Help, LORD; for there is no longer any that is godly;
for the faithful have vanished from among the sons of men.
Every one utters lies to his neighbor;
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 tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is our master?"
"Because the poor are despoiled,
because the needy groan,
I will now arise," says the LORD;
"I will place him in the safety for which he longs."
The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure,
silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
Do thou, O LORD, protect us,
guard us ever from this generation.
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
Psalm 12
The gathering clouds, with aspect dark,
A rising storm presage;
O! to be hid within the ark,
And sheltered from its rage!
See the commissioned angel frown!
That vial in his hand,
Filled with fierce wrath, is pouring down
Upon our guilty land!
Ye saints, unite in wrestling prayer;
If yet there may be hope;
Who knows but Mercy yet may spare,
And bid the angel stop!
Already is the plague begun,
And fired with hostile rage;
Brethren, by blood and interest one,
With brethren now engage.
Peace spreads her wings, prepared for flight,
And war, with flaming sword,
And hasty strides draws nigh, to fight
The battles of the Lord.
The first alarm, alas, how few,
While distant, seem to hear!
But they will hear, and tremble too,
When God shall send it near.
So thunder, o’er the distant hills,
Gives but a murm’ring sound,
But as the tempest spreads, it fills,
And makes the welkin sound.
May we, at least, with one consent,
Fall low before the throne
With tears the nation’s sins lament,
The churches, and our own.
The humble souls who mourn and pray,
The Lord approves and knows;
His mark secures them in the day
When vengeance strikes his foes.
John Newton