Psalms
Chapter 12
2
Save Us, Lord, for Loyalty Is Coming To an End
Help us, O Lord, none of the godly are left, the faithful have vanished.
3
Everyone lies; with flattering lips they speak from a double heart.
4
May the Lord cut off insincere lips, every glib tongue that utters deceit.
5
Many say, “Our strength lies in our tongue, we know how to speak, who can lord it over us?”
6
“The poor are despoiled and the needy suffer, now I will save them,” says the Lord. “I will give them security.”
7
The promises of the Lord are sure and lasting—silver refined in the furnace seven times and freed from dross.
8
Hold us, O Lord, in your keeping; protect us always from this generation,
9
for the wicked prowl on all sides, and the basest is exalted.
Commentaries
12
The ‘truth’ of God is a sure guide through the uncertain journey of life. The psalmist recognizes there is no substitute for truth and places his complete trust in God. ‘Your commands are a light to my feet.’ He does not complain about their potential to lie but about their unreliability. Hollow boasting can mislead the less thoughtful into believing a quagmire is solid ground. The psalmists often condemn this. They find stability only in God. God’s promises are always fulfilled: Israel’s past proves it, and her future will confirm it.
The Lord possesses the words of eternal life (Jn 6:68). As long as human relationships are not founded on truth, this psalm must be prayed.