April 7: Psalms 11-12
Leviticus 10; Psalms 11–12; Proverbs 25; 1 Thessalonians 4
I can think of few Scriptures which better describe our current cultural moment than Psalms 11 and 12. We live in a democracy - “rule by the people.” And yet “the people” are ruled by lies and liars. What are the righteous to do?
There are many Christians and many Christian leaders who sadly respond by echoing 11:1-3. LGBTQ ideology seeps into more and more of the culture, and they essentially throw up their hands and repeat verse 3. “Welp, best to hunker down. It’s all going to hell in a handbasket.”
But we must remember: as famous and beautiful as the words of v. 3 are, the Psalmist repudiates that attitude. How can you say that?!, he says (1), for the LORD is my refuge. My refuge was never a place, or an institution, but a Person - the LORD.
And He remains in His holy temple, righteous and in charge (4-7). He has eyes, and He sees everything. More than that, He is doing two things, by sovereignly allowing this cultural insanity: He is testing the righteous, and He is pouring out judgment on the wicked. Implication for the righteous: don’t fail the test - don’t run for the hills, but stand your ground, by faith - faith in the LORD.
And realize that the cultural rot is itself His judgment. Romans 1:24 explains: God is handing people over to their insanities, that they would feel its pain and sorrow, and turn to Him. In all this He is righteous.
But all of this does not lead to stoicism or triumphalism. The righteous cry out to the LORD (12:1-2) about what they see. They have eyes in their head, just like their God. They see how everyone utters lies from a “double heart.” The wicked only feel free to live by lies because they are convinced in their “double hearts” that there is no God (3-4).
To wit: recently a twisted twenty-something woman who “identified” as a man shot up a Christian school in Nashville, killing little children, and some adults. The White House press secretary responded by declaring that “the trans community is under siege.” She later shamelessly declared that trans people are “fierce” and “fight back.” This is exactly what the Psalmist is writing about. Evil lies, from a double heart.
The righteous see this, and they cry out to the LORD: cut off these lying lips (3). This is a prayer of love, love for the poor who are plundered - for instance, for the teens who are plundered of their breasts and genitals, as the adults hand them over to sick “LGBTQ” ideology. The righteous do not find love institutions; they love people. Thus they simply pray for the afflicted to be made firmly safe, not by any institution, but in the true words of the LORD (5-6).
Ours is a generation that the people of God must not join, but be guarded from (7). And so we pray, guard us, O LORD. We will not guard ourselves - we entrust ourselves to You. For
Psalm 12:8 (ESV): On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.