The Tongue, What Can be Done?

Psa 120:2 Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.
Psa 120:3 What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?
Psa 120:4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.

The tongue can be such a blessing, but it can also do a lot of damage. It is easy to lose control of it and difficult to get it under control. Of course, that which proceeds from the mouth comes from the heart.

Psalm 120 is a song of degrees, that is, it is one of the psalms that would be sung by those going up to the temple for worship. It is a heart preparation psalm. Perhaps we would all do well to sing hymns or choruses in the car on the way to church. We would arrive in much better shape to come before the Lord.

As the Psalmist is heading toward worship, he is smitten with the reality that his tongue is a problem. He is so frustrated that he asks what could be done about it. His answer… hat sharp arrows of mighty men would pierce it through. Now I've heard of pierced tongues, but this is kind of drastic! Then, he thinks of another sadistic way to deal with his uncontrolled tongue, lay some burning coals from the Juniper tree on it. So, he sings, pierce that tongue to keep it from piercing people and burn it so it can't burn others.

Is your tongue a bit uncontrollable at times? You heard about the gal who came to the altar and said to the pastor, "I need to lay my tongue on this altar." The pastor said, "Ma'am, we'd have to add a couple of feet to this altar just to accommodate the whole thing!"

Before you talk to one mere person today, ask God to control the words you speak, that your tongue would frame healing and helping words.

Spirit of Almighty God, pierce and sear our tongues today that we might speak that which is edifying to others today. Amen!