In Psalm 27, David feels under attack. In verse 12 he writes: “Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.”

In short, David was subject to slander and false accusation. In the ancient world there was no such thing as video cameras or forensics. If a few bad apples conspired to accuse you of something it could mean serious trouble. Who would people believe? It was their word against yours. 

The slander and deception was so bad that David said they were “breathing out violence.” This reminds us that slander hurts. Not all punches have hands attached to them. Charles Spurgeon knew this well when he said: “Slander is an old-fashioned weapon out of the armory of hell, and is still in plentiful use.”*

Some of you have been on the receiving end of slander. Hurts, doesn’t it? We can’t control what other people say; but we can be thoughtful about what we say. We may be on the receiving end of slanderous words, but we certainly don’t need to be on the giving end.

What if your words were honest?
What if your words were gracious? 
What if your words were a gift?

“Slander is an old-fashioned weapon out of the armory of hell, and is still in plentiful use.” That may very well be, but we don’t need to be the ones who are feeding the fire.

Let’s speak with the grace and truth we have first received in Christ.

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Notes:

–*Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, as quoted in the Church History Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2023), 786.
–Bible quotes are from the NIV.