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Arroganza umana e fedeltà divina secondo il Salmo 12

SUMMARY: Following some introductory observations about the author, the theme and the ver­sion, the article tackles the problem of the literary genre of Psalm 12 and its place within the con­text of the specific themes of the sapiential psalms. After the initial cry for help (vv. 2-3), there fol­lows the prayer in which the Psalmist asks the Lord to intervene urgently in his favour, to put an end to the abuse of power and human arrogance which are on the increase (vv. 4-5). The Lord replies to the cry for help with an "oracle", emphasised ad truthful (w. 6-7). In the conclusion the Psalmist expresses full confidence in the divine intervention: protected by God he will not have to fear (vv. 8-9). Apart from the theme: that the just man is urged to live his faith with consistency and to give witness to his faithfulness to the convenant in times of severe crisis, the present rele­vance of Psalm 12, can be discovered within the context of the Christian liturgy which sings of the redemption brought about by Christ, and in "resonances" of the same theme in James 1,8 and 4,8, relative to the "double heart" (Ps. 12,3), and in I Peter 5,8 concerning the risk of being absorbed by the evil which seems to besiege one (Ps. 12,9).