The Godly Are No More

1Unto the end. For the octave. A Psalm of David. Save me, O Lord, because holiness has passed away, because truths have been diminished, before the sons of men.

2They have been speaking emptiness, each one to his neighbor; they have been speaking with deceitful lips and a duplicitous heart.

3May the Lord scatter all deceitful lips, along with the tongue that speaks malice.

4They have said: “We will magnify our tongue; our lips belong to us. What is Lord to us?”

5Because of the misery of the destitute and the groaning of the poor, now I will arise, says the Lord. I will place him in safety. I will act faithfully toward him.

6The eloquence of the Lord is pure eloquence, silver tested by fire, purged from the earth, refined seven times.

7You, O Lord, will preserve us, and you will guard us from this generation into eternity.

8The impious wander aimlessly. According to your loftiness, you have multiplied the sons of men.