Sharp Tongues (Psalm 140:3)

 


Wednesday, 27 August, 2025


Psalm 140

1 Kings 1:1-31

Acts 21:27-39


Observance: Monica, mother of Augustine (d. 387)


Sharp Tongues (Psalm 140:3)


They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,
    and under their lips is the venom of asps.


There is a certain phrase in French that describes the sense one has when they have a really good comeback, but too late to say it. I think this particular frustration is something most of us have experience with. But I wonder if there is a phrase in a language somewhere that describes the opposite? The sense of having soothing and comfortable words, but only thinking of them when it is too late?


As a fan of movies and television, I have to admit I love a scene with good writing, with plenty of witty banter between characters. (English mobsters seem to be especially gifted at this.) Yet real life experience seems to prove that it is in fact more difficult to come up with conversation that is comforting, and relevant to the other person, without falling into cliche.


Our Psalmist is lamenting the fact that violent men speak against him with tongues as sharp as a serpent’s, and under their lips is the venom of asps. This is not a very difficult thing to do; being mean and nasty is very simple. Much more difficult is to do the opposite, to have soft tongues, and an antidote under our lips.


How might we as Christians get better at being known for soft words with just the right thing to say? How can the words of our lips draw out the venom in the souls of our fellow humans?


Lord of our salvation: save us from sharp words, and grant us your Holy Spirit that we may have the right words to speak in every situation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For The Sake Of Ten (Genesis 18:32)

Image
  Monday, February 3, 2025 Psalm 78:16-38 Genesis 18:22-19:11 Luke 2:1-7 Observance: First Anglican Service at Sydney Cove, Conducted by Richard Johnson, Sydney, 1788 For The Sake Of Ten (Genesis 18:32) From this wonderfully pastoral tableau, of the old man and his wife entertaining three divine guests, comes a dark shadow. Approaching from the valley below them comes the cries of iniquity of the cities of the plain: Sodom and Gomorrah. Rising from their feast, the three men turn from blessing Abraham and Sarah to executing divine judgement. And the story just gets darker from here. But Abraham, in his boldness, has this immortal conversation with God, a conversation that uncovers for us whispers of Jesus’ words about people who are “salt” and “light”. God desires that none should perish, but that all should turn from their sins and live. And for the sake of just ten righteous people, the disaster about to befall Sodom and Gomorrah could be turned away...
Read more

The LORD will make you a house.

  Friday, July 28, 2023 Psalm 71 2 Samuel 7 John 8:1-11 Observance: Samson, bishop (d. 565) The LORD will make you a house. We learn three things from this conversation between David, Nathan and God. First, it is that we do not invite God into our presence. Rather, God comes alongside us, where we are, hiking through the wilderness. God gets down into the dust with us and puts up a tent. There is a reason why John made so much of this tent language in his first chapter: that the Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us. Whichever part of the Bible we are reading, we see God coming to the people, rather than the people moving towards God. This is of particular comfort when we feel like we haven’t prayed enough, or regularly. We might have been distracted by the dust on our feet, but God has always been there right beside us. We just have to look up. Second, it is that God’s presence among us is not something to be feared. Have you noticed that,...
Read more

Monday, July 25, 2022

  Monday, July 25, 2022 Psalm 62; 63 Hosea 1 Romans 4:1-12 He only is my rock and my salvation: my strong tower, so that I shall not be moved. The prophecies of Hosea are rich with vivid imagery. Look at these names: firstly, “Hosea” means “salvation”. So too do the names Joshua and Jesus. Then Hosea has three children: “God scatters”, “Not pitied”, and “Not my people”. This is because the children are part of the marriage between Hosea and Gomer, which is an image God is showing to the nation. It is to our profit that God has used real-life events to communicate spiritual imagery and divine truths. We find it very easy to understand our relationship with God as being a faithful wife to a loving husband. We can reconcile this message with what Paul has to teach us today in Romans. He makes the very important observation that Abraham was given God's righteousness as a result of his faith before, not after, his circumcision. Again, this is God using real-life events...
Read more