What Should You Do When Others Lie About You? (Psalm 12-14)

Have you ever had someone lie about you? If so, how do you respond? Psalm 12 provides some answers.

What Should You Do When Others Lie About You? (Psalm 12-14)

Psalm 12-14

Today's Scripture Passage

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Have you ever had someone lie about you? If so, how do you respond?

Psalm 12 provides some answers. As authors Nancy Declaissé-Walford, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth Laneel Tanner write, “Psalm 12 is about words. It begins with the words of the wicked and the considerable violence that they achieve by means of their speech. In the middle, the words of God are spoken, which counter the words of the wicked. The poem closes with the assurance that the word of God is trustworthy.”[1]

Psalm 12:3-4 says,

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.
They say, “Through our tongues we have power;
our lips are our own—who can be our master?”

The Hebrew word for flattering is smooth or slippery. “A wooden translation might be something like ‘lips of smooth things.’” Gerald Wilson writes, “This phrase acknowledges that a persuasive command of the language is not always accompanied by a positive regard for the truth; one can manipulate truth to accomplish one’s own ends.”[2]

Verse 4 has shades of Genesis 11:4 when the Babylonians said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.” Left to their own devices, selfish humans use words to build themselves up and tear others down.

In contrast, verse 6 says, “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times.” Adam Clarke writes that the words “silver refined in a furnace on the ground” reference how silver is purified by the cupel.[3] A cupel is a small, shallow, and often cylindrical ceramic or clay dish used in the process of assaying metals, particularly gold and silver. It is designed to absorb impurities and leave behind a pure metal sample when subjected to high temperatures in a furnace.

Unfortunately, when someone spreads lies or rumors about us, it’s natural to take these words to heart. After perhaps lashing out in anger, we lay on our beds at night and think, maybe this is who I am. If we’re not careful, we embrace the very lies we hate. Thankfully, Psalm 12 teaches us that when someone lies about us, we can either believe what they say or believe what God says.