As in a chapter before, David is concerned. He is more than concerned. Someone or a group of people that he calls wicked disturbs and perplexes him. The wicked are not called that because of physical violence or taking advantage of an unfortunate class. He singles out the culprit because of loose lips or vain babblings, as seen in 2 Timothy 2:16.
This is a dangerous evil for it eats away at its target. The wounds go deeper and last longer than the sword; it seems. Sometimes the scars never heal and remain throughout a person’s lifetime. David calls it out for what it is and this time God responds and intends to deal with the problem.
Loose Lips
Solomon, David’s son, speaks volumes about what loose lips can cause. The wise are named not just for their decisions and their abilities, but the taming of their speech. Jesus covers the topic as well in great detail. Here, David raises it to the awareness needed. We view David again as a defender of right against wrong.
The Bible lists those that followed truth, right doing, and condemned wicked practices. David’s listing in the Hebrews 11 “hall of fame” causes no wonder. Of course, as no one is, he was not perfect; yet, we find here in chapter 12, another example of justice at work, a whistleblower if you would, someone not ashamed to shine a spotlight on wrongdoing and call for it to stop.
The timing when this took place or the context remain unknown, but clearly David did not tolerate it and neither did God. In such a short passage, there is wise counsel to the reader, who should not misunderstand the problem of the untamed tongue.
Prayer
Dear Lord, help each of us to daily say: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14).” Amen.
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One thought on “Loose Lips – Psalm 12”
In Ps 12 we have to remark about essential things. First, that David speaks about a kind of species of human that is evil. Even Jesus used the term “geneia” (kind, species), to define an evil human species, born of the same father, that is Cain, unfaithful and deceitful kind of beings , even religious, like Pharisees, Sadducees and Iudean theologians. In another place instead, Jesus says that the human species to which a man belongs is indicated by what comes out of his mouth. This is the clue, but what makes the difference is the spirit that fills his heart. If one desires to be full of the Spirit of God there is only one way to have this: God gives His Spirit to them those obey Him (Acts 5:32). Jesus personally said: “’If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth’”. No matter how good our intentions are, if the Holy Spirit is not in us, we will invariably be led by evil spirits, and this will be evident from what comes out of our mouths because the mouth pours out of what fills the heart. At the end, what makes the difference is the spirit that is in the heart. The real struggle is to follow continually the Word of God so that one continues to be filled by the Spirit of God.
Iulian Sava