Controlling the Tongue in the Book of Psalms

2024-10-02

Concerning the Wicked

“For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue” (Psalm 5:9). The wicked person’s speech is likened to a grave that is opened. It is foul stench that emanates in the form of flattery. Flattery sounds sweet, but it is deceptive, with hidden intent to harm. Their speech is representative of their innermost character. In ourselves, this describes every one of us (Romans 3:13).

The theme continues here: “His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity” (Psalm 10:7). The words of the wicked are to manipulate and steal from others. They use words to condemn. At best, their words are worthless. “Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile” (Psalm 34:13).

Consider Psalm 52:1-5, where these themes continue. Doeg the Edomite was the one who unashamedly revealed Ahimelech’s and David’s meeting to Saul. When Saul tried to make his men feel guilty into not revealing all the details of David, Doeg was eager to share the information. “Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine” (1 Samuel 22:9-10).

When Saul’s men refused to kill the priests of the Lord and the town of Nob, Doeg volunteered to do so, including the slaughter of women and children.

In this psalm, we see that David concedes that Doeg is “a mighty man.” Though God is always good, the Edomite, on the contrary, boasts of his own mischief. He is a man contrary to God in every way. Instead of speaking righteously, he lies. The herdman told partial truth and partial lie when speaking to Saul. Doeg said that Ahimelech inquired of the Lord for David. He implied that he did this so he could rise against Saul (cf. 1 Samuel 22:13), when that was not the case. People died because of his lies.

Not only did Doeg lie, he enjoyed lying. He thought it would help him win Saul’s favor. He had a seared conscience. He lied and killed because it would help his position before king.

“My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword” (Psalm 57:4). The speech of those surrounding him use their words to tear him down. Their speech is likened unto weapons. “For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue” (Psalm 109:2). The wicked surely did this to our Lord, and this will happen to anyone who follows Him.

Consider Psalm 64:1-4. Here, the wicked’s words are in private. They were consultations that were plans to take down David. They want to remove him from his leadership. This could be by either maligning him or by planning his actual demise. This is meant to get David out of the way.

It is not enough for the wicked to want to tear down human authority. “They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth” (Psalms 73:9). They speak against both God and the righteous.

Concerning the Righteous

Consider Psalm 15:1-3. Both righteous character and speech become God’s people. Only Jesus Christ has perfectly obtained the standard in this psalm. However, in faith we can also do these things. Notice how you can speak truth in your heart. Speech is more than just the tongue; you can speak to yourself, and that speech also much be truth. Again, we see backbiting as evil; this is slandering another person.

“Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long” (Psalm 35:27-28). Those that desire righteousness should “speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.” This is constant testimony of what God has done. God is good; let us tell others. We publicly speak of the Lord throughout the day.

“The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide” (Psalm 37:29-31). Because the righteous have the Word in their hearts, they speak wisdom. What is inside the vessel bubbles over to the outside. The engrafted Word believed and applied will show itself to the world.

We see this concept again. “My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness” (Psalm 119:171-172). Not only does wisdom bubble out from the righteous; praise to the Lord will also follow. The Word of God is magnified from the lips of the righteous.

Repentance and the Tongue

Consider Psalm 39:1-4. Here, we see there are two ways to sin with the tongue. In Psalm 39:2, we see that we can sin by refraining to say that which is good. In Psalm 39:3, we can sin by uttering whatever impulsive words that come into our minds. David confesses both sins in Psalm 39:4, and he asks the Lord to show him his weakness in the matter.

“For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether” (Psalm 139:4). God in His omniscience knows the words before we speak them. He knows the potential words we could say. He knows the words we think in our minds and hearts. This causes us to consider and turn to Him. We must consider ourselves dead to all the evil of the old man to present our minds and hearts and tongues to Him that we may speak His words.