Open My Mouth and What?

“Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
    incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
    I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
    that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
    but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
    and the wonders that he has done.

He established a testimony in Jacob
    and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
    to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
    the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
   so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
    but keep his commandments;
and that they should not be like their fathers,
    a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
    whose spirit was not faithful to God.

The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
    turned back on the day of battle.
They did not keep God’s covenant,
    but refused to walk according to his law.
They forgot his works
    and the wonders that he had shown them…
They tested God in their heart
    by demanding the food they craved.
They spoke against God…

Yet he, being compassionate,
    atoned for their iniquity
    and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
    and did not stir up all his wrath.
He remembered that they were but flesh,
    a wind that passes and comes not again.
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
    and grieved him in the desert!
They tested God again and again
    and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They did not remember his power
    or the day when he redeemed them from the foe…
Then he led out his people like sheep
    and guided them in the wilderness like a flock…

Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God
    and did not keep his testimonies,
but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
    they twisted like a deceitful bow.” Psalm 78:1-11,18-19a,38-42,52,56-57

The psalmist grabs attention: Listen! And from the start, his intentions are clear: to convey what he has heard and known, so his hearers would set their hope in God. There is no pompous boasting, no litany of accomplishments or plans or even personal musings. His focus is time-held truths that reveal and exalt God and His deeds, that expose folly and inspire faithful adherence to God’s Word.

Daily we have many chances for oratory, to be heard in conversation and what we communicate in other ways. Whether we call attention to our words or not, they convey a particular message that elicit reaction. We can choose words that highlight our actions, or those that point to the Lord and His. We can choose to expose or denigrate others, or to magnify God. What will it be?

Thoughtfulness before we speak helps to clarify our aim. What is my intention? To whom am I speaking, for what response am I hoping? How can my words rise from the temporal to the eternal? How can I best convey God’s glorious deeds and the importance of embracing Him? How can I lift high His name and praise so generations will know and want to know Him? (Isaiah 41:20)

Lord, may I deflect self-attention and always reflect Your grace and greatness so others see and hope in You.