Now About Our Mouths
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14.
As I have been reading the daily scriptures posted in the Gateway Bible Program, I’ve spent several days in Proverbs. And today as I was meditating upon this verse, I began to realize how often our “speech” is mentioned. The words “mouth,” “lips” and “tongue” are mentioned continually.
A look at the past
So I took some time to just examine Psalms and Proverbs and was surprised to see that these words are mentioned a total of 198 times, just in these two books alone! It seemed logical to me then to devote some time to this, and when I did, a memory surfaced of my first high school assembly at good old Pitman High. Let me tell you about it.
As I began my freshman year, I discovered there was a hierarchy of how the students proceeded into the auditorium. We were instructed to come in by class ranking and sit accordingly.
The Freshman came in first, but sat in the back, and then the upper classmen would come in next, with the Seniors making kind of a “grand entry.”
When the Seniors entered, the whole class began to sing, and the rest of us were to join them (of course at the first assembly of the school year, only the Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores knew the words of what to sing).
Now you might be asking, “Why all this detail?” Well, let me tell you what the whole assembly sang.
What they sang were the words from Psalm 19:14.
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”
I had never heard these words before, or the melody that they sang them to, but as a 13 year old, my heart was moved, and although I knew little of the presence of God, I knew inwardly that what I heard was right and good. I can still recall the words and the music to this day.
The power of the tongue
This post for today and hopefully for the next few days will present this concept that when God gave us the wonder of speech and song, He presented us with an awesome gift.
Lord willing, we will take some time to examine the scriptures to see how the blessing of articulating words is to be used.
For today, just focus on these two verses.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21.
“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29.
Please let these two scriptures touch your life today.
Blessings and prayers,
Pastor Gene
As I have been reading the daily scriptures posted in the Gateway Bible Program, I’ve spent several days in Proverbs. And today as I was meditating upon this verse, I began to realize how often our “speech” is mentioned. The words “mouth,” “lips” and “tongue” are mentioned continually.
A look at the past
So I took some time to just examine Psalms and Proverbs and was surprised to see that these words are mentioned a total of 198 times, just in these two books alone! It seemed logical to me then to devote some time to this, and when I did, a memory surfaced of my first high school assembly at good old Pitman High. Let me tell you about it.
As I began my freshman year, I discovered there was a hierarchy of how the students proceeded into the auditorium. We were instructed to come in by class ranking and sit accordingly.
The Freshman came in first, but sat in the back, and then the upper classmen would come in next, with the Seniors making kind of a “grand entry.”
When the Seniors entered, the whole class began to sing, and the rest of us were to join them (of course at the first assembly of the school year, only the Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores knew the words of what to sing).
Now you might be asking, “Why all this detail?” Well, let me tell you what the whole assembly sang.
What they sang were the words from Psalm 19:14.
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”
I had never heard these words before, or the melody that they sang them to, but as a 13 year old, my heart was moved, and although I knew little of the presence of God, I knew inwardly that what I heard was right and good. I can still recall the words and the music to this day.
The power of the tongue
This post for today and hopefully for the next few days will present this concept that when God gave us the wonder of speech and song, He presented us with an awesome gift.
Lord willing, we will take some time to examine the scriptures to see how the blessing of articulating words is to be used.
For today, just focus on these two verses.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21.
“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29.
Please let these two scriptures touch your life today.
Blessings and prayers,
Pastor Gene
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1 Comment
Thank you so much Pastor Gene for this nourishing word. Psalm 19 became one of my favorite chapters in God's word last year and verse 14 was the focus of most of my meditations. It is so impactful to read how your high school class would sing the verse together in assembly. I could only imagine how the planting of such a powerful seed would bear fruit in the future of so many of the kids lives. I hope the children of today can somehow have the same experience.
I love the focus of your blog today because I hear so much fear and uncertainty in the speech of those around us. Things like, 'Did you hear the news today?', and 'I heard things might not return to normal for months' and 'the virus is killing more and more!'. Words like these create anxiety and try to drown out the peace and joy of the Lord which is God's gift to us. This is the spiritual battle, the invisible enemies and strongholds which set themselves up against the knowledge of God which is the path to our freedom! So many times I found myself in turmoil or fear or frustration or just fatigue, but I have found that repeating psalm 19:14 in a whisper to myself over and over again sets my soul back in position to seek to participate in what God is doing around me.
There is life and death in the tongue and if we can allow our tongue to be guided be the spirit of God in us, can be used to bless, and bring joy or comfort or confidence and hope which brings him glory. Just like in the beginning of Psalm 19, the creation cries out the glory of God without uttering a word, ( a statement that brought me to tears one day, the full picture of it just impacted me so) we have been give the gift of being created in his image, with speech to do so. How much more are we valued by God!
We can use this gift to give kind words of life whenever and wherever the opportunity presents itself. Complementary comments like, 'You do a wonderful job of lifting people up with your smile and happiness' to a clerk or greeter at the store. Or just mentioning a positive outlook on the future like, 'I am really looking forward to a wonderful summer' to someone who looks like they're having a rough day. We are called to be the light of the world and to point to Jesus as our hope and savior! How are people going to want Jesus if we just as perilous as the rest of the world.
Thank you Pastor Gene
Sincerely, Kerry