Psalm 12 Continued…
Psalms 12:3-4 says, “May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, ‘We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips — who is our master?’“
We are in Jerusalem in post exilic times. We are to picture a small colony of the Lord’s people in great distress, sighing under the oppression of their neighbors on all sides and suffering primarily from their offensive speech. It is easy to imagine the proud Judeans in this “occupied area,” where foreign enemies, probably the Chaldeans, are the ruling class. We can also realize how the proud attitude of the Jews toward them will tend to have had bitter verbal clashes and provoke their foreign overlords to make deceitful and insincere assertions. It leads to a strong accusation against them from the poor and needy of the congregation because of their rash and heartless words.
As for “boastful tongue,” this describes boastful speech that impresses people by its oratory and vocabulary. “empty, boastful speech” is the phrase used in 2 Peter 2:18 and Jude 1:16. This kind of speech is motivated by pride and is used by people who think they are in control and will never need to answer to anybody, including the Lord. Their lips are their own, and they can say whatever they please. We are seeing that apostasy in the church is noted by pride like this. Jude predicted the coming apostasy, “These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.” (Jude 16). In other words, those in apostasy are a bunch of liars. David wanted God to destroy them and end their arrogant boasting.
The evils of which David speaks come to their fullest expression among men in places of authority and power. They are arrogant and self-confident; what they cannot obtain by flattery or plausible lying or by slandering one’s character, they mean to take by more direct methods. They have a tongue that makes great boasts (v. 3), and the substance of their boasts is “We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips — who is our master?” or, more freely translated, “with our lips as our allies, who can stop us?” They take as great a liberty in their speech as they would if there was no God or man superior to them. Neither the fear of God, nor reverence for man, can keep them from saying whatever they please, nor what they suppose is in their best interest.
PRAY
Father may we never act as if our lips are our own; for they too have been bought with the price of those dear parched lips which cried, “I thirst,” and, “Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Our lips belong to You and may they always speak Your Truth.