Deliver Us From The Evil One
Psalms 12
September 23, 2018
Last week as we looked at the 11th Psalm
We asked a question regarding the value of righteousness.
In a world where it doesn’t appear that righteousness can promise to keep us out of trouble, one might ask: “IS RIGHTEOUSNESS VALUABLE?”
And the 11th Psalm answered with a resounding “YES!”
Why?
Psalms 11:7 “For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.”
We learned that righteousness is valuable
Because God loves righteousness.
Beyond that, we learned the fate of those who are not righteous.
Psalms 11:5-6 “The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.”
So, the point was clearly made.
• God is on His throne
• He watches the world
• He will judge the world
• The wicked will be destroyed and the righteous will dwell with Him.
RIGHTEOUSNESS MATTERS
And this means that it should become the desire of every believer,
Not only to obtain righteousness through the redemption of Christ,
BUT ALSO TO LIVE A RIGHTEOUS LIFE.
• Certainly we rejoice in our justification.
• Certainly we rejoice in Christ’s imputed righteousness.
• Certainly we rejoice in the fact that now, being “in Christ” we are declared righteous in the sight of God.
But for a believer it is NOT AS THOUGH
We now give no other thought to living a righteous life.
We DON’T just sit back and say, “Well, I’m righteous in Christ, so now I will no longer concern myself with the issue.”
Paul wrote:
Colossians 2:6 “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Ephesians 4:1 “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,”
It is the passage Ben preached last Sunday morning.
Ephesians 4:17-24 “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
That is Paul telling believers that you didn’t learn of a Christ
Who saves you and then lets you live like a heathen.
That’s not what Jesus taught.
• Jesus rescued from sin
• Jesus imputed righteousness to you
• And Jesus expects you to now walk in that righteousness
We have been declared righteous through the atonement of Christ,
And we now have an obligation to no longer live in wickedness,
But to fully put on Christ and live like Him.
And Paul spells this out very clearly to the Colossians.
Colossians 3:5-10 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him”
Don’t live in sin, these are the types of things that invite God’s wrath.
Paul is NOT SAYING that if you fail to be righteous that God will now forget about your justification and condemn you along with the world.
That’s not it at all.
Our salvation in Christ is a permanent salvation.
But Paul is pointing out even to believers that
The God who saved them still hates wickedness
And still loves righteousness.
And therefore it should be the desire of every one of His children
To live in righteousness.
Paul stated it clearly:
1 Thessalonians 4:3a “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”
God intends us to now live righteous lives.
HOWEVER, YOU AND I BOTH KNOW THAT THIS IS A STRUGGLE
It’s not as though there are no obstacles along the way.
On one hand we have OUR FLESH
Sometimes referred to as “the old sinful nature”
It would be nice if salvation instantly did away with the flesh,
But it does not.
Even as justified children of God,
We still possess that fallen and sinful nature.
Our flesh still loves sin.
God’s Spirit certainly wars against this nature, but it is there none the less.
Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”
We still possess that evil and deceptive heart that Jeremiah spoke of.
We have a disposition for sin.
And I don’t think I have to prove that to you, you are already aware.
The other obstacle is we face AN ENEMY
We face one who loves to push us and tempt us into the sin that our flesh already craves.
That means that when sin presents itself,
Not only do you have a sinful flesh that wants to participate,
But you also have an enemy who will encourage you to do it.
All of this is clearly seen in the temptation of Eve.
Genesis 3:4-6 “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”
There you see both agents at work.
• You have a woman whose FLESH clearly wanted the fruit. It was “a delight to the eyes, and…the tree was desirable to make one wise”
• And you have the ENEMY who was right there reassuring here that nothing bad would come of it.
The same is spoken of by James.
James 1:13-15 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
James alludes to that tempter who does nothing more than come as an ally to your flesh and offer you what your sinful nature already desires.
THEY ARE REAL OBSTACLES.
And these obstacles don’t leave just because you are in Christ Jesus.
We are still in a war, not just for truth, not just for soles,
BUT WE ARE IN A WAR FOR OUR OWN SANCTIFICATION.
We fight a battle for our own purity.
Ephesians 6:10-17 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
We fight for our own sanctification.
We fight for our own practical righteousness.
The question is: HOW DO WE FIGHT?
Well, since the flesh is one of our problems,
We fight by KILLING THE FLESH.
Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”
In other words, we starve the flesh to death.
It’s the old Indian proverb about the soul of the warrior who is being drawn by two wolves. One wolf seeks to pull him to all that is good, the other wolf seeks to pull him to all that is evil. When the young man asked, which wolf would win, the old man answered, “The one you feed.”
Quit encouraging the flesh, quit feeding the flesh.
Starve it out.
Back to the passage we read a moment ago in Colossians.
Colossians 3:5 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”
My translation says “consider the members of your earthly body as dead”
But the literal translation is “put to death”.
You have to kill the flesh.
Jesus spoke in hyperbole about this, but I think you understand His point.
Mark 9:43-48 “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.”
If you want to defeat defilement, then kill the flesh.
Another practical reality in this regard is given by Paul to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
Here we find that
God is at work also because of the weakness of our flesh.
Paul asks the Corinthians not to think too much of themselves.
• That is to say, “Don’t assume that your flesh isn’t that bad, or that you can handle it.” That’s a recipe for disaster.
You have to agree with Paul:
Romans 7:18 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.”
But because of the weakness of our flesh
Paul also reminded the Corinthians that
God not only tempers our temptation,
But also provides a way of escape.
So in regard to the obstacle of our sinful flesh
• We find that we overcome that obstacle through starvation of the flesh
• And through reliance upon God to provide a way of escape.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER OBSTACLE?
What do we do about the enemy who constantly throws temptation our way?
And Jesus gave us that answer:
Matthew 6:13 “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]”
What are we taught to do about the temptation of the enemy?
We are taught to pray about it.
We are commanded to pray
That God would shield us from his defiling temptations
And that God would deliver us from his wicked plans.
• If you have learned that righteousness is important to God…
• If you have learned that righteousness comes with opposition…
• If you have learned that the flesh and the enemy are that opposition…
Then starve the flesh and ask God to stop the enemy.
Now, does that make sense?
I know that’s a quick run through the topic of temptation.
But I wanted to give you that intro because tonight in the 12th Psalm
We have an example of what that prayer regarding temptation looks like.
Jesus taught us to pray that we would not be led into temptation
And that we would be delivered from the evil one.
David gives us an example of just that kind of prayer.
And again, this is a song appointed for the church to sing.
• It is a doctrine that the church must drive into their minds through repetitive singing, so that they can easily and quickly draw upon it.
Let’s look at what a prayer against temptation looks like.
Now, I’m going to apologize a little here because we are not going to look at this Psalm in our normal verse by verse pattern.
I just don’t think that’s the best way to understand it.
Instead, we’re going to look at it as a whole and pull from it the main points and themes. (And since the Psalm is only 8 verses, that won’t be too difficult)
There are 4 observations we make about this Psalm.
#1 THE CULTURE
Psalms 8:1-2, 8
Here we simply want to set the scene of exactly where David is dwelling.
We all readily recognize this Psalm as a plea for help from David.
Hence the “Help, LORD” found in verse 1.
What we want to know is:
• What does David want help with?
• What type of help does David want?
In this first point we are looking at the problem.
We are looking what David wants help with.
And here are the problems.
1) GODLINESS IS OUT (1)
“for the godly man ceases to be, For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.”
We clearly see there from David that
He lives in a culture where godliness is not trending.
No one wants it…It is not being pursued.
Granted we have seen some times of revival in our history where men in general did pursue godliness.
We have certainly seen periods of time where men at least pursued morality.
There was a time in America where it was seen as a beneficial thing
To at least have a religious affiliation.
There was a time, maybe 40-50 years ago where
• It was considered a good thing to be a “God-fearing American”,
• It was a good thing to “go to church”,
• It was a good thing to be involved.
Society valued and acknowledge the benefits of morality
And that Godliness was a good thing.
But that is not the culture David refers to.
• David’s culture puts no premium on godliness.
• David’s culture is not rewarding righteousness.
• There are no benefits to it.
It is not a culture that values godliness
And since there is no temporal benefit to being godly
“the faithful disappear”
• If going to church doesn’t help their poll numbers then politicians just quit going to church.
• If being Godly doesn’t help the bottom line of their business then business owners quit worrying about being godly.
That’s David’s point.
He lives in a culture were Godliness is out.
2) SIN IS IN (8)
“The wicked strut about on every side when vileness is exalted among the sons of men.”
David sees a culture which does not value godliness,
But does value what David calls “vileness”.
It is simply that which is worthless and detestable
And contrary to what is upright and godly.
David’s culture doesn’t just participate in it secretly, his culture exalts it.
• It is paraded down the streets
• It is used as the main form of advertising
• It is talked about and joked about and pursued
• It is applauded
I think we understand that type of culture.
A culture which uses sexual immorality as the main form of advertising because advertising agencies know that a half-naked woman won’t push our culture away from their product, but will instead draw our culture to it.
• There was a time even in America when such antics would have bankrupted a
business.
• There was a time when if a business had advertised with a half-naked woman
or with a homosexual couple, that business would have folded.
But not anymore.
“vileness is exalted”
And because of that, “the wicked strut about on every side”
It’s a circular effect – It’s a compounding problem.
• The more society participates in wickedness, the more society comes to accept wickedness.
• The more society accepts wickedness, the more emboldened the wicked become.
• And they just do more and more and more.
That is the problem with David’s culture.
It is not a culture that encourages righteousness.
It is similar to the culture Peter spoke of.
1 Peter 4:1-4 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;”
This world will not reward you for righteousness.
Instead they will do everything they can to ruin it.
Now, one might assume that David just hates sin
And wants God to judge them all.
We’ve certainly seen those imprecatory Psalms where David is calling for God’s vengeance on the wicked.
But that is not necessarily the request here.
For when David mentions the specifics of the sin that bothers him,
He doesn’t speak of their idolatry or their immorality.
David actually reveals the specific threat he’s concerned about.
Godliness is Out, Sin is In
3) FLATTERY IS THE PLAN (2)
(2) “They speak falsehood to one another; with flattering lips and with a double heart they speak.”
Certainly they are all liars, and that is problematic.
But it’s not just lying in general.
David has a problem with the fact that they speak “with flattering lips and a with a double heart”
• They aren’t slanderers…
• They aren’t verbal abusers…
• They are slick speaking flatterers
They are the type of people who seek to worm their way in
By telling you what you want to hear.
We all know what gossip is.
Gossip is when people say something behind your back that they won’t say to your face.
A similar sin is flattery.
Flattery is when people say something to your face that they won’t say behind your back.
Gossip is meant to destroy your reputation before others.
Flattery is meant to enslave you to the one who offers it.
And as you’ll see in a moment, this is really what has David concerned.
It is a culture that doesn’t love godliness and that exalts vileness,
And it is a culture which stealthily tries to capture people with flattery.
It’s that “friend” who seeks to seduce you into sin
By flattering you and building you up and appealing to your flesh.
It is the advice of Satan.
It is called temptation.
Do you remember how Satan tempted Jesus?
Matthew 4:3 “And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
That WASN’T Satan questioning Jesus’ divinity.
Both of them were well aware that Jesus is God’s Son.
What Satan was doing was saying, “I don’t think it’s right that God’s Son; someone as important as You, should go without bread.”
Slick isn’t it?
Well that’s the same culture David lives in.
• Godliness is Out
• Sin is In
• And Flattery is the plan.
That’s the culture.
#2 THE REQUEST
Psalms 12:1, 3-4
The first request is in verse 1, “Help, LORD”
Certainly, just as Jesus taught, David understood
The need for God’s help in overcoming this temptation he was facing.
Specifically the request is made in verses 3-4
(3-4) “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?”
So again we are confronted with those flattering lips.
And David adds that they are also very boastful about it.
“The tongue that speaks great things”
It is a tongue which offers sin
And then boldly proclaims there will be no repercussions.
It is Satan reassuring Eve
Genesis 3:4-5 “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
It was Satan reassuring Jesus that if He would make God prove His love that God would bow down to His request and bail Him out.
Matthew 4:6 “and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'”
In short, they are very convincing.
I’ve told you many times that they don’t call it temptation for nothing.
And it is like Paul warned the Corinthians,
If you face this thing in pride, it’s going to topple you.
1 Corinthians 10:12 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”
And you can think it’s not that big of a deal,
But go again to the temptation of Jesus.
We just read about Satan daring Jesus to throw Himself down.
Have you ever read where Jesus was when Satan told Him that?
Matthew 4:5-6 “Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'”
There was Jesus, standing on the pinnacle of the temple.
Temptation is real, the tempter is smooth.
They flatter, they promise it will all work out.
He assures you no one will know.
David knows that they are more than he can handle on his own.
So David cries (1) “Help, LORD”
And he requests (3) “May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks great things;”
In short, David wants God to stop the tempter.
He is praying exactly was Jesus taught us.
Matthew 6:13 “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
And based on the culture you see why that is a very appropriate prayer.
The Culture, The Request
#3 THE ANSWER
Psalms 12:5
In the second line of verse 5 we read it, “Now I will arise,” says the LORD”
• David humbles himself before God in regard to the dangers of temptation.
• David humbles himself and asks God to help him in an area that he cannot handle on his own.
And God responds to the humble cry of His servant.
WHY?
(5) “Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the LORD”
God responds to the humble request of His children.
• If you try to handle this in pride.
• If you try to handle this in your own strength.
• If you, like Peter, assure Jesus that you can handle this, then get ready for the fall.
But, if in humility, you obey the command of Jesus
And humble yourself and ask for His help
Delivering you from the crafty schemes of the tempter,
David says that God will answer.
Did we not read it in Jesus’ parable about the persistent widow?
Luke 18:6-8 “And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
And notice specifically what God is going to do.
“I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”
This ISN’T a prayer about God crushing the wicked.
Don’t let that “cut off all flattering lips” phrase throw you off.
David isn’t asking God to crush the wicked
(though there are certainly Psalms where he does).
This Psalm is asking God to deliver him from the tempter.
And God says, “Absolutely!”
“I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”
WE CAN EASILY APPLY THAT
• Do you live in a corrupt culture?
• Do you attend a workplace where vileness is exalted in the breakroom?
• Do you attend a school where locker room talk is vile and immoral?
Certainly you don’t want to fall into that sin.
Certainly you understand the value of righteousness.
But how do you overcome it?
Jesus said – PRAY
• Pray that God would not allow you to be led into temptation by some set of
flattering lips,
• And that God would deliver you from the smooth offer of the evil one.
That is what David prayed and God was more than eager to oblige!
When you humble yourself and ask God to protect you from temptation, HE WILL!
THAT’S HUGE!
One more thing:
The Culture, The Request, The Answer
#4 THE ASSURANCE
Psalms 12:6-7
This is how David responded to God’s promise of deliverance.
“The words of the LORD are pure words”
Unlike the flattering deceptions of the enemy,
God actually does what He says.
His words are pure.
“As silver tried in the furnace on the earth, refined seven times.”
• If you want pure silver, you stick it in the furnace and you melt it down and burn out all the dross.
• If you want really pure silver, then you let it cool and then melt it down a second time.
• If you want unbelievably pure silver you might consider doing it a third time.
David said God’s word is pure like silver that has been refined 7 times!
GOD DOES WHAT HE SAYS
And so notice David’s statement of faith.
(7) “You, O LORD, will keep them; You will preserve him from the this generation forever.”
There again we see that this prayer
Is NOT about David wanting God to destroy the wicked.
David wants God to save him FROM the wicked.
And David knows that God will do it because God said He would do it.
So do you understand what this means?
GOD IS ON YOUR SIDE IN YOUR STRUGGLE AGAINST SIN.
And when believers will humble themselves and trust in Him
And request His help against temptation, God will grant it!
No wonder Jesus taught us to pray that way.
And, because we are in the Psalms.
Not only is this a prayer we pray, but this is a Psalm that the church ought to sing.
• The church should sing about how God delivers the righteous from temptation.
• The church should sing about how God is a fortress from deception.
AND WE SING:
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper he, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe does seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing. You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he; Lord Sabaoth his name, from age to age the same; and he must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God has willed his truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him.
That Word above all earthly powers no thanks to them abideth; the Spirit and the gifts are ours through him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever!
