David cries out in Psalm 12:1 Help, LORD! What’s the matter? Why the urgency? Who is threatening him? David is in fact alarmed not by a direct threat to his person but by the disappearance of truth from those around him. Today we are not facing actual persecution or violence but we do have reasons to be alarmed at the disappearance of truth. David felt deserted and so do we. Those from whom we have a right to expect truth have caved in to the pressures of the age. We can recognise in our own time the features of godlessness - especially in terms of words - that bothered David so much. Idle talk

They speak idly everyone with his neighbour (v2 NKJV). For sheer quantity there is no time like the present for idle words. They proliferate on TV, radio and the internet chat rooms. Talk show presenters are experts in filling hour upon hour with words. There is a big market for chat. Text messaging has mushroomed to the point where in February this year 1.4 billion messages were sent in the UK. The parents of one 14-year-old were charged £215 for one month of their son’s text messaging with his new mobile phone. The boy had sent 2,500 messages at an average of one every two minutes of his waking time! Then there are the gossip sections of newspapers and magazines, some of which exist specifically for gossip, eg. ‘The Tatler’. Some would argue that the columns of Hansard (the record of proceedings in Parliament) are filled with idle words! Why should we be alarmed by idle words? Because they are not morally neutral. God is in none of their thoughts. Idle talk is speaking without reference to God. It reflects a heart set on the empty things of the world. And it leads to increasingly godless lives. Paul says Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly (2 Timothy 2:16, NIV).

Flattery

With flattering lips… they speak (v2). To flatter is to deceive someone by presenting a favourably distorted version of the truth. Recently we have seen firms of accountants like Arthur Andersen shown to have used corporate flattery to hide the true financial state of companies like Enron and WorldCom. It was discovered that WorldCom had indulged in improper accounting to the tune of $3.8 billion, wrongly telling investors it was making millions in profit. Thousands of people have lost their jobs as a result, investors have been conned and pension funds around the world have suffered. No one knows which figures are to be believed. No doubt there are other scandals still to come to light. Flattery is of course endemic in personal relationships. Motivated by self-interest, the people of the world curry favour with one another. Sincerity is hard to find. 

Double heart

With… a double heart they speak (v2). Literally in the Hebrew ‘a heart and a heart’ – the same individual has one persona for one occasion and another for others. People whom David expected to be loyal in fact proved to be two-faced, unstable. A feature of the recent political scene in Britain has been the widening gap between style and substance and the dearth of politicians known for conviction, principle and integrity. Words have become just a means of projecting an image, not the reflecting of the heart. 

Arrogance

David witnessed the incredible self-confidence of those who use words for their own ends. With our tongue we will prevail (v4). This is true of those behind the Nazi propaganda machine before and during the Second World War. Joseph Goebbels and the others believed there was virtually no limit to what they could do. The advertising copywriters have enormous self-confidence in what their words can achieve. The ‘spin doctors’ and PR men know how smooth talking can manipulate people and situations for their masters’ ends. The tongue is, according to James, a little member but it boasts great things.

Parading of sin

Vileness is exalted among the sons of men (v8). A widespread disregard for truth means that things which are openly talked about are soon openly tolerated and then openly done. Scripture warns us to be careful about even mentioning certain things. Vile things and vile men are exalted in our society. It is people like Billy Connolly, whose speech and behaviour is so offensive, who are given prominence. 

The 30th Gay Pride march (the first was in 1972) took place in London on July 6. The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and Mo Mowlam were among those giving their support to the event from the platform. The venue this year was Hackney Marshes but the organisers are seeking permission to hold the festival in Hyde Park next year, to give added respectability. Around the world there have been gay and lesbian ‘celebrations’ on a larger scale than ever before. For the first time a Gay Pride march took place in Jerusalem earlier this year. The Home Secretary has re-classified cannabis from a class B to a class C drug and relaxed police procedures for those found in possession. This is in spite of the pilot scheme operating in the London borough of Lambeth leading to drugs being openly sold in the street. Cannabis is now as good as legalised in the view of many people. First there was the talking, then the deed.

The words of God

What a relief to turn to the words of a thrice-holy God who does not and cannot lie! He has no hidden agenda. The Lord Jesus Christ had no need to dissemble, to flatter or impress. He did not misrepresent or manipulate. Everything he said he meant. For David the words of God are pure, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times (v6). The Bible has been proved right through the ages, both objectively and subjectively. How blessed we are as Bible-believing Christians to be able to depend absolutely on all that comes from the mouth of God, not least the promises of the gospel:

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.