The words of the Lord are words without alloy

 

Office of the Reading, Tuesday 27 August 2024

Psalm 12
A cry for God’s help against powerful opponents

The Father sent his Son into the world to defend the poor (Saint Augustine).

Help, O Lord, for good men have vanished; *
truth has gone from the sons of men.
Falsehood they speak one to another, *
with lying lips, with a false heart.

May the Lord destroy all lying lips, *
the tongue that speaks high-sounding words,
those who say: “Our tongue is our strength; *
our lips are our own, who is our master?”

“For the poor who are oppressed and the needy who groan †
I myself will arise,” says the Lord. *
“I will grant them the salvation for which they thirst.”

The words of the Lord are words without alloy, *
silver from the furnace, seven times refined.

It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care *
and protect us for ever from this generation.
See how the wicked prowl on every side, *
while the worthless are prized highly by the sons of men.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.