Night in dark hills: far off in the lower third, one small refiner’s furnace glowing orange in a rocky yard with a thread of sparks, under a calm, deep, empty sky.

Lament · David

Psalm 12

When everyone is lying and you begin to wonder if anyone true is left.

8 verses≈ 3 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

1–41Book IDavid's prayers: 'The LORD is my shepherd'Psalm 12
42–72Book II'As the deer pants'; the throne under pressure
73–89Book IIIAsaph and Korah: the kingdom falls
90–106Book IVBack to Moses: the LORD reigns
107–150Book VSongs of ascents, and the last Hallelujah

The Godly Are No More

Harsh noon at a small town gate: the elders’ stone bench worn smooth and empty, a dropped staff beside it, the square deserted.

For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more;

the faithful have vanished from among men.

They lie to one another;

they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

May the LORD cut off all flattering lips

and every boastful tongue.

They say, “With our tongues we will prevail.

We own our lips—who can be our master?”

God

Dim inside a poor one-room house: a tall clay storage jar tipped on its side, a worn wooden scoop, a few grains on the floor, thin daylight from the door.

“For the cause of the oppressed

and for the groaning of the needy,

I will now arise,” says the LORD.

“I will bring safety to him who yearns.”

0:09

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Close on a clay crucible in glowing charcoal, molten silver white and mirror-bright, gray dross drawn to the rim by a bronze rod.

The words of the LORD are flawless,

like silver refined in a furnace,

like gold purified sevenfold.

You, O LORD, will keep us;

You will forever guard us from this generation.

The wicked wander freely,

and vileness is exalted among men.

Pray

One voice

Ask God for a heart with one voice, the same to a person’s face as behind their back. Pray for the truth to hold in a place of flattery. And pray for those who are groaning tonight with no one to hear them.

You’ve experienced

Psalm 12

0 of 150 psalms read

A verse to carry with you

The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified sevenfold.

Psalm 12:6

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