A Godly Tonic

Concern for Preserving A Mixture of Godliness

Read Psalm 12:1-2, “

1  Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone;

for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

2  Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;

with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

You may have a society, that is on the brink of destroying itself. David, as we have seen in the Psalms has many times adopted God’s interests into his own life and made his purpose Gods in many respects. He is concerned here for the national state of Israel, in that it would have a temperament and tonic of godliness, which would at least affect, and prevail against the tide of sin.

If he is seeing lack of or no godliness in Israel, what hope is there for the world. So he states here that the faithful have vanished from the children of man. It is at a time when deceit is seeming to prevail as a normal aspect of the nation. What is it, that the people are like? What is it, that you are like? You are part of a society, a country, and a nation, and what contribution are you making to it?

In a drink, or in a cup of water, if you place a tonic or a medicine to alleviate a sickness, it can have an effect on that person. If a society, a country or a nation, has a tonic of godly people, it can have an affect to preserve that country in ways they might not even understand. The godly may refresh, they may encourage, and they may influence to the right ways of God, even if that tonic is a small amount, it may still have medicinal and remedial affects on a nation.

David is pleading with the Lord about the state of the godly. And his heart is wanting godliness to rise and for the tide to turn for the influence of godliness.

The Acting Of God

Read Psalm 12:3-5, “

3  May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,

the tongue that makes great boasts,

4  those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,

our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5  “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,

I will now arise,” says the LORD; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

As David prays to the Lord, he pens and basically he probably writes here a subscript of the prayers he is making and it is an inspired script, and this is what we have. Just like if everything was written, the “whole world could not contain it”. So it is like David. This Psalm came out of struggles, and possibly days or months of praying and concern, but the sum of the struggle is presented in this Psalm. It is not months of words and dialogue, but it is a concise prayer of what that struggle represents, and when written, the Spirit superintended it’s source, being God, and it’s useful and applicable for us.

Flattery and boasting have ability to cause confusion and when this is something that is done publicly, it can be a destructive element. A serious thing. When you have people in society that are dead set against being honest, and are publicly declaring that with their tongue they will prevail, in their ways. People are taken advantage of. Poor people are used, and become poor, because people in authority are establishing ways and practice and rule to enable them to be enriched while others, who could possibly be enriched, are crushed and plundered. And it’s done by being deceitful.

One commentator spoke about how flattery is like an addiction. This is all the more, the reason, why a tonic, against this prevailing meter of sin in society, is on David’s heart. But here we see, that David has got God’s attention, and has, in the time of prayer and interactions between him and God found an answer from God, and David has found that God has answered his prayer, and that God will act. “I will not arise, says the Lord.” in verse 5.

God’s Word In Contrast

Read Psalm 12:6-8, “ 6 The words of the LORD are pure words,

like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times. 7 You, O LORD, will keep them;

you will guard us from this generation forever.

8  On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

In reflection and contrast, to the state of the situation that David finds himself in, where there is national deceit, he shows the character of God’s words. Man’s words here are embellished, and deceitful. But look, God, his words are pure, like silver refined. You won’t find his words to be deceitful. God’s speech and counsel can be trusted and embraced as life and as the source of the preserving tonic in a society that has a prevailing atmosphere of deceit.

God has seen, God has heard, and even it could be noted and believed that God has acted by preserving David, as a means to keep his grace active and tonic of truth, streaming into national Israel. God can use people. And David, may just even be evidence of that grace, because, what would happen if David would disappear? So here we have a mystery again, of sovereign providence. It can happen where there is only one man left, like Noah. Can you imagine, if God had to even rid Noah against the odd? Would God begin creation again? But he divinely preserved Noah.

God would act, because of David’s prayer, and possibly even because of God’s own purpose to preserve David as a tonic of godly influence in the nations, and even the world. And that even though there would still be evil in society, the godly would not disappear, in the end but a faithful number would be preserved, because of David’s prayer, in his generation. A revival would take place and God would and did act.

Conclusion: Do you just exists and hope, or do you have faith that God can use you like David? Are you bothered by the ethical standards around you enough to seek God to bring about changes? Trust God today, to act, in ways that you feel injustice seems to be prevailing. God may use you in great ways like David.