Keep Your Tongue from Evil - Psalms 34:13

In Psalms chapter thirty four David wrote, “What man is he that desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?”, and in chapter thirty-four and verse thirteen of Psalms, David said, “Keep your tongue from evil” where we read,

Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile.

The verse begins, “Keep your tongue from evil, ...” David began with the words, “Keep your tongue” which means “watch over, guard and preserve your, the people reading and listening to David's words, language, speech or talk” “from evil” or “apart and separate from bad, displeasing, wicked, unpleasant and miserably disagreeing words and ideas”. David charged the people reading and listening to his words to guard their speech so they would not speak wickedly or with a displeasing and bad use of words and ideas.

The verse goes on to say, “... and your lips from speaking guile.” David continued with the words, “and your lips” or “and your, the people reading and listening to David's words” “from speaking guile” which means “apart and separated from declaring, conversing, commanding, promising, warning, threatening and singing deceit, falsehood, subtlety and treachery”. David said the people who were reading his words and listening to him were to keep their language and conversations from deceitful, false and treacherous speaking and singing.

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through David his concern for the way his readers and listeners talked. Jesus said, “O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34), and by this we know the heart of a person is revealed by their speech. Paul the apostle told the Ephesian church members, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers”, (See Ephesians 4:29) and once again we are challenged to consider our speech. God knows how we talk, and He knows what is in our hearts. A sinful heart speaks wicked and evil things, and a pure heart speaks pure things. God sent His Son Jesus to the world to redeem mankind into a personal relationship with Him, and when Jesus died on the cross, He paid the price for all the sins of the world – both the spoken ones and the ones within our hearts. John the apostle wrote, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (See 1 John 1:9), and God stands ready to forgive our speech, cleanse our hearts and help us speak in a manner that is pleasing to Him.

Next time David says, “Depart from evil, and do good”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".