Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly; the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
They utter lies to each other; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail; our lips are our own—who is our master?”
“Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up,” says the Lord; “I will place them in the safety for which they long.”
The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
You, O Lord, will protect us; you will guard us from this generation forever.
On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among humankind.
They utter lies to each other; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail; our lips are our own—who is our master?”
“Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up,” says the Lord; “I will place them in the safety for which they long.”
The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
You, O Lord, will protect us; you will guard us from this generation forever.
On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among humankind.
—Psalm 12:5-6
I don't know much about refining silver, but I can't help but imagine that the "furnace on the ground" makes the silver extremely hot in order to burn away all the impurities. Maybe that's what's happening right now. Things look bad. The greedy are publicly groaning with pleasure as they despoil the poor and the sick and the downtrodden. But God's promises are no less pure than they were when the 12th Psalm was written. There is a refuge of safety for those who are now vulnerable. And because it is not gilded and garishly labeled with the name of the rich and famous, the powerful won't go there. Whatever happens to them, they will have chosen their lot, for simplicity was as repugnant to them as was the proximity of those who were not like them.
Lord, may I in this life choose service to others and the safety of your love over fame and fortune and power and ease; in Jesus' Name. Amen.
