Your statutes are wonderful;
therefore I obey them.
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.
I open my mouth and pant,
longing for your commands.
Turn to me and have mercy on me,
as you always do to those who love your name.
Direct my footsteps according to your word;
let no sin rule over me.
Redeem me from human oppression,
that I may obey your precepts.
Make your face shine on your servant
and teach me your decrees.
Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
for your law is not obeyed.
Psalm 119:129-136 (NIV)
Psalm 119 – Pe is all about communication and the power of the spoken word. This can be seen in the design of the Hebrew letter pe, פ, as it resembles a mouth with a tooth coming out from the upper jaw. Pe actually means mouth. ”Speech has tremendous power. A king rules with his words. An ordinary person also has great power in his mouth. With words of praise he can raise a person to great heights, and with a bit of gossip he can destroy a person’s reputation (Raskin, 2003).” This is a truth that all peoples, no matter what their beliefs, need to learn and apply 
to their own speech. This is much easier said than done. Believe me, I’m pointing a finger straight at myself as I write this blog!
Rabbi Raskin (2003) says that it is the Jewish person’s mission to help make the world a better place by speaking positively and encouragingly to others. We are also to communicate with God by reading Torah and praying. A Christian’s communication with others and with God should follow the same actions: speak positively to others, read the Bible and pray. The more we speak with God and listen to Him, the better we will be in communicating with others.
To communicate well doesn’t necessarily mean we have to be great speakers. Rabbi Raskin (2003) uses the example of Moses, who had a speech impediment and told God he couldn’t lead Israel out of Egypt because he couldn’t speak well. God told him, that his brother Aaron could speak for him. Even though Moses didn’t do most of the speaking, God gave him the ability to lead and govern over four million people for 40 years.
The Apostle Paul also was not a great speaker. He even says in II Corinthians 11:6 that his speaking is plain. This didn’t bother Paul, as he knew his mission was to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. He knew he had great knowledge concerning the Scriptures and could use that knowledge that God gave him to preach. Paul’s strength however, was in his writing. “Of the 27 books in the New Testament, 13 or 14 are traditionally attributed to Paul, though only 7 of these Pauline epistles are accepted as being entirely authentic and dictated by St. Paul himself (Petruzzello, 2021, para 1).”
Rabbi Raskin (2003) states that all of us have an impediment or weakness of some kind. Paul also talked about weaknesses. He specifically talked about his own weakness in II Corinthians 12:7b-10:
…in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
God uses our weaknesses to show His power. What we need to do is be willing to do His will, even though His will at the time is way beyond our own capabilities. But you see, God becomes our strength and it is Him who is glorified, not us and our own abilities.
Looking back, I have to laugh. This is exactly what God did to me. I knew I was being called to go overseas to teach. Being that German was my second language, and I had studied in Germany, I naturally just knew God was sending me to Germany. Nope! He sent me to China where I didn’t know the customs and the language and where I stood out like a sore thumb – having red hair and blue eyes. Talk about some serious weaknesses! However, God always provided and strengthened my family and myself while we lived in China. We could not communicate, but He filled my mouth with His words and communicated His love to other people through our lives, and through language, whichever was needed at the time. He used us in our weakness for His glory. This is what the Psalmist means when he writes: I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. As we open our mouths like baby birds to be fed, God provides us with His words and with what is needed to achieve His purposes.
The Pe meaning mouth/communication is also seen in this section of Psalm 119 when the Psalmist writes: Make your face shine on your servant. Possibly the Psalmist is referring back to the priestly blessing that God set up for the priests to bless Israel in Numbers 6:22-27:
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
“‘“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’
“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
God sets the model for positive communication through this blessing. When this blessing is said over you, you can’t help but feel safe, secure and loved as God is telling us that His shining face is attentive to us, and that He is here to give us grace and peace. Indeed, our words need to daily be sprinkled with grace and peace.
We can go a step further and say that our communication with others always has a purpose. As Rabbi Raskin (2003) says, “Our mouths were not given to us to slander or denigrate others, but to speak of G d’s greatness and wonders.” This week, let’s try communicating with each other as if our mouths are open and filled with God’s words of encouragement. Let’s rely on His words, and not our own weak speaking abilities. God will give us strength to speak His love over all we meet.
Resources:
Petruzzello, M. 2021. St. Paul’s Contributions to the New Testament. Encyclopædia Brittanica, Inc. Retrieved on August 25, 2021.
Raskin, A. 2003: Letters of Light. (audio book). Sichos Publishers.
Photo Credit:
The Hebrew Letter Pe: https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2015/04/word-study-the-letter-pei-%D7%A4/
