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 own our 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.
Listening to the politicians, celebrity lawyers and news commentators, you’d think David wrote this psalm this morning. It truly seems the Godly are no more. But Lord has taken steps to protect us from the lies and deception thrown at us every day. He’s told us how things will turn out in the end. It’s a big advantage we have over those of David’s day.
And beyond that, He’s included signposts so we can tell how close we are to the day when He’ll arise to protect us from those who malign us. He said that when we begin to see signs of the fulfillment of end time prophecy to look up, for our redemption draws near. (Luke 21:28) And to give us a feel for the timing, He said that those whose lives were just beginning at that time would still be alive at their conclusion. (Matt. 24:34)
In 1948 the people of Israel emerged from the concentration camps to become a nation again, and the first of the signs was fulfilled. All end times prophecies will likely come to pass within the span of a normal lifetime, about 70 years, from that momentous date (Psalm 90:10). Members of the Terminal Generation are alive today. You’re probably one of them.
So let the heathen rage! Their flattery and deceptions are themselves a sign that the end is near, as they set the stage for the one who will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. (2 Thes. 2:4) Every increase in the audacity and magnitude of lies by today’s leaders brings the world closer to a time when this leader’s lies can be accepted as truth.
But at the same time we who believe are brought closer to the day when the One Who is Truth comes to retrieve His own and hide us away while He punishes the world for its rebellion.
“Don’t be distracted by what you see,” Paul cautioned us, “That’s only temporary. Focus instead on what you can’t see, because it’s what you can’t see that’s eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:18) Good advice.