Psalm 12:3-4

Introduction:

Last week, in Psalm 12:1-2, we noticed that this Psalm is a Psalm of loneliness amongst God’s people.

• David says in vs.1-2
• So this is a Psalm that’s meant to bolster individuals who find themselves to be the only faithful and devoted follower of God amongst any number of other God followers. 
• But this isn’t David’s rant against his circumstances, this isn’t a rant against the fact that David wasn’t getting his way... instead this is David’s plea for perspective and support.
• But just so we can help to understand and personally apply what David is praying here, we asked the question, “how do we know when we’re in similar circumstances and can make a similar claim?”
• And as we saw last week, David gives us 3 hints as to what would constitute a similar experience.

1) Idle Speech

• This might be better described as a religious person who has a number of relationships with unbelievers but has no testimony of their relationship with God as well as no thoughts or plans to introduce this person to the Gospel.

2) flattering lips

• Flattery, by it’s very definition is excessive and insincere praise with which there often is an ulterior motive.
• This section of the text deals with our hearts motive and with the ugly side of religious politics.

3) a double heart

• The saying literally goes, “they speak with a heart and a heart.”
• There are a number of applications to this phrase, some of which we mentioned: double talk, gossip, and deception.

Tonight we’re going to look at the next 2 verses and add two more element to the “heart and a heart” equation - pride and empty words.

vs.3

As we look at vs.3... let me ask you a question... what’s your breaking point?At what point, in a relationship, in a church, in a friendship, do you just throw up your hands in frustration and walk away?Maybe a better way to phrase the question is, at what point do you stop trying to make a difference?David’s prayer here, in vs.3 of this text, is essentially, “These people, who claim to know you and serve you God, but are so self focused and proud... these people are hopeless.  Nothing can be done for them.  Wipe them out, take them off the face of the planet, end this endless game of passionless service and obnoxious lying.”That phrase there, “cut off all flattering lips,” is David’s way of saying, “Silence these people forever.  Cut them off from the face of the planet.” What was David’s breaking point?  Pride and empty words.But remember, David’s not speaking in general about wicked people, he’s not raging against the machine of sin in the world.David is speaking in specifics... he’s speaking specifically about God’s people... and so, in the next verse David gives us some detail concerning exactly what pushed him over the edge, 

vs.4

“With our tongues we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?”Let me attempt to break this down for you in a way that speaks to a position and condition of the heart that threatens to destroy God followers.It’s this idea that, if I say all the right things and say them at the right time and in the right way then I’m an amazing witness for God and I’m a spiritual giant in my faith.Now here’s how this lie manifests itself in the individual - accumulation of knowledge and information without any change and transformation.Here’s how this lie manifests itself in a family - the focus becomes on controlling the information that’s coming in and on shutting the world out as opposed to raising up a child in the way they should go.Here’s how this lie manifests itself in a community of God followers (i.e. church, group of friends/co-workers) - 2 ways: 1) the belief that a church will grow because of good sermons or that the church will grow because of dynamic programs... Here is something you may find interesting.  In some of the most recent studies concerning church growth and development done by the Barna Research group, Lifeway Research and the Euvangelion  the statistics concerning the reasons why people visit a church are (loosely for time’s sake):

• Advertising................................12%
• Web-Page or Internet.......................17%
• Invited by someone from the church.............71%

The other way this lie manifests itself is through uninvolved complaining.  Talking about how the church is all talk which is, in essence, nothing more than more talk.

Conclusion:

Friends... this is the reason that the new testament authors say things like, “Faith without works is dead...” this is what compelled Jesus to say, “by your fruit you shall be known.” This is even part of the hidden meaning of the parable of the good samaritan.If Jesus had simply wanted to tell a morality tale about being moved to compassion to reach out, he could have made the third person, the one who stopped to help, anyone. A Jewish lay person would have been nice. The crowd would have eaten that up. They would have felt very satisfied at a tale about the “all talk, no action” decisions of the priest and Levite, who is an assistant to priests, versus the common folk who know how to put faith into action, who can walk the talk. But Jesus added that extra little provocation. I wonder why? Could it be that he didn’t want his listeners to feel satisfied with his teaching? Did he want to leave them, and does he want to leave us, unsettled? I suspect he does. It’s not the first place, nor the last. He doesn’t make it easy to recognize the bad guy, does he? Oh sure, we can shake our head at the priest and the Levite, who walk by, maybe out of fear, maybe over their concern for ritual purity, or maybe just pure busy-ness. But instead of letting us believe we would be the good ones, he holds up a flash light, shining into the shadow places of our own hearts and souls.