The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
Psalm 12:3 is Jehovah’s answer to the speech of a corrupt generation. David has cried, “Help, LORD,” because the godly man ceaseth and the faithful fail from among the children of men (v.1). He has described men speaking vanity with their neighbours, using flattering lips, and speaking with a double heart (v.2). Now the LORD is brought into view as Judge: “The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things.”
“The LORD.” The judgment begins with Jehovah. Men may excuse flattery as manners, prudence, kindness, diplomacy, or harmless speech, but the LORD names it and judges it. LORD in all capital letters is the King James Bible’s usual way of representing Jehovah, the self-existent and faithful God. His judgment of words is perfect. He hears not only what reaches human ears, but the heart, motive, deceit, pride, fear, advantage, and rebellion behind every sentence.
“Shall cut off.” The words are certain. David does not say the LORD may cut off, but that He shall cut off. Flattering lips may succeed for a season. Proud tongues may appear to rule a room, win a dispute, sway a crowd, escape correction, or oppress the faithful. But their success is temporary. Jehovah will stop, judge, and remove such speech and those who love it. “The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out” (Proverbs 10:31).
To cut off is a fearful expression. It does not treat sinful speech as a light matter. God can cut off by exposing a liar, ending influence, overthrowing reputation, judging in providence, removing from among His people, or condemning at the last day. Jesus warned that men shall give account in the day of judgment for every idle word they shall speak (Matthew 12:36-37). No flattering word is lost. No proud sentence evaporates beyond God’s reach.
“All flattering lips.” The word “all” must be pressed. The LORD will not cut off some flattering lips and spare others because they were polished, religious, useful, popular, or profitable. All flattering lips stand under His threat. Flattery from the poor is judged; flattery from the rich is judged. Flattery in business, friendship, family, politics, and religion is judged. God does not admire smoothness when truth has been betrayed.
“Flattering lips.” The lips are named for the words formed by them. Flattery is speech that praises, softens, or pleases falsely for advantage, fear, manipulation, or concealment. It may say what the hearer wants rather than what God requires. It may praise a man to his face while despising him in the heart. It may encourage sin by refusing correction. It may win favour by withholding truth. Such lips are not loving; they are dangerous.
Scripture warns often against flattery. “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet” (Proverbs 29:5). “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin” (Proverbs 26:28). David elsewhere said of his enemies, “there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness… they flatter with their tongue” (Psalm 5:9). Flattery is hateful because it joins pleasant sound to false dealing.
Flattery is also cruel. A faithful rebuke may hurt at first and heal afterward, but flattery comforts a man on the way to ruin. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6). A flattering man would rather be liked than be faithful. He would rather keep favour than preserve truth. He would rather protect his own ease than help another soul by honest speech.
Religious flattery is especially wicked. False teachers use “good words and fair speeches” to deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:18). Jude described ungodly men who have “men’s persons in admiration because of advantage” (Jude 1:16). A preacher who flatters hearers instead of warning them is not serving Christ. A counsellor who flatters sin instead of confronting it is not loving the soul. A friend who flatters another’s pride helps the devil’s work with softer words.
“And the tongue.” The tongue is also named for speech. As with lips, the physical member stands for the words a man speaks. God judges the tongue because the tongue carries the heart into the world. James says the tongue is “a fire, a world of iniquity,” and that it “defileth the whole body” when not ruled by grace (James 3:6). Psalm 12:3 therefore places man’s words under divine sentence.
“That speaketh proud things.” Proud speech is the speech of self-exaltation, self-rule, self-confidence, and contempt for God’s authority. The next verse explains it: “With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?” (v.4). Proud speech is not only arrogance in tone. It is rebellion in doctrine. It says, My tongue will win. My lips belong to me. No lord rules my words.
Proud things may be spoken loudly or softly. A man may boast openly, but he may also speak proud things in subtler ways: by correcting others while refusing to be corrected, accusing others while avoiding honest examination, using religious confidence without humility, speaking with cruel wit, spreading confident slander, or hiding self-will under smooth words. Pride is not measured by volume. It is measured by the heart’s refusal to submit to God.
The LORD shall cut off such a tongue. Pharaoh spoke proudly, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?” and Jehovah answered him with plagues and the Red Sea (Exodus 5:2; 14:27-28). Rabshakeh lifted up his voice against Jerusalem and blasphemed the living God, and the angel of the LORD smote the Assyrian camp (2 Kings 18:28-35; 19:35). Herod accepted divine honour and was smitten by God, because he gave not God the glory (Acts 12:21-23). Proud speech may rise high, but it falls before God.
Verse 3 also guards the righteous from envy and fear. Flattering lips often gain influence. Proud tongues often dominate. Wicked men may talk their way into honour, money, leadership, sympathy, or victory. But David does not ask the righteous to admire their skill. He shows their end. The LORD shall cut them off. Their words are not strength; they are evidence. Their tongue is not their salvation; it is their witness against themselves.
The following verses sharpen the contrast. The wicked say, “With our tongue will we prevail” (v.4), but the LORD says, “Now will I arise” (v.5). The wicked trust their words, but “the words of the LORD are pure words” (v.6). Men flatter, boast, deceive, and claim their lips as their own; Jehovah speaks purely and preserves His words for ever (vv.6-7). The contest is never equal. Man’s proud tongue cannot defeat God’s pure words.
This verse therefore calls for careful self-examination. Since the LORD will cut off all flattering lips, no reader should treat flattery as a small weakness. Paul commanded, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). This examination does not make a man legally justified before God; Christ alone is the righteousness and redemption of His people. But it does test whether a man’s profession is true, whether Christ is in him, and whether his life gives evidence of faith rather than reprobation.
The question is searching. Do I flatter to gain favour? Do I praise what God condemns? Do I soften truth to protect myself? Do I use words to manage men rather than serve God? Do I speak differently to a man’s face than I do elsewhere? Do I hide pride under polished speech? Do I resent the thought that the Lord rules my lips? These questions belong under Psalm 12:3, for the LORD shall cut off all flattering lips.
The tongue that speaks proud things is also cause for examination. A man may confess sound doctrine and still speak like his lips are his own. He may defend truth in one setting and use proud, cutting, manipulative, or self-serving speech in another. He may condemn liars while flattering those who can help him. He may hate false teachers while using their methods. Such contradictions should make the soul tremble and examine itself before God.
The righteous man seeks the opposite. He wants truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6). He prays, “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3). He says, “I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue” (Psalm 39:1). He does not claim his lips as his own. He wants Jehovah to govern his speech.
Jesus Christ is the perfect opposite of flattering lips and a proud tongue. No guile was found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). He never flattered the rich, the poor, rulers, disciples, or enemies. He spoke truth to Pharisees, comfort to the weary, warning to sinners, and doctrine with authority. When reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously (1 Peter 2:23). His mouth was wholly governed by righteousness.
Psalm 12:3 therefore is not a mild caution about manners. It is a sentence from Jehovah against corrupt speech. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things. Let the wicked tremble, for their words are heard. Let the careless examine themselves, whether they be in the faith. Let the righteous fear God, reject flattery, humble the tongue, and trust the pure words of the LORD rather than the proud words of men.
The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
Psalm 12:3 is Jehovah’s answer to the speech of a corrupt generation. David has cried, “Help, LORD,” because the godly man ceaseth and the faithful fail from among the children of men (v.1). He has described men speaking vanity with their neighbours, using flattering lips, and speaking with a double heart (v.2). Now the LORD is brought into view as Judge: “The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things.”
“The LORD.” The judgment begins with Jehovah. Men may excuse flattery as manners, prudence, kindness, diplomacy, or harmless speech, but the LORD names it and judges it. LORD in all capital letters is the King James Bible’s usual way of representing Jehovah, the self-existent and faithful God. His judgment of words is perfect. He hears not only what reaches human ears, but the heart, motive, deceit, pride, fear, advantage, and rebellion behind every sentence.
“Shall cut off.” The words are certain. David does not say the LORD may cut off, but that He shall cut off. Flattering lips may succeed for a season. Proud tongues may appear to rule a room, win a dispute, sway a crowd, escape correction, or oppress the faithful. But their success is temporary. Jehovah will stop, judge, and remove such speech and those who love it. “The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out” (Proverbs 10:31).
To cut off is a fearful expression. It does not treat sinful speech as a light matter. God can cut off by exposing a liar, ending influence, overthrowing reputation, judging in providence, removing from among His people, or condemning at the last day. Jesus warned that men shall give account in the day of judgment for every idle word they shall speak (Matthew 12:36-37). No flattering word is lost. No proud sentence evaporates beyond God’s reach.
“All flattering lips.” The word “all” must be pressed. The LORD will not cut off some flattering lips and spare others because they were polished, religious, useful, popular, or profitable. All flattering lips stand under His threat. Flattery from the poor is judged; flattery from the rich is judged. Flattery in business, friendship, family, politics, and religion is judged. God does not admire smoothness when truth has been betrayed.
“Flattering lips.” The lips are named for the words formed by them. Flattery is speech that praises, softens, or pleases falsely for advantage, fear, manipulation, or concealment. It may say what the hearer wants rather than what God requires. It may praise a man to his face while despising him in the heart. It may encourage sin by refusing correction. It may win favour by withholding truth. Such lips are not loving; they are dangerous.
Scripture warns often against flattery. “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet” (Proverbs 29:5). “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin” (Proverbs 26:28). David elsewhere said of his enemies, “there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness… they flatter with their tongue” (Psalm 5:9). Flattery is hateful because it joins pleasant sound to false dealing.
Flattery is also cruel. A faithful rebuke may hurt at first and heal afterward, but flattery comforts a man on the way to ruin. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6). A flattering man would rather be liked than be faithful. He would rather keep favour than preserve truth. He would rather protect his own ease than help another soul by honest speech.
Religious flattery is especially wicked. False teachers use “good words and fair speeches” to deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:18). Jude described ungodly men who have “men’s persons in admiration because of advantage” (Jude 1:16). A preacher who flatters hearers instead of warning them is not serving Christ. A counsellor who flatters sin instead of confronting it is not loving the soul. A friend who flatters another’s pride helps the devil’s work with softer words.
“And the tongue.” The tongue is also named for speech. As with lips, the physical member stands for the words a man speaks. God judges the tongue because the tongue carries the heart into the world. James says the tongue is “a fire, a world of iniquity,” and that it “defileth the whole body” when not ruled by grace (James 3:6). Psalm 12:3 therefore places man’s words under divine sentence.
“That speaketh proud things.” Proud speech is the speech of self-exaltation, self-rule, self-confidence, and contempt for God’s authority. The next verse explains it: “With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?” (v.4). Proud speech is not only arrogance in tone. It is rebellion in doctrine. It says, My tongue will win. My lips belong to me. No lord rules my words.
Proud things may be spoken loudly or softly. A man may boast openly, but he may also speak proud things in subtler ways: by correcting others while refusing to be corrected, accusing others while avoiding honest examination, using religious confidence without humility, speaking with cruel wit, spreading confident slander, or hiding self-will under smooth words. Pride is not measured by volume. It is measured by the heart’s refusal to submit to God.
The LORD shall cut off such a tongue. Pharaoh spoke proudly, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?” and Jehovah answered him with plagues and the Red Sea (Exodus 5:2; 14:27-28). Rabshakeh lifted up his voice against Jerusalem and blasphemed the living God, and the angel of the LORD smote the Assyrian camp (2 Kings 18:28-35; 19:35). Herod accepted divine honour and was smitten by God, because he gave not God the glory (Acts 12:21-23). Proud speech may rise high, but it falls before God.
Verse 3 also guards the righteous from envy and fear. Flattering lips often gain influence. Proud tongues often dominate. Wicked men may talk their way into honour, money, leadership, sympathy, or victory. But David does not ask the righteous to admire their skill. He shows their end. The LORD shall cut them off. Their words are not strength; they are evidence. Their tongue is not their salvation; it is their witness against themselves.
The following verses sharpen the contrast. The wicked say, “With our tongue will we prevail” (v.4), but the LORD says, “Now will I arise” (v.5). The wicked trust their words, but “the words of the LORD are pure words” (v.6). Men flatter, boast, deceive, and claim their lips as their own; Jehovah speaks purely and preserves His words for ever (vv.6-7). The contest is never equal. Man’s proud tongue cannot defeat God’s pure words.
This verse therefore calls for careful self-examination. Since the LORD will cut off all flattering lips, no reader should treat flattery as a small weakness. Paul commanded, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). This examination does not make a man legally justified before God; Christ alone is the righteousness and redemption of His people. But it does test whether a man’s profession is true, whether Christ is in him, and whether his life gives evidence of faith rather than reprobation.
The question is searching. Do I flatter to gain favour? Do I praise what God condemns? Do I soften truth to protect myself? Do I use words to manage men rather than serve God? Do I speak differently to a man’s face than I do elsewhere? Do I hide pride under polished speech? Do I resent the thought that the Lord rules my lips? These questions belong under Psalm 12:3, for the LORD shall cut off all flattering lips.
The tongue that speaks proud things is also cause for examination. A man may confess sound doctrine and still speak like his lips are his own. He may defend truth in one setting and use proud, cutting, manipulative, or self-serving speech in another. He may condemn liars while flattering those who can help him. He may hate false teachers while using their methods. Such contradictions should make the soul tremble and examine itself before God.
The righteous man seeks the opposite. He wants truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6). He prays, “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3). He says, “I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue” (Psalm 39:1). He does not claim his lips as his own. He wants Jehovah to govern his speech.
Jesus Christ is the perfect opposite of flattering lips and a proud tongue. No guile was found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). He never flattered the rich, the poor, rulers, disciples, or enemies. He spoke truth to Pharisees, comfort to the weary, warning to sinners, and doctrine with authority. When reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously (1 Peter 2:23). His mouth was wholly governed by righteousness.
Psalm 12:3 therefore is not a mild caution about manners. It is a sentence from Jehovah against corrupt speech. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaketh proud things. Let the wicked tremble, for their words are heard. Let the careless examine themselves, whether they be in the faith. Let the righteous fear God, reject flattery, humble the tongue, and trust the pure words of the LORD rather than the proud words of men.