PSALM 12

A World of Lies vs God’s Word 

The world we live in is full of deceivers and those that hate the truth of God. People will lie for almost any reason, and do so exceedingly when it benefits them. Think about lawyers and used car salesmen... it is a general societal caricature that these two professions are full of liars and thieves. For the righteous who live in this world there is often the question of who you can trust. David prays to God asking for help (“deliver me”) because it seems that there a so few righteous people around him. All that he sees is a world where everyone speaks lies to his neighbours, and is full of deceit (12:1). Many are smooth talkers and worthless flatterers that seek only after their own selfish ends (12:2). They live their lives believing that they are free to say anything they like without having to submit to any accountability (12:4). We can pray, like David, that God would deliver us from these arrogant liars by destroying them with their own lies(12:3). 

In the midst of this pride and falsehood what can the believer do? We can trust the Word of God to give us the truth. His words are faithful and true, and we can depend upon the reliability of the Scriptures. You can live your life comforted by the fact that God promises that He will preserve the righteous (12:5). When society glorifies lying and shameless excess and calls it “right.” You can trust God to look after you as you seek to live according to His word and do what is truly right (12:8-9).