SOUND-BITES (Psalm 141)

Does this truck bed full of trash remind you of the destiny of trash-talk?

(Part of an ongoing series on the 48 psalms commended for study during times of "feeling down," from a list in counselor-pastor David Seamand's book, Healing for Damaged Emotions.)

One of the trendy phrases today is “sound-bytes,” which I understand to mean tiny bits of communication. Change one vowel and you get “sound-bites,” which could refer to what I’ve heard called the most destructive weapon of all. They’re related to a muscle just a few inches long found in our mouths.

Words that bite and hurt have been around a long, long time. Some of the best-known passages in the epistle of James refer to controlling one’s tongue. We’re to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). An unruly tongue is called a fire capable of great damage (3:5-6) and ironically able to both praise and curse (3:10). Not surprisingly, Proverbs says a lot about the destructive power of words, like this one: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1).

PURITY

Harsh words can also stir up deep hurt and division, something that David as a leader of warriors and then of a nation experienced often. Learning to speak wisely was part of his training to be king, and Psalm 141 suggests how he practiced that in his personal worship:

May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD, keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil....(vv. 3-4 a)

Probably he prayed with hands pointed to the skies, as symbolized with the upward wafting of smoke from the tabernacle’s incense burners. It’s important to remember that the incense used in worship was meticulously prepared to be as pure as possible. In coming to God with the day’s recall of words, he knew he was facing a Holy God. Even in his high position, David wanted a heart open to reproof and kindness, and one that guarded against sinning with words:

Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head.(v.5)

There’s a similar thought in Proverbs 15:31:

He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise.

Plus, centuries later, the apostle Paul counseled:

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently (Galatians 6:1).

There’s a big difference between a life-giving rebuke and a self-serving complaint or condemnation. Lately, I’ve become especially attuned to the warnings about this in scripture. I often read a chapter of Proverb that corresponds to the date of the month, and frequently run into verses like these:

Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. (Proverbs 9:7-8)

The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit (Proverbs 15:4)

A rebuke impresses a man of discernment more than a hundred lashes into a fool. (Proverbs 17:9)

ENDINGS

The psalm ends with a vignette of the wicked not receiving honorable burials, something important in Jewish culture. That seemed out of place until I realized that Psalm 141 is holding up God’s standards of purity and propriety in a world that’s riddled with snares and traps of polluted hearts and foul mouths. All of these contribute to “feeling down.” Instead of returning mean-spirited “sound-bites,” we’re to look at how Jesus, handled such things.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:3)