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 (ESV)
We should never underestimate the power of the tongue. The Bible never does. This is why it is the Lord who must “cut off all flattering lips.” It’s He who must silence the big talk of all lesser beings.
The serpent in Eden fell the human race with his flattering lips and great boasts. The false prophet in Revelation (Revelation 20:10) allies with the apocalyptic beast to speak great things (Daniel 7:20,25) against God and his people.
And both Jesus and pastor James reminds the believer how deadly the tongue can be!
Matthew 15:17–20 (ESV): Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
James 3:5–12 (ESV): So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.