Psalm 12 Lyrics
Psalms 12:2: They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
Psalms 12:3: The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
Psalms 12:4: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
Psalms 12:5: For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
Psalms 12:6: The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Psalms 12:7: Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
Psalms 12:8: The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.
About
This Psalm is often categorized as a “prophetic Psalm,”–that is, a Psalm that draws God’s attention to a communal/generational/structural evil, rather the individual’s suffering.
The psalmist is living in a time in which communal ethics have ceased to be the determining principles for communal decisions and action. Instead, people have followed the wisdom of those who speak “falsehoods” and “delusions,” people who promise great things, but who really speak for their own self-interest.
The great symptom of this generational evil is the lack of attention paid to the poor and needy. Their “big plans” have not considered the weak in their society.
This Psalm, therefore, is in a long tradition of poems and songs that have work against the authority of voices that capture the imaginary of the public–corporate advertisements, slick politicians, self-promoting intellectuals.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Genesis 1
- 2.Genesis 2
- 3.Genesis 3
- 4.Genesis 4
- 5.Genesis 5
- 6.Genesis 6
- 7.Genesis 7
- 8.Genesis 8
- 9.Genesis 9
- 10.Genesis 10
- 11.Genesis 11
- 12.Genesis 12
- 13.Genesis 13
- 14.Genesis 14
- 15.Genesis 15
- 16.Genesis 16
- 17.Genesis 17
- 18.Genesis 18
- 19.Genesis 19
- 20.Genesis 20
- 21.Genesis 21
- 22.Genesis 22
- 23.Genesis 23
- 24.Genesis 24
- Psalm 12