Each Breath I Take I Will Speak God's Praiseনমুনা

The boastful song of arrogant people

“May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, ‘With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?’” (Psalm 12:3-4)

When Adam and Eve first sinned, they hid in shame. But it did not take long for their descendants to become proud and boastful. Genesis 4:23-24 tells about Lamech, a particularly arrogant man who assured his wives he would revenge himself seventy-sevenfold and would kill anybody who would do him harm. He is an example of “a tongue that makes great boasts”. He did not honor God, but only glorified himself. Do you know such people?

In Psalm 12, David laments that this sort of people has taken over the earth, and “the faithful have vanished from among the children of man”. It is dreadful to hear these people boast and to see them exploit others. The earth is filled with their bragging.

But the Lord hears David’s cry. When He speaks, his words are “pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground”. What a difference from these arrogant scoffers! The Lord promises that He will arise. He will shut these bragging mouths and save the poor and the needy from their hands. At the end of time, even these people will have to bow down to Jesus and recognize that He is the righteous King of the universe.

The boastful song of arrogant people will not have the last word!