Guard Your Tongue, Open Your Heart to God
By Dean Collins
It is often best to hold your tongue, especially when you are angry. But if you hold it all inside, you may cause damage to yourself. David learned what we would do well to learn as well: don’t hold back from God. He can handle any and everything that is on our minds.
David was so determined to not sin with his tongue that he said he would put a muzzle on his mouth to assure his silence. Centuries later, James would write, “But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” David did not want any poison to leak from his lips, but as hard as he tried, he couldn’t hold himself back from letting it all out because when he held back his words, it was burning a hole in his heart and head.
David’s son Solomon would later write several things about using restraint with what we say:
“When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”
“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”
Maybe Solomon learned this both from observing his father’s agony and listening to the lessons David passed down.
Reading all 13 verses of this psalm, you come to see that David was perplexed about why God gives us so little time on earth. He was well aware of his own sin and indicated that God had disciplined him for his sin, though we do not know which sins were in David’s mind when he wrote Psalm 39.
When David finally let his thoughts and feelings out to God, he asked God to give him perspective and understanding about the shortness of life. We would do well to remember these phrases as we consider how little time we really have in our fragile bodies on this side of eternity.
“How fleeting I am…”
“…my days a few handbreadths”
“…my lifetime is as nothing before you”
“…all mankind stands as a mere breath”
“Surely man goes about as a shadow”
And with our limited time, David observed that we tend to exert ourselves trying to accumulate wealth, not realizing that what we receive is really given to us by the Lord.
It seems that David’s primary reasons for holding back his words is that he didn’t want the skeptics, the enemies of God, or anyone else to form a wrong or bad opinion of God based on his struggle to understand God’s ways. Maybe the lesson for us is to be open with God when we are angry, when we don’t understand, and with our frustrations with self. But be cautious with what we say out loud, lest we give a bad witness to those who are vulnerable, those who are struggling, and those who are lost. Yes, we can share with mature believers and wise saints who may help us gain wisdom, but to blurt out everything isn’t good for anyone.
By the end of the psalm, David has regained a right perspective, acknowledging the faithfulness of God. He also came to better understand that we are all sojourners in this life as we receive the gift of time and God’s many blessings on our journey to enjoy all that God has planned for us when heaven comes to earth and all things are restored to God’s perfect design.
Father, today we ask you to search our hearts that we might know the short time we have here on earth and make wise use of it. We acknowledge our struggle to spew anger and misunderstandings without thinking of their implications on our witness. Forgive us. By the power of the Holy Spirit, fill us with words that flow from the abundance of your love and grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Psalm 39:1-13; James 3:5-8; Proverbs 10:19, 13:3 ESV
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