“Our tongue is a messenger that runs errands for our heart. Our words reveal our character.” —C. Swindoll
Words can be weapons, and play their part in the battle for truth. Psalm 12 begins with a godly man’s petition (vv 1-4) and concludes with the divine provision (vv 5-8). David certainly gets to the point: “Help, Lord” (v 1). What has caused his distress? It seems, reminiscent of our day, that “the godly man ceases!” and “the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.” This is how it often seems because the ones with the least profitable things to say are the first ones to say them. The sins of the tongue are legion, but here David mentions idle words (Mt 12:36), flattering lips, deceit, and prideful talk (Ps 12:2-3). Notice the misinformation, as it’s popularly called, in the self-defense of the ungodly. “With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own; who is lord over us?” (v 4). Three strikes, they’re out! They will not prevail—only God’s truth will. Their lips are not their own—for such tongues are “set on fire by hell” (Jas 3:6). And certainly they are not free agents. As the Lord said, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He…does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (Jn 8:44). In striking contrast to the world’s trash talk, we see that heaven’s words are like precious and purified treasure. “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Ps 12:6). The process of putting our words to the test before we put them into use is a wonderful plan. Here are the purifying flames: “whatever things are true,…noble,…just,…pure,…lovely,…of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Php 4:8).