Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
Everyone lies to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips
but harbor deception in their hearts.
May the Lord silence all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue—
those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;
our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
“Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord.
“I will protect them from those who malign them.”
And the words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold refined seven times.
You, Lord, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked,
who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.
God’s words have stood the test of time. Purified in a crucible? Not much can withstand that heat. Gold refined seven times, signifying total completeness of testing? Even a sliver of that metal would be priceless after all that work went into it.
When He speaks, they are not merely words easily forgotten or spoken lightly. Many will claim with their own mouths a sense of self-sufficiency and no need for God, but in their arrogance, they forget how short life really is. Human words only last for 80-100 years, and maybe a bit more if recorded, but God’s words and His character and His love for us have withstood all testing. Worship goes directly against culture’s flow by remembering this. When everyone else seems to be praising themselves and their ability to succeed, worship proclaims that only God has truly stood for all time, faithful in every way, unchanging in His love and plan for us.
Life is short. Words are just words. But worship of the eternal God and His unfailing love and truth is timeless.