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Jason Silver

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Thoughts and Reflections on Scripture

2019

June

Friday, June 21st, 2019
Related Song

Where have the faithful gone? Are there any remaining among humankind, who are godly?

This is the question King David asks at the beginning of his song, and then he starts describing examples of this godlessness. I want you to note something: all of his examples involve speech!

He says these ungodly lie to one other, and they flatter with “double hearts,” in other words, dishonest motivation. They are boasters, and try to convince people with their wagging tongues. They believe these tongues are all they need to “prevail.”

An out-of-control tongue can cause great trouble. If in doubt, consider a few of these verses from Proverbs:

• Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues. (Proverbs 10:19)
• The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. (Proverbs 15:4)
• The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. (Proverbs 15:28)
• Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. (Proverbs 17:9)
• Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity. (Proverbs 21:23)
• Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down. (Proverbs 26:20)

There are dozens of examples!

When I was a young man, I thought of flattery as a good thing. By flattering a person, I could make them feel good about themselves, and possibly put myself in that person's “good graces.”

The truth about flattery, which I eventually realized, is that it's a type of deceit, since the recipient can't trust a flatterer's motivations. Maybe it's just a nice compliment, or maybe someone is looking to ingratiate themselves to you.

In the second half of the song, David contrasts the evil words of the wicked, with the pure promises of the Lord. He likens them to the purest of silver; something of great value!

What can we conclude from this? It matters what we say! We are to reflect the love, truth, and kindness of the Father in our speech! We are representing Him!

Amen