Let's take our Bibles now, shall we? Psalm 12. Isn't it wonderful to possess in our hands the Word of God that we can turn to, have the freedom to study the Word of God, and rejoice in the promises of God's Word. Psalm 12. This psalm was written by David and was directed to the chief musician to be played upon shemineth, which is an eight-stringed instrument, an eight-stringed harp, and it was written during Saul's reign. This psalm pictures David's lamentation in the spiritual decline of his day. Do you sometimes look around you and you see the spiritual decline? We've all heard by now the news out of San Francisco Of course, not much good news comes out of San Francisco, does it? The federal appeals court ruling today that the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag cannot be recited in the public school because the phrase, under God, endorses religion. I think we ought to let our founding fathers have a word about that. you know these people who claim to be impartial towards religious activity are actually hostile towards it i believe that when it goes to the supreme court they ought to kick it out like a rotten potato and i believe i and i hope that they will these boys over in the san francisco area in the ninth uh... circuit uh... court there they don't have the best reputation they've had more more violations and more things thrown out that they've appealed. So we do want to be in prayer, but I kind of feel like David does here. He's looking at the spiritual decline of his day. And he looks at widespread hypocrisy. In this psalm, he looks at the unfaithfulness of even people that claim to be in the knowledge of God, the deceitfulness and the moral decline. And, you know, David sees this and he's concerned about it. And I look at the unsaved and I ask myself, you know, what do unbelievers consider as bad news? We look at the world around us and we see moral decline, hypocrisy, unfaithfulness, deceitfulness and we say that's bad news but the world well they look at inflation they look at drought they look at war they look at the lack of money and that's bad news for them but certainly not anything of a moral concern moral issues so often do not concern those who are without christ but you know we're going to be looking at three voices that the Word of God presents for us in Psalm 12. And talking about voices, there's a cacophony of voices clamoring for our attention today, aren't there? Voices that seek to draw us away from the ways of the Lord. The voices of the secular media, the printed page, Hollywood, the advertising industry, educators, that claim to be teaching the proper means of education. Even the deceitfulness of our own hearts are voices that seek to draw us away. Well, we're going to be looking at three voices in Psalm 12. In verses 1-3, we're going to be looking at the voice of the saints where David says, Oh Lord, for the godly man ceases. The faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity, every one with his neighbor. With flattering lips and with double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things." We've got here the voice of the saint. Then I want you to notice the voice of the sinner. In contrast, verse 4, who have said with our tongue will we prevail? Our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us? The voice of the sinner. Then in verse 5, look at the voice of the Savior. He has the last word, by the way, doesn't he? For the oppression of the poor For the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord." He's our defender. He's our defense. I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. And that's what the wicked are doing. But for now, as we look at the Word of God, we're going to be looking at three aspects of this particular psalm. In addition to looking at how it divides with three voices, first the saint, then the sinner, and then of course the Savior, I want you to notice several other things in this psalm that I'd like for us to glimpse at, especially in the context of a prayer service as we gather together. In verse 1, we have fervent prayer. Here David says, help. The word help is the Hebrew word yashah, which means to save. where we get the word yes you are from savior uh... jesus savior it says lord save lord for the godly man seasons i was recently reading an article uh... regarding trial discipline you know what that long ago that we have to put up with with benjamin spock uh... the american psychological association journal came out with the following after analyzing six decades of expert research for me it's amazing how they pat themselves on the back and all of this is a taxpayer's expense of course six decades of expert research on corporal punishment a psychologist says parents who spank their children risk causing long-term harm that outweighs the short-term benefit of instant obedience. So after six decades of expert research, we now have arrived at the place where we know more than God does. Isn't that interesting? The psychologist was Elizabeth Gershoff, and here's what she found. She found links between spanking and 10 negative behaviors or experiences, including aggression, antisocial behavior, mental health problems. Spank your kids. All of that is going to be facing you. The one positive result of spanking that she did identify was quick compliance with parental demands. You bet we get it. Real quick compliance. That's right. Amen. Six years she came up to that one good conclusion. Gershoff, a researcher at Columbia University National Center for Children in Poverty, spent five years on her project analyzing 88 studies of corporal punishment conducted since 1938. This thing has been cooking for that long. The five years on her project. Now, the studies tracked the short and long term effects of spanking on children. You know, it's amazing. The godly man ceases. Now, have you ever felt that way? I think that David was experiencing a little bit of the Elijah syndrome here. Don't be too quick to condemn him i think that we have all felt that way at one time or another i know a a good number of discouraged christians right now that are going through uh... in one case a church split in another case their pastor went down in severe severe immorality as if there weren't any immorality that wasn't severe But it was a devastating shock to the place where this person is starting to say, I'm going to give up on church totally. And they're going into the total abandonment of everything that ought to be. And they're saying, well, all churches are alike. And this is the work of the devil that is seeking to do this. But David has fervent prayer. And you want to know why? He says in fervent prayer, Lord help! The godly man ceases! For the faithful, they fail from among the children of men. Well, the Lord has His that have not bowed their knee to Baal, like it says in 1 Kings chapter 19. And we just have to be one of those who will be the exception. Who will dare to be a Daniel or a Joseph? Who will dare to be a man or a woman that will stand up for righteousness? We need them today. The church needs them and the Lord has those. But we see fervent prayer and the reason for it are fervent problems. Look at the fervent problems that are pictured here in verses 1 through 5 here. There are five things that David considers fervent problems that are reason for fervent prayer. And look at these five. Number one, you have unfaithfulness in verse 1. It says in verse 1, "...the godly man seizes, the faithful fail from among the children of men." You know, you don't have to look a long time around you. There are many denases today. You recall, In 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10, the Apostle Paul said, Demas has forsaken me. Why? Having loved this present world. And isn't that the situation in our world today? There is a lot of spiritual defection, spiritual attrition. I have news for you. Not only are pastors falling like flies, but denominations are falling like flies. Doctrinal statements are being drastically changed in favor of the desires of men that have itching ears. Yes, there is unfaithfulness, as it says in verse 1. In Revelation 3, in verse 11, the Lord exhorted the church, Behold, I come quickly, hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. And it's so sad to see individuals that have labored for years and years and years, and they fall prey to the devil, and they lose that which they have gained. We need to be careful. I see unfaithfulness in marriages today. And I'm talking about husbands and wives married 25, 30, sometimes more, 35, 40 years that are ending in divorce today. Oh, that ought not to be. It says here, faithful fail from among the children of men. But we ought to stand up in contrast to the world. But David faced that. There was unfaithfulness. The second fierce problem that he faced is found in verse 2. And that's lying lips and falsehood. You know, it's amazing. And I'm not just talking about the Enron debunkle, and I'm not talking about all of the lying that we read about in corporate America today. I'm talking about the fact that there's lying going on in churches, lying going around in homes today, and people that ought to know better. But notice, they speak vanity, everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips and with a double heart do. they speak you know second timothy three tells us in the last days perilous times will come where they'll be truth breakers overliers false accusers there's the lie of the lip and there's also the lie of the life and and how sad it is vendors the fierce problem in verses three and four pride that characterized uh... society in david's Look at verses 3 and 4. It says, "...the Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks proud things, who have said, With our tongue will we prevail." I mean, they didn't even have to use physical strength. Just their tongue. We can talk our way out of anything. Our lips are our own. They thought that they could do what they wanted to without any accountability to the Lord. or to others. Who is lord over us? That's the philosophy of the world. And situational ethics are the norm of the day. Used to be that a handshake was all that you needed. But you know, most judges would be out of a job if that were the case today. And today, you have to have things signed, and notarized, and testified, and witnessed. And even then, people are going to court, even Christians, one against the other. I once had one person in another church that I pastored say, well, I'm going to have a roof done in my house. I know several roofers in my church, and I'll tell you what, I'll not pick a one of them, because what will happen, I won't have any legal recourse if something goes wrong. Evidently, he had gotten stung by so many Christians in the past That he said, I'm going to get myself an infidel, and then if something goes wrong, I can go to court. 1 Corinthians 6, you see. And that was his mindset. But brethren, that ought not to be. But there's a lot of dishonesty going around in many, many places. And sad to say, I wish that you could say that churches were a haven of that. But that is not the case today. It is not the case. Today, a church has to be very cautious about hiring personnel who work with children. It's a very clear fact now. Mr. Gibbs from the legal defense will tell you he has a briefcase full of churches that inadvertently, without proper examination, hired children's workers without a background check. And people, frankly, lied about their backgrounds and their experiences. entered into churches, maybe they were custodians working around children, and there were molestations, and rapes, and things like that. It's happening in our country today. We have to be very careful. We're living in wicked days, and we need the strength and the wisdom of the Lord. And quite frankly, I think that we just need to have common sense protection in making sure that we're good stewards of what we do for the Lord. and uh... the day of of the comfortable christian is over uh... there are lawyers who and i've seen the programs in in uh... legal conferences are taking place lawyers are now taking courses and taking workshops on how to sue churches and that is are some of the elective courses that they're taking on their bar uh... courses for continuing credit and all of that how to suit churches and we're seeing that with the roman catholic scandal and all of these things that have been going on now it's nothing to sue any church of negligence you see and uh... so we have to be careful and have to have uh... wisdom against the lying lips and the falsehood our day and and the pride you know the pride that is mentioned in verse four here Pride keeps people from getting saved. Pride keeps Christians from full surrender to the Lord. There are some men that know their marriage is going down the drain, and pride keeps them from getting the help that they need. Pride keeps them from admitting, I need help. Pride keeps homes from being united. Pride oftentimes keeps churches in division, and in turmoil, because individuals will not relinquish in favor of God's Word. And there was another area that David was concerned about, a fourth area, that were fierce problems, and that is the righteous were oppressed. Look at verse 5, "...by 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." And I'm so thankful for that promise, because when we look around us at all of the things that are going on, we can trust in the Lord. And we can look to Him and seek His guidance. And look at verse 8. David's concern of the fierce problem also extended to that wicked men were in positions of power notice the wicked walk on every side when the violets men exalted we need to pray for our president i don't agree with every decision he has made i don't agree with the decision that he's made on the palestinian uh... quite frankly i don't think it'll ever be pulled off They're not about to have us tell them what to do in any case. But the point is, it was a political capitulation. But you know, I'm thankful that in his heart, and in his profession, and there is evidence that he knows Christ as Savior, and we need to pray for him, because in many, many cases, all around him, in the Senate, Congressional groups. There are wicked men that are in position of power that are just seeking to destroy Him and oppose what He wants to do. So we've seen fervent prayer in verse 1. We've seen fierce problems in verses 1 through 5. And we're going to be faced with problems in society. And there are many fierce problems that are facing you. But you know, we have the faithful promises of the Lord in verses five through seven. Notice the faithful promises. Here it says in verse six, the words of the Lord are pure words. The Lord's promises are pure and we're going to see also therefore our protection. It says the words of the Lord are pure words as silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times. God's words have delivered many, many people that have gone on before. I think of Psalm 19 and verse 7. Take a look at Psalm 19 and verse 7. It says here, "...the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening, the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold. Sweeter also than the honey and the honeycomb." So, as we look at Psalm chapter 12, we can see that the Lord's promises are pure, verse 6, And they're also for our protection. And we do have those promises for our protection. Look at verse 7. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever. The Lord's going to protect us. So even though we're living in dark days, don't forget, we have a Divine Deliverer. He saw David through his darkest days, and He'll do the same for you. So in this psalm, we've really seen basically three things. We've seen the prevailing corruption of the world. We've seen the preservation by the Lord. And we've seen the perfection of His Word that promises to lead us in the things of the Lord. So keep on looking up. Don't be discouraged. Many, many people will discourage us, will fail us. The righteous man faileth, David said. But you know, God encourages us. And there are always people around us that can set the example. God will raise them up. And we need those people, certainly at Central Florida Bible Church. Will you be one of those that will stand for the Lord? Don't get discouraged. Give your burden to the Lord. Fierce problems require fervent because we have His faithful promises. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word and for this Psalm 12. And Lord, we know that David was honestly discouraged as often we get when there are those that are ruling that are tyrannical and Lord, are wrong and not led by Your Spirit. But yet David always saw fit to commit even these things into your hands. And in time, Lord David was exonerated. The victory was his because he learned to wait on God's power and God's timing. Help us, Lord, not to err when it would be so simple to bolt and take matters into our own hands. Help us to be faithful, not to be weary in well-doing, knowing that in due season we'll reap if we faint not. So guide us now. Thank you, Lord, for your faithful promises that are pure and they're for our protection. Help us, Lord, to be still and know that you are God. In Jesus' name, we thank you with your power and your blessing. In Jesus' name, amen.