You, O LORD, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
The “them” in the above verse is the “poor.” The context of this psalm is that God will save those who need to be rescued from the evil of this world. Note what the writer has just stated:
Psalms 12:5 (ESV)
“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the LORD;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
This should not be considered a blanket of truth over all poor. It is implied that those who call out to Him receive His saving arm. The thought is that the world is very evil. The vileness of the world is exalted among the children of man. We can expect, no matter who is governing the land, that evil will grow. It happened in Noah’s day:
Genesis 6:5 (ESV)
The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
It happened in Solomon’s day:
Proverbs 29:16 (ESV)
When the wicked increase, transgression increases,
but the righteous will look upon their downfall.
It will happen in our day:
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
God rescues us from all this. God saves those from the oppressors of the world and the evil that wants to consume us. God is highly aware of this:
Psalms 14:4-6 (ESV)
Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread
and do not call upon the LORD?
There they are in great terror,
for God is with the generation of the righteous.
You would shame the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is his refuge.
We are rescued from evil because God is our refuge.
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