverbs chapter 29 and verse 2 the Bible says, when the righteous are in authority notice the people rejoice but when the wicked bear through the people mourn. So let me try to illustrate what I'm saying. Look in Atlanta, Georgia. Look in Tallahassee, Florida. Look in Washington, D.C.

[John Weaver] and find righteous men with character, integrity, and honor, and men who will stand for biblical truth and the principles that are laid out in the Word of God. Where are those men? You may look in any state capitol. I noticed the other day, I read an article. Congress has now called the Millionaire Club, because everybody up there is a millionaire. You're not necessarily a millionaire when you get up there, but before you leave, you are usually a multimillionaire.

[John Weaver] And did you know they said that the average Senate race cost an individual over eight million Federal Reserve notes? Why in the world would somebody want to spend 8 million Federal Reserve notes to get a job that only pays several hundred thousand a year? Stop and think about that. So the question I'm trying to ask is this. I don't care if you look in the business world. I don't care if you look in the political world, the governmental world. Wherever you look, you're going to find that men of character and honesty and integrity are rare. They are very, very hard to find.

[John Weaver] When godliness goes, faithfulness inevitably follows. Without the fear of God, men have no love of the truth. Common honesty is no longer common, and common irreligion always leads to universal godliness and corruption. Let me show you. want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Micah chapter 7. It is Jonah, Micah, Nahum. You will go there the little minor prophets. Look if you would in Micah chapter 7. You have Jonah then Micah then Nahum. And look if you would in Micah 7 and let's read the first 7 verses.

[John Weaver] David is describing in Psalm 12 a situation almost like this. practically the same. Verse 1, Micah 7, Micah says, Woe is me, for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleaners of the vintage. There is no cluster to eat. My soul desires the first ripe fruit. There is nothing. He is starving.

[John Weaver] Now notice what has happened and why. The good man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood. They hunt every man his brother with a net, that they may do evil with both hands earnestly. The prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward, and the great man he uttereth his mischievous desires, so they wrap it up. The best of them is a briar, and the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge.

[John Weaver] The day of thy watchman and thy visitation cometh, shall be their perplexity." God says, I'm going to nail you, watch. Trust you not in a friend, put you not confidence in a guide. Keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonored the father, and the daughter riseth against her mother. The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore while I look unto the Lord I will wait for the God of my salvation, my God will hear me." So what Mike is saying the same thing that David is saying, God is the only one that can get us out of this trouble. So if you and I really understood that the godly man is ceasing and the faithful are failing among the children of men, it would make us cry out urgently too saying, help Lord.

[John Weaver] In other words we are in a world of hurt and we just really do not understand it. Now there is a second reason why David cried, help Lord, and that is revealed in verses 2-4 and that is a proud populace. Look at it in verse 2, they speak vanity every one to his neighbor. With flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things. Who have said with our tongue will we prevail, our lips are our own, who is Lord over us."

[John Weaver] Now these verses demonstrate very clearly the result the loss of godly and faithful men. Where godliness and faithfulness decline, wickedness arises. Where there is no fear of God, there is no respect of man. You remember the passage in Luke chapter 18 verses 1 and 2, the Bible said that our Lord spake a parable unto them that men ought always to pray and not to faint saying, there was in a city a judge who who feared not God nor regarded man." If you do not fear God, you will have no regard for man. You will have no regard for his family. You will have no regard for his property. You will have no regard for anything.

[John Weaver] And verse 2 of Psalm 12 nails this down for us. He said, they speak vanity, everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips, and with a double heart do they speak."

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is where truth and honesty fail, there always arises dishonesty and a double heart. When he talks about a double heart in verse 2, the Hebrew is actually a heart and a heart. That means it's someone with two hearts. So the explanation simply means this, that someone tells you something But he means something else. Or someone says one thing, but then he acts and does another. That is a double heart.

[John Weaver] So he is saying, once godliness disappears, once faithfulness is gone, man is left with nothing but insincerity, falsehood, and hypocrisy. Not only in regard to himself, but in regard to others as well. There could be numerous illustrations given of this truth. Remember what Cain did to Abel, how he deceived him. What Joab did to Abner and to Amasa. What Judas did to the Lord Jesus Christ. What the Herodians did to Christ.

[John Weaver] What the hypocrites still do to God. say one thing and act in a different manner. So look in verse 2 again because there is a connection now between flattering lips and treachery. Notice if you would please verse 2 of Psalm 12, they speak vanity everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. Notice flattery goes with a double heart. Now If you'll look in verse three, I'll talk about it in a minute, but the Lord shall cut off all flattering lips. There's flattering lips again. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter nine, Jeremiah chapter nine, and notice if you would please verses four and five again, Jeremiah nine verses four and five. Here we are talking about the double tongues. In fact let's go back to verse 3. Jeremiah 9 verse 3, They bend their tongues like their bow for lies, but they are not valued for the truth upon the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.

[John Weaver] Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, And trust you not in any brother, for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders. And they will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity." So he's saying here is nothing but pure flattery, and flattery and treachery are connected.

[John Weaver] Now, the flatterer gives one thing to your face, and then he acts differently to your back. Here is what God says in verse 3, the Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things. So flattering lips are what you and I would call lying lips, they are treacherous lips, they are deceitful lips, they are wicked lips, and they are also arrogant lips. I don't know about you, but have you noticed How unafraid and unabashed people are to blaspheme God.

[John Weaver] You remember that supposedly comedian, I never watched her. What did she say when she got that award? She said, a lot of people thank Jesus Christ. She said, I want you to know Jesus Christ had nothing to do with this. This is mine. What?

[John Weaver] Now why in the world would someone have to say something like that? The problem is this, the individual that does not fear God will certainly have no regard for man. You remember Asap in Psalm 73 was envious of the wicked when he saw their prosperity. And then he made this statement concerning the wicked, listen carefully, he says, they are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression, they speak loftily, they set their mouths against the heavens and their tongue walking through the earth." In other words, these arrogant, flattering, lying, deceitful lips are not afraid to attack man or God. It doesn't bother them. It doesn't bother them at all.

[John Weaver] That's why Jude the Apostle calls them raging waves of the sea that foam out their own shame. Men cannot tame the tongue of flatterers. However, God has an unanswerable answer. He says He's going to cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speak of proud things. He will bring them down to the ground.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you the arrogance that I'm talking about. Look in verse 4. Here's what these people think and say, who have said, with our tongues will we prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us? What? This does not mean that these people stood up and formally announced their defiance in rebellion against God. They could have, but they did not need to because their words and their lives and their actions and their conduct evidence very clearly they were in rebellion against God. And they were saying that God had nothing to do with their lives. That they framed their own lives and that they were in absolute control.

[John Weaver] And it was with their tongue that they expected to accomplish everything. It was not necessarily by violence. Look what he said in verse 4, who said, with our tongue will we prevail, our lips are our own. In other words, We can use our tongue. We can use our lips. We will do mightily. By that they indicate this, they are relying totally upon their power of speech and their ability to influence others, deceive others, persuade others, and talk them into doing whatever they want them to do. So our lips are our own. We are our own Lord.

[John Weaver] We have a right they are saying to control who we are and what we are. We have a right to live the way we want to live. It's kind of like what Pharaoh said to Moses in Exodus 5 in verse 1 when Moses came up to Pharaoh and said, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go. Pharaoh answered in Exodus 5 in verse 2, Who is the Lord?

[John Weaver] should obey His voice and let Israel go. I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." What is he saying? I don't recognize any God above me. I am my own God. I am in control. And a wicked, and corrupt, and godless, and proud populace refuses to acknowledge God, and refuses to acknowledge His sovereignty. They believe that they are in control.

[John Weaver] Now, Look what happens, look in verse 8 I'm not going to use verse 8 a little bit later, but here is what happens, when you have such a populace the wicked walk on every side when the vilest men are exalted. You look at the vilest men who are in positions of power, you look at the wicked that are walking on every side. So you have Psalm 12, in verse 1 this passionate plea. Then in verses 2-4 you have this proud populace who are so arrogant and so rebellious. I want you to see the result of this in verse 5.

[John Weaver] That brings me to the third thing, there is a persecuted people. He says, for the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now will I arise, saith the Lord, I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. So when wickedness reigns, persecution and oppression are the result. The Hebrew word for oppression in verse 5 is the word shod, which literally is translated in our Bibles as spoil, destruction, desolation, robbery, wasting, oppression. In other words it speaks of havoc, violence, ruin, destruction and devastation. So let me put it to you like this, the haughtiness and the arrogance of a populace always leads to persecution and oppression. Now look back in verse 5, he says, for the oppression of the poor. Now when you and I hear the word poor, normally think of someone who does not have any money, or someone who does not have a sufficient amount of money.

[John Weaver] But I told you that to say that is not what the Bible is talking about here. This word poor is translated in our Bibles as poor, afflicted, weak, lowly, humble, and needy. So, what the Scripture is saying here for the oppression of the poor." In other words, those proud, arrogant, haughty individuals are willing to take advantage of anyone that they can take advantage of. They're normally going to take advantage over someone who will not fight back or who cannot fight back.

[John Weaver] And sometimes that would include money, but sometimes it would include weakness, lowliness, humility, a lot of things as well. So obviously he is talking here about real, genuine persecution. Look in verse 5 again, he says, for the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy.

[John Weaver] Now the Hebrew word for sighing here also means crying out and groaning. So it speaks of lamentation and woe. So the persecution is real and genuine. The reality of it is revealed in the next word, look in verse 5, for the oppression of the poor for the sighing of the needy. The word needy here refers to those who are in need of deliverance. They are in need of help. They are in need of whatever is required to deliver them from all of this persecution is what it amounts to.

[John Weaver] And then God says this, Now will I arise, saith the Lord, I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." I love that. God said, I'm going to arise, I'm going to set these people in safety from those who puff at him. These are the people who said, our lips are our own. Who's Lord over us? We'll do exactly what we want to do. God refers to all of their talk, all of their boasting as puffing. And the word literally means to puff, to blow, to snort. So here's what God says, I'm going to deliver the poor and needy from him that's just blowing hot air.

[John Weaver] He thinks he can accomplish something. He thinks he can do something. but I'm going to show him he can't. His lips are not his own, his tongue is not his own, his power is not his own. David said it like this in Psalm 64 in verse 1, hear my voice oh my God, in my prayer preserve my life from the enemy. I want you to look in Psalm 79, I can quote this but I want you to see it. Here is a verse that I quote quite frequently.

[John Weaver] Here's a verse that you need to pray, especially in regard to those Christians who are being persecuted, who are now incarcerated for the faith's sake and are facing martyrdom. Notice if you would please Psalm 79 and verse 11. The Word of God says, Let the sighing or the groaning of the prisoner come before thee. according to the greatness of thy power, preserve thou those that are appointed to die." Isn't that a tremendous verse? Do you realize you could actually pray this for people that you do not even know? There is a woman by the name of Asia Beebe, I think she is from Pakistan, who converted to Christ and she has been incarcerated.

[John Weaver] They are trying to kill her. because they said that she blasphemed the prophet Mohammed, which she did not do. They are putting Christians to death left and right. And here is a verse, let the sighing, let the crying, let the groaning of the prisoner come before thee. According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die. And certainly we can pray that prayer, David certainly did so.

[John Weaver] So you have then a passionate petition You have a proud populace. You have a persecuted people. And I want you to look in verses 6 and 7. Here's the point of the entire message. You have, lastly, a preserved prosperity. Look in verse 6. The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the furnace of the earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever."

[John Weaver] Now, if what I'm about to tell you does not make you want to pray, I really don't know what will. Honestly, here's the whole point of the message. Having declared in verse 6 that the words of the Lord are pure words as silver tried in the furnace of the earth purified seven times which is the epitome of absolute perfection Then he says in verse 7 thou shalt keep them O Lord Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever So here's my question What is to be kept and what is to be preserved from this generation? Please remember if you would in Psalm 12 we are talking about a wicked, corrupt, rebellious generation who say that our lips are our own, our tongue is our own, who is Lord over us?

[John Weaver] Now it is a fact when you look at the remote context David could be talking about the poor and the needy. That is a fact. We've already observed that. And if you will look in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 72, you will find that this truth is repeated over and over in Scripture. How the Lord is indeed going to deliver the poor and the needy. Look in Psalm 72 beginning there with verse 11. Psalm 72 verse 11. all kings shall fall down before him, that's the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] All nations shall serve him. For he, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and the needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, and precious shall their blood be in his sight." So, I could points you to numerous passages that tell us that God is indeed going to deliver the poor and the needy. And that could be in the remote context. But what is the immediate context?

[John Weaver] Look back in verse 6. The words of the Lord are pure words. That's the immediate context. As silver tried in the furnace of the earth purified seven times. Then He said, Thou shalt keep them. Keep them what? Keep His words, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them, His words, from this generation forever. Why in the world should God give His Word to a people who despise Him, who hate Him, who disregard Him, who deny Him, who denigrate Him?

[John Weaver] Why should He speak to them? Why should He give them His Word? Do you think for one minute that God is going to turn around and do something that He has forbidden you to do? What am I talking about? Well, in Matthew 7 verse 6, here's what our Lord said. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs. Neither cast you your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under feet and turn again and rend you. Now what did our Lord say? You don't give that which is holy to the dogs. You don't take your pearls and cast them before swine because all they can do is trample them down in the mud They could care less about the pearls and then they're gonna turn around and then they're gonna rend you So our Lord is saying we don't put holy righteous godly things in front of dogs and hogs Here's a good illustration If you will go back and read 1 Samuel, you will find that Eli is the priest.

[John Weaver] He has two sons that are priests under him, Hophni and Phinehas. Hophni and Phinehas are wicked, ungodly reprobates. They committed adultery and whored them with the women at the door of the tabernacle. They stole the offerings of God God rebuked Eli because Eli did not restrain his sons and Finally God comes to judge and he says this in first Samuel 2 in verse 30 listen carefully And he's talking to Eli wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith Said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me forever But now the Lord said be it far from me For them that honor me. Well, I honor and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed Isn't that amazing? God says no. No, no, you despise me. I despise you You honor me. I'll honor you now, please keep this in mind That was first Samuel 2 in verse 30 You remember Hannah had given little Samuel to the Lord, and Samuel was there. And when you get to 1 Samuel 3 and verse 1 the scripture says this, and the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no open vision.

[John Weaver] Now wait a minute, I wish I had an hour just to deal with the word vision. let me tell you what that verse really means. When the Bible says there was no open vision it means that there was no public preaching. There was no public declaration of the Word of God. How could there be with a corrupt and vile priesthood? In other words, yeah the Word of God was precious in those days. What makes something precious? Scarcity. Scarcity.

[John Weaver] If I were to ask you to go out and bring me a truckload of sand and someone else to go out and bring me a truckload of gold, who's going to come back first? The man with the sand, because it's everywhere. The man with the gold, it'll be gone a long time looking for it and digging it out. The word of the Lord was precious in those days. Why? It was scarce.

[John Weaver] There was no open vision. The people were in rebellion to God. They did not want God they were refused to listen to God and God said I'm not gonna speak to you either Let me show you look in your Bibles to the book of Amos Hosea Joel Amos Hosea Joel Amos Daniel Hosea Joel Amos and Look in your Bibles Amos chapter 8 And speaking reading there verse 11 Watch carefully Amos 8 verse 11 Behold the days come saith the Lord God that I will send a famine in the land not a famine of bread and water But of hearing the words of the Lord And they shall wander from sea to sea and from the north even to the east And they shall run to and fro and seek the word of the Lord and they shall not find it God says there's coming a time when there's going to be a famine. Not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord. And people will be wandering everywhere and they can't find it.

[John Weaver] They can't hear it. Wow. Did you know that God said in Proverbs 1 in verse 7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 13 13 whosoever despised that the word shall be destroyed, but he that feared the commandment shall be rewarded Let me show you how this plays out look in your Bibles go back to Isaiah 30 Isaiah 30 and let's begin reading there With verse 9 Isaiah 30 Isaiah 30 In fact let's read verse 8 just so you can see it in the paragraph. Isaiah 30 verse 8, God says, Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever. In other words, write this down, make sure this is not forgotten. Look what God says concerning them, that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord, which say to the seers, see not.

[John Weaver] And to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, that is the word of God, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits, get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. We don't want to have anything to do with God. Wherefore, thus said the Holy One of Israel, because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and stay their own.

[John Weaver] Therefore, this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall whose breaking cometh suddenly in an instant, and he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel that is broken in pieces. He shall not spare. so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a shard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water with it out of the pit." What did he say?

[John Weaver] Here's a people that said, we don't want God. We don't want God's Word. We just want to be left alone. We want to do our own thing. God says, fine. Fine. So here's my question. Is it any wonder that there's very little, very real and true preaching and exposition of the Word of God in this rebellious and corrupt generation? Stop and think about that. There are churches on every corner, but very little preaching. Very little preaching.

[John Weaver] Hardly anyone is being taught We've gotten into an entertainment and to a feel-good mentality and we want to build big works instead of building people You remember the last book in the Old Testament is Malachi The first book in the New Testament is Matthew Do you know how many years Passed between Malachi and Matthew? 400 years. And they are known as the 400 silent years. God did not speak. God did not reveal himself during those 400 years. Wow.

[John Weaver] If God keeps His Word from this generation, if God preserves His Word from this people, there will not be a revival. There will not be a reviving. There will not be repentance. There will not be faith. There will not be conversions. Oh yes, there might be a few here and there because God is faithful and God is not going to leave Himself without witness. But the point I'm trying to make is this. If God preserves His Word and God keeps them from a wicked, corrupt generation who do not want those words, then practically everything is going to be lost in every sphere, in every area.

[John Weaver] It doesn't matter if it's political, governmental, economic, familial, ecclesiastical. It doesn't matter. It will all be over. We have to understand something, folks. Where there is no truth, only lies will prevail. Where there is no righteousness, only evil will prevail. Where there is no godliness, only godlessness will prevail. Where there is no honesty, only dishonesty will prevail. Where there is no integrity, only men of lacking character will prevail.

[John Weaver] In other words, if God withholds his word, We are in trouble. God does not need to send fire from heaven to destroy a civilization like he did on Solomon Gomorrah. He does not need to send a flood as he did in the days of Noah. All God has to do is withhold his word, his grace, and his mercy. and we'll destroy ourselves. That's what David is talking about in Psalm 12. And that's why David says, help Lord, Lord, do something because the godly man ceases and the faithful fail from among the children of men.

[John Weaver] Let me make just two applications. The first one is this. We need to learn to cry and to pray earnestly and urgently. We need to learn to cry and ask God to help and to save. If we truly perceive the danger that we are in, I'm afraid it would shake us to our very core. Every one of us get little snippets from the news about the pedophile ring in Hollywood. in Washington, in Atlanta. You get all kinds of snippets of congressmen who are adulterers, whoremongers, sodomites.

[John Weaver] We hear those things, and we think, how horrible, how terrible. Let me tell you something. If we knew, if we probably knew a tenth of the wickedness and the corruption and the depravity that's in our capitals and in our land, it would shake us to the very core of our being. We would be overwhelmed. You see, the problem is we live in our own little world. Everything's all right right here. And we fail to look at the world that's falling apart around us.

[John Weaver] If we understood the danger that we were in, like David, we would be crying, help, Lord, for the godly man seeth and the faithful fail from among the children of men. The second one is this, it should alarm us, it should disturb us that it is very possible for God to withhold his word from us. He did so in the days of Elijah and Jeremiah. When God sent Elijah out of the land for three years that was just a physical picture of a spiritual reality. The man of God was out of the land. There was no word from God for three years. No rain. While Jeremiah was left in the land God said to Jeremiah, pray not for this people for I will not hear thee.

[John Weaver] We need to understand something folks. God has given us his word. We need to read it. We need to study it. We need to memorize it. We need to obey it. We need to apply it. This word is the greatest treasure that we have. And we need it. because God could indeed take it from us. And in one sense, the word he has, because a lack of preaching and teaching. Alice and I passed a church building this morning, signs all out in the yard, God bless America, God bless America. I got to thinking, oh God, how in the world could you bless us? Look at our wickedness. our ungodliness, look at the aborticide, look at the pedophilia, look at all of the sins. No, America needs to bless God, and then God can bless America.

[John Weaver] Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee, we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for Your truth, and oh Lord, I do pray that this will indeed make us want to pray Make us want to cry, help, Lord. Save, Lord. Do something for us, Lord. We cannot do it for ourselves. Thou hast said without me you can do nothing. So, Lord, we look to Thee, we cry to Thee, and ask for Thy grace and Thy mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

[John Weaver] ♪

Does This Make You Want To Pray?

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	17LtGxbOEwY
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs-Related Topical Wisdom
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-08-02
Dictation Name
Book	Book 085: Proverbs-Related Topical Wisdom — Chapter 10
Source Timed Segments	75

Formatted Transcript

Opening

Let's open our Bibles to Psalm 12. Psalm 12. And this is not working, Lorraine. Yes, it is. I think it is. Yes. Psalm 12. The title of the message today is, "Does This Make You Want to Pray?" I'm going to be quoting a lot of scriptures just to save time, in order to try to save my voice since I'm coming down with a little sinus problem. But there are a number of passages I do want you to turn to. So look in Psalm 12, we'll read all eight verses.

"Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, and the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbor, with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things. Who have said, 'With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us?' For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the furnace of the earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.

Introduction: The Need for Timely and Urgent Prayer

Weaver introduces the topic of prayer, emphasizing that most believers do not pray as often as they should and that there are times when prayer is urgent and timely, as exemplified in Psalm 12.

The wicked walk on every side when the vilest of men are exalted." When it comes to prayer, the truth of the matter is most of us pray. And I am sure that each one of us would probably acknowledge and confess that we do not pray as often as we should. And I think that we can also say that we can be in an attitude of prayer when it is absolutely impossible to be actually on our knees in prayer. But the truth of the matter is we miss many opportunities to pray. There are times that it is very convenient, there are times that it is inconvenient, but yet we must pray. It is possible to pray on our beds before we go to sleep. It is also possible to pray early in the morning when we awaken. In fact, the truth of the matter is we should be praying before we ever, ever put our feet on the floor.

David said it like this in Psalm 63 and verse 6, "I will remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches." So David says, when I lie down at night, I'm going to remember you. And when I awaken, I'm going to meditate on you in the night watches. So if you wake up during the night, one of the simplest things to do is just simply start praying. And that's a good opportunity to pray. David said in Psalm 119 verse 148, he said,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:148

"My eyes prevent or precede the night watches that I might meditate upon thy word."

So David is saying again that even lying on his bed he is there and he is going to be meditating upon the Word of the Lord. Early in the morning before we get out of bed is another excellent time to pray. David said in Psalm 63 verse 1, "O God, my God, early will I seek Thee. My soul thirsteth for Thee. My flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is." But notice he said, "early will I seek Thee." Then Isaiah said it similarly in Isaiah 26 and verse 9, he said, "With my soul have I desired thee in the night, yea with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall learn righteousness." So notice if you would please each time now we talk about praying and meditating upon the Word of God at night, also seeking the Lord early in the morning.

But it is also true that David did have stated times of prayer. For he said in Psalm 55 and verse 17,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 55:17

"Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice."

So David had three specific stated times of prayer. Of course he prayed often times. Now I want you to look in your Bibles holding Psalm 12, but look in Psalm 32 and notice if you would please verses 5 and 6. The interesting thing is this is one of the penitential Psalms and David is confessing and acknowledging his sins, but he gives us some very important truths. He said in verse 5 of Psalm 32, "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. For this shall everyone that is godly pray unto thee, a time when thou mayest be found.

Surely in the floods of great water they shall not come nigh unto thee." Now I want you to notice at least three truths here. First of all David said that everyone that is godly will acknowledge and confess his sins. A godly man does indeed know about his sins and they do weigh heavily upon him. Secondly, he said, the prayer of the godly would be in a time when God could be found. That is what he meant in verse 6 when he said, "for this shall everyone that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found." And the implication is very clear. There is a time when God cannot be found. Many falsely and erroneously think and assume that their access to God will always be unhindered and unfettered. They are patently wrong. David says there is a time when God cannot be found. Thirdly, he says this in verse 6, "surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto thee." So actually what he is talking about in verse 6 is times of great calamity, floods of great water that many would not be able to come to God. Why?

Because of stress, because of distress, because of pressure, because of danger, because of death. And oftentimes when someone is hurting and is under extreme pressure and stress, they cannot think. They cannot set their minds upon God and spiritual things. All they can do is literally concentrate upon their hurt and upon their problem, and that is what David is talking about. So he says, number one, all the godly will confess and acknowledge their sin. Number two, they will do it in a time when God may be found. And number three, he is indicating that there is a time when people will not be able to pray and seek the Lord because of the stress of the situation. Undoubtedly there were people who prayed when the waters began to descend in Noah's time, but their prayer was too late. Undoubtedly, men and women probably prayed when the fire and brimstone fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah, but their prayer was too late. And undoubtedly, people probably prayed when the Tower of Siloam fell and killed those 18 people, but their prayer was too late.

You see the Bible says in Isaiah 55 and verse 6,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6

"Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near."

So the verse very clearly teaches that there is a time when God cannot be found and there is a time when God is not near. So our prayers then have to be timely, and I am going to use this word as well, they also have to be urgent. Now when you look at Psalm 12 we have an excellent example of what I would call a timely and an urgent prayer. When in the world should we pray and how should we pray in a timely and an urgent manner? Well, let me just give you an overview of this psalm. We're going to look at it verse by verse, but the truth of the matter is it's time to pray when the wicked are in control and prospering.

A Passionate Petition (Psalm 12:1)

David's cry 'Help, Lord' is a desperate, urgent plea because the godly and faithful are disappearing. Weaver explains that God often removes the righteous to spare them from coming evil, and their absence leads to greater corruption.

and they are spreading corruption universally speaking. It's a time to pray when people are proud and arrogant and haughty. It's a time to pray when the righteous are persecuted and prosecuted and in grave bodily danger. It's a time to pray when there is faithlessness, idolatry, blasphemy and ridicule. So if we look at Psalm 12 we will understand this urgent praying. So look if you would please at verse 1. The very first point I'm going to give you today is a passionate petition, a passionate petition. Verse 1, "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men."

Now I like the way David begins his prayer. He just simply says, "help, Lord." There is no formality. It is a cry of urgency. David does not have time to be formal. He does not have time to be flowery. He does not have time to beat around the bush. The situation is urgent. And so he's very passionate in this petition. And he just cries, "help, Lord." It kind of reminds me of the prayer of Peter. Matthew chapter 14 in verse 30 you remember how Peter was walking on the water and the Bible says when he saw that the wind was boisterous and the waves were great and he began to sink. What did Peter say? "Help, Lord." That's what he cried. He cried out basically "Lord, save me." He did not have time to begin a formal prayer. He did not have time for flowery language and posturing. And what Peter realized was this, if the Lord Jesus Christ did not do something instantly, he was a goner. Now it's the same thing that David is praying about in verse 1 of Psalm 12.

He is realizing and recognizing the urgency of the situation. Actually, the Hebrew word here for help is also the word save. So David is not just crying for divine help, he's also crying for divine salvation. So the word that is rendered help is largely used for what you and I would call all manner of saving, helping, delivering, and preserving. So David then is crying urgently. He sees the desperateness of his situation and he cries out to God. Let me just point it out very clearly.

One of our problems in Christendom is this. We do not see the desperateness of the situation that we're really and truly in. We don't understand the times in which we're living. We do not understand the danger that we are genuinely in. We do not even understand the plans of the enemies. I'm afraid if you and I really and truly understood what was going on, it not only would depress us, but it would certainly make us cry to God in a desperate plea like David is doing, "help, Lord." And so when David cried, "help, Lord," he understood that no human could help him. Government would not help him. People cooperating would not help him. He understood that this call for divine aid and divine help and divine salvation, David needed help and he needed it now. It was urgently needed. And David's attitude was this, "God if you don't help, if you don't save, all is lost, all is gone." He is acknowledging that only God could take care of the situation. So let me ask you this question, what is it that disturbed David so greatly that made him cry out in this passionate petition, "help, Lord"?

Well, one of the answers is given to us in verse 1. Look at it. He says, "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men." So let me ask you some questions. Has the deterioration of the church ever really bothered you? Have you ever become upset over the fact that there is a lack of godly, faithful men in our society? Has it ever bothered you that such men of honesty and integrity and character are few and far between and very rarely found? Have you ever contemplated that when the upstanding and the righteous and the faithful men perish that no one arises to take their place?

They are just simply gone. So David is looking and David is seeing a particular situation among His people and among His society that the godly man and the faithful man are dying out, they are failing. They are becoming less and less. Now we understand that if the godly die, well obviously they are gone. But have you ever thought about this? Why does God oftentimes remove the godly and the faithful? We look around and we think they're needed so desperately. Well, let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 57 and look at verse 1. Isaiah 57 and verse 1. What's this passage? Very interesting. Isaiah 57 and verse 1, God says, "The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart." That is no man considers this, no man meditates upon this, no man is really concerned about the fact that the righteous are dying off. Now watch, "the righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart.

And merciful men are taken away, here it is, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come." Wow. So God says oftentimes He removes his righteous and godly and faithful men out of this world so that they will not see the evil that is coming upon them, or upon this world. This passage actually teaches us two truths. First of all, God often takes the righteous out of this world so that they will not experience the evil that is to fall upon it. You will find that in 2 Kings chapter 22 verses 18-20, there was a king by the name of Josiah and when he heard the Word of God when it was read to him he trembled. And he fell on his face and he rent his garments and he cried out to the Lord and he sent someone to inquire of the Lord. And here is what the Lord said to him, listen carefully, "as touching the words which thou hast heard because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes and wept before me. I have also heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold, therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered unto thy grave in peace. And thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place." So God said, Josiah you have been a godly man, I am going to remove you, you are going to die in peace, you will not see all the evil that I bring upon this place.

Now when the Bible says that the righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart, and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. Secondly you have to understand this, when God removes the righteous, when God removes the godly and faithful men, evil cannot but help to come. Because now there is not going to be anyone around to fight against it, to expose it, and to decry it. And usually society becomes far more corrupt when the godly are taken away. Let me put it to you very plainly, without righteous men there cannot be any righteous influence. Without godly men there cannot be any godly influence. Without faithful men there is no one to communicate honesty and integrity. There is an interesting verse in Proverbs 11 in verse 8, the Bible says, "the righteous is delivered out of trouble and the wicked cometh in his stead." So when God delivers the righteous out of trouble the wicked falls in his stead. Well what happens when a wicked man gets in trouble?

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 11:8

He does whatever is necessary to get himself out of trouble. That is he becomes more corrupt, more wicked, more vile. And when wicked men are in trouble corruption abounds. Have you ever noticed as you have studied Scripture that there is a difference between godly rulers and ungodly rulers? For instance in Proverbs 28 and verse 12 the Bible says this, "when righteous men do rejoice there is great glory, but when the wicked man rises a man is hidden." When the wicked rise a man is hidden. In other words a righteous man or a godly man, a man with any sense is going to get out of the way of the wicked because he knows he is going to try to run over him. And then in Proverbs chapter 29 and verse 2 the Bible says, "when the righteous are in authority notice the people rejoice but when the wicked bear rule the people mourn." So let me try to illustrate what I'm saying. Look in Atlanta, Georgia. Look in Tallahassee, Florida. Look in Washington, D.C.

and find righteous men with character, integrity, and honor, and men who will stand for biblical truth and the principles that are laid out in the Word of God. Where are those men? You may look in any state capitol. I noticed the other day, I read an article. Congress has now called the Millionaire Club, because everybody up there is a millionaire. You're not necessarily a millionaire when you get up there, but before you leave, you are usually a multimillionaire. And did you know they said that the average Senate race cost an individual over eight million Federal Reserve notes? Why in the world would somebody want to spend 8 million Federal Reserve notes to get a job that only pays several hundred thousand a year? Stop and think about that. So the question I'm trying to ask is this. I don't care if you look in the business world. I don't care if you look in the political world, the governmental world. Wherever you look, you're going to find that men of character and honesty and integrity are rare. They are very, very hard to find.

When godliness goes, faithfulness inevitably follows. Without the fear of God, men have no love of the truth. Common honesty is no longer common, and common irreligion always leads to universal godlessness and corruption. Let me show you. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Micah chapter 7. It is Jonah, Micah, Nahum. You will go there the little minor prophets. Look if you would in Micah chapter 7. You have Jonah then Micah then Nahum. And look if you would in Micah 7 and let's read the first 7 verses.

David is describing in Psalm 12 a situation almost like this. practically the same. Verse 1, Micah 7, Micah says,

Scripture Reading — Micah 7:1-7

"Woe is me, for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleaners of the vintage. There is no cluster to eat. My soul desires the first ripe fruit."

There is nothing. He is starving.

Now notice what has happened and why. "The good man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood. They hunt every man his brother with a net, that they may do evil with both hands earnestly. The prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward, and the great man he uttereth his mischievous desires, so they wrap it up. The best of them is a briar, and the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge. The day of thy watchman and thy visitation cometh, shall be their perplexity." God says, I'm going to nail you, watch. "Trust you not in a friend, put you not confidence in a guide. Keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonored the father, and the daughter riseth against her mother. The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore while I look unto the Lord I will wait for the God of my salvation, my God will hear me." So what Micah is saying the same thing that David is saying, God is the only one that can get us out of this trouble. So if you and I really understood that the godly man is ceasing and the faithful are failing among the children of men, it would make us cry out urgently too saying, "help, Lord."

In other words we are in a world of hurt and we just really do not understand it. Now there is a second reason why David cried, "help, Lord," and that is revealed in verses 2-4 and that is a proud populace. Look at it in verse 2, "they speak vanity every one to his neighbor. With flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things. Who have said, 'With our tongue will we prevail, our lips are our own, who is Lord over us?'"

A Proud Populace (Psalm 12:2-4)

The loss of godly men results in a society marked by vanity, flattery, double-heartedness, and arrogant rebellion against God, where people claim autonomy over their words and lives.

Now these verses demonstrate very clearly the result of the loss of godly and faithful men. Where godliness and faithfulness decline, wickedness arises. Where there is no fear of God, there is no respect of man. You remember the passage in Luke chapter 18 verses 1 and 2, the Bible said that our Lord spake a parable unto them that men ought always to pray and not to faint saying, "there was in a city a judge who feared not God nor regarded man." If you do not fear God, you will have no regard for man. You will have no regard for his family. You will have no regard for his property. You will have no regard for anything.

And verse 2 of Psalm 12 nails this down for us. He said, "they speak vanity, everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips, and with a double heart do they speak." Now, the interesting thing is where truth and honesty fail, there always arises dishonesty and a double heart. When he talks about a double heart in verse 2, the Hebrew is actually a heart and a heart. That means it's someone with two hearts. So the explanation simply means this, that someone tells you something but he means something else. Or someone says one thing, but then he acts and does another. That is a double heart.

So he is saying, once godliness disappears, once faithfulness is gone, man is left with nothing but insincerity, falsehood, and hypocrisy. Not only in regard to himself, but in regard to others as well. There could be numerous illustrations given of this truth. Remember what Cain did to Abel, how he deceived him. What Joab did to Abner and to Amasa. What Judas did to the Lord Jesus Christ. What the Herodians did to Christ.

What the hypocrites still do to God. They say one thing and act in a different manner. So look in verse 2 again because there is a connection now between flattering lips and treachery. Notice if you would please verse 2 of Psalm 12, "they speak vanity everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak." Notice flattery goes with a double heart. Now if you'll look in verse three, I'll talk about it in a minute, but "the Lord shall cut off all flattering lips." There's flattering lips again. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter nine, Jeremiah chapter nine, and notice if you would please verses four and five again, Jeremiah nine verses four and five. Here we are talking about the double tongues. In fact let's go back to verse 3. Jeremiah 9 verse 3, "They bend their tongues like their bow for lies, but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.

Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust you not in any brother, for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders. And they will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity." So he's saying here is nothing but pure flattery, and flattery and treachery are connected. Now, the flatterer gives one thing to your face, and then he acts differently to your back. Here is what God says in verse 3, "the Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things." So flattering lips are what you and I would call lying lips, they are treacherous lips, they are deceitful lips, they are wicked lips, and they are also arrogant lips. I don't know about you, but have you noticed how unafraid and unabashed people are to blaspheme God?

You remember that supposedly comedian, I never watched her. What did she say when she got that award? She said, "a lot of people thank Jesus Christ." She said, "I want you to know Jesus Christ had nothing to do with this. This is mine." What?

Now why in the world would someone have to say something like that? The problem is this, the individual that does not fear God will certainly have no regard for man. You remember Asaph in Psalm 73 was envious of the wicked when he saw their prosperity. And then he made this statement concerning the wicked, listen carefully, he says, "they are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression, they speak loftily, they set their mouths against the heavens and their tongue walking through the earth." In other words, these arrogant, flattering, lying, deceitful lips are not afraid to attack man or God. It doesn't bother them. It doesn't bother them at all. That's why Jude the Apostle calls them raging waves of the sea that foam out their own shame. Men cannot tame the tongue of flatterers. However, God has an unanswerable answer. He says He's going to cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things. He will bring them down to the ground.

Now, let me show you the arrogance that I'm talking about. Look in verse 4. Here's what these people think and say, "who have said, 'With our tongues will we prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us?'" What? This does not mean that these people stood up and formally announced their defiance in rebellion against God. They could have, but they did not need to because their words and their lives and their actions and their conduct evidence very clearly they were in rebellion against God. And they were saying that God had nothing to do with their lives. That they framed their own lives and that they were in absolute control.

And it was with their tongue that they expected to accomplish everything. It was not necessarily by violence. Look what he said in verse 4, "who said, 'With our tongue will we prevail, our lips are our own.'" In other words, we can use our tongue. We can use our lips. We will do mightily. By that they indicate this, they are relying totally upon their power of speech and their ability to influence others, deceive others, persuade others, and talk them into doing whatever they want them to do. So our lips are our own. We are our own Lord.

We have a right they are saying to control who we are and what we are. We have a right to live the way we want to live. It's kind of like what Pharaoh said to Moses in Exodus 5 in verse 1 when Moses came up to Pharaoh and said,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:1-2

"Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go."

Pharaoh answered in Exodus 5 in verse 2,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:1-2

"Who is the Lord? should obey His voice and let Israel go. I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go."

What is he saying? I don't recognize any God above me. I am my own God. I am in control. And a wicked, and corrupt, and godless, and proud populace refuses to acknowledge God, and refuses to acknowledge His sovereignty. They believe that they are in control.

Now, look what happens, look in verse 8 I'm not going to use verse 8 a little bit later, but here is what happens, when you have such a populace "the wicked walk on every side when the vilest men are exalted." You look at the vilest men who are in positions of power, you look at the wicked that are walking on every side. So you have Psalm 12, in verse 1 this passionate plea. Then in verses 2-4 you have this proud populace who are so arrogant and so rebellious. I want you to see the result of this in verse 5. That brings me to the third thing, there is a persecuted people. He says, "for the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now will I arise, saith the Lord, I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." So when wickedness reigns, persecution and oppression are the result. The Hebrew word for oppression in verse 5 is the word shod, which literally is translated in our Bibles as spoil, destruction, desolation, robbery, wasting, oppression. In other words it speaks of havoc, violence, ruin, destruction and devastation. So let me put it to you like this, the haughtiness and the arrogance of a populace always leads to persecution and oppression. Now look back in verse 5, he says, "for the oppression of the poor." Now when you and I hear the word poor, normally think of someone who does not have any money, or someone who does not have a sufficient amount of money.

A Persecuted People (Psalm 12:5)

Wickedness leads to oppression and persecution of the poor and needy. God promises to arise and deliver them from those who boast and puff against them.

But I told you that to say that is not what the Bible is talking about here. This word poor is translated in our Bibles as poor, afflicted, weak, lowly, humble, and needy. So, what the Scripture is saying here "for the oppression of the poor." In other words, those proud, arrogant, haughty individuals are willing to take advantage of anyone that they can take advantage of. They're normally going to take advantage over someone who will not fight back or who cannot fight back. And sometimes that would include money, but sometimes it would include weakness, lowliness, humility, a lot of things as well. So obviously he is talking here about real, genuine persecution. Look in verse 5 again, he says, "for the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy."

Now the Hebrew word for sighing here also means crying out and groaning. So it speaks of lamentation and woe. So the persecution is real and genuine. The reality of it is revealed in the next word, look in verse 5, "for the oppression of the poor for the sighing of the needy." The word needy here refers to those who are in need of deliverance. They are in need of help. They are in need of whatever is required to deliver them from all of this persecution is what it amounts to. And then God says this, "Now will I arise, saith the Lord, I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." I love that. God said, I'm going to arise, I'm going to set these people in safety from those who puff at him. These are the people who said, "our lips are our own. Who's Lord over us? We'll do exactly what we want to do." God refers to all of their talk, all of their boasting as puffing. And the word literally means to puff, to blow, to snort. So here's what God says, I'm going to deliver the poor and needy from him that's just blowing hot air.

He thinks he can accomplish something. He thinks he can do something. but I'm going to show him he can't. His lips are not his own, his tongue is not his own, his power is not his own. David said it like this in Psalm 64 in verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 64:1

"hear my voice oh my God, in my prayer preserve my life from the enemy."

I want you to look in Psalm 79, I can quote this but I want you to see it. Here is a verse that I quote quite frequently. Here's a verse that you need to pray, especially in regard to those Christians who are being persecuted, who are now incarcerated for the faith's sake and are facing martyrdom. Notice if you would please Psalm 79 and verse 11. The Word of God says, "Let the sighing or the groaning of the prisoner come before thee. according to the greatness of thy power, preserve thou those that are appointed to die." Isn't that a tremendous verse? Do you realize you could actually pray this for people that you do not even know? There is a woman by the name of Asia Bibi, I think she is from Pakistan, who converted to Christ and she has been incarcerated.

They are trying to kill her. because they said that she blasphemed the prophet Mohammed, which she did not do. They are putting Christians to death left and right. And here is a verse, "let the sighing, let the crying, let the groaning of the prisoner come before thee. According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die." And certainly we can pray that prayer, David certainly did so.

So you have then a passionate petition. You have a proud populace. You have a persecuted people. And I want you to look in verses 6 and 7. Here's the point of the entire message. You have, lastly, a preserved prosperity. Look in verse 6. "The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the furnace of the earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever."

A Preserved Prosperity? The Danger of God Withholding His Word (Psalm 12:6-7)

The central point: God's words are pure, but He may preserve them from a rebellious generation. If God withholds His Word, spiritual famine results, and society destroys itself.

Now, if what I'm about to tell you does not make you want to pray, I really don't know what will. Honestly, here's the whole point of the message. Having declared in verse 6 that the words of the Lord are pure words as silver tried in the furnace of the earth purified seven times which is the epitome of absolute perfection. Then he says in verse 7 "thou shalt keep them O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever." So here's my question. What is to be kept and what is to be preserved from this generation? Please remember if you would in Psalm 12 we are talking about a wicked, corrupt, rebellious generation who say that "our lips are our own, our tongue is our own, who is Lord over us?"

Now it is a fact when you look at the remote context David could be talking about the poor and the needy. That is a fact. We've already observed that. And if you will look in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 72, you will find that this truth is repeated over and over in Scripture. How the Lord is indeed going to deliver the poor and the needy. Look in Psalm 72 beginning there with verse 11. Psalm 72 verse 11. "all kings shall fall down before him," that's the Lord Jesus Christ.

"All nations shall serve him. For he," that is the Lord Jesus Christ, "shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and the needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, and precious shall their blood be in his sight." So, I could point you to numerous passages that tell us that God is indeed going to deliver the poor and the needy. And that could be in the remote context. But what is the immediate context? Look back in verse 6. "The words of the Lord are pure words." That's the immediate context. "As silver tried in the furnace of the earth purified seven times." Then He said, "Thou shalt keep them." Keep them what? Keep His words, O Lord. "Thou shalt preserve them," His words, "from this generation forever." Why in the world should God give His Word to a people who despise Him, who hate Him, who disregard Him, who deny Him, who denigrate Him?

Why should He speak to them? Why should He give them His Word? Do you think for one minute that God is going to turn around and do something that He has forbidden you to do? What am I talking about? Well, in Matthew 7 verse 6, here's what our Lord said. "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs. Neither cast you your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under feet and turn again and rend you." Now what did our Lord say? You don't give that which is holy to the dogs. You don't take your pearls and cast them before swine because all they can do is trample them down in the mud. They could care less about the pearls and then they're gonna turn around and then they're gonna rend you. So our Lord is saying we don't put holy righteous godly things in front of dogs and hogs. Here's a good illustration. If you will go back and read 1 Samuel, you will find that Eli is the priest.

He has two sons that are priests under him, Hophni and Phinehas. Hophni and Phinehas are wicked, ungodly reprobates. They committed adultery and whored with the women at the door of the tabernacle. They stole the offerings of God. God rebuked Eli because Eli did not restrain his sons and finally God comes to judge and he says this in 1 Samuel 2 in verse 30 listen carefully. And he's talking to Eli "wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." Isn't that amazing? God says no. No, no, you despise me. I despise you. You honor me. I'll honor you. Now, please keep this in mind. That was 1 Samuel 2 in verse 30. You remember Hannah had given little Samuel to the Lord, and Samuel was there. And when you get to 1 Samuel 3 and verse 1 the scripture says this, "and the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no open vision."

Now wait a minute, I wish I had an hour just to deal with the word vision. let me tell you what that verse really means. When the Bible says there was no open vision it means that there was no public preaching. There was no public declaration of the Word of God. How could there be with a corrupt and vile priesthood? In other words, yeah the Word of God was precious in those days. What makes something precious? Scarcity. Scarcity.

If I were to ask you to go out and bring me a truckload of sand and someone else to go out and bring me a truckload of gold, who's going to come back first? The man with the sand, because it's everywhere. The man with the gold, it'll be gone a long time looking for it and digging it out. The word of the Lord was precious in those days. Why? It was scarce.

There was no open vision. The people were in rebellion to God. They did not want God they were refused to listen to God and God said I'm not gonna speak to you either. Let me show you look in your Bibles to the book of Amos. Hosea, Joel, Amos. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Daniel. Hosea, Joel, Amos. And look in your Bibles Amos chapter 8. And speaking reading there verse 11. Watch carefully Amos 8 verse 11. "Behold the days come saith the Lord God that I will send a famine in the land not a famine of bread and water but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea and from the north even to the east. And they shall run to and fro and seek the word of the Lord and they shall not find it." God says there's coming a time when there's going to be a famine. Not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord. And people will be wandering everywhere and they can't find it.

They can't hear it. Wow. Did you know that God said in Proverbs 1 in verse 7, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 13:13 "whosoever despiseth the word shall be destroyed, but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded." Let me show you how this plays out look in your Bibles go back to Isaiah 30. Isaiah 30 and let's begin reading there with verse 9. Isaiah 30. Isaiah 30. In fact let's read verse 8 just so you can see it in the paragraph. Isaiah 30 verse 8, God says, "Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever." In other words, write this down, make sure this is not forgotten. Look what God says concerning them, "that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord, which say to the seers, See not.

And to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things," that is the word of God, "speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits, get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us." We don't want to have anything to do with God. "Wherefore, thus saith the Holy One of Israel, because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and stay thereupon. Therefore, this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall whose breaking cometh suddenly in an instant, and he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel that is broken in pieces. He shall not spare. so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a shard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water with it out of the pit." What did he say?

Here's a people that said, we don't want God. We don't want God's Word. We just want to be left alone. We want to do our own thing. God says, fine. Fine. So here's my question. Is it any wonder that there's very little, very real and true preaching and exposition of the Word of God in this rebellious and corrupt generation? Stop and think about that. There are churches on every corner, but very little preaching. Very little preaching.

Hardly anyone is being taught. We've gotten into an entertainment and to a feel-good mentality and we want to build big works instead of building people. You remember the last book in the Old Testament is Malachi. The first book in the New Testament is Matthew. Do you know how many years passed between Malachi and Matthew? 400 years. And they are known as the 400 silent years. God did not speak. God did not reveal himself during those 400 years. Wow.

If God keeps His Word from this generation, if God preserves His Word from this people, there will not be a revival. There will not be a reviving. There will not be repentance. There will not be faith. There will not be conversions. Oh yes, there might be a few here and there because God is faithful and God is not going to leave Himself without witness. But the point I'm trying to make is this. If God preserves His Word and God keeps them from a wicked, corrupt generation who do not want those words, then practically everything is going to be lost in every sphere, in every area.

It doesn't matter if it's political, governmental, economic, familial, ecclesiastical. It doesn't matter. It will all be over. We have to understand something, folks. Where there is no truth, only lies will prevail. Where there is no righteousness, only evil will prevail. Where there is no godliness, only godlessness will prevail. Where there is no honesty, only dishonesty will prevail. Where there is no integrity, only men of lacking character will prevail.

In other words, if God withholds his word, we are in trouble. God does not need to send fire from heaven to destroy a civilization like he did on Sodom and Gomorrah. He does not need to send a flood as he did in the days of Noah. All God has to do is withhold his word, his grace, and his mercy. and we'll destroy ourselves. That's what David is talking about in Psalm 12. And that's why David says, "help, Lord," Lord, do something because the godly man ceases and the faithful fail from among the children of men.

Applications: Cry Earnestly and Treasure God's Word

Believers must learn to pray urgently like David, perceiving the danger around them, and must treasure, read, study, and obey God's Word, lest He withhold it from this generation.

Let me make just two applications. The first one is this. We need to learn to cry and to pray earnestly and urgently. We need to learn to cry and ask God to help and to save. If we truly perceive the danger that we are in, I'm afraid it would shake us to our very core. Every one of us get little snippets from the news about the pedophile ring in Hollywood. in Washington, in Atlanta. You get all kinds of snippets of congressmen who are adulterers, whoremongers, sodomites.

We hear those things, and we think, how horrible, how terrible. Let me tell you something. If we knew, if we probably knew a tenth of the wickedness and the corruption and the depravity that's in our capitals and in our land, it would shake us to the very core of our being. We would be overwhelmed. You see, the problem is we live in our own little world. Everything's all right right here. And we fail to look at the world that's falling apart around us.

If we understood the danger that we were in, like David, we would be crying, "help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth and the faithful fail from among the children of men." The second one is this, it should alarm us, it should disturb us that it is very possible for God to withhold his word from us. He did so in the days of Elijah and Jeremiah. When God sent Elijah out of the land for three years that was just a physical picture of a spiritual reality. The man of God was out of the land. There was no word from God for three years. No rain. While Jeremiah was left in the land God said to Jeremiah, "pray not for this people for I will not hear thee."

We need to understand something folks. God has given us his word. We need to read it. We need to study it. We need to memorize it. We need to obey it. We need to apply it. This word is the greatest treasure that we have. And we need it. because God could indeed take it from us. And in one sense, the word he has, because a lack of preaching and teaching. Alice and I passed a church building this morning, signs all out in the yard, "God bless America, God bless America." I got to thinking, oh God, how in the world could you bless us? Look at our wickedness. our ungodliness, look at the aborticide, look at the pedophilia, look at all of the sins. No, America needs to bless God, and then God can bless America.

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee, we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for Your truth, and oh Lord, I do pray that this will indeed make us want to pray. Make us want to cry, "help, Lord. Save, Lord. Do something for us, Lord. We cannot do it for ourselves. Thou hast said without me you can do nothing." So, Lord, we look to Thee, we cry to Thee, and ask for Thy grace and Thy mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Urgency of Prayer

Summary: Prayer must be timely and urgent, especially when the godly are declining and wickedness is rising.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'David does not have time to be formal... The situation is urgent. And so he's very passionate in this petition. And he just cries, "help, Lord."' (567.2-639.2s)

Decline of Godly and Faithful Men

Summary: The disappearance of righteous, faithful men leads to societal corruption and is a sign of coming judgment.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'David is looking and David is seeing a particular situation among His people and among His society that the godly man and the faithful man are dying out, they are failing.' (819.1-904.0s)

Arrogance and Rebellion of the Wicked

Summary: A godless populace speaks vanity, flattery, and proudly claims autonomy, refusing to acknowledge God's sovereignty.

Evidence: Weaver reads Psalm 12:4, 'Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us?' and comments on their rebellion. (1865.8-1905.0s)

Persecution of the Righteous

Summary: When wickedness reigns, the poor and needy are oppressed, but God promises to arise and deliver them.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'So when wickedness reigns, persecution and oppression are the result.' (2006.3-2084.9s)

God Withholding His Word as Judgment

Summary: God may preserve His pure words from a rebellious generation, leading to spiritual famine and societal destruction.

Evidence: Weaver asks, 'Why in the world should God give His Word to a people who despise Him...?' and cites Amos 8:11 about a famine of hearing God's words. (2595.4-2667.9s, 2896.7-2977.2s)

The Preciousness and Necessity of God's Word

Summary: God's Word is pure and essential; without it, lies, evil, and godlessness prevail. Believers must treasure and obey it.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'This word is the greatest treasure that we have. And we need it. because God could indeed take it from us.' (3434.2-3513.2s)

Key Arguments

There is a time when God cannot be found, so prayer must be timely.

Summary: David's example in Psalm 32 shows that the godly pray in a time when God may be found, implying there is a time when He cannot be found due to stress or judgment.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'David says there is a time when God cannot be found... Undoubtedly there were people who prayed when the waters began to descend in Noah's time, but their prayer was too late.' (393.7-465.2s)

God removes the righteous to spare them from evil and to allow judgment.

Summary: Isaiah 57:1 and the example of Josiah show that God takes away the righteous so they do not see coming evil, and their removal accelerates societal decay.

Evidence: Weaver cites Isaiah 57:1 and 2 Kings 22:18-20, saying, 'God says oftentimes He removes his righteous and godly and faithful men out of this world so that they will not see the evil that is coming upon them.' (904.5-1010.6s)

Flattery and double-heartedness are marks of a godless society.

Summary: Psalm 12:2 connects flattering lips with a double heart, indicating insincerity and hypocrisy that arise when godliness fails.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'When he talks about a double heart in verse 2, the Hebrew is actually a heart and a heart. That means it's someone with two hearts... someone tells you something but he means something else.' (1496.0-1533.6s)

The wicked claim autonomy and reject God's authority.

Summary: The proud populace in Psalm 12:4 believes their own words give them power and that no one is Lord over them, reflecting Pharaoh's attitude in Exodus 5:2.

Evidence: Weaver compares Psalm 12:4 to Pharaoh's words, 'Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice... I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.' (1930.9-1958.4s)

God will deliver the persecuted poor and needy.

Summary: Psalm 12:5 promises that God will arise and set the oppressed in safety from those who puff at them, and Psalm 79:11 is a prayer for those appointed to die.

Evidence: Weaver reads Psalm 79:11, 'Let the sighing or the groaning of the prisoner come before thee... preserve thou those that are appointed to die.' (2275.1-2328.2s)

God may withhold His Word from a rebellious generation, causing spiritual famine.

Summary: Amos 8:11 warns of a famine of hearing God's words, and the 400 silent years between Malachi and Matthew exemplify God's silence in response to rebellion.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God says there's coming a time when there's going to be a famine... of hearing the word of the Lord. And people will be wandering everywhere and they can't find it.' (2896.7-2977.2s)

Without God's Word, society self-destructs.

Summary: If God withholds His Word, truth, righteousness, and godliness disappear, and only lies, evil, and corruption prevail, leading to destruction without direct divine intervention.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'All God has to do is withhold his word, his grace, and his mercy. and we'll destroy ourselves.' (3223.7-3274.5s)

Believers must urgently pray and treasure God's Word.

Summary: In light of the danger, Christians should cry out like David and diligently read, study, memorize, and obey Scripture, recognizing it as their greatest treasure.

Evidence: Weaver applies, 'We need to learn to cry and to pray earnestly and urgently... God has given us his word. We need to read it. We need to study it. We need to memorize it. We need to obey it.' (3277.0-3329.3s, 3434.2-3513.2s)

Scripture References

Psalm 12:1-8

Context: The primary text of the sermon, read in full at the beginning.

Psalm 63:6

Context: David meditates on God upon his bed and in the night watches.

Psalm 119:148

Context: David's eyes precede the night watches to meditate on God's word.

Psalm 63:1

Context: David seeks God early, thirsting for Him.

Isaiah 26:9

Context: Isaiah desires God in the night and seeks Him early.

Psalm 55:17

Context: David prays evening, morning, and noon.

Psalm 32:5-6

Context: The godly pray in a time when God may be found; floods of great waters will not come near them.

Isaiah 55:6

Context: Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.

Matthew 14:30

Context: Peter cries 'Lord, save me' when sinking, illustrating urgent prayer.

Isaiah 57:1

Context: The righteous perish and no one takes it to heart; merciful men are taken away from the evil to come.

2 Kings 22:18-20

Context: Josiah is told he will die in peace and not see the evil coming upon the land.

Proverbs 11:8

Context: The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked comes in his stead.

Proverbs 28:12

Context: When righteous men rejoice there is great glory; when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.

Proverbs 29:2

Context: When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people mourn.

Micah 7:1-7

Context: Micah laments the loss of the good man and the corruption of society, similar to Psalm 12.

Luke 18:1-2

Context: The parable of the unjust judge who feared not God nor regarded man.

Jeremiah 9:3-5

Context: People bend their tongues for lies, deceive neighbors, and weary themselves committing iniquity.

Psalm 73 (implied)

Context: Asaph envied the wicked and noted their arrogant speech against heaven.

Exodus 5:1-2

Context: Pharaoh asks 'Who is the Lord?' and refuses to obey, illustrating rebellion.

Psalm 64:1

Context: David prays for preservation from the enemy.

Historical References

Noah's flood

Context: People likely prayed when the flood came, but it was too late.

Sodom and Gomorrah

Context: People probably prayed when fire and brimstone fell, but it was too late.

Tower of Siloam

Context: People probably prayed when the tower fell and killed 18, but it was too late.

Josiah's death

Context: God removed Josiah so he would not see the evil coming upon Jerusalem.

Cain and Abel

Context: Cain deceived Abel, illustrating double-heartedness.

Joab's deception of Abner and Amasa

Context: Joab's treachery illustrates double-heartedness.

Judas Iscariot

Context: Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss, illustrating hypocrisy.

Herodians

Context: They tried to deceive Christ, illustrating flattery and treachery.

400 silent years between Malachi and Matthew

Context: God did not speak or reveal Himself for 400 years, exemplifying His withholding of the Word.

Elijah's departure from the land for three years

Context: A physical picture of God withholding His word; no rain and no prophetic word.

Important Quotes

Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, and the faithful fail from among the children of men.

Significance: This is the opening cry of Psalm 12, setting the theme of urgent prayer due to the decline of godly and faithful people.

The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the furnace of the earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.

Significance: The central verses of the message, highlighting the purity of God's Word and the possibility that He may withhold it from a wicked generation.

for this shall everyone that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found.

Significance: David's statement that the godly pray while God may be found, implying there is a time when He cannot be found.

The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart. And merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.

Significance: Isaiah 57:1 explains why God removes the righteous—to spare them from coming judgment and because no one considers their loss.

With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us?

Significance: The arrogant claim of the wicked in Psalm 12:4, rejecting God's authority and boasting in their own speech.

Now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.

Significance: God's promise to deliver the oppressed poor and needy from those who boast against them.

Behold the days come saith the Lord God that I will send a famine in the land not a famine of bread and water but of hearing the words of the Lord.

Significance: Amos 8:11 warns of a spiritual famine when God withholds His Word, a key warning in the sermon.

All God has to do is withhold his word, his grace, and his mercy. and we'll destroy ourselves.

Significance: Weaver's summary of the consequence if God preserves His Word from a rebellious generation—societal self-destruction.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean to pray 'in a time when God may be found,' and how should that urgency shape our prayer lives?

Context: Weaver emphasizes from Psalm 32:6 that there is a time when God cannot be found, so prayer must be timely.

How should the decline of godly and faithful men in society affect our prayers and actions?

Context: David's lament in Psalm 12:1 about the ceasing of the godly prompts the question of how believers should respond.

In what ways do we see flattery and double-heartedness in our culture, and how can we guard against them in our own lives?

Context: Weaver explains the connection between flattering lips and a double heart from Psalm 12:2.

What are the implications of God potentially withholding His Word from a generation, and have we seen signs of this today?

Context: The central warning of the sermon from Psalm 12:6-7 and Amos 8:11.

How can we cultivate a greater treasure and urgency for God's Word in our personal lives and in our church?

Context: Weaver's application that we must read, study, memorize, and obey Scripture because it could be taken from us.

What does it look like to pray 'Help, Lord' with the same desperation as David and Peter, and what hinders us from such prayers?

Context: Weaver highlights the urgent, informal cry for help in Psalm 12:1 and Matthew 14:30.

How does the removal of the righteous from evil to come (Isaiah 57:1) challenge our perspective on the death of godly believers?

Context: Weaver explains that God sometimes takes the righteous to spare them from coming judgment.

In what ways might we be unaware of the true spiritual danger around us, and how can we become more alert?

Context: Weaver says we do not understand the times or the danger we are in, which should drive us to urgent prayer.

Applications

Pray urgently and earnestly

Summary: Believers should learn to cry out to God with desperate, urgent prayers like David's 'Help, Lord,' recognizing the spiritual danger around them.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We need to learn to cry and to pray earnestly and urgently. We need to learn to cry and ask God to help and to save.' (3277.0-3329.3s)

Treasure and obey God's Word

Summary: Because God may withhold His Word from a rebellious generation, believers must diligently read, study, memorize, and obey Scripture.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'God has given us his word. We need to read it. We need to study it. We need to memorize it. We need to obey it. We need to apply it.' (3434.2-3513.2s)

Be aware of the times and spiritual danger

Summary: Christians should perceive the true danger of living in a corrupt generation, which should shake them to the core and drive them to prayer.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'If we truly perceive the danger that we are in, I'm afraid it would shake us to our very core.' (3277.0-3329.3s)

Pray for persecuted believers

Summary: Use Psalm 79:11 to intercede for Christians who are imprisoned and facing martyrdom for their faith.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Here's a verse that you need to pray, especially in regard to those Christians who are being persecuted... Let the sighing or the groaning of the prisoner come before thee.' (2275.1-2328.2s)

Do not take God's Word for granted

Summary: Recognize that the scarcity of true preaching and teaching is a sign of judgment, and value every opportunity to hear and study Scripture.

Evidence: Weaver notes, 'Is it any wonder that there's very little, very real and true preaching and exposition of the Word of God in this rebellious and corrupt generation?' (3079.5-3137.5s)

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T20:33:31Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:58:22Z

Clean Transcript

Does This Make You Want To Pray?

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Let's open our Bibles to Psalm 12. Psalm 12. And this is not working, Lorraine. Yes, it is. I think it is. Yes. Psalm 12. The title of the message today is, "Does This Make You Want to Pray?" I'm going to be quoting a lot of scriptures just to save time, in order to try to save my voice since I'm coming down with a little sinus problem. But there are a number of passages I do want you to turn to. So look in Psalm 12, we'll read all eight verses.
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"Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, and the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbor, with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things. Who have said, 'With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us?' For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the furnace of the earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.
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The wicked walk on every side when the vilest of men are exalted." When it comes to prayer, the truth of the matter is most of us pray. And I am sure that each one of us would probably acknowledge and confess that we do not pray as often as we should. And I think that we can also say that we can be in an attitude of prayer when it is absolutely impossible to be actually on our knees in prayer. But the truth of the matter is we miss many opportunities to pray. There are times that it is very convenient, there are times that it is inconvenient, but yet we must pray. It is possible to pray on our beds before we go to sleep. It is also possible to pray early in the morning when we awaken. In fact, the truth of the matter is we should be praying before we ever, ever put our feet on the floor.
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David said it like this in Psalm 63 and verse 6, "I will remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches." So David says, when I lie down at night, I'm going to remember you. And when I awaken, I'm going to meditate on you in the night watches. So if you wake up during the night, one of the simplest things to do is just simply start praying.
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And that's a good opportunity to pray. David said in Psalm 119 verse 148, he said, "My eyes prevent or precede the night watches that I might meditate upon thy word." So David is saying again that even lying on his bed he is there and he is going to be meditating upon the Word of the Lord. Early in the morning before we get out of bed is another excellent time to pray. David said in Psalm 63 verse 1, "O God, my God, early will I seek Thee. My soul thirsteth for Thee. My flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is." But notice he said, "early will I seek Thee." Then Isaiah said it similarly in Isaiah 26 and verse 9, he said, "With my soul have I desired thee in the night, yea with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall learn righteousness." So notice if you would please each time now we talk about praying and meditating upon the Word of God at night, also seeking the Lord early in the morning.
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But it is also true that David did have stated times of prayer. For he said in Psalm 55 and verse 17, "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice." So David had three specific stated times of prayer. Of course he prayed often times. Now I want you to look in your Bibles holding Psalm 12, but look in Psalm 32 and notice if you would please verses 5 and 6. The interesting thing is this is one of the penitential Psalms and David is confessing and acknowledging his sins, but he gives us some very important truths. He said in verse 5 of Psalm 32, "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. For this shall everyone that is godly pray unto thee, a time when thou mayest be found.
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Surely in the floods of great water they shall not come nigh unto thee." Now I want you to notice at least three truths here. First of all David said that everyone that is godly will acknowledge and confess his sins. A godly man does indeed know about his sins and they do weigh heavily upon him.
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Secondly, he said, the prayer of the godly would be in a time when God could be found. That is what he meant in verse 6 when he said, "for this shall everyone that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found." And the implication is very clear. There is a time when God cannot be found. Many falsely and erroneously think and assume that their access to God will always be unhindered and unfettered. They are patently wrong. David says there is a time when God cannot be found. Thirdly, he says this in verse 6, "surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto thee." So actually what he is talking about in verse 6 is times of great calamity, floods of great water that many would not be able to come to God. Why?
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Because of stress, because of distress, because of pressure, because of danger, because of death. And oftentimes when someone is hurting and is under extreme pressure and stress, they cannot think. They cannot set their minds upon God and spiritual things. All they can do is literally concentrate upon their hurt and upon their problem, and that is what David is talking about. So he says, number one, all the godly will confess and acknowledge their sin. Number two, they will do it in a time when God may be found. And number three, he is indicating that there is a time when people will not be able to pray and seek the Lord because of the stress of the situation. Undoubtedly there were people who prayed when the waters began to descend in Noah's time, but their prayer was too late. Undoubtedly, men and women probably prayed when the fire and brimstone fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah, but their prayer was too late. And undoubtedly, people probably prayed when the Tower of Siloam fell and killed those 18 people, but their prayer was too late.
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You see the Bible says in Isaiah 55 and verse 6, "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near." So the verse very clearly teaches that there is a time when God cannot be found and there is a time when God is not near. So our prayers then have to be timely, and I am going to use this word as well, they also have to be urgent. Now when you look at Psalm 12 we have an excellent example of what I would call a timely and an urgent prayer. When in the world should we pray and how should we pray in a timely and an urgent manner? Well, let me just give you an overview of this psalm. We're going to look at it verse by verse, but the truth of the matter is it's time to pray when the wicked are in control and prospering.
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and they are spreading corruption universally speaking. It's a time to pray when people are proud and arrogant and haughty. It's a time to pray when the righteous are persecuted and prosecuted and in grave bodily danger. It's a time to pray when there is faithlessness, idolatry, blasphemy and ridicule. So if we look at Psalm 12 we will understand this urgent praying. So look if you would please at verse 1.
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The very first point I'm going to give you today is a passionate petition, a passionate petition. Verse 1, "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men."
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Now I like the way David begins his prayer. He just simply says, "help, Lord." There is no formality. It is a cry of urgency. David does not have time to be formal. He does not have time to be flowery. He does not have time to beat around the bush. The situation is urgent. And so he's very passionate in this petition. And he just cries, "help, Lord." It kind of reminds me of the prayer of Peter. Matthew chapter 14 in verse 30 you remember how Peter was walking on the water and the Bible says when he saw that the wind was boisterous and the waves were great and he began to sink. What did Peter say? "Help, Lord." That's what he cried. He cried out basically "Lord, save me." He did not have time to begin a formal prayer. He did not have time for flowery language and posturing. And what Peter realized was this, if the Lord Jesus Christ did not do something instantly, he was a goner. Now it's the same thing that David is praying about in verse 1 of Psalm 12.
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He is realizing and recognizing the urgency of the situation. Actually, the Hebrew word here for help is also the word save. So David is not just crying for divine help, he's also crying for divine salvation. So the word that is rendered help is largely used for what you and I would call all manner of saving, helping, delivering, and preserving. So David then is crying urgently. He sees the desperateness of his situation and he cries out to God. Let me just point it out very clearly.
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One of our problems in Christendom is this. We do not see the desperateness of the situation that we're really and truly in. We don't understand the times in which we're living. We do not understand the danger that we are genuinely in. We do not even understand the plans of the enemies. I'm afraid if you and I really and truly understood what was going on, it not only would depress us, but it would certainly make us cry to God in a desperate plea like David is doing, "help, Lord." And so when David cried, "help, Lord," he understood that no human could help him. Government would not help him. People cooperating would not help him. He understood that this call for divine aid and divine help and divine salvation, David needed help and he needed it now. It was urgently needed. And David's attitude was this, "God if you don't help, if you don't save, all is lost, all is gone." He is acknowledging that only God could take care of the situation. So let me ask you this question, what is it that disturbed David so greatly that made him cry out in this passionate petition, "help, Lord"?
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Well, one of the answers is given to us in verse 1. Look at it. He says, "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men." So let me ask you some questions. Has the deterioration of the church ever really bothered you? Have you ever become upset over the fact that there is a lack of godly, faithful men in our society? Has it ever bothered you that such men of honesty and integrity and character are few and far between and very rarely found? Have you ever contemplated that when the upstanding and the righteous and the faithful men perish that no one arises to take their place?
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They are just simply gone. So David is looking and David is seeing a particular situation among His people and among His society that the godly man and the faithful man are dying out, they are failing. They are becoming less and less. Now we understand that if the godly die, well obviously they are gone. But have you ever thought about this? Why does God oftentimes remove the godly and the faithful? We look around and we think they're needed so desperately. Well, let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 57 and look at verse 1. Isaiah 57 and verse 1. What's this passage? Very interesting. Isaiah 57 and verse 1, God says, "The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart." That is no man considers this, no man meditates upon this, no man is really concerned about the fact that the righteous are dying off. Now watch, "the righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart.
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And merciful men are taken away, here it is, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come." Wow. So God says oftentimes He removes his righteous and godly and faithful men out of this world so that they will not see the evil that is coming upon them, or upon this world. This passage actually teaches us two truths. First of all, God often takes the righteous out of this world so that they will not experience the evil that is to fall upon it. You will find that in 2 Kings chapter 22 verses 18-20, there was a king by the name of Josiah and when he heard the Word of God when it was read to him he trembled.
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And he fell on his face and he rent his garments and he cried out to the Lord and he sent someone to inquire of the Lord. And here is what the Lord said to him, listen carefully, "as touching the words which thou hast heard because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes and wept before me. I have also heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold, therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered unto thy grave in peace. And thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place." So God said, Josiah you have been a godly man, I am going to remove you, you are going to die in peace, you will not see all the evil that I bring upon this place.
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Now when the Bible says that the righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart, and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. Secondly you have to understand this, when God removes the righteous, when God removes the godly and faithful men, evil cannot but help to come. Because now there is not going to be anyone around to fight against it, to expose it, and to decry it. And usually society becomes far more corrupt when the godly are taken away. Let me put it to you very plainly, without righteous men there cannot be any righteous influence. Without godly men there cannot be any godly influence. Without faithful men there is no one to communicate honesty and integrity. There is an interesting verse in Proverbs 11 in verse 8, the Bible says, "the righteous is delivered out of trouble and the wicked cometh in his stead." So when God delivers the righteous out of trouble the wicked falls in his stead. Well what happens when a wicked man gets in trouble?
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He does whatever is necessary to get himself out of trouble. That is he becomes more corrupt, more wicked, more vile. And when wicked men are in trouble corruption abounds. Have you ever noticed as you have studied Scripture that there is a difference between godly rulers and ungodly rulers? For instance in Proverbs 28 and verse 12 the Bible says this, "when righteous men do rejoice there is great glory, but when the wicked man rises a man is hidden." When the wicked rise a man is hidden. In other words a righteous man or a godly man, a man with any sense is going to get out of the way of the wicked because he knows he is going to try to run over him. And then in Proverbs chapter 29 and verse 2 the Bible says, "when the righteous are in authority notice the people rejoice but when the wicked bear rule the people mourn." So let me try to illustrate what I'm saying. Look in Atlanta, Georgia. Look in Tallahassee, Florida. Look in Washington, D.C.
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and find righteous men with character, integrity, and honor, and men who will stand for biblical truth and the principles that are laid out in the Word of God. Where are those men? You may look in any state capitol. I noticed the other day, I read an article. Congress has now called the Millionaire Club, because everybody up there is a millionaire. You're not necessarily a millionaire when you get up there, but before you leave, you are usually a multimillionaire.
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And did you know they said that the average Senate race cost an individual over eight million Federal Reserve notes? Why in the world would somebody want to spend 8 million Federal Reserve notes to get a job that only pays several hundred thousand a year? Stop and think about that. So the question I'm trying to ask is this. I don't care if you look in the business world. I don't care if you look in the political world, the governmental world. Wherever you look, you're going to find that men of character and honesty and integrity are rare. They are very, very hard to find.
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When godliness goes, faithfulness inevitably follows. Without the fear of God, men have no love of the truth. Common honesty is no longer common, and common irreligion always leads to universal godlessness and corruption. Let me show you. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Micah chapter 7. It is Jonah, Micah, Nahum. You will go there the little minor prophets. Look if you would in Micah chapter 7. You have Jonah then Micah then Nahum. And look if you would in Micah 7 and let's read the first 7 verses.
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David is describing in Psalm 12 a situation almost like this. practically the same. Verse 1, Micah 7, Micah says, "Woe is me, for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleaners of the vintage. There is no cluster to eat. My soul desires the first ripe fruit." There is nothing. He is starving.
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Now notice what has happened and why. "The good man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood. They hunt every man his brother with a net, that they may do evil with both hands earnestly. The prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward, and the great man he uttereth his mischievous desires, so they wrap it up. The best of them is a briar, and the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge.
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The day of thy watchman and thy visitation cometh, shall be their perplexity." God says, I'm going to nail you, watch. "Trust you not in a friend, put you not confidence in a guide. Keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonored the father, and the daughter riseth against her mother. The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore while I look unto the Lord I will wait for the God of my salvation, my God will hear me." So what Micah is saying the same thing that David is saying, God is the only one that can get us out of this trouble. So if you and I really understood that the godly man is ceasing and the faithful are failing among the children of men, it would make us cry out urgently too saying, "help, Lord."
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In other words we are in a world of hurt and we just really do not understand it. Now there is a second reason why David cried, "help, Lord," and that is revealed in verses 2-4 and that is a proud populace. Look at it in verse 2, "they speak vanity every one to his neighbor. With flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things. Who have said, 'With our tongue will we prevail, our lips are our own, who is Lord over us?'"
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Now these verses demonstrate very clearly the result of the loss of godly and faithful men. Where godliness and faithfulness decline, wickedness arises. Where there is no fear of God, there is no respect of man. You remember the passage in Luke chapter 18 verses 1 and 2, the Bible said that our Lord spake a parable unto them that men ought always to pray and not to faint saying, "there was in a city a judge who feared not God nor regarded man." If you do not fear God, you will have no regard for man. You will have no regard for his family. You will have no regard for his property. You will have no regard for anything.
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And verse 2 of Psalm 12 nails this down for us. He said, "they speak vanity, everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips, and with a double heart do they speak."
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Now, the interesting thing is where truth and honesty fail, there always arises dishonesty and a double heart. When he talks about a double heart in verse 2, the Hebrew is actually a heart and a heart. That means it's someone with two hearts. So the explanation simply means this, that someone tells you something but he means something else. Or someone says one thing, but then he acts and does another. That is a double heart.
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So he is saying, once godliness disappears, once faithfulness is gone, man is left with nothing but insincerity, falsehood, and hypocrisy. Not only in regard to himself, but in regard to others as well. There could be numerous illustrations given of this truth. Remember what Cain did to Abel, how he deceived him. What Joab did to Abner and to Amasa. What Judas did to the Lord Jesus Christ. What the Herodians did to Christ.
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What the hypocrites still do to God. They say one thing and act in a different manner. So look in verse 2 again because there is a connection now between flattering lips and treachery. Notice if you would please verse 2 of Psalm 12, "they speak vanity everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak." Notice flattery goes with a double heart. Now if you'll look in verse three, I'll talk about it in a minute, but "the Lord shall cut off all flattering lips." There's flattering lips again. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter nine, Jeremiah chapter nine, and notice if you would please verses four and five again, Jeremiah nine verses four and five. Here we are talking about the double tongues. In fact let's go back to verse 3. Jeremiah 9 verse 3, "They bend their tongues like their bow for lies, but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.
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Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust you not in any brother, for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders. And they will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity." So he's saying here is nothing but pure flattery, and flattery and treachery are connected.
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Now, the flatterer gives one thing to your face, and then he acts differently to your back. Here is what God says in verse 3, "the Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things." So flattering lips are what you and I would call lying lips, they are treacherous lips, they are deceitful lips, they are wicked lips, and they are also arrogant lips. I don't know about you, but have you noticed how unafraid and unabashed people are to blaspheme God?
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You remember that supposedly comedian, I never watched her. What did she say when she got that award? She said, "a lot of people thank Jesus Christ." She said, "I want you to know Jesus Christ had nothing to do with this. This is mine." What?
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Now why in the world would someone have to say something like that? The problem is this, the individual that does not fear God will certainly have no regard for man. You remember Asaph in Psalm 73 was envious of the wicked when he saw their prosperity. And then he made this statement concerning the wicked, listen carefully, he says, "they are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression, they speak loftily, they set their mouths against the heavens and their tongue walking through the earth." In other words, these arrogant, flattering, lying, deceitful lips are not afraid to attack man or God. It doesn't bother them. It doesn't bother them at all.
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That's why Jude the Apostle calls them raging waves of the sea that foam out their own shame. Men cannot tame the tongue of flatterers. However, God has an unanswerable answer. He says He's going to cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things. He will bring them down to the ground.
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Now, let me show you the arrogance that I'm talking about. Look in verse 4. Here's what these people think and say, "who have said, 'With our tongues will we prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us?'" What? This does not mean that these people stood up and formally announced their defiance in rebellion against God. They could have, but they did not need to because their words and their lives and their actions and their conduct evidence very clearly they were in rebellion against God. And they were saying that God had nothing to do with their lives. That they framed their own lives and that they were in absolute control.
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And it was with their tongue that they expected to accomplish everything. It was not necessarily by violence. Look what he said in verse 4, "who said, 'With our tongue will we prevail, our lips are our own.'" In other words, we can use our tongue. We can use our lips. We will do mightily. By that they indicate this, they are relying totally upon their power of speech and their ability to influence others, deceive others, persuade others, and talk them into doing whatever they want them to do. So our lips are our own. We are our own Lord.
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We have a right they are saying to control who we are and what we are. We have a right to live the way we want to live. It's kind of like what Pharaoh said to Moses in Exodus 5 in verse 1 when Moses came up to Pharaoh and said, "Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go." Pharaoh answered in Exodus 5 in verse 2, "Who is the Lord?
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should obey His voice and let Israel go. I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." What is he saying? I don't recognize any God above me. I am my own God. I am in control. And a wicked, and corrupt, and godless, and proud populace refuses to acknowledge God, and refuses to acknowledge His sovereignty. They believe that they are in control.
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Now, look what happens, look in verse 8 I'm not going to use verse 8 a little bit later, but here is what happens, when you have such a populace "the wicked walk on every side when the vilest men are exalted." You look at the vilest men who are in positions of power, you look at the wicked that are walking on every side. So you have Psalm 12, in verse 1 this passionate plea. Then in verses 2-4 you have this proud populace who are so arrogant and so rebellious. I want you to see the result of this in verse 5.
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That brings me to the third thing, there is a persecuted people. He says, "for the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now will I arise, saith the Lord, I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." So when wickedness reigns, persecution and oppression are the result. The Hebrew word for oppression in verse 5 is the word shod, which literally is translated in our Bibles as spoil, destruction, desolation, robbery, wasting, oppression. In other words it speaks of havoc, violence, ruin, destruction and devastation. So let me put it to you like this, the haughtiness and the arrogance of a populace always leads to persecution and oppression. Now look back in verse 5, he says, "for the oppression of the poor." Now when you and I hear the word poor, normally think of someone who does not have any money, or someone who does not have a sufficient amount of money.
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But I told you that to say that is not what the Bible is talking about here. This word poor is translated in our Bibles as poor, afflicted, weak, lowly, humble, and needy. So, what the Scripture is saying here "for the oppression of the poor." In other words, those proud, arrogant, haughty individuals are willing to take advantage of anyone that they can take advantage of. They're normally going to take advantage over someone who will not fight back or who cannot fight back.
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And sometimes that would include money, but sometimes it would include weakness, lowliness, humility, a lot of things as well. So obviously he is talking here about real, genuine persecution. Look in verse 5 again, he says, "for the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy."
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Now the Hebrew word for sighing here also means crying out and groaning. So it speaks of lamentation and woe. So the persecution is real and genuine. The reality of it is revealed in the next word, look in verse 5, "for the oppression of the poor for the sighing of the needy." The word needy here refers to those who are in need of deliverance. They are in need of help. They are in need of whatever is required to deliver them from all of this persecution is what it amounts to.
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And then God says this, "Now will I arise, saith the Lord, I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." I love that. God said, I'm going to arise, I'm going to set these people in safety from those who puff at him. These are the people who said, "our lips are our own. Who's Lord over us? We'll do exactly what we want to do." God refers to all of their talk, all of their boasting as puffing. And the word literally means to puff, to blow, to snort. So here's what God says, I'm going to deliver the poor and needy from him that's just blowing hot air.
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He thinks he can accomplish something. He thinks he can do something. but I'm going to show him he can't. His lips are not his own, his tongue is not his own, his power is not his own. David said it like this in Psalm 64 in verse 1, "hear my voice oh my God, in my prayer preserve my life from the enemy." I want you to look in Psalm 79, I can quote this but I want you to see it. Here is a verse that I quote quite frequently.
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Here's a verse that you need to pray, especially in regard to those Christians who are being persecuted, who are now incarcerated for the faith's sake and are facing martyrdom. Notice if you would please Psalm 79 and verse 11. The Word of God says, "Let the sighing or the groaning of the prisoner come before thee. according to the greatness of thy power, preserve thou those that are appointed to die." Isn't that a tremendous verse? Do you realize you could actually pray this for people that you do not even know? There is a woman by the name of Asia Bibi, I think she is from Pakistan, who converted to Christ and she has been incarcerated.
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They are trying to kill her. because they said that she blasphemed the prophet Mohammed, which she did not do. They are putting Christians to death left and right. And here is a verse, "let the sighing, let the crying, let the groaning of the prisoner come before thee. According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die." And certainly we can pray that prayer, David certainly did so.
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So you have then a passionate petition. You have a proud populace. You have a persecuted people. And I want you to look in verses 6 and 7. Here's the point of the entire message. You have, lastly, a preserved prosperity. Look in verse 6. "The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the furnace of the earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever."
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Now, if what I'm about to tell you does not make you want to pray, I really don't know what will. Honestly, here's the whole point of the message. Having declared in verse 6 that the words of the Lord are pure words as silver tried in the furnace of the earth purified seven times which is the epitome of absolute perfection. Then he says in verse 7 "thou shalt keep them O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever." So here's my question. What is to be kept and what is to be preserved from this generation? Please remember if you would in Psalm 12 we are talking about a wicked, corrupt, rebellious generation who say that "our lips are our own, our tongue is our own, who is Lord over us?"
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Now it is a fact when you look at the remote context David could be talking about the poor and the needy. That is a fact. We've already observed that. And if you will look in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 72, you will find that this truth is repeated over and over in Scripture. How the Lord is indeed going to deliver the poor and the needy. Look in Psalm 72 beginning there with verse 11. Psalm 72 verse 11. "all kings shall fall down before him," that's the Lord Jesus Christ.
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"All nations shall serve him. For he," that is the Lord Jesus Christ, "shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and the needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, and precious shall their blood be in his sight." So, I could point you to numerous passages that tell us that God is indeed going to deliver the poor and the needy. And that could be in the remote context. But what is the immediate context?
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Look back in verse 6. "The words of the Lord are pure words." That's the immediate context. "As silver tried in the furnace of the earth purified seven times." Then He said, "Thou shalt keep them." Keep them what? Keep His words, O Lord. "Thou shalt preserve them," His words, "from this generation forever." Why in the world should God give His Word to a people who despise Him, who hate Him, who disregard Him, who deny Him, who denigrate Him?
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Why should He speak to them? Why should He give them His Word? Do you think for one minute that God is going to turn around and do something that He has forbidden you to do? What am I talking about? Well, in Matthew 7 verse 6, here's what our Lord said. "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs. Neither cast you your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under feet and turn again and rend you." Now what did our Lord say? You don't give that which is holy to the dogs. You don't take your pearls and cast them before swine because all they can do is trample them down in the mud. They could care less about the pearls and then they're gonna turn around and then they're gonna rend you. So our Lord is saying we don't put holy righteous godly things in front of dogs and hogs. Here's a good illustration. If you will go back and read 1 Samuel, you will find that Eli is the priest.
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He has two sons that are priests under him, Hophni and Phinehas. Hophni and Phinehas are wicked, ungodly reprobates. They committed adultery and whored with the women at the door of the tabernacle. They stole the offerings of God. God rebuked Eli because Eli did not restrain his sons and finally God comes to judge and he says this in 1 Samuel 2 in verse 30 listen carefully. And he's talking to Eli "wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." Isn't that amazing? God says no. No, no, you despise me. I despise you. You honor me. I'll honor you. Now, please keep this in mind. That was 1 Samuel 2 in verse 30. You remember Hannah had given little Samuel to the Lord, and Samuel was there. And when you get to 1 Samuel 3 and verse 1 the scripture says this, "and the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no open vision."
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Now wait a minute, I wish I had an hour just to deal with the word vision. let me tell you what that verse really means. When the Bible says there was no open vision it means that there was no public preaching. There was no public declaration of the Word of God. How could there be with a corrupt and vile priesthood? In other words, yeah the Word of God was precious in those days. What makes something precious? Scarcity. Scarcity.
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If I were to ask you to go out and bring me a truckload of sand and someone else to go out and bring me a truckload of gold, who's going to come back first? The man with the sand, because it's everywhere. The man with the gold, it'll be gone a long time looking for it and digging it out. The word of the Lord was precious in those days. Why? It was scarce.
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There was no open vision. The people were in rebellion to God. They did not want God they were refused to listen to God and God said I'm not gonna speak to you either. Let me show you look in your Bibles to the book of Amos. Hosea, Joel, Amos. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Daniel. Hosea, Joel, Amos. And look in your Bibles Amos chapter 8. And speaking reading there verse 11. Watch carefully Amos 8 verse 11. "Behold the days come saith the Lord God that I will send a famine in the land not a famine of bread and water but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea and from the north even to the east. And they shall run to and fro and seek the word of the Lord and they shall not find it." God says there's coming a time when there's going to be a famine. Not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord. And people will be wandering everywhere and they can't find it.
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They can't hear it. Wow. Did you know that God said in Proverbs 1 in verse 7, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 13:13 "whosoever despiseth the word shall be destroyed, but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded." Let me show you how this plays out look in your Bibles go back to Isaiah 30. Isaiah 30 and let's begin reading there with verse 9. Isaiah 30. Isaiah 30. In fact let's read verse 8 just so you can see it in the paragraph. Isaiah 30 verse 8, God says, "Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever." In other words, write this down, make sure this is not forgotten. Look what God says concerning them, "that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord, which say to the seers, See not.
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And to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things," that is the word of God, "speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits, get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us." We don't want to have anything to do with God. "Wherefore, thus saith the Holy One of Israel, because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and stay thereupon.
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Therefore, this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall whose breaking cometh suddenly in an instant, and he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel that is broken in pieces. He shall not spare. so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a shard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water with it out of the pit." What did he say?
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Here's a people that said, we don't want God. We don't want God's Word. We just want to be left alone. We want to do our own thing. God says, fine. Fine. So here's my question. Is it any wonder that there's very little, very real and true preaching and exposition of the Word of God in this rebellious and corrupt generation? Stop and think about that. There are churches on every corner, but very little preaching. Very little preaching.
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Hardly anyone is being taught. We've gotten into an entertainment and to a feel-good mentality and we want to build big works instead of building people. You remember the last book in the Old Testament is Malachi. The first book in the New Testament is Matthew. Do you know how many years passed between Malachi and Matthew? 400 years. And they are known as the 400 silent years. God did not speak. God did not reveal himself during those 400 years. Wow.
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If God keeps His Word from this generation, if God preserves His Word from this people, there will not be a revival. There will not be a reviving. There will not be repentance. There will not be faith. There will not be conversions. Oh yes, there might be a few here and there because God is faithful and God is not going to leave Himself without witness. But the point I'm trying to make is this. If God preserves His Word and God keeps them from a wicked, corrupt generation who do not want those words, then practically everything is going to be lost in every sphere, in every area.
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It doesn't matter if it's political, governmental, economic, familial, ecclesiastical. It doesn't matter. It will all be over. We have to understand something, folks. Where there is no truth, only lies will prevail. Where there is no righteousness, only evil will prevail. Where there is no godliness, only godlessness will prevail. Where there is no honesty, only dishonesty will prevail. Where there is no integrity, only men of lacking character will prevail.
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In other words, if God withholds his word, we are in trouble. God does not need to send fire from heaven to destroy a civilization like he did on Sodom and Gomorrah. He does not need to send a flood as he did in the days of Noah. All God has to do is withhold his word, his grace, and his mercy. and we'll destroy ourselves. That's what David is talking about in Psalm 12. And that's why David says, "help, Lord," Lord, do something because the godly man ceases and the faithful fail from among the children of men.
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Let me make just two applications. The first one is this. We need to learn to cry and to pray earnestly and urgently. We need to learn to cry and ask God to help and to save. If we truly perceive the danger that we are in, I'm afraid it would shake us to our very core. Every one of us get little snippets from the news about the pedophile ring in Hollywood. in Washington, in Atlanta. You get all kinds of snippets of congressmen who are adulterers, whoremongers, sodomites.
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We hear those things, and we think, how horrible, how terrible. Let me tell you something. If we knew, if we probably knew a tenth of the wickedness and the corruption and the depravity that's in our capitals and in our land, it would shake us to the very core of our being. We would be overwhelmed. You see, the problem is we live in our own little world. Everything's all right right here. And we fail to look at the world that's falling apart around us.
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If we understood the danger that we were in, like David, we would be crying, "help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth and the faithful fail from among the children of men." The second one is this, it should alarm us, it should disturb us that it is very possible for God to withhold his word from us. He did so in the days of Elijah and Jeremiah. When God sent Elijah out of the land for three years that was just a physical picture of a spiritual reality. The man of God was out of the land. There was no word from God for three years. No rain. While Jeremiah was left in the land God said to Jeremiah, "pray not for this people for I will not hear thee."
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We need to understand something folks. God has given us his word. We need to read it. We need to study it. We need to memorize it. We need to obey it. We need to apply it. This word is the greatest treasure that we have. And we need it. because God could indeed take it from us. And in one sense, the word he has, because a lack of preaching and teaching. Alice and I passed a church building this morning, signs all out in the yard, "God bless America, God bless America." I got to thinking, oh God, how in the world could you bless us? Look at our wickedness. our ungodliness, look at the aborticide, look at the pedophilia, look at all of the sins. No, America needs to bless God, and then God can bless America.
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Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee, we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for Your truth, and oh Lord, I do pray that this will indeed make us want to pray. Make us want to cry, "help, Lord. Save, Lord. Do something for us, Lord. We cannot do it for ourselves. Thou hast said without me you can do nothing." So, Lord, we look to Thee, we cry to Thee, and ask for Thy grace and Thy mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T20:33:31Z

Does This Make You Want To Pray?

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver expounds Psalm 12, urging urgent prayer in light of the decline of godly and faithful men, the rise of a proud and deceitful populace, and the persecution of the righteous. He warns that God may withhold His Word from a rebellious generation, leading to spiritual famine and societal collapse. The message calls believers to cry out to God for help and to treasure His Word.

Opening

Introduction: The Need for Timely and Urgent Prayer

Weaver introduces the topic of prayer, emphasizing that most believers do not pray as often as they should and that there are times when prayer is urgent and timely, as exemplified in Psalm 12.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:148

"My eyes prevent or precede the night watches that I might meditate upon thy word."

But it is also true that David did have stated times of prayer. For he said in Psalm 55 and verse 17,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 55:17

"Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice."

You see the Bible says in Isaiah 55 and verse 6,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6

"Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near."

A Passionate Petition (Psalm 12:1)

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 11:8

He does whatever is necessary to get himself out of trouble. That is he becomes more corrupt, more wicked, more vile. And when wicked men are in trouble corruption abounds. Have you ever noticed as you have studied Scripture that there is a difference between godly rulers and ungodly rulers? For instance in Proverbs 28 and verse 12 the Bible says this, "when righteous men do rejoice there is great glory, but when the wicked man rises a man is hidden." When the wicked rise a man is hidden. In other words a righteous man or a godly man, a man with any sense is going to get out of the way of the wicked because he knows he is going to try to run over him. And then in Proverbs chapter 29 and verse 2 the Bible says, "when the righteous are in authority notice the people rejoice but when the wicked bear rule the people mourn." So let me try to illustrate what I'm saying. Look in Atlanta, Georgia. Look in Tallahassee, Florida. Look in Washington, D.C.

David is describing in Psalm 12 a situation almost like this. practically the same. Verse 1, Micah 7, Micah says,

Scripture Reading — Micah 7:1-7

"Woe is me, for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleaners of the vintage. There is no cluster to eat. My soul desires the first ripe fruit."

There is nothing. He is starving.

A Proud Populace (Psalm 12:2-4)

The loss of godly men results in a society marked by vanity, flattery, double-heartedness, and arrogant rebellion against God, where people claim autonomy over their words and lives.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:1-2

"Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go."

Pharaoh answered in Exodus 5 in verse 2,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:1-2

"Who is the Lord? should obey His voice and let Israel go. I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go."

A Persecuted People (Psalm 12:5)

Wickedness leads to oppression and persecution of the poor and needy. God promises to arise and deliver them from those who boast and puff against them.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 64:1

"hear my voice oh my God, in my prayer preserve my life from the enemy."

A Preserved Prosperity? The Danger of God Withholding His Word (Psalm 12:6-7)

The central point: God's words are pure, but He may preserve them from a rebellious generation. If God withholds His Word, spiritual famine results, and society destroys itself.

Applications: Cry Earnestly and Treasure God's Word

Believers must learn to pray urgently like David, perceiving the danger around them, and must treasure, read, study, and obey God's Word, lest He withhold it from this generation.

Does This Make You Want To Pray?

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	17LtGxbOEwY
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs-Related Topical Wisdom
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-08-02
Dictation Name
Book	Book 085: Proverbs-Related Topical Wisdom — Chapter 10
Source Timed Segments	75

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Need for Timely and Urgent Prayer: Weaver introduces the topic of prayer, emphasizing that most believers do not pray as often as they should and that there are times when prayer is urgent and timely, as exemplified in Psalm 12.
A Passionate Petition (Psalm 12:1): David's cry 'Help, Lord' is a desperate, urgent plea because the godly and faithful are disappearing. Weaver explains that God often removes the righteous to spare them from coming evil, and their absence leads to greater corruption.
A Proud Populace (Psalm 12:2-4): The loss of godly men results in a society marked by vanity, flattery, double-heartedness, and arrogant rebellion against God, where people claim autonomy over their words and lives.
A Persecuted People (Psalm 12:5): Wickedness leads to oppression and persecution of the poor and needy. God promises to arise and deliver them from those who boast and puff against them.
A Preserved Prosperity? The Danger of God Withholding His Word (Psalm 12:6-7): The central point: God's words are pure, but He may preserve them from a rebellious generation. If God withholds His Word, spiritual famine results, and society destroys itself.
Applications: Cry Earnestly and Treasure God's Word: Believers must learn to pray urgently like David, perceiving the danger around them, and must treasure, read, study, and obey God's Word, lest He withhold it from this generation.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

There is a time when God cannot be found, so prayer must be timely.

David's example in Psalm 32 shows that the godly pray in a time when God may be found, implying there is a time when He cannot be found due to stress or judgment.

Weaver says, 'David says there is a time when God cannot be found... Undoubtedly there were people who prayed when the waters began to descend in Noah's time, but their prayer was too late.' (393.7-465.2s)

God removes the righteous to spare them from evil and to allow judgment.

Isaiah 57:1 and the example of Josiah show that God takes away the righteous so they do not see coming evil, and their removal accelerates societal decay.

Weaver cites Isaiah 57:1 and 2 Kings 22:18-20, saying, 'God says oftentimes He removes his righteous and godly and faithful men out of this world so that they will not see the evil that is coming upon them.' (904.5-1010.6s)

Flattery and double-heartedness are marks of a godless society.

Psalm 12:2 connects flattering lips with a double heart, indicating insincerity and hypocrisy that arise when godliness fails.

Weaver explains, 'When he talks about a double heart in verse 2, the Hebrew is actually a heart and a heart. That means it's someone with two hearts... someone tells you something but he means something else.' (1496.0-1533.6s)

The wicked claim autonomy and reject God's authority.

The proud populace in Psalm 12:4 believes their own words give them power and that no one is Lord over them, reflecting Pharaoh's attitude in Exodus 5:2.

Weaver compares Psalm 12:4 to Pharaoh's words, 'Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice... I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.' (1930.9-1958.4s)

God will deliver the persecuted poor and needy.

Psalm 12:5 promises that God will arise and set the oppressed in safety from those who puff at them, and Psalm 79:11 is a prayer for those appointed to die.

Weaver reads Psalm 79:11, 'Let the sighing or the groaning of the prisoner come before thee... preserve thou those that are appointed to die.' (2275.1-2328.2s)

God may withhold His Word from a rebellious generation, causing spiritual famine.

Amos 8:11 warns of a famine of hearing God's words, and the 400 silent years between Malachi and Matthew exemplify God's silence in response to rebellion.

Weaver says, 'God says there's coming a time when there's going to be a famine... of hearing the word of the Lord. And people will be wandering everywhere and they can't find it.' (2896.7-2977.2s)

Without God's Word, society self-destructs.

If God withholds His Word, truth, righteousness, and godliness disappear, and only lies, evil, and corruption prevail, leading to destruction without direct divine intervention.

Weaver states, 'All God has to do is withhold his word, his grace, and his mercy. and we'll destroy ourselves.' (3223.7-3274.5s)

Believers must urgently pray and treasure God's Word.

In light of the danger, Christians should cry out like David and diligently read, study, memorize, and obey Scripture, recognizing it as their greatest treasure.

Weaver applies, 'We need to learn to cry and to pray earnestly and urgently... God has given us his word. We need to read it. We need to study it. We need to memorize it. We need to obey it.' (3277.0-3329.3s, 3434.2-3513.2s)

Scripture References

Psalm 12:1-8: The primary text of the sermon, read in full at the beginning.
Psalm 63:6: David meditates on God upon his bed and in the night watches.
Psalm 119:148: David's eyes precede the night watches to meditate on God's word.
Psalm 63:1: David seeks God early, thirsting for Him.
Isaiah 26:9: Isaiah desires God in the night and seeks Him early.
Psalm 55:17: David prays evening, morning, and noon.
Psalm 32:5-6: The godly pray in a time when God may be found; floods of great waters will not come near them.
Isaiah 55:6: Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.
Matthew 14:30: Peter cries 'Lord, save me' when sinking, illustrating urgent prayer.
Isaiah 57:1: The righteous perish and no one takes it to heart; merciful men are taken away from the evil to come.
2 Kings 22:18-20: Josiah is told he will die in peace and not see the evil coming upon the land.
Proverbs 11:8: The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked comes in his stead.
Proverbs 28:12: When righteous men rejoice there is great glory; when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
Proverbs 29:2: When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people mourn.
Micah 7:1-7: Micah laments the loss of the good man and the corruption of society, similar to Psalm 12.
Luke 18:1-2: The parable of the unjust judge who feared not God nor regarded man.
Jeremiah 9:3-5: People bend their tongues for lies, deceive neighbors, and weary themselves committing iniquity.
Psalm 73 (implied): Asaph envied the wicked and noted their arrogant speech against heaven.
Exodus 5:1-2: Pharaoh asks 'Who is the Lord?' and refuses to obey, illustrating rebellion.
Psalm 64:1: David prays for preservation from the enemy.

Historical References

Noah's flood: People likely prayed when the flood came, but it was too late.
Sodom and Gomorrah: People probably prayed when fire and brimstone fell, but it was too late.
Tower of Siloam: People probably prayed when the tower fell and killed 18, but it was too late.
Josiah's death: God removed Josiah so he would not see the evil coming upon Jerusalem.
Cain and Abel: Cain deceived Abel, illustrating double-heartedness.
Joab's deception of Abner and Amasa: Joab's treachery illustrates double-heartedness.
Judas Iscariot: Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss, illustrating hypocrisy.
Herodians: They tried to deceive Christ, illustrating flattery and treachery.
400 silent years between Malachi and Matthew: God did not speak or reveal Himself for 400 years, exemplifying His withholding of the Word.
Elijah's departure from the land for three years: A physical picture of God withholding His word; no rain and no prophetic word.

Important Quotes

Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, and the faithful fail from among the children of men.

This is the opening cry of Psalm 12, setting the theme of urgent prayer due to the decline of godly and faithful people.

The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the furnace of the earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.

The central verses of the message, highlighting the purity of God's Word and the possibility that He may withhold it from a wicked generation.

for this shall everyone that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found.

David's statement that the godly pray while God may be found, implying there is a time when He cannot be found.

The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart. And merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.

Isaiah 57:1 explains why God removes the righteous—to spare them from coming judgment and because no one considers their loss.

With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us?

The arrogant claim of the wicked in Psalm 12:4, rejecting God's authority and boasting in their own speech.

Now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.

God's promise to deliver the oppressed poor and needy from those who boast against them.

Behold the days come saith the Lord God that I will send a famine in the land not a famine of bread and water but of hearing the words of the Lord.

Amos 8:11 warns of a spiritual famine when God withholds His Word, a key warning in the sermon.

All God has to do is withhold his word, his grace, and his mercy. and we'll destroy ourselves.

Weaver's summary of the consequence if God preserves His Word from a rebellious generation—societal self-destruction.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean to pray 'in a time when God may be found,' and how should that urgency shape our prayer lives?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes from Psalm 32:6 that there is a time when God cannot be found, so prayer must be timely.

[Question]

How should the decline of godly and faithful men in society affect our prayers and actions?

[Context]

David's lament in Psalm 12:1 about the ceasing of the godly prompts the question of how believers should respond.

[Question]

In what ways do we see flattery and double-heartedness in our culture, and how can we guard against them in our own lives?

[Context]

Weaver explains the connection between flattering lips and a double heart from Psalm 12:2.

[Question]

What are the implications of God potentially withholding His Word from a generation, and have we seen signs of this today?

[Context]

The central warning of the sermon from Psalm 12:6-7 and Amos 8:11.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a greater treasure and urgency for God's Word in our personal lives and in our church?

[Context]

Weaver's application that we must read, study, memorize, and obey Scripture because it could be taken from us.

[Question]

What does it look like to pray 'Help, Lord' with the same desperation as David and Peter, and what hinders us from such prayers?

[Context]

Weaver highlights the urgent, informal cry for help in Psalm 12:1 and Matthew 14:30.

[Question]

How does the removal of the righteous from evil to come (Isaiah 57:1) challenge our perspective on the death of godly believers?

[Context]

Weaver explains that God sometimes takes the righteous to spare them from coming judgment.

[Question]

In what ways might we be unaware of the true spiritual danger around us, and how can we become more alert?

[Context]

Weaver says we do not understand the times or the danger we are in, which should drive us to urgent prayer.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:58:22Z