Vileness Exalted

Psalms 9-15 give an overview of the time of great tribulation on the earth, as the second advent of Christ grows near. The earth will be under judgment. The human race will be even more fiercely divided by their volition toward or against God. Psalm 9 relates the cries of the righteous as Satan’s man begins to take control. Psalm 10, Satan’s man in verse 18, defined as “man of the earth” or beast. Psalm 11 tells of the testing of the righteous as they take refuge in the Lord. Then we come to Psalm 12:

Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be,

For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

They speak falsehood to one another;

With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak.

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,

The tongue that speaks great things;

Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;

Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”

“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,

Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”

The words of the Lord are pure words;

As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.

You, O Lord, will keep them;

You will preserve him from this generation forever.

The wicked strut about on every side

When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Psalm 12:1-8

Those saved remnant of Israel in the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble,” the Great Tribulation, will be surviving in the midst of maximum evil in the human race. David, in his time of exile and oppression, had a preview of the pressures God’s persecuted people would endure. It was as if all the believers had disappeared. No one could be trusted to speak the truth. Everything was double-speak and outright lies. If their words are agreeable, it is for flattery, to take advantage of God’s people.

They make grand speeches and generous gestures to ensnare the vulnerable. In their arrogance, they have no respect for God and His Word. They declare their own words to be as authoritative as God’s.

 “What Lord? We don’t need any Lord. We are in control of our own destiny. Who, ME? Answer to God? Bring Him on. I’ll stand on my intellect and self-determination. I'm not a bad person. I'm nicer than you are, who say I'm a sinner. You who are waiting for your Messiah are just weaklings and saps. We have the knowledge and the power to control our environment and your way of life.” 

Sound familiar? We all have encounters with this attitude every day. They are stubborn; totally committed to their hatred of Christianity and of God’s Word. Such is the thinking and behavior of those who have rejected Christ and have chosen evil as their religion and culture.

The Lord will intervene. He will not allow the destruction of His remnant. He hears their groanings and knows their affliction. God’s Word is pure and of highest value. By His Word He saves and sustains His people, preserving them from even the most wicked generation in history.

God’s perfect righteousness is being ignored and denied by society at large. Evil is being elevated to not just acceptance, but the “normal” way of life. And the evil ones flaunt their wickedness, demanding even more rights and privileges. The evil ones are demanding respect and favored treatment, not just tolerance. Even tolerance, for evil, is not acceptable. Here’s why, verse 8:

The wicked strut about on every side
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

We’re not in the Great Tribulation, and the Church won’t be, but we can see more and more vileness being exalted, and the wicked are definitely strutting. David saw it, too, from his own son and Absalom’s following. As difficult as it is to deal with now, and as heartbreaking as it was for David, imagine the outcry of the Godly remnant, when all they can see in the world are deceit, lies, oppression and the strutting of evil. That, however, is not the end of the matter.

Psalm 13:5
But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

Psalm 14:7
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores His captive people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.