⁰¹      Help, O LORD,

                for the godly man is gone;
                the faithful are diminished among the sons of man.

⁰²      Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
                with flattering lips
                and a double heart they speak.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Introduction:  There is nothing new in the helpful notes at the beginning, we have encountered the eight-string harp before in verse six.  However, there is something here that is not so easily noticeable.  My Translator’s Handbook describes the structural features that enhance the theme of the psalm: “reading the poem at the stanza level rather than just verse by verse … will show that this psalm is laid out in a chiastic pattern.”  By that we mean that verse one is linked carefully to verses seven and eight.  Verse two is linked to verse six and verses three and four are linked to verse five.  “The chiastic pattern, which is merely an orderly repetition, serves to give cohesion to the parts by linking one stanza with another in a regular manner.  This linkage finally ties the end back to the beginning.”

The theme of this psalm is that of a national or community lament.  Any specific cause is unidentifiable with the information given, however  the first three verses seem to indicate a time when order and justice within the nation had broken down.  The psalmist expresses the general complaint, then the Lord responds and the psalm closes with a note of assurance.

Delitzsch characterizes this twelfth psalm as “a kindred character” to the eleventh.  In addition, he notes that it is “a prayer for the deliverance of the poor and miserable in a time of universal moral corruption, and more particularly of prevailing faithlessness and boasting.”  At the end of his introductory paragraph he observes that “the sighing for the coming of Jahve was then not less deep than the cry “Come, Lord Jesus!” at the present time.”

How well, we might be tempted to entitle this psalm as one for an American election, especially in the profound spiritual decline of our day and age?  “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” a famous novel begins before exploring the ongoing corruption of another age.  And so, we know from the historical record that we have much in common with those who have gone before and even with David the king as he crafts this tragic lament for a society gone sour!

Development:   “Help, O LORD,” David begins in desperation.  How well we know that feeling in our time and place.  The corruption of spend thrift governments are not so related to the amount of taxes and monies they raise and spend, but for what nefarious purposes honest money is flushed.  Here in Ohio about three million of our tax dollars goes to support the abortion industry and another nineteen million for various and sundry AIDs programs.  Yes, AIDs is indeed a tragedy, but those who are afflicted are extremely well-heeled and were they required to pay their own health bills  they would have a lot less to spend on further corrupting the communities of this state and country. 

But, of course  there seems to be so little that honest citizens can do about the frenzied spending spree and the favoritism which plagues the public trough.  Well should we bow our heads, bend the knee and call upon the righteous wrath of the most Holy God of heaven and earth.  David well notes that men of integrity, honesty and self-sacrifice are few and far between:  “for the godly man is gone; the faithful are diminished among the sons of man.”

I can well remember the plight of an honest treasurer who labored for fifteen or more years in the public institution where I worked.  Constantly, she had to tell the administrators that what they wanted to spend, spend, spend was not allowed by law.  Back in the fifties when my father was treasurer to another local school, the first thing he did when he took office was to suspend the self-proclaimed rights of the board members to purchase commodities through the school at reduced prices and then reimburse the school fund for those purchases.  For about six months he was extremely unpopular.  Then the State government began to go after those who practiced such abuses, but since the local board had already cleaned house and stopped the practice  no one local was indicted.  Suddenly, Dad was all the more popular because his new found friends had been saved from public scandal.

A small community in my home county was a scandalous place during the roaring twenties, as many as seven or more rip-roaring bars busted at the doors every weekend.  Then a fire devastated the downtown, burning out a whole city block.  That, along with prohibition sobered the community up and within a generation  the whole community spirit was recast in a more biblical model.

These things happen in cycle’s decade after decade.  Hard won civility is sacrificed at the pagan altar of convenience and entertainment.  Society, local and national bottoms out and a recivilizing period ensues.

Now we should understand that the diminishment of the godly clan here is not only in gross number, but also in power and influence.  Where once, every party and group had its own media and every community had several prosperous points of view on display in the weekly papers  today, in almost every area only one media outlet dominates the local culture, and you can be sure that hardly are any of them conservative in their use and proclamation of all the news that is fit to print.  I can remember when the local paper began to include a daily horoscope, someone complained and they were sarcastically informed that since the paper provided space for religious events at no cost, they could certainly cater to other members of the redefined religious community.  But never mind the obvious fact that no Christian commentary or advice was allowed, only the secular, humorous and starcast!

The only exception to this rule was in the early eighties when a rival paper was begun.  I was asked to contribute a weekly religious, political and philosophy column.  Within a few months the County Rag countered with their own liberal theologian to speak the party and community line.  All manner of dirty tricks and unchristian things were done in the name of profit and maintenance of a one paper county.  Eventually, the small paper folded and everything went back to a normal level of social corruption.

Application:  I use that word social corruption in the same sense that I believe David is using it here.  Very probably  it is the hierarchy within Israel that is most at fault here.  The wealthy social climbers have probably abused their positions and in the corruption of their business and government the poor and the needy are plucked financially clean to support the life style of the rich and famous, so to speak!  This is why the Old Covenant speaks of a jubilee year once in every fifty  so that the financial playing field can be leveled  that the downtrodden might be given a chance to work themselves up and thereby better their lives and families.

We see the problem so obviously cast in verse two: “Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.”  You know the type  and sadly they are everywhere, even within Christ’s Church.  I well remember my troubles and persecution within the old liberal church.  At the end of the process in trying to be ordained  I gave up because there were so many people close to me who were intentionally dishonest.  Setting me up to hear my heartfelt complaints and then turning those against me to make it ever less possible to find productive service within their corrupt organization.

Earlier this week I noticed some protestors to the presence of the fox team of reporters in the background of a live broadcast, most obvious was a large poster with a swastika in place of the “x”!  While I realize that no one, nor any organization is perfect  I wondered why the protestors were not complaining about the New York Times and all of the related liberal rags and networks?  Lies, darn lies and statistics seem to be the major commodity being pressed by the greater majority of the media!

Then of course there are of course the current crop of politicos whose every response to questions about their spending habits begins with the insult that we are ignorant of the needs of society and only they truly understand how to improve conditions with our hard earned and thrice taxed monies!

Of course, we could go on and on with contemporary, historic and ancient examples of the normal way of governing and doing business.  And in that heartache we might content ourselves that nothing ever gets any better.  Yet, earlier this week I was researching some information on Calvin’s view of the Reformation and according to even the liberal-minded sources:  Calvin was convinced that we could and should apply the biblical revelation to every aspect of life and human endeavor.

Thereby was the world changed dramatically in and through the Protestant Reformation.  The Lord’s help came to honest men on the continent, in Switzerland, Germany, Scotland and many other communities  The history of the modern world is unmatched in its demonstration of what honest men and governments can and should do  if they will only honor the God of Creation and His only Son  our Lord Jesus Christ.  In fact, and I hope you don’t call me a heritic for it, our governments do not even have to Name the Name of Christ, just so long as their civility is informed by the reformational trends in civilization and that an honest government and business economy be allowed to flourish within the overall guidance of the Ten Commandments!

But, as we all know from events this last summer, even that temporized version of the “kingdom of God” is rebuffed, ignored and even slowly becoming criminalized by all manner of wicked and perverted sons of men!  David is realistic in his understanding of The Way of the World, and so should we be too when we argue for foundational, constitutional principles that have served our country since its better founding.  “Help us, O LORD” since we are so obviously in need of Your presence in order that Your will and providence may carry every day.  Amen.