Rev (Dr) Quek Suan Yew

Psalm 39 – Sin Not with My Tongue! (Part 1 of 2)

Introduction – The tongue is one of the smallest members in man’s body and yet the most difficult to control. James says that man is able to control a strong and powerful horse with just a tiny bridle or bit in the horse’s mouth as well as a large powerful ship with a tiny rudder; and yet man is not able to control his tongue! This is one of the most inconsistent and discordant facts of human existence. James 3:2-5 “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” Man in all his “might” and “power” is a walking oxymoron, for when it comes to the ability to control his own tongue he is powerfully weak!

Society and the internet world are littered with testimonies of innumerable casualties of the uncontrolled tongue. Husbands and wives divorce because of hurtful words uttered in an uncontrollable rage. Children and parents die as strangers because of hurtful words spoken which probably no one remembers anymore because the wrong words were spoken too long ago. Best friends for decades are suddenly torn asunder because of a careless text message or words spoken in “jest” and placed on one of these internet websites! A long term stable job is lost almost immediately because of a hasty upload of thoughtless remarks which no amount of apologies can undo. The list goes on as no one is left unscathed by the careless tongue. The tongue is indeed an unruly evil that continues to destroy lives and relationships like a raging fire out of control!

Is the tongue of a child of God any better? The answer is a resounding yes! The testimony of David in Psalm 39 helps us understand what every believer must do to control his own tongue. It was written to the chief musician whose name was Jeduthun, to be sung for all to hear and be encouraged. He shared three personal strengths that helped him control his tongue during the most difficult time of his life. He was before his enemies and was also in transgression. But through it all he controlled his tongue! So too can all believers!

I.  Strong Self Control Required (vs. 1-5) – David realized that the determination of the beginning of a person’s path in life begins with the tongue. Hence he begins by saying, “I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.” He would take heed, i.e. guard, by building a hedge to protect his ways. The directions of a believer’s life are all linked and flow from one path to the next. Once travelling has commenced, there is no turning back, but one is often forced to plod on regardless of whether he’d like to end it or not. If he is careful and obeys the Bible, his end will be revealed to him. However, if he desires to walk outside of the Word of God, the end is usually fraught with regrets and littered with many casualties. David admitted that this begins with the tongue! How true and wise David was! To nip the problem in the bud is always the best because the damage done will be minimal as nothing has been spoken and no action has been taken.

Using synthetic parallelism, David continued by saying that in order to not sin with his tongue, he would keep his mouth with a bridle, i.e. a muzzle. The word “keep” is the same as “take heed” above. In short, David meant that to keep one’s ways on the path of righteousness is to keep one’s mouth in the same way. He must muzzle (only occurrence) it and stop it from speaking! This he did because wicked ones were around him. David would not give any ammunition to his enemies to shoot down the holy Name of Christ in his life. He was determined to control his tongue. The price of tarnishing the holy Name of Christ was too high a price for David to be careless with his tongue. He preferred to muzzle his own mouth and it was the best way to not fall into this terrible sin of the tongue!

Verse 2 (synthetic parallelism) – The result was a dumb David. He described it this way, “I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.” He refused to speak completely. He thought that this would help him control his tongue. This is like the silent treatment that some of us have used against others who upset us. This is also one of the common methods used when we are angry and upset with ourselves for having an uncontrollable tongue. But the problem is that even though muzzling the mouth might solve the problem of saying the wrong thing and sinning, it creates a new problem that may result in another transgression. David realized that he was also muzzling his mouth from saying things that are good such as encouraging others in the Lord, praising the Lord and also praying to the Lord. These are some of the good that David was not able to do if he wanted to stop his sin with the tongue by not speaking at all.

David’s soul was troubled. He said that his sorrow was stirred, i.e. very disturbed, like someone roiling calm waters. This is an experience that many if not all of us can identify with. We are upset but know that the silent treatment is not helping to resolve the matter, and the problem will remain unresolved unless it is confronted and dealt with once and for all. Controlling the tongue does not mean keeping silent and not speaking at all. It means to speak or write with carefully guarded and Bible directed words. David realized this as he shared in the next few verses.

Verse 3 (synthetic parallelism) – David’s heart was burning within him as he wanted to speak some righteous words but could not because he thought that the way to help himself from sinning with the tongue was to not speak at all! David shared: “My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue, ...”. Some interpreted this expression to mean that David was angry because of his frustration. He was angry with God perhaps for not coming to his aid soon enough or for other reasons such as his enemies were upon him. However, the immediate context seems to argue for a David who was pent-up with feelings that needed to be expressed. Verse 7 says that David continued to hope in God and was not angry or frustrated with God. Verse 3 could be interpreted as David not being able to contain himself, for within his soul his heart was burning hot. It is like a bottle of carbonated water that has been shaken vigorously and all the gas within the bottle is about to burst out. While David was musing, i.e. murmuring, the fire burned. He could not utter good or bad and was just completely silent. But he could not suppress his feelings any longer. David had to open his mouth to speak because his heart felt like it was burning. This is the nature of every believer’s tongue. Muzzling it is never the solution. Silent treatment is never a good ploy to use to cure the problem of sinning with the tongue. When David could no longer hold back his tongue, the words were ready to burst forth.

Verse 4 (synthetic parallelism) – “LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.” Using the covenantal Name of God which means Jehovah, David asked the “LORD” to help him to know his end and how long he had left to live on earth! To know his end refers to when David’s time of adversity would end. This must have been such a long drawn out trial that David felt it might never end! David started to reflect upon his life on earth before he entered God’s kingdom. This is for us a familiar reflection and request. When the trial seems to last for years and no end seems to be in sight and the weight of the trial grows heavier and heavier with every passing day, we cry to the LORD to show the end of the trial, and suddenly the trial does not seem so heavy after all. David cried to the LORD to also help him measure his days. This helped him to realize how frail he was. Is it not true that when we are weak, we can then be strong in Christ? Indeed, oftentimes when we are strong we lean on self and not Christ. But when we are helpless, we remember that Christ is our one and only hope and we start to lean on Him completely and totally. When that happens we ought to realize that all the trials that we have to endure on earth are nothing compared to the glory that awaits us in heaven because of Christ! The knowledge and realization and acceptance of our frailty help toward perseverance and give new strength. This was also what Apostle Paul felt when he said in Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Verse 5 (synthetic parallelism) – David continued by saying, “Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.” Life is like a handbreadth, i.e. about 22 cm long when the fingers of our hands are stretched outwards and measured from the tip of the last finger to the tip of the thumb. This was one of the fastest and most convenient ways to measure things in ancient days. David felt that man’s days are like a handbreadth which means that they go by very quickly and seem so few. He acknowledged that it is the LORD who made it so. The age of a man compared to the LORD’s infinite eternity is as nothing! Life is too short for us to murmur and complain. Whatever man’s life is like without the LORD, even his best state is vanity before Him. But in Christ, even in times of suffering and persecution, the believer’s days are to be considered good and rich and blessed. In this perspective, the believer must be strong in the LORD so as to control his tongue and stop complaining about the sad state of persecution. He must learn to count it all joy that the LORD has counted him worthy to suffer for Jesus Christ’s sake. Acts 5:41 teaches, “And they [the apostles] departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they [the apostles] were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” If the suffering is for sin, then the believer needs to keep silent and endure the consequence for what he has done wrong in order to restore back the holy image of Christ that every child of God must bear faithfully.

[To be continued]