Psalm 12

The Godly Man

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

Bible Baptist Church

Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

www.biblebc.com

 

 

Focus Verse: Psalm 150:6

Lesson Verse: Jer 5:1

 

I.       Introduction to the Book of Psalms

 

A.      The Book of Psalms in the Old Testament is God's answer to the headaches and heartaches of life. Without it the Bible would not be complete - as a matter of fact, next to the Gospels, Psalms is probably the most read part of the Bible because of the reality and the promises found there!

B.      Most of the Psalms were journal entries for David, recording the thoughts of his heart as he faced different struggles and troubles. They were written to be sung in worship.

C.      This Psalm is about the struggle he had watching godly men fall away

 

II.      Background (Jer 5:1)

 

A.      Truly godly people are a rare item in this world today (Jer 5:1)

B.      This world doesn't need more "men". Not even more "Christian men"

C.      But rather GODLY, Christian men. The same is true with women and teens!

D.      Godly in the sense of:

 

1.       Not religious exercise - acting out "Christianity"

2.       Clean thoughts, clean conscience

3.       Glorifying not self but God

4.       People who live like Jesus would if He were in their shoes

5.       Godly in heart, and mind, and spirit

6.       Godly at home - in the shows we watch

7.       Godly at work - in the things we say

8.       Godly when things go wrong

9.       Godly at school - or when no one is watching!

10.    Godly is a rare trait for sure.

 

E.       I’m glad for godly women, and godly teens, but…

F.       It is getting harder and harder to find a Godly MAN

 

III.   Message - The Godly Man

 

A.      The Godly Man is Rare (Pr 20:6; Eccl 7:28; 1King 19:10-14, 18)

 

1.       In David's day. There were many religious people, but few godly men!

2.       A Godly man is called the good man in the New Testament

3.       It meant:

 

a.       Converted – none start out righteous

b.       Clean living – not perfect, but living differently so that they can stay clean

c.        Committed to staying that way – not up and down – not hypocritical

 

4.       They were so rare that the Godly man would stand quit alone sometimes (1Kings 18:22; 22:1-8)

 

B.      Godly Men Struggle.

 

1.       Finding it hard to do right, and obey God

2.       So many are "ceasing" - giving up – giving into sin and temptation

 

a.       It is not that they are being killed off

b.       They are finding the strait and narrow way too hard

c.        They are quitting – ceasing

d.       And the world is hurting for it!

 

3.       Many are failing – not just a few

 

a.       They are not reaching their potential

b.       Nor the target that the Lord had set for them (Philp 3:14)

c.        Their numbers are dwindling - never been in majority (Pr 20:6). But it is getting rarer and rarer to find men who love God, and love godliness!

 

4.       Why are they struggling? Because Godly Men live in an Ungodly World (12:2-4)

 

a.       A world of vain, empty talk (12:2,3)  - talk shows, radio shows, TV shows, ipods, modern fool music

 

1)       Nothing but vain, empty talking. The way people talk to each other these days – they talk for hours and actually say nothing!

2)       Flattery is the name of the game - hidden agendas in what they say

3)       Double heart – not expressing what they really are thinking

 

b.       A world of pride - ungodly pride (12:4)

 

1)       Not giving any glory or thankfulness to God (Rom 1:21)

2)       Out only to conquer

3)       Out of control - independent of authority - like Pharaoh was

 

c.        A world of oppression (12:5) – wrong doing, unfairness

 

1)       Life is not restful and safe, but worrisome and concerning!

2)       There is constant Physical oppression – bullying. Mocking, scorning

 

a)       On the job

b)       At school

c)       At home even

 

3)       Spiritual oppression - there is always more to oppression than meets they eye

 

a)       Depression, discouragement - "sighing"

b)       Drives people to anger, drugs

 

d.       A world of promotion – a world that promotes, praises, honours "vile men" (12:8)

 

1)       On the TV – Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards

2)       In the movies – Bruce Willis, Jennifer Aniston

3)       In Music – Brittany Spears, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Eminem

4)       Comedy – Irish comedian Brendan O’Carroll

5)       In magazines

6)       AND in modern “churches”

 

C.      Godly Men have One Anchor.

 

1.       The Godly Man Trusts in the Lord (12:5-8; Prov 3:5,6) - the greatest testimony anyone could have!

 

a.       This is the theme of the first section of Psalms - over and over - trust; trust; trust!

 

1)       He Trusts the Lord for safety - salvation from hell, and daily danger

2)       He Trusts in the Lord for sanity (1Tim 1:7)

 

a)       By word of God - pieces your mind back together (Ps 119:97-ff)

b)       By the present power of God - holds it together

 

3)       He Trusts in the Lord for more and more each day (Eph 5:18)

 

b.       Why Trust ONLY in Jehovah God?

 

1)       The words of Men have failed them

 

a)       They are flattering, deceitful, and proud.

b)       Those words are to be cut off.

c)       God will deliver them the humble

 

2)       God's Words are pure, tried, and purified seven times.

 

a)       Those words are preserved forever

b)       Tested, and tried like purified silver

 

3)       Because God CAN be trusted - fully trusted (12:6,7; 119:140)

 

a)       His word is more important that His name (Ps 138:2)

b)       His words have been put to the test - there is NO dross! 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 saints has tried it in every conceivable manner, but not a single doctrine or promise has been consumed in the most excessive heat.

 

4)       Because this is the only way so that the world's ungodliness doesn't have lasting affects on him or her!

5)       Because it is the only way to persevere is to have your eyes on Jesus, and your course laid out to follow in

6)       Because it is the only way to counteract all the wickedness - the only way so that the vilest are not exalted - they cannot conquer the already conquered (1Jn 4:4; 5:4) - unless they can conquer God (Jn 10:28,29)

 

c.        If sinner's talk is vain and empty - ours should be full of Jesus’ words and the Gospel!

d.       If the words of sinners are impure - ours should be pure, strong, and precious

e.        What God's words are, the words of His children should be. If we would be Godlike in conversation, we must watch our language, and maintain the strictest purity of integrity and holiness in all our communications.

                                                                         

D.      Godly Men Are Needed More than Ever (Psalm 12:8)

 

1.       The wicked walk everywhere – no fear

2.       We need more godly men

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

a.       Pray for godly men - pray for new recruits, and for those on the front lines!

b.       Preach to ungodly men – don’t expect them to get right until they have been provoked and motivated to get saved and right!

c.        Produce a new godly generation! Through Sunday School, devotions!

d.       Persevere! Stay true to the Bible. Preach the word - it is the only thing that makes true men and women of God out of people. More preaching, teaching, and churches all across this country

e.        Praise godliness! Honour godliness in our young men especially!

 

1)       Don't be like Job's friends.

2)       Support your pastor, SS teachers, the workers here!

3)       Honour the girl who decides to live clean and different than her class – dresses modestly

4)       Honour the boy who climbs mountains and reads books and works hard

5)       Honour the dad who loves HOME

6)       Honour and praise the Mom who has children and stays home and raises a godly generation

7)       Honour and praise the politician who stands upon Biblical principles like less welfare and more work

8)       Honour masculinity

9)       Honour femininity

10)   We need more godly people!

 

3.       And the only way to have more godly people is to turn people BACK to the perfect words of God!

4.       Let’s talk about those words!

 

E.       The Preservation of the Words of God (Psalm 12:6,7)

                                                                                          

1.       God’s Words are Plural – not WORD (singular)

 

a.       THE theme of the entire psalm is WORDS.

 

1)       David speaks of the words of men and the words of God more that he speaks of the poor and the needy.

2)       The poor and needy accent the theme of words, but the main theme or emphasis is on words.

3)       In the first verses, David speaks about the words of men. In fact, he refers to the words of men nine times (speak, lips, speak, lips, tongue, speaketh, said, tongue and lips) in verses 1-4.

 

b.       Literal words from God (Rom 10:17)

c.        We need EVERY word from God (Mt 4:4)

 

1)       66 Books (Genesis to Revelation)

2)       1,189 Chapters

3)       31,101 Verses

4)       783,137 Words

5)       Only 12,000 different words are used throughout the 1200 pages of the Bible

6)       Shakespeare’s writings used 30,000 words

7)       Most of us know well over 40,000 different words by the time we are 20 years old

8)       Written so a 12 year old with a 6th class education could read it with no difficulty

 

2.       God’s Words are Pure (Ps 119:14; Prov 30:5)

 

a.       Inspiration (2Tim 3:16) – God breathed out the words INTO men! God spoke, they heard, and they wrote

 

1)       From the moment it was spoken by God (Mt 4:4)

2)       From page 1, chapter 1, and verse 1 (Psalm 119:160)

 

b.       The very words are inspired – not just the idea

 

1)       It does matter whether Jesus is the Lamb of God and not the Chicken of God

2)       It does matter whether there is a comma or a period!

 

c.        The Bible does not CONTAIN trauth, it IS truth (John 17:17)

d.       Purified seven times – HEATED over and over, making sure it had no dross. No one puts silver into a furnace more than seven times – there is absolutely no more dross by then! Same is true with God’s words!

e.        Every word of God has been tried and tested, compared and contrasted, and proven to be true!

f.        Your King James Bible was translated across SEVEN years, by 54 men, cross checking every word and every phrase six times to make sure every word was translated RIGHT!

g.        There are NO errors in the Bible – may be printing errors, but no errors – NONE!

 

3.       God’s words are Powerful (John 6:67,68) – words of eternal life! Words that still CHANGE lives

4.       God’s Words are Preserved (Mt 24:35; 5:18; 1Peter 1:25) - Preservation

 

a.       What a waste of God’s time perfectly inspiring His words onto paper if He didn’t or couldn’t preserve them!

b.       They are protected, kept, preserved by God from the time of inspiration – from the time the pen was put to paper

 

1)       Started with Moses – we still have God’s words through Moses (Genesis thru Deuteronomy)

2)       Then Joshua – we still have Joshua’s words

3)       Then Samuel

4)       Then David

5)       Then Ezra

6)       Then the major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc)

7)       Then the minor prophets (Hosea, Amos, Micah, Zechariah, Malachi, etc)

8)       Then the Apostles and New Testament prophets: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James, Jude

9)       Until the Apostle John in the Book of the Revelation

10)   A total of 40 writers, scribes, and prophets wrote (2Pet 1:21) the words of Almighty God down onto pages and pages, and then, were tested and proven, and combined into one Book of books – the Bible!

 

c.        God has kept them, preserved them, for us!

d.       And He always will (Mt 24:35)

e.        God preserves His word:

 

1)       Ps 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

2)       Ps 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Not changing

3)       Ps 119:152 Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. They will exists forever!

4)       Ps 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

5)       Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

6)       1Pet 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

7)       1Pet 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

 

5.       If he can’t preserve His word, then he can’t preserve YOU!

 

IV.    Conclusion and Study Questions

 

A.      What is happening to Godly people, especially Godly men today? Ceasing, failing, falling away

B.      What does “godly” mean? Converted, Clean, Committed

C.      Do Godly men find it easy or hard to be godly? Hard

D.      Why do Godly men fail and quit? Because of sin around them

E.       What can Godly men hold onto? God’s word!

F.       How can we get more Godly Men?

1.       Pray for godly men

2.       Preach to ungodly

3.       Produce a new godly generation

4.       Persevere! Stay true to the Bible

5.       Praise godliness! Honour godliness in our young men especially!

G.      What does INSPIRATION mean? God spoke His word into the minds of His prophets

H.      How pure are God’s words? VERY pure!

I.        Peter said Jesus’ words where what kind of words? Words of eternal life!

J.        Just as miraculous as Inspiration, what else has God done to His word? Preservation

K.      List a verse that says God will preserve His word… Matthew 24:35