Psalm 64: Words Matter

READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART XLVII

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Psalm 64

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Psalm 64 covers ground familiar in the Book of Psalms:  the psalmist, beset by slanderers, turns to God for deliverance.  This destructive speech is like swords and arrows, poetically.

This metaphor still works.  It may even be more applicable in the age of the Internet and social media.  I also think of the danger of partial information in public records, accessible on the Internet.  For example, the record of the arrest of an innocent person (who may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time or worked in the wrong office) may come up in Internet search records.  Yet the record of a court dismissing charges due to insufficient evidence may not come up on the Internet.  A partial truth may do more to assassinate or damage someone’s character than a lie does.

One metaphor in Psalm 64 reminds me of a vision of Jesus in the Apocalypse of John:

…and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword….

–Revelation 1:16b, The Revised English Bible (1989)

Furthermore, James 3:1-12 emphasizes the power of speech and the tongue, with its potential for great evil and much good.  By extension, the same caution applies to written words.

What a vast amount of timber can be set ablaze by the tiniest spark!  And the tongue is a fire, representing in our body the whole wicked world.  It pollutes our whole being, it sets the whole course of our existence alight, and its flames are fed by hell.

–James 3:5b-6, The Revised English Bible (1989)

In my societal and political context, certain politicians and pundits habitually use violent language when speaking or writing of their opponents–those who disagree with them.  Then these same politicians and pundits are shocked–shocked, I say–when some people act violently against those opponents.  And the pundits and politicians in question refuse any responsibility for the violence.  This does not surprise me, though.  It dismays me yet does not shock me.

Words matter.  May we always speak and write carefully, based on that truth.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 21, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS MIROCLES OF MILAN AND EPIPHANIUS OF PAVIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ALBAN ROE AND THOMAS REYNOLDS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS, 1642

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN YI YON-ON, ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHIST AND MARTYR IN KOREA, 1867

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Advertisement