⁶The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. ⁷You, O Lord, will keep them; You will preserve him from this generation forever.

What a person says matters. Words reveal either a godly heart or a wicked, vile heart, laid out in this psalm as polar opposites to show the distinct contrast. With words, people can lie and flatter or speak truth that will hold up over time. The psalmist laments that it seems there are more people who are committed to deception and superficial, manipulative flattery than there are those who staunchly live by and speak the truth.

Narcissism runs rampant in modern times, as it did in the ancient world. Rather than deal with reality, many live in a made-up world in their minds. This is like a person who looks in a mirror with every one of their well-brushed hairs in place, in a specific pose that showcases their “good side.” They superimpose the image of a movie star or magazine model over their own reflection in their minds, hoping in vain that others see them that way.

In the same way, people try to change reality with their words. That is why they lie. This psalm describes them as having a “double heart” and “flattering lips.” To flatter means to attempt, with an ulterior motive, to manipulate another person’s self-perception, to create a false reality in their mind. The narcissist thinks he can change facts by his words, by creating a false narrative about life situations. Someone has said that if a person tells a lie enough times, he begins to believe it; then he can’t understand why people don’t see his “truth,” which seems so evident to him. The psalmist captures the thinking of such people: “With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own; who is lord over us?” In other words, they try to control, manipulate, or destroy reality; and they are arrogant enough to think they will be successful.

David, the writer of this psalm, begins with his lament that godly men of integrity and truth-telling are a dying breed, and those trying to create a virtual, false reality are in the ascendancy. In light of this trend, David—a man of godly faith—focuses on the words of God. As the apostle Paul wrote many years later, “[L]et God be found true, though every man be found a liar” (Rom 3:4a). The apostle followed this by alluding to another psalm of David, written after he lived in his own deceptive, false reality of covering his sin with Bathsheba:

“Against You [Lord], You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.” (Ps. 51:4)

David was being ruthlessly honest about his situation; the time for cover-up, presenting himself as something he was not, had come to an end. He followed with a succinct and profound statement: “Behold, You [Lord] desire truth in the innermost being” (Ps. 51:6). No more false narrative; no more covering the truth.

God wants us to speak with integrity and authenticity because that’s how He speaks: “[T]he words of the Lord are pure.” Our words must not only be technically, legally, or literally true, but they must convey truth in their meaning and intent. No subtle redefinitions, no innuendoes, no trickery of any kind. As our Lord Jesus said, “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil” (Matt. 5:37).

We must not respond to the antics of those who “strut about on every side, when vileness is exalted among the sons of men” (Ps. 12:8). Instead, we find our emotional stability and security by anchoring our minds in the solid Word of God and acting in the character traits of authenticity and integrity.

Lord, when people confront me with a false narrative that distorts the reality of a conflict, remind me to respond confidently with the truth in all authenticity.