(Psalm 57:4-6)…..I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts – men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. 6 They spread a net for my feet – I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path – but they have fallen into it themselves.
Let’s start this morning by reading in (1 Samuel 16:4-13) (1 Samuel 18:1-16). It must have been very difficult for David who had been anointed the King of Israel by God, to find himself hated and on the run for his very life. David and his men were in the recesses of a cave in En-Gedi and could have taken the life of Saul at any given moment, he could have taken it upon himself to put an end to all his problems, instead David chose to not touch the life of Saul (God’s anointed), but to wait on God for His deliverance. God’s word tells us in this Psalm how David felt as he was in hiding from Saul (57:4). We see the same feeling in (Psalm 64). David must have felt miserable, even sick – to be the recipient of the verbal abuse of his countrymen, when all he was doing was living his life for God.
Saul and his army had one mission, to capture and defeat David. They had NO reason to destroy him, but their bitterness was so great they would stop at nothing. Their evil tongues was one of their tools. Quite often the terrors of enemies are started with inciting words. It was inciting words that turned the crowd against Jesus to crucify Him. It was inciting words that caused Paul who was preaching peace to be driven out of cities. What LIES had been said about David by Saul and perpetrated by his armies?
The tongue can be used in vicious ways to attack another (James 3:1-12). Let me interject a thought here, David was the future King anointed by God, and these people knew this, yet they talked with evil intent and tone in their heart.
When you talk about God’s anointed in this case those who God has put in authority over you, parents, teachers, employers, elders in the church, government leaders, what tone do you take? Is your speech one of complaining, backbiting, ungratefulness, harm, discontent, or is it one of thankfulness, gratitude, love, kindness, appreciation, etc. What does God’s word tell us about slander (Proverbs 11:9) (Proverbs 10:18) (Proverbs 16:27-28)? What should our tongue be used for (Psalm 35:28) (Psalm 37:30) (Psalm 119:172)?
The truth is so many people use their tongues to tear down someone else in order to exalt themselves to a higher place, or to make themselves feel better about themselves. When David was in great distress he did not tear down someone else’s character. When David was in great distress he did return evil for evil. When David was in great distress he did not pray “Lord exalt me.” Instead, what do we see David saying, “Lord exalt Thyself.” It is that God may be honored, that the name of God may be glorified, that God may be regarded as supreme over all things, that God may be exalted in every way, for ultimately He is in control.
Even with us, God being exalted should be of more concern to us than any particular interests of our own. We should think about this before we use our tongue.