Psalms 12 (KJV)

Chapter Text

12:1 Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

12:2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

12:3 The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:

12:4 Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?

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.

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

12:7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

12:8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "help", "lord", "godly", "ceaseth", "faithful", "fail", and "children". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "help", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local KJV text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "faith" and "help" carries the first interpretive weight. In The LORD as Shepherd, the local focus is trust, covenant mercy, guidance, and worship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "faith" and "help" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.