He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn. – Psalm 64:8

Today's Scripture Reading (July 13, 2022): Psalm 64

President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. is sometimes known as the King of the Gaffe. He often says things he probably believes but shouldn't have said. Of course, after President Trump, who often seemed to say the things out loud that others would have said only to themselves, maybe we shouldn't notice. But we do. The King of Gaffes was always a longshot for the presidency, despite the many talents that he brings to the highest office along with his long history in politics. But the continual gaffes always seemed to outweigh any positive potential for Joe Biden. Even as president, Biden still seems to keep tripping over his mouth. It is not that he lies; he just can't stop telling people, including reporters, what it is that he really thinks and believes. And it keeps him in trouble, wherever he might be.

David prays that God will turn the tongues of his enemies against them. But it is more than just that they will become the King of Gaffes. David believes that they have become the masters of the untruth. They invent things to say about David, using their words like arrows aimed at the King's heart. They make plans and plot injustice believing that no one will ever know the tales are all invented. But David requests that they will trip over their own lies. He prays that the words they have aimed at him will instead become friendly fire directed at his enemies' cause. David asks that God would do this.

I love Mark Twain's quip, "if you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." Twain is right, and David hopes that his enemies will lie so much that they won't be able to remember the lies that they have told. Therefore their tongues will become the stumbling block that will bring them down.

Too often, those who lie find that David's prayer has been answered in their lives. Lies that start as an advantage to the teller soon grow so big that the originator of the lie can no longer control the tale. And eventually, the lies doom the liar. The falsehood becomes the liars' ruin, and the liars end up trapping themselves in the same way that they had hoped to trap their victims.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 65