Psalm 12 - The Forge of God’s Promises (Preached at RPC)
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Setting in the Psalms
Setting in the Psalms
Grace Mercy and Peace to you in the name of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
A Psalm of David
The warrior king of Israel
Perhaps David wrote this when Saul was still reigning, and Israel was not marked out as a place that truly feared the Lord.
This is a Psalm to be prayed when wicked people are ruling.
11 The king sent messengers to summon Ahimelech the priest, son of Ahitub, and his father’s whole family, who were priests in Nob. All of them came to the king. 12 Then Saul said, “Listen, son of Ahitub!” “I’m at your service, my lord,” he said. 13 Saul asked him, “Why did you and Jesse’s son conspire against me? You gave him bread and a sword and inquired of God for him, so he could rise up against me and wait in ambush, as is the case today.” 14 Ahimelech replied to the king: “Who among all your servants is as faithful as David? He is the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard, and honored in your house. 15 Was today the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Please don’t let the king make an accusation against your servant or any of my father’s household, for your servant didn’t have any idea about all this.” 16 But the king said, “You will die, Ahimelech—you and your father’s whole family!” 17 Then the king ordered the guards standing by him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord because they sided with David. For they knew he was fleeing, but they didn’t tell me.” But the king’s servants would not lift a hand to execute the priests of the Lord. 18 So the king said to Doeg, “Go and execute the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite went and executed the priests himself. On that day, he killed 85 men who wore linen ephods. 19 He also struck down Nob, the city of the priests, with the sword—both men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep.
Now, I hope this immediate context is never a reality for anyone in this room.
But it absolutely is a reality for many of our brothers and sisters around the world.
India, Nigeria are two that come to mind.
When we open up the psalm book we are not just finding a personal, private devotional book.
We are opening the prayerbook of Jesus,
we are opening up words that have been breathed in secret by saints from all times and places,
we are reading words that have inspired Kings to rule well and judges to be just.
Praying the psalms is like contracting the lungs of Christ’s body.
When we do it, we are not only benefitting ourselves, we are benefitting the whole church.
One body.
A chiasm — ABBA
Godly man ceases to be - Wicked Wander Freely
They Speak Falsely - God’s Word’s are pure
God condemns the wicked - God vindicates the righteous.
So we see that the central answer of God is actually found in the middle of this Psalm
A cry for God’s help
A cry for God’s help
David begins this Psalm by crying out to the Lord.
BECAUSE the wicked wander freely.
1 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains; the loyal have disappeared from the human race.
Help, Lord.
This is something we ought to learn to say with regularity.
Short and sweet.
Help.
There is never a time when it is out of season to ask God for help.
Spurgeon: Twas high time to call to heaven for help when , when Saul cried “Go, kill me up the priests of Jehovah!”
Immediately bringing to mind the plight of Elijah
God contest context
9 He came to the cave there and spent the night there. Suddenly the word of Yahweh came to him and asked him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” 10 Then he said, “I have been very zealous for Yahweh the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have demolished your altars, and they have killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left over, and they seek to take my life. 11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.”
We’ll revisit that mountain later with Elijah…
The fact that two godly, faithful men in scripture can feel this way is a sign to us that this can be a common experience for people who are trying to follow God.
A feeling of futility,
of loneliness,
sometimes even rage in the face of injustice,
a feeling like no one cares but me God!
let’s listen more
The false speak of the wicked
The false speak of the wicked
The horrible power of the tongue
5 So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell. 7 Every sea creature, reptile, bird, or animal is tamed and has been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 We praise our Lord and Father with it, and we curse men who are made in God’s likeness with it. 10 Praising and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things should not be this way. 11 Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.
So many ways that we can sin with our tongues, but one is…
Flattering lips
What’s the big problem with flattering lips
They will kiss and kill (as Joab did Abner and Amasa in David’s own time), will smile in your face and cut your throat. This is the devil’s image complete, a complication of malice and falsehood. The times are bad indeed when there is no such thing as sincerity to be met with, when an honest man knows not whom to believe nor whom to trust, nor dares put confidence in a friend, in a guide,
Flattering lips are exponentially worse when the leaders of your own country are talking like this.
24 A hateful person disguises himself with his speech and harbors deceit within. 25 When he speaks graciously, don’t believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart. 26 Though his hatred is concealed by deception, his evil will be revealed in the assembly. 27 The one who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone— it will come back on him. 28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
That Hideous Strength
Humanist Manifesto
“Today man’s larger understanding of the universe, his scientific achievements, and deeper appreciation of brotherhood, have created a situation which requires a new statement of the means and purposes of religion. Such a vital, fearless, and frank religion capable of furnishing adequate social goals and personal satisfactions may appear to many people as a complete break with the past. While this age does owe a vast debt to the traditional religions, it is none the less obvious that any religion that can hope to be a synthesizing and dynamic force for today must be shaped for the needs of this age. To establish such a religion is a major necessity of the present. It is a responsibility which rests upon this generation. We therefore affirm the following:
FIFTH: Humanism asserts that the nature of the universe depicted by modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantees of human values. Obviously humanism does not deny the possibility of realities as yet undiscovered, but it does insist that the way to determine the existence and value of any and all realities is by means of intelligent inquiry and by the assessment of their relations to human needs. Religion must formulate its hopes and plans in the light of the scientific spirit and method.
SIXTH: We are convinced that the time has passed for theism, deism, modernism, and the several varieties of “new thought”.
Man is at last becoming aware that he alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams, that he has within himself the power for its achievement. He must set intelligence and will to the task.”
This is the exact sentiment that David is so appalled at when he records the unfaithful as saying:
4 They say, “Through our tongues we have power; our lips are our own—who can be our master?”
These people remind us of the scoffer of wisdom literature.
3 categories
Earnest
Fool
Scoffer
Grima Wormtongue
Spurgeon: “They boastfully cry unto God, “who is Lord over us?” and hear not the hollow voice of the evil one, who cries from the infernal lake “I am your lord, and right faithfully do you serve me! Alas, poor fools, their pride and glory will be cut off like a fading flower.”
Your lord is Satan.
What model does Jesus give us for response to such evil?
Silence.
Now we reach David’s contrast with the flattering words of the wicked:
The Purity of God’s Word
The Purity of God’s Word
6 The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times. 7 You, Lord, will guard us; You will protect us from this generation forever.
God’s words do not require purification.
Here David is gushing praise for the God who saves and how can he describe the purity of God’s words?
It’s like silver that has been purified 7 times.
You don’t need to purify silver 7 times for it to be pure.
But 7 represents completion, perfection, finality.
Consider this point the writer of Hebrews makes in chapter 6:13
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself:
Imagine a blacksmith shop called The Forge of God’s Promises
You would expect a forge with such a prestigious name to be ringing with the sound of hammers and steam as God’s promises are fashioned for His people!
Surely the Forge of God’s Promises is a building filled with smoke and fire and ash and noise!
But no, if you were to approach this forge what would you find inside?
The voice of Jesus,
28 “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
1 “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
17b And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
This is what Elijah found out on that mountain.
11 Then He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.” At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re looking for me to take my life.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu. 18 But I will leave 7,000 in Israel —every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
I don’t know who needs to hear this today because I’m not your pastor and this isn’t my flock but it’s right here in God’s word.
When you are scared out of your mind and feeling surrounded on every front and feeling like the world is literally caving in around your life, your family, everything that you care about
God is not going to hit you with His hammer,
He is going to give you a snack,
a nap,
and He is going to speak to you in the calm voice of an elder brother who loves you.
Remember that confession occurs because God called us here in the first place.
He may get your attention with loud noise but when He is speaking to you it is in a whisper
Gandalf and Bilbo
And here’s what Jesus doesn’t do when we come to him like this.
He doesn’t coddle us and say oh it’s ok everything is going to be alright, you just sit here and pretend like nothing’s happening out there in that big bad world.
No, coming into the Forge of God’s promises is a place where you are equipped for battle.
Elijah is given 4 very specific things to do.
And God’s given us many clear instructions hasn’t He?
If you want to know what God has for your life go to the Forge of God’s Promises.
Go to His Word.
Turn back to Hebrews 6 here because this is what the word of God accomplishes for us!
Because God’s word is sure it secures our hope!
17 Because God wanted to show His unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.
Brothers and sisters do you believe that?
That you are safe and secure with Jesus our great high priest?!
Do you?!
Because if you don’t then it is time to return to the Forge of God’s Promises!
Hear the word of the Lord again and again!
Let it wash over you in song and in prayer, in quiet meditation and in loud proclamation!
8 The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”
When you are in distress RUN don’t walk to God’s promises.
The Word of God that presided over the creation of the Cosmos by the very breath of His mouth is the same God who presided over your baptism when this same Word of God was presented to your faith to secure it and keep it safe!
This same Word of God attended your birth!
This same Word has preserved you and protected you and cared for you every moment since!
This same Word has collected your tears in His bottle and sang over you and died for you!
This same Word rose to give you life!
Like silver purified 7 times!
God condemns the wicked
God condemns the wicked
This is an essential ingredient to the gospel that we must not ignore.
Is 66
God is not deaf to the cries of the poor.
God is not blind to injustice.
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted and the groaning of the poor, I will now rise up,” says the Lord. “I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.”
18 The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
God vindicates the righteous
God vindicates the righteous
Those who are united to Christ by faith are vindicated with Him.
We remember this on Ascension Sunday.
The Son of Man didn’t go to heaven through a backdoor.
He
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted and the groaning of the poor, I will now rise up,” says the Lord. “I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.”
As surely as Go
