Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases to be, for the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. 2 They speak falsehood to one another; with flattering lips and with a double heart they speak. 3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks great things; 4 who have said, "With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own; who is lord over us?" 5 "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." 6 The words of the LORD are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. 7 Thou, O LORD, wilt keep them; thou wilt preserve him from this generation forever. 8 The wicked strut about on every side, when vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

As we are faced with evil all around us, with those who seem to have no regard for God, it is easy for us to begin to think that we are the only ones left who really care. When the prophet of old began to complain about this, he was told that he needed to get up and go back to work because God had plenty of others still faithful. As a preacher, there have been times that someone has come to me and said (or at least implied) that they were the only one left in a particular church who really cared. I must confess that this is an easy trap in which to fall.

There are several things wrong with this thinking. First, it is just not true. God has plenty of warriors in his army. We may not see them but he knows who they are. Secondly, it derives from a heart of misjudging others, their motives and their hearts. Too often we just don’t know what others are doing in their service to God or what battles they are facing to accomplish what they do. If this kind of thinking continues, it leads us to become egotistical and self-righteous. We begin to think that we are above everyone else because we are the only ones left trying to be holy.
The final reason to mention today is this thinking is wrong because of what this Psalm says. God does see, he does notice and he does care. He is in complete control of all that is going on. We may not see it but he is there. Keep in mind that Noah is the only case we have where only one was left to serve God and it never mentions that he complained. However, he is mentioned as a man of faith who just went about doing what God told him.

O Lord, help me to see your mighty hand all around me in a wicked world. While I cannot understand and often become distressed at the wickedness of others, help me to just keep my eyes focused on you, on your Son and on things above. Forgive me when I fail and strengthen me. In Jesus name.

May God bless each of us as we live for him today.