Psalm 12

Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

To the Chief Musician. On ^aan eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

¹Help,^b LORD, for the godly man ceases!

For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

²They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;

With flattering lips and ^ca double heart they speak.

³May the LORD ^dcut off all flattering lips,

And the tongue that speaks ^eproud things,

⁴Who have said,

“With our tongue we will 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 I will arise,” says the LORD;

“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

Life Lessons

12:5 — “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise,” says the LORD; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

We all yearn for safety, to feel secure in our surroundings. Whenever events occur that make us feel unsafe and insecure, God urges us to ask Him to intervene. He alone is both our safety and our security.

⁶The words of the LORD are pure words,

Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,

Purified seven times.

Life Lessons

12:6 — The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

God’s Word is not like any other book on earth. It expresses the heart and mind of the Lord, and can be trusted beyond any shadow of doubt. It is an immovable anchor in times of storm.

⁷You shall keep them, O LORD,

You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

⁸The wicked prowl on every side,

When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.