The very first word in the Hebrew manuscript of Psalm 12 is “Help!” I would think it includes the exclamation point. The New American Standard Bible translates it accurately (as does the KJV & others): “HELP, LORD..” In all caps! It reminds me of another song by the four great apostles of the sixties: John, Paul, George and Ringo! “Help, you know I need somebody! Help, not just anybody! Help! You know I need someone…. Help!”

David’s cry for help is addressed specifically to God. He needs God’s help because the world has decided that they don’t need or even want God! In verse 4, David says he needs help from those “Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; Our lips are our own: who is lord over us?” One translation says “we can talk others into anything. There is no accountability to some invisible being.”

As an undergraduate student in the 70’s and as a graduate student in the 80’s I frequently encountered atheistic professors. Several times I found myself struggling to respond to the arguments of the famous Oxford atheist, Antony Flew. He insisted that the burden of proof for the existence of God rested on believers and they had consistently failed to deliver. He promoted an autonomous lifestyle in the vein of those David is crying for help from. His teaching lips said anything they wanted with no accountability and he convinced many and turned many away from their faith in colleges all over the world. I found myself driven into a corner during many classroom debates and often at night I’d cry “HELP, LORD!”

David asserts his confidence that God will answer his prayer for help from these atheists. God surely answered mine. Antony Flew died last week. I read his obituary from the London Telegraph and was stunned to read about his late in life conversion. According to the Telegraph, “Flew went on to make a video of his conversion entitled Has Science Discovered God? and seemed to want to atone for past errors: ‘As people have certainly been influenced by me, I want to try and correct the enormous damage I may have done,’ he said.”

Thank You, Lord!

Chuck
“Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. (Psalm 10:17)