Proverbs 10:31–32 (NKJV)

31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, But the perverse tongue will be cut out. 32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.

God takes words seriously. As the God of truth, all His words are righteous, holy, and upright. “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Ps 12:6). God knows just the right word to speak and when to speak it for He is righteous. His words encourage the fainthearted, remind the forgetful, strengthen the weak, rebuke the lazy, exalt the humble, humble the proud, protect the innocent, condemn the guilty. Consequently, God is ultimately reliable. He can be trusted, for His words never lead astray. “As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him” (Pr 18:30).

Because God’s words are righteous, holy, and upright, He expects our words to reflect His own. Mankind was made in His image, in His likeness, to reflect His character in our own. But because we rebelled against God in the beginning, there is now an antithesis in the world. While some, by the grace of God, reflect God’s character in their words, others, by their own rebellion, speak perverse words. We witness this contrast in our text today.

On the one hand, Solomon tells us, the mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom and the lips of the righteous know what is acceptable. The righteous man is the man who knows God and who reflects God’s character in his own. Consequently, his words reflect God’s words. First, he speaks with wisdom. He takes the knowledge that he has acquired, considers the principles that God has revealed, and then applies them faithfully to any specific situation. Second, his lips know what is acceptable. He knows how to speak in such a way that his words will be pleasing and honorable in the sight of God and other faithful men.

On the other hand, Solomon also tells us, the mouth of the wicked [knows] what is perverse. The wicked man is he who does not know God and does not reflect God’s character in his own. He lives in rebellion against God. Consequently, his lips and his words are perverse, twisted from their God-given intention. Rather than lead others in the way of truth, righteousness, and beauty, his words lead others into lies, wickedness, and deceit. But because God remains the Lord, the perverse tongue will be cut out. God takes note of their angry outbursts, cruel lies, demeaning speech, empty boasting, and coarse jesting. He will set all to rights and remove their ability to speak such perversity. He will cut out their tongue.

Our text today reminds us, therefore, that our words are a reflection of our character. Our words reflect who we really are, what we really love, what we truly cherish. The righteous man speaks acceptably not because God controls his tongue and forces him to speak just the right words but because he himself, by the grace of God, knows God and has a heart to please Him. His words reflect his character. The wicked man speaks perversely not because Satan controls his tongue and forces him to speak wickedly, but because he himself is estranged from God, the source of righteousness. His words reflect his character. As Jesus says in Luke 6:45, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

So what of you? What do your words reveal about you? Whom do you love? What do you cherish? Whose character do you reflect? Do you have the tongue of the righteous or the lips of the wicked? Reminded that God takes our words seriously and that our words reflect our character, let us confess that our words are often perverse and that we stand in need of His forgiving and transforming grace. And as we confess, let us kneel together as we are able. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.