Psalm 64

The effect of our words is deeper than what we even imagine. Our words are an outflowing of what is in our heart. They are often quickly said, but can never be taken back.

who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows.

Psalm 64:3

David is talking about the wicked evildoers and saying that their words are like swords and arrows. In other words, their words are on the attack. The consequence of our words reveals how deeply twisted our mind and our heart are, which is what verse six speaks to. And the consequences are revealed further...

They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads. Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done.

Psalm 64:8-9

The words that we speak, the ones that are like swords and arrows from the deepest part of our twisted mind and heart, will come back against us. We will bow our heads in sorrow. The ruin that we brought to somebody else will be brought back against us, and then we will fear as we ponder what has happened. It is really less about what God has done and more about what we have done to ourselves. God is just, and so the consequences for sin are exactly what they should be. When we use our words for evil, they come back to us, and we cannot take back what has come out of our mouth.

This teaching strikes me because sometimes I speak without thinking, and it is truly just an overflowing of words that I regret, especially when it comes from a time of stress. There is never any excuse for the words that come out of my mouth, but to know how deeply they can pierce, to know that they are like swords and arrows towards other people, makes me want and desire to be somebody whose words overflow from a heart that is filled with joy and hope, a heart that seeks to build people up rather than tear them down. To know that our words hold so much weight, and to read so clearly that there are consequences for them, causes me to ponder what I have done, what I have said, and the things that I must repent for, must change, and must move forward from, by the grace of God, because Jesus has given us a new life.