Psalm 12

When society exalts what is vile above what is holy, the result is always the persecution of faith. For those who embrace faith, persecution is the loneliest path they can walk. The reason for the devastating loneliness of persecution is found in the irony that there seems to be no deliverance, it must be endured. He that endures to the end shall be saved. We know this right? Then what do we do with the empty despair that fills the space between the beginning and the end of personal persecution? The remedy may be found in the 12th Psalm.

Psalm 12:1-8, prescribes the remedy, “Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, ‘We will triumph with our tongues; we our own lips- who is our master?’ ‘Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,’ says the LORD. ‘ I will protect them from those who malign them.’ And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. O LORD, You will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever. The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.”

I’m not sure we can make this Psalm any more personal than it is, but I like to make this affirmation, “God is God, Greg Manuel is a man! When man speaks evil, God’s words are the ultimate truth for Greg Manuel. Let the wicked strut, God will speak the final word of truth over Greg Manuel.”

Blessings & peace be upon you today!