Psalms 12:8 "when the vilest men are exalted"
Psalms 12:1-8 "Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. 2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. 3 The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: 4 Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? 5 For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. 6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. 8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted."
Verse 8 of this passage of scripture tells us that the wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted i.e. when the vilest men are put in positions of power. What is a “vile person”?
Isaiah 32:5 “The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.”
According to this verse, there is a vile person who calls himself a liberal. The same verse also calls him a “churl”. Notice the word “bountiful” in this verse?
Proverbs 22:9 "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor."
A true liberal has a bountiful eye, which is to say, he gives his bread liberally to the poor. The vile person called a “churl” is the opposite of a true liberal.
1 Samuel 25:3 "Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb."
Nabal the husband of Abigail was described as “churlish”. This man literally refused any form of assistance to David and his men when they approached him for help. Notice the part after the colon (‘:’) which says Nabal was churlish and evil in his doings? Nabal was the opposite of Abigail a woman “of good understanding”. Therefore churlish also means “without understanding”.
Jeremiah 5:21 "Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:"
This goes along with the meaning of “vile” in:
Job 18:3 "Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight?"
Just like animals, they have eyes, and see not; they have ears, and hear not. These are men and women without understanding. Peter calls them “natural brute beast”.
2 Peter 2:12 "But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;"
Jude 1:10 "But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves."
Jude says the same thing, but a little differently. Paul describes a “natural man” as someone who receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God in this verse:
1 Corinthians 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
The things of the Spirit of God is foolishness to a vile person, and neither can he know them, because spiritual things must be spiritually discerned. The natural man is also the opposite of a spiritual man.
1 Corinthians 2:12-13 "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."
A spiritual man is one who is capable of being taught by the Holy Ghost. He is one who is capable of receiving the things of the Spirit of God, and discerning spiritual things: comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Going back to:
Psalms 12:1 "Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men."
The spiritual man is the “godly man” and the “faithful” in this verse. When spiritual men fail from among the children of men, the vilest men are exalted.
Psalms 12:2 "They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak."
A vile person (natural man) will speak vanity, every one with his neighbour, and with flattering lips and a double heart do they speak. They speak evil of the things they understand not.
Daniel 11:21 "And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries."
Psalms 28:3 "Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts."
A vile person is a hypocrite. He comes in the name of peace, he flatters with his lips, but mischief is in his heart.
Isaiah 32:6 "For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail."
The word “villany” came from the word “vile”. The vile person’s heart is a double heart which works iniquity. He practice hypocrisy (double-faced), and he utters error against the LORD i.e. he lie against the truth.
Psalms 12:3-4 "The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: 4 Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?"
He speaks proud things. The tongue is his weapon of war.
Psalms 55:21 "The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords."
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, yet were they drawn swords.
Psalms 12:5 "For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him."
He oppresses the poor with his mouth which speaks proudly.
Psalms 10:17-18 "LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: 18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress."
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."
David calls the vile person who oppress the poor “the man of the earth”. Paul calls him the “man of sin” who opposeth and exalteh himself above all that is called God (including the words of the LORD).
Psalms 12:6-7 "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."
The vile person even seeks to corrupt the words of the LORD in the 66 books of the Holy Bible (the truth). Isaiah 32:6 says he “utter error against the LORD”. Romans 1:25 speaks of men who seeks to change the truth of God into a lie. James 3:14 warns of men who lie against the truth. Yet, for the sake of poor, and for the words of the LORD (the truth), God will arise (Psalms 12:5). He will set those who trusts in his words in safety from the vile person who puffeth at them.
Psalms 12:8 "The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted."
Proverbs 29:12 "If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked."
When the ruler of a country hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked. These verse tells us that when the vilest men are exalted, the wicked (his servants) will show up everywhere.