Psalm 34:11-14 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 34:11-14 on biblegateway.com
Verse 11Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Verse 12Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good?
Verse 13Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
Verse 14Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
Devotion
In his explanation of the eighth commandment, “You are not to bear false witness against your neighbor,” in the Large Catechism, Luther sharply calls to task not only those who would compromise their neighbor’s rights in a court of law, but especially the backbiting chatterers who poison a community. “Learning a bit of gossip about someone else, they spread it into every corner, relishing and delighting in the chance to stir up someone else’s dirt like pigs that roll in manure and root around in it with their snouts.” Who of us doesn’t play around in that pigpen? Who of us has not the power to do better by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Prayer
Gracious God, guard my tongue so that the words of my mouth may be kind to my neighbors and pleasing in your sight. Amen.