AS A RAVENING AND A ROARING LION

Considered by most to be a Messianic Psalm, this phrase sug­gests a longing for any opportunity to destroy God’s anointed leader, whether it be David of Old Testament times or the Lord Jesus of the New Testament period. Surrounding nations did not all look favourably on David and it is not surprising that the king wondered, at times, where God was, v. 1. The Lord Jesus at Calvary used the same words to express His isolation at that crucial moment, Matt. 27. 46.

The reference to bulls in verse 12 and to lions in verse 13 is not a study in the behaviour of wild animals. Rather, the poet uses the bulls and the lions as illustrations of how human beings have so often treated God’s people during the course of history. The contemporary English version reads, ‘My ene­mies are like lions roaring and attacking with jaws wide open’. one wonders if this saying is part of the background for James’ comments on the danger of the tongue and the chaos it can create, Jas. 3.

Paul writes, ‘Let no corrupt communication (word) pro­ceed out of your mouth’, Eph. 4. 29. The adjective ‘corrupt’ does not refer to blasphemy or inappropriate language. Rather, it points to using language, ordinary language, in ways that corrupt or destroy human relationships. Today, it is often referred to as ‘character assassination’, that is, just a half-truth or raising a doubt about someone’s intention or using language in any way to simply destroy someone. In the same chapter, Paul bluntly refers to ‘evil speaking’, v. 31. Such actions are like lions with wide open mouths roaring against David, against the Messiah centuries later, against the leaders of God’s people, or against any of God’s children today.

In some modern translations, it is this misuse of language that this Psalm describes as tearing apart the prey. God’s chil­dren should use words wisely, as the Master taught us, saying, ‘For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned’, Matt. 12. 37 NIV. How important to heed the warning of the wise man, ‘the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity’, Prov. 19. 28.