WHY’D YOU LIE TO ME?
Psalm 12
If you remember your playground days, you may remember verbal fights breaking out among friends. Your friend may have made some nasty remark to you about the size or shape of your nose, and you may remember the comeback, “stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” As you walked home with a bleeding psyche, you may have quickly concluded that your brave words didn’t match up to the wound inside. Words may not hurt the same way as sticks and stones, but they carry a psychological wallop.
Our ability to conduct society is built on the use of words for communication. In many ways the Ninth Commandment which says, “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” or more simply, “don’t lie” tells us what it takes to live in harmony with others. It also implies a connection with God by our use of words. It is not just words but how we use them that matters. We should never be careless with the use of words. Words can be powerful tools for good or for evil in the hands of some people.
Words are so important that some people have no trouble stealing them. Just ask novelist Megan F. McCafferty what she thought about having her written words stolen by Harvard undergraduate student Kaavya Viswanathan. In 2006, Viswanathan’s novel was found to have used huge sections of McCafferty’s novel.[1] The undergrad’s plagiarism was brought to light by the journalists of The Harvard Crimson, her university. Viswanathan had received a half million-dollar book deal from her publisher, and DreamWorks had purchased the movie rights. Of course, that all ended when The Crimson uncovered the theft.
Although Viswanathan apologized to McCafferty for, as she said “unconsciously copying a few pages,” she failed to explain how a full thirteen pages of her novel were from one of McCafferty’s novel![2] Now that university and many others across the country are offering university level credits to teach undergrads the meaning of and how to avoid plagiarism.
Plagiarism is a form of theft compounded by lying. In 1991, James Patterson and Peter Kim published the book The Day
Some think that lying has become easier these days. It is much easier to tell a different version of the truth when all truth is irrelevant. In our postmodern society where objective and absolute truth slips away with every deconstruction of history, lying come effortlessly. Another way we lose the truth is through a pragmatic view of life. One of our culture’s highest values is captured in the maxim: “if it works, it must be true.” So, if whatever “it” is works, then it is permissible to lie or at least blur the truth a little bit. That’s all very well and good until you are on the receiving end of a lie. When someone lies about you and it turns your life upside down, then it is truly amazing how quickly we become morally indignant!
We are going to begin a short series that studies the Lament Psalms of the book of Psalms. There are about fifty of them scattered throughout the Psalter. I was drawn to a few of them because as the old song goes, “sad songs say so much.”[4]
Introduction to a lament psalm
The lament psalms were written as songs to be sung at
Although there are variations from psalm to psalm, they typically follow a pattern that includes: an introductory lament or complaint (v.v. 1-2), a confession of trust in the Lord, the actual prayer request (vv. 3-4), a promise (v. 5), an assurance of being heard (in the case of this psalm a meditation on the promises of God in v. 6), and finally a vow of praise or even a prayer (vv. 7-8).
What you have then is the psalmist setting forth a pattern for believing prayer in times of great stress, or depression or trouble. The psalm shows the way of pouring out the distressed soul and helping us to give voice to emotions deep within and encourage our faith in God in believing prayer.
Here is where the real value of these psalms can be found: in praying them. It has been said that the book of Psalms is the Christian’s “medicine cabinet.” When I find myself at a loss for words that give expression to an inward turmoil or stress, since the Scriptures urge us to pour out our soul out to God,[5] I go to the psalms and look for just the right one that helps me in a way that I know God will hear. And this may be the most important thing to know about the psalms. God gave them to us so that we would learn how to pray in ways that honor God and give us confidence in being heard.
“Help, Lord!” The Setting for David’s Prayer
Ps 12 may have as its background a series of events in David’s life when words were being used to undermine the purposes of God for him and to incite violence against him. From the beginning verse, we see that David feels alone, like he’s the only righteous person left in the nation. David is on the run hiding out from Saul who was tracking him down, intending to capture him and to kill him. David’s life went from victor over Goliath, to national hero and court favorite to the literal target of Saul’s jealousy in a short period of time. His world was turned upside down.
Consequently, it’s not hard to relate to David’s first words: “Help, Lord!” You’ve been there haven’t you? You felt like you were alone against the world. You don’t want to complain, but you can’t really help yourself and you find yourself saying the same thing David says. He complains to God that the “the godly have disappeared from the planet!”[6] The godly are defined in the next half of v. 1 as “the faithful.” If you are looking for a definition of godliness, none better can be found than in this verse: godly people are faithful to the Word of God; they uphold the truth and conform their lives to its instruction.
David may be referring to the duplicity of the Ziphites. David and his army protected the Ziphites from Philistine attack. Then one day Saul came by looking for David. They betrayed David’s kindness by trying to turn him in.[7] In the next verse David sets his sites on the real enemy causing all his upheaval: lies. In a scene from 1 Samuel, David lets Saul know there are only two options inspiring the king’s murderous pursuit. It may be that God stirred him up for some sin of David’s, or because of the evil words of David’s enemies poured into the eager and jealous ears of Saul.[8]
At this time in his life, it seemed to David that truth had taken a vacation. No vacuum is allowed to remain when truth leaves; lies fill in and shaped perceptions. A war of words for political power fueled by jealousy was being waged. Instead of words to encourage faithfulness to God and his truth, false words were doing their best to manipulate the hearts. These are the deadliest kinds of words because they have the power to wear down the resistance of the godly.
Death and life in the power of the tongue
I believe this psalm offers insights and applications for us about godly living in a world where words are used to conceal or manipulate truth in order to gain power and personal advantage over others. I don’t know about you, but when I hear words being used to manipulate me, I get tired of it. We know that words have great power over us. Just a few verses from Proverbs may remind us of the power of words:
§ Gracious words are like honey to the soul and give health to the body (16:24), while rash words are like the cuts of a sword (12:18).
§ The words of a gossip are like “cheap candy” that fills your belly (18:8), but from the tongue of the righteous flows wisdom that clears the air (10:31).[9]
An excellent principle to practice in our use of our words comes from Solomon: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”[10]
How are we to live godly in a culture turned upside down by the distortion of truth? We will look at the three instructions that arise from this psalm: 1) to renounce the use of polluted words; 2) be renewed in pure words; 3) rest by trusting the Perfect Word.
Renounce the use of polluted words (vv. 1-4)
Where have all the godly people gone? David uses hyperbole here to make a point: his social network has suddenly become bereft of people who fear the Lord; he feels alone in his faithfulness to God.
What happens to a society that forsakes the fear of the Lord? Paul tells us what happens:
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.[11]
Notice that this decision to leave God behind shows up in speech and consequently affects relationships. The condition of the heart that has left God behind shows up in the way people choose to communicate with each other.
Liar, liar!
First, they become liars. The word for lies used here does not mean “to twist or distort the truth” as we might expect. Instead, it means “empty” or “vain.” When people reject the truth of God, their hearts are filled with emptiness, if I might put it that way. We might call them ‘empty-headed’ because what they have to talk about is really immaterial. Whatever they talk about is a façade to mask the emptiness inside. James Montgomery Boice writes, “’emptiness’ includ[es] also the additional ideas of insincerity and irresponsibility. . . This is the essence of most cocktail-party conversations.”[12]
Flattery will get you trapped
As a form of communication, flattery slithers toward us with a corrupt motive. Flattery seeks to gain control over its prey for selfish purposes. Flattery is not a compliment, it’s an ambush.
The Bible has nothing good to say about flatterers, except that flattery should never be on the lips of the faithful. Proverbs says that flatterers seek to ruin the object of its deception (26:28). The prophet Ezekiel puts flattery in the same sentence with witchcraft (12:24). Paul lumps flatterers together with those who cause dissensions and occasions of stumbling contrary to the teaching of gospel (Rom 16:18). Flatterer’s motives are born of a heart of greed (1 Thess 2:5). When we talk about “smooth talkers” we’re talking about flatterers.
Double-speak
The phrase for the double-heart is actually more a word picture. The sentence reads, “They speak with flattering lips and with a heart and a heart.” In other words, they speak out of both sides of their mouths. They use words to conceal the true content of their heart, misrepresent the truth and make things sound one way when they are actually the other way.
I found a website called “Doublespeak” which analyses the use of words to make things sound better than they are. Some of it is humorous, but there’s a skull underneath the skin. For example, how would you interpret this phrase: “a negative patient care outcome”? It’s translated “the patient died.” If you ask someone on a questionnaire if they favor welfare, they may respond “No.” But if you ask them about assisting the poor, you may get a more positive response. Some American corporations may be implementing “work reengineering” and “voluntary resignation programs for proactive downsizing.”[13]
The danger of this use of language is that trust erodes into cynicism. Honest communication and discussion of ideas and issues takes a back seat.
It an authority issue
Finally, the true heart of the faithless is revealed: they proudly boast of their God defying autonomy: “Who is lord over us?” Those who abandon God, do so because they will not tolerate God’s authority. They deny the goodness of God preferring their own way, living in autonomy and promoting anarchy. In the end, they will be abandoned by God to everything false and corrupt without remedy.[14]
The father of lies
It should come as no surprise that words would be misused in order to gain advantage. From the beginning of creation, the battlefield was with words. God spoke creation into existence and spoke words of instruction to Adam and Eve. Satan came with smooth words that twisted God’s words and plunged Adam’s race into ruin.
Satan is the originator of lies. He lies about the beautiful nature of God; he papers over the true nature of fallen humanity; he accuses the saints before God and one another. He lies to us in times of temptation, by promising us that the weakness of some remaining sin can find happiness in faithlessness to God.
Satan’s biggest lies are reserved for distorting the truth about God. The portfolio of Satan’s lies can be seen as early as the Garden temptation:
§ He lied about God’s reliability,
§ He lied about God’s goodness and generosity,
§ He lied that God was “holding back” on the couple because he was jealous of them;
§ He lied that God could not possibly mean what he said; especially since what he prohibited “seems so right.” (This is today’s great premise for sin!)
§ He lied that God did not have the couple’s best or highest good for them in his mind.
If any of these statements sound familiar to you this morning, then you should not be wondering about their origin but you should be wondering about what to do about them.
Part two of the psalm deals with question: “be renewed by the pure words of God.”
Be renewed by pure words (vv. 5-6)
The antidote for polluted words is pure words. The way the godly avoid infection from the pollutions of empty words, lying words, boastful words and deceptive words is through the power of God’s words. And I mean by the Scriptures.
God’s words are purified “seven times.” This image tells us that like the purification process of silver, there is no mixture to be found in what God says. It is authentic, pure and without contaminants. This means it is completely trustworthy in everything it teaches and on every subject it touches. God’s Word has been tested by critics and tried by skeptics and relied upon by believers and has been found flawless. Charles Spurgeon said,
The bible has passed through the furnace of persecution, literary criticism, philosophic doubt and scientific discovery, and has lost nothing but those human interpretations which clung to it as alloy to precious ore. The experience of the saints has tried it in every conceivable manner, but not a single doctrine or promise has been consumed in the most excessive heat.[15]
Notice that the final boast of the faithless irreverently throws off the authority of God (v. 4). But the psalmist responds with trust in God’s authority mediated to us in his word (v. 6). God’s words are sufficient and his promises will not fail.[16]
Renew your mind
This is still the struggle today – even in the church – over the authority and sufficiency of God’s word. It is only by the renewing of the mind that we are able to build a faithful life from the ground up. Paul tells us this in Romans: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”[17]
How would you go about this renewal? Let’s suppose that you have been a Christian for a few years now and you’ve begun to see that the Christian life is more demanding than you thought. You’ve come to recognize that living in the world but not like the world has some benefits and losses. It’s not always easy and sometimes down right stressful. Sometimes following Christ can be confusing. The inward trials, the demands of discipleship and struggles in the church cause you to think it was better when you weren’t a Christian!
When you come to your senses, you realize that’s not a happy prospect. What remedy is there is renewing the mind? Meditate on the precious things that Christ has done for you until your heart and mind are wrapped up in these things. Meditate on the truth that you belong to God and he will finish his work in you (1 Cor 6:19, 20; Phil 1:6). Consider the truth that your hard work, no matter how small it may seem, is never insignificant or overlooked by the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58). Reflect on the promise of reaping a harvest of rewards from God (Gal 6:9). Turn over in your mind how Jesus defeated your enemies of sin and death, hell and the world on the cross (1 Pe 2:9; Luke 1:74, 75). Turn your thoughts to how you might serve a brother or a sister in Christ to stir her up to love and good works (Heb 10:24, 25).
By doing this, you will find the resistance necessary to overcome the downward pull of the world by feasting on the upward pull of God’s promises.
Finally, respond by trusting the Perfect Word.
Respond by trusting the Perfect Word (vv. 7-8)
There is one final response for godly living. You’ll notice that the psalmist prayed for God to “cut off” the wicked from society in v. 3. He wanted them and their polluted lifestyle eliminated! But apparently, God had not chosen to eliminate the ungodly, at least not just yet. They remain proudly strutting in open rebellion against God, puffing out their chests, a cocky God-ignoring swagger in their walk with bigger than life claims on their lips. There may even be a hint in v. 8 that things have grown worse over time. The more a society abandons the moorings of God’s truth, the more comfortable it becomes with accepting once unacceptable behaviors and voicing admiration for the once the scandalous.
Did God not hear the prayer of his faithful? Is there no answer from heaven for how the righteous are to live in such an upside down world that is contrary to truth? It’s something like the question in Ps 11:3: “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” We’d hope that the last verse of the psalm would be like the last reel of a nail biter of a movie: we want the happy ending!
But here we need to discern with a theologically-informed mind. It’s a bit like “reading between the lines.” Verses seven and eight are a tandem of life in the here and now. Verse eight sets out the reality of human sinfulness. It’s not here to stay, but its here for now. The theological term for this condition is “human depravity.” It means that people are by condition, action, and personal consent sinful. This condition is both extensive and intensive. It is extensive because there is no person on the planet exempt from its reach. And the condition is intensive, in that it touches every part of a person’s personality. The pollution of sin affects the whole person: including the will and its desires which are not free from sin, the thought processes of the mind are likewise shaped by sin, and the affections of the heart are given over to sin. Nothing in the makeup of the human cosmology is free from a complete and happy submission to the slavery to sin.[18] Love for God and treasuring Christ’s righteousness are the farthest things from the mind and will of those in verse eight.
The verse-eight-kind-of-person could not choose to do anything spiritually good for God’s sake. The Bible says he or she is not only unable but unwilling to do so. This person lacks the power to believe God because the heart clings to everything that denies God’s authority.[19] There is no point in asking, “if they wanted to, couldn’t they?” Their condition leaves no room for a “want to;” they only “don’t want to.”
Since this condition is total, it deserves total eternal punishment. Someone might object and say, “Well, that’s hardly fair, if they can’t do anything about it!” But please remember, the condition “cannot” locks arms with a heart that says, “I will not.”
It is important to address this condition and hard to exaggerate it. If we think of ourselves as “basically good” which many do, our understanding of the cross will be basically unnecessary. But if we accept the truth of our condition and humble ourselves under the terrible truth of God’s certain punishment, then the hope and appreciation of God’s remedy will become precious to us.
The remedy we need is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died for such people who are willing to honestly recognize that this is their condition before God. And he rose from the dead for those who honestly submit to him in trust for their acceptance with God. The good news is that Jesus died your death, in your place. He took upon himself your obligation for your condition. In exchange, he gives you what he earned by living a flawless life before God.
If you forego this good news, you will forfeit your soul. However, if you receive this good news this morning, you will receive true liberty in Christ to become one of God’s many children. I urge you to do this without delay. There is no advantage to waiting for a better deal to come along. There is no better deal. The Word of God tells us that there is no other name under heaven whereby anyone will be saved.[20] The Word tells us that Jesus is the only way to know God.[21] The Word puts urgency into your decision making process: “Today if you will hear his voice, do not harden your heart.”[22] Delay will be costly and will not be worth it. What will be worth it is submitting to Christ. Call on the Lord today and you will be saved.
Where is the happy ending?
We still have verse seven to look at since the two verses go together. Verse eight may be the condition of the way things are just now, but verse seven is a confession of faith in God while things are this way. Things may be polluted and corrupt right now, but God is not inactive in this age of wickedness.
We will close our time with two final promises from v. 7. First, God keeps the godly safe from the pollutions of the world. Rather than choosing to eliminate the evil that is in the world, God has chosen to protect his children from the evil. Jesus’ prayed for it and God has been doing it ever since: “I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”[23] How does our Father keep us safe from the evil one? By sanctifying us in the truth of God’s Word.
Second, because he keeps us we conclude that he reigns supreme over all evil. There is no explanation here for the existence of evil, only the demonstration of God’s sovereignty over it all! Our hope in the promises of God while remaining in this world will be rewarded with safety from its pollutions.
We may walk in a world that is under the control of the evil one, but even that world is under the control of the Holy One. There is nothing in the world left outside his control.[24] Even our allegiance to the Christ is preserved. This means we can walk boldly and confidently with Christ through this world. While our time here may have dangers on every side, the safety that is ours in Christ is unassailable because we know that the prayers of Jesus, God’s own dear Son, will be answered. © Robert R. Buchanan, 2008
[1]David Zhou, “Student’s Novel Faces Plagiarism Controversy,” in The Harvard Crimson Online Edition, April 23, 2006; available on line at http://www.thecrimson.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ref=512948; accessed 23 June 2008.
[2]No author given, “NRI, Viswanathan apologized to McCafferty for unconscious copying Few Phrases,” April 24, 2006; available online athttp://www.nriinternet.com/Section1/11Columnists%20and%20Writers/E_Q/Kaavya_Viswanathan/1_Similar_2001_Novel.htm; accessed 24 June 2008.
[3]Charles Colson, “The Wild Lie: Trashing the Truth,” January 11, 2002; available online at http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/4141.htm; accessed 23 June 2008.
[4]“Sad Songs Say So Much,” words by Bernie Taupin, music by Elton John, 1984, Big Pig Music Limited.
[5]“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to
help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Pe 5:6, 7).
[6]Does this sound at all familiar? Elijah said it too (1 Kgs 19:10). You’ve probably said it.
[7]1 Sam 23:19ff.
[8]1 Sam 26:19.
[9]Eugene Peterson, The Message, (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1993).
[10]Prov 18:21.
[11]Rom 1:20, 21.
[12]James Montgomery Boice, Psalms, (
[13]Michele Damron, “Doublespeak”; available on line at http://www.damronplanet.com/doublespeak/whatis doublespeak.htm; accessed 25 June 2008. For a clever and fun brain teaser, visit “Double-Speak Proverbs” at “NIEHS Kids Page Riddles”; available online at http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/doublesptx.htm.
[14]Romans 1:24-27.
[15]Boice, 103.
[16]2 Cor 1:20.
[17]Romans 12:2.
[18]Romans 6:16.
[19]See Titus 1:15; Jeremiah 17:9; Ephesians 2:1-9.
[20]Acts 4:12.
[21]John 14:6.
[22]Hebrews 4:7.
[23]John 17:15.
[24]Hebrews 2:8.
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