WORDS MATTER
Play Audio
If you prefer listening to today’s Bible guide reading, play this audio file.
If the audio bar is not appearing, click here to play the audio.
Opening Prayer
Thank you, Father, that I am free to worship you in spirit and truth, in any way or place I choose. Help me use my freedom also to tell others about Jesus.
Read PSALM 12
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm 12
For the director of music. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
2 Everyone lies to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips
but harbor deception in their hearts.
3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue—
4 those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;
our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord.
“I will protect them from those who malign them.”
6 And the words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold refined seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked,
8 who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.
Reflect
What is your response when you witness interactions or conversations that are not pleasing to God?‘Vile things’ are honored by the human race (v. 8). When we become used to this and tolerate it without comment, we show that our inner selves have been damaged. The source of the damage is words. Lies, deception (v. 2), flattering, boasting (v. 3), bullying (v. 4) or maligning (v. 5): words matter, to the extent that what is written and spoken can shape, reshape, and even overthrow an entire culture. James insists that human beings cannot tame the human tongue (James 3:8). It is like a spark that sets off a wildfire.
Scripture is different. These 66 books, full of words, tutor us toward the flawless, precious purity of God’s voice (v. 6). He speaks truth (John 17:17), which has an effect, pushing back the corruption of language that rots and destroys the human spirit. Truth is essential, because it bursts the bubble of the arrogant who ‘freely strut about’ (v. 8). It slows and then halts the progress of falsehood in its tracks, offering the world both safety and protection (v. 7).
Apply
Give thanks for the work of Scripture Union and the Bible societies that make God’s Word available and understandable to millions of people throughout the world.
Closing prayer
Thank you, Lord God, that your Word is truth. Please continue to make your truth known and honored in every nation, in every tongue and culture.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2026 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.