1. From other passages of Scripture (Ecc_7:20; Pr 2Ch_6:36; 1Jn_1:8; 1Jn_1:10).
2. That none can expect to arrive at a sinless perfection in this life will appear, if we consider the many instances which are recorded in the Scripture of the sins of some of the most eminent saints and servants of God.
3. The experience of our own times confirms this same sad truth, that all have their infirmities, and in many things offend.
4. That all do and will offend in many things, will appear if we consider the extensiveness and spirituality of the law of God.
5. Natural corruption is not fully subdued in any here on earth; therefore in many things all will offend.
6. You are here on earth in a state of temptation, and therefore will not be sinless till you leave the world.
II. IN WHAT RESPECTS WE ALL OFFEND.
1. With regard to the disposition and inclination of the heart.
2. As to the internal employment of the mind.
3. In our communication.
4. In innumerable ways in the actions of life. Conclusion:
1. Here we may infer the impropriety of being saved by the covenant of works, the terms of which were unerring obedience--Do this, and live.
2. See here what infinite reason you have to bless God for the new covenant; herein is your salvation.
3. See here how highly you are concerned to seek an interest in this new covenant.
4. You must take heed that you do not take encouragement to be in the least degree more careless in your life from the miscarriages of good men.
5. Though you will never be able to keep God’s commandments perfectly whilst you are in the present state, yet you should press on towards perfection, (T. Whitty.)
The sins of good men
1. None are absolutely freed and exempted from sinning (1Jn_1:8; Pro_20:9). Well, then--
(1) Walk with more caution; you carry a sinning heart about you. As long as there is fuel for temptation we cannot be secure; he that hath gunpowder about him will be afraid of sparkles.
(2) Censure with the more tenderness; give every action the allowance of human frailty (Gal_6:1).
(3) Be the more earnest with God for grace; God will keep you still dependent, and beholden to His power.
(4) Magnify the love of God with the more praise. Paul groaneth under his corruptions (Rom_7:1-25., latter end); and then admireth the happiness of those that are in Christ (Rom_8:1).
2. The sins of the best are many.
(1) Be not altogether dismayed at the sight of failings. A godly person observed that Christians were usually to blame for three things: They seek for that in themselves which they can only find in Christ; for that in the law which shall only be had in the gospel; and that upon earth which shall only be enjoyed in heaven. We complain of sin; and when shall the earthly estate be free? You should not murmur, but run to your Advocate.
(2) However, bewail these failings, the evils that abound in your hearts, in your duties, that you cannot serve God as entirely as you served Satan; your evil works were merely evil, but your good are not purely good; there your heart was poured out (Jud_1:11), here it is restrained; there isfilthiness in your righteousness (Isa_64:1-12.)
3. To be able to bridle the tongue is an argument of some growth and happy progress in grace (Pro_18:21; Mat_12:37; Pro_13:3). There were special reasons why our apostle should be so much in pressing it.
(1) Because this was the sin of that age, as appeareth by the frequent dissuasions from vain boasting of themselves, and detracting from others, in the 1Jam_2:1-26 nd chapters; and it is a high point of grace not to be snared with the evils of our own times.
(2) It is the best discovery of the heart; speech is the express image of it Mat_12:34).
(3) It is the hypocrites’ sin; they abstain from grosser actions, but usually offend in their words, in boasting professions, and proud censures (see Jam_1:26).
(4) All of us are apt to offend with the tongue many ways; most of a man’s sins are in his words.
(5) It is a sin into which we usually and easily fall, partly by reason of that quick intercourse that is between the tongue and the heart--we sin in an instant; and partly because speech is a human act which is performed without labour; and so we sin that way incogitantly, without noting or judging it. Well, then, take care, not only of your actions, but your speeches (Psa_39:1).
Consider--
1. Your speeches are noted. Xenophon would have all speeches written, to make men more serious. They are recorded (Jam_2:12). Every idle word is brought into judgment (Mat_12:36): light words weigh heavy in God’s balance.
2. They are punished (Psa_64:8).
3. Consider what a vile thing it is to abuse the tongue to strife, censure, or insultation.
4. It is not of small regard that God in nature would show that He hath set bounds to the tongue: He hath hedged it in with a row of teeth. For apt remedies--
(1) Get a pure heart; there is the tongue’s treasury and storehouse. A good man is always ready to discourse, not forced by the company, but because the law of God is in his heart (Pr
15:7).
(2) Watch and guard speech (Pro_30:32).
(3) All our endeavours are nothing. Go to God (Psa_141:3).
(4) That you may not offend in your words, let them be often employed about holy uses (Eph_4:29). (T. Manton.)
Christian imperfection
I. SOME OF THOSE THINGS IN WHICH BELIEVERS OFFEND.
1. In the exercises of the heart. Many remains of the carnal mind.
2. In the communications of their lips.
3. In the actions of their lives.
II. FROM WHENCE ARISE THESE IMPERFECTIONS IN THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER.
1. From the absolute purity of the Divine law. Transcript of the
Divine mind.
2. From the frailty and weakness of human nature.
3. From unwatchfulness and neglect. Not sufficiently alive to our best interests. Graces allowed to be languid, &c.
III. WHAT INFLUENCE SHOULD A CONSIDERATION OF OUR IMPERFECTIONS PRODUCE UPON US?
1. Deep humility.
2. Spiritual diligence.
3. Fervent prayer.
4. Forbearance and charity to others.
5. Excite within us a longing for heaven. There we shall be sinless inhabitants of a sinless world. (J. Buries. D. D.)
There are none blameless
A gentleman of the perfectionist school of thought called to see an old Christian of his neighbourhood, and began enlarging upon that interesting topic. “Can you point to a single perfect man or woman in the Bible?” inquired the aged saint. “Yes,” readily answered the other; “turn to Luk_1:6, you will there read of two--Elisabeth and Zacharias walked ‘in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.’” “Then you consider yourself a believer like Zacharias?” “Certainly I do,” said the visitor. “Ah,” replied the old man, “I thought you might be; and we read a few verses further on that he was struck dumb for his unbelief.”
Faults
Bad men excuse their faults, good men will leave them. (Johnson.)
We all have faults
I have been a good deal up and down in the world, and I never did see either a perfect horse or a perfect man, and I never shall until two Sundays come together. The old saying is, “Lifeless, faultless.” Of dead men we would say nothing but good, but as for the living, they are all tarred more or less with the black brush, and half an eye can see it. Every head has a soft place in it, and every heart has its black drop. Every rose has its prickles, and every day its night. Even the sun shows spots, and skies are darkened with clouds. Nobody is so wise but he has folly enough to stock a stall at Vanity Fair. Where I have not seen the fool’s cap, I have, nevertheless, heard the bells jingle. As there is no sunshine without some shadow, so is all human good mixed up with more or less evil; even poor law guardians have their little failings, and parish beadles are not wholly of heavenly nature. The best wine has its lees. All men’s faults are not written on their foreheads, and it’s quite as well they are not, or hats would need wide brims; yet as sure as eggs are eggs, faults of some sort nestle in every man’s bosom. There is no telling when a man’s sins may show themselves, for hares pop out of a ditch just when you are not looking for them. A horse that is weak in the legs may not stumble for a mile or two, but it’s in him, and the rider had better hold him up well. The tabby-cat is not lapping milk just now, but leave the dairy door open, and we shall see if she is not as bad a thief as the kitten. There’s fire in the flint, cool as it looks; wait till the steel gets a knock at it, and you will see. Everybody can read that riddle, but it is not everybody that will remember to keep his gunpowder out of the way of the candle. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
All are deficient when tried by Divine law
Judgment is comparison of things with some standard. There are standard weights and measures in the Tower to which all in the country ought to conform, and if not they are condemned. So a mason judges by his plumb-line of a wall, if true to the perpendicular. If an inspector of weights and measures finds a tradesman using false ones, he takes him before a magistrate for punishment. If the builder finds the wall untrue, he orders it to be pulled down. Now God has a standard by which He judges us, viz., His holy law; and it is because we know we are deficient that the word” judgment” has such an awful sound to us, for we know that to the sinner it includes condemnation and punishment.
If any man offend not in word
On the evils of speech
I. I SHALL BEGIN WITH MAKING SOME OBSERVATIONS UPON THE SUBJECT IN GENERAL.
1. The first general observation which occurs to us upon this subject is the difficulty of ruling the tongue. When a man looks into his own mind, the mass of thoughts of all kinds which he meets with there will amaze him. All men’s ideas are much alike, and wisdom consists more in the degree of power which a man has to restrain his thoughts, and bring only such forth as are proper, than in the thoughts themselves. What renders it still more difficult to oppose this mass are the passions by which it is often agitated. These press upon it with violence, and force for themselves a passage. Temptations, too, add their pressure, unguarded moments offer, and men are almost always employed, from various motives, to draw your defence, and to draw your thoughts from you. Difficult, however, as the government of speech is, we must observe that it is not impracticable. If a man cannot restrain it completely, he has it in his power at least to moderate it.
2. The second general observation, which offers itself to us upon the government of speech, is the simplicity of it, considered as a method of governing the passions. In the most complex machines there is always one part of them which commands the rest, and a small degree of power applied there will stop their most multiplex operations. It seems in the present case to be exactly so with man. When you restrain the tongue you stop the passions at their commanding point. You do not merely drive them back into their repositories, but you destroy their motion and their force. They acquire strength from motion, and the way to keep them quiet is to restrain them at the issue. This is done easily if you apply your care at the mouth, and suppress the first expression of them. Prevent the movement of the passions and you prevent their violence.
II. I COME NOW TO CONSIDER PARTICULARLY THE ABUSES OF IT IN SOCIETY, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF OBTAINING SOME SHARE AT LEAST OF DUE GOVERNMENT OVER IT.
1. TO this part of the subject let me proceed by observing, first in general, that much talking of any kind is but a bad practice. It is a sure waste of time in the first place, and is apt to lead a man into a habit of trifling in the next. But the greatest disadvantage of all is, that much speaking is an enemy to much thinking. The man who talks perpetually is also constantly in danger of discovering what he should conceal, and of prejudicing, by ‘this means, both his own affairs and those of other men. How many occasions of offence, how many breaches among friends, holy many fatal enmities have arisen from this cause! The system of education adopted by the Persians was simple, but extremely rational. They taught their youth two things: to be secret, and to tell the truth. This was well adapted to inspire both the confidence and the respect of men.
2. In the second place, let me observe that the evils of speech, upon a general view of them, may be considered as arising from two sources: design and accident, and frequently also from a mixture of both.
3. I shall now mention, as shortly as possible, the most remarkable classes of vain talkers with which life is pestered, and society so often set on fire.
(1) The first class whom I shall mention are your abusive talkers. These people value themselves upon nothing so much as upon putting a sober person out of countenance, and they recount their victories of this sort with as much pleasure as if they had performed some memorable achievements. What they say does not necessarily proceed from malice, and they will be friends with you next day if you desire it. But they have the misfortune to be born with violent passions, and as they have never been taught to restrain them, they have at last lost all self-command, and are under the necessity of giving vent to them.
(2) The second class of talkers, or of people who offend in word, are your evil speakers. These are your people who are noted in society for a most unhappy habit of detracting from the merit, or of censuring the actions and the lives of others.
(3) The last class of talkers whom I shall mention here, and who abuse the faculty of speech more than all the rest, are your plain liars. This is a most amazing set of people. They have acquired a habit which is most pernicious to society, and to their own minds. It misleads others and destroys their own principles. It is not only pernicious, but contemptible. (John Mackenzie, D. D.)
The use of the tongue
1. The use of the tongue constitutes a large portion of human business. It is by that organ that very many of the most important transactions of life are carried on. Speech has been appropriately called “the rudder that steereth human affairs, the spring that setteth the wheels of action on going.”
(2) Speech is the index of the mind (Psa_39:3). Thought and feeling dictate the language of the lips; and a habitually right use of speech is an indication of a habitually right condition of the mind. “Speak,” said Socrates, “that I may see thee.” The whirlwind of the tongue is but the outburst of the tumult of the soul. Wise, meek, and generous discourse is the counterpart of the enlightened, tranquil, and benevolent spirit which possesses “the hidden man of the heart.”
3. It is a work of much difficulty tightly to regulate the tongue. On the one hand, it is a very facile member, often called, and easily roused, into active exercise; and on the other, one is apt not to associate the idea of so much guilt as is readily attributed to the sins of outward action with an ill-regulated tongue--insomuch that many who would not blasphemously say, “Our lips are our own, who is lord over us?” do not reckon themselves bound to watch, with any special diligence, over what they say.
4. As fearful evil is wont to result from the violation by the tongue of the laws of piety, truth, charity, chastity, and wisdom, so its right regulation is taught with glorious effects to him who speaks, and, it may be, also to him who hears. (A. S. Patterson, D. D.)
Helpful and unhelpful speech
There cannot be a doubt that speech may be the most helpful or unhelpful of all the powers we possess; because it is the expression of our inward life, whatever that inward life may be. And it is not the amount of speech we are capable of which is the main consideration in the ease, so much as the quality and quantity of heart which lies at the back of the tongue which determines the helpfulness or unhelpfulness of speech. A sensitive man would about as soon his enemy came and put a dagger into his heart and finish him, as go about stabbing him behind his back with cruel words. For there are words in which the spirit of murder lurks. We may be naturally very ready of speech or very slow of speech--inconveniently candid or reticent even to niggard-ness; and yet our speech will be helpful or unhelpful to others according to the condition of heart which lies behind it. And so the old text, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life,” controls the region covered by the word “speech.” If there be envy in the heart, its tone will get into the speech. If there be hatred in the heart, the speech will betray it to all who have educated ears. If there be a settled deposit of uncharitableness in the heart, a report of it will be in the speech--not only in the matter of it, but especially in the manner of it. So that the first and chief necessity to helpful speech--that without which speech would be very unhelpful--is to keep the heart with all diligence. If we allow evil feelings to take up their abode in our hearts, speech cannot be helpful. If there be a skunk in the cellar, it will be known in every room of the house without asking the eyes to look upon the creature itself hiding away in the basement. The lovableness or lovelessness of the heart is certain to report itself in helpful or unhelpful speech. And so, in order to alter the quality of speech, if it needs altering, we must begin at the centre; we must keep the heart with all diligence, because speech is only one of the streams which issue out of it. The art of speech has been studied from Aristotle downwards. But the morals of speech, the spiritual meaning of helpful and unhelpful speech, this region has not been adequately explored. Such a subject as this--how to be a good conversationalist, interests not a few, because it suggests that this ability may be acquired. How much larger and more important than that is this; how to be under no undue restraint in speech; how to be free, easy, and at home in the use of this faculty and yet how to be always helpful and not unhelpful in the employment of it. Remembering, then, that speech is a sign, a revealer, both as to matter and manner, and that the first necessity for helpful speech is a regenerated heart--that is, a heart in which envy, hatred, and uncharitableness are not encouraged as guests; but if one or the other of them pay a short visit they are never made welcome and entertained as a guest, never supplied with bed and board--remembering this, that without an honest and good heart, continuous honest and good speech is an impossibility--we may be allowed to say that the power of helpful speech will increase in the ratio of our own self-improvement; as the result of processes of inward growth. The rational conversableness of men will come as an effect of their improved rationality. If you have read well, and looked about, and thought on what you have seen, you will show good quality in your speech, and I repeat, it is the quality in the speech which is the main thing towards its helpfulness. If your words be stumbling and broken, the matter and the meaning will redeem them from contempt. It may be sad to have nothing to say, but it is much sadder to say a great deal with nothing in it. Gilded surface easily passes in the stead of golden substance. We cannot, of course, speak helpfully or at all without words, unless we allow that the silent expression of the eye and many other signs are language; but we are not occupied with those mute organs of eloquence now; and yet words are so different from each other that they make speech this or that according to the words chosen. Some words are a blank wall; others are windows through which you see a varied landscape beyond. Real eloquence is always rich in these transparent words. Every great thinker suggests more than he says. Thought starts thinking. I am more and more convinced, however, that speech is helpful or unhelpful, according to the feeling with which it is satured. The same words uttered by two different persons produce effects in feeling, oh, how different! Have you never known what it is to feel a kind of shudder from a compliment--something intended to be sweet, but it was not satured with sweetness? In another case some one comes to you and tries to say a severe thing, attempts reproof, even satire, and the thing fails utterly because the individual has not venom enough in his nature to kill a fly. And so, if you will give attention to the matter you will find that words carry feeling quite as much as they carry intelligence. (Reuen Thomas, D. D.)
Offences of the tongue
Any one who carefully studies Scripture is often struck with this, that the sacred writers attach the most serious importance to duties of which men make but little account; so here--one who knows how lightly Christians regard the duty of not offending in word is impressed with the solemnity with which the apostle treats the obligation--looking upon the whole character as concerned in it; for he sayswhoever is faithful in this respect is a thorough man, strong in self-mastery, equal to all the duties of life. He considers faithfulness or unfaithfulness in this respect as a sure indication of the” presence or want of Christian principle;--yes, the surest, for it is only in unguarded hours that his character appears precisely as it is. Words flow carelessly and unthought-of from the tongue; they come from the overflowing of the heart. The apostle also calls our attention to the effect which the management of the tongue has upon the life. It is, he says, as the bit to the horse or the rudder to the vessel; it determines which way we shall go. Thus he thinks that a man’s course is not only indicated, but also shaped, by his conduct in this respect. There is another view which he takes of the subject, which is new and strange to many. He says that harsh and bitter language cannot come from a good heart. But let us look a little more nearly at some of those offences of the tongue which the apostle considers so dangerous. First, there are those sharp and angry words of which we hear so many in the world. How often do we see the flashing eye and the cheek flushed with passion, and hear the most savage and bitter retorts and replies from lips which are also opened in prayer to God--how sincerely, how acceptably, we must leave it for eternity to tell! Men think very little of these things; the passion subsides, and they feel as if all was the same as before. But no. As each autumnal storm affects the foliage and hurries on the wintry desolation, so does each and every storm of passion leave much unseen injury, though perhaps few visible traces in the heart. It is impossible to overestimate the injury which is done by these hasty excesses. Human beings are connected with each other by many fine and delicate ties; and this flame of hasty anger burns them like tow. At every flash some of them snap asunder, and there is no power that can replace them. Again, there is a sort of violent language where there is not much anger, but rather malice and bitterness strongly felt and strongly expressed, and, strange as it may seem, indulged in without the least consciousness of sin. How little moral sensibility there is in relation to this appears from the manner of some who think it a crime to “smite with the fist of wickedness,” but indemnify themselves for this forbearance by using the hardest terms of reproach which the language affords;--as if the bands of love bound nothing but the hands; as if, not striking with the sword, they might strike the harder with the edge of the tongue! The most painful exhibition we ever see of this kind of violent language is witnessed in the exciting times of party. To this the apostle’s strong terms, “earthly, sensual, devilish,” would most fitly apply. There is something appalling in this cannibal spirit, perfectly unscrupulous, perfectly hateful, in which so many indulge with perfect unconsciousness of their guilt and danger, though to a superior being who listened to their voice it would seem as if the world had broken entirely loose from the moral government of God. In the intercourse of social life there are many things which show how difficult, and yet how necessary, it is to apply religious principle to the words--difficult because we do not think what we are doing. But we ought to think, it is our duty to think, what we are doing; and the neglect of this duty is the last thing that we can plead in excuse for injurious language or any other sin. There are many who enjoy ridicule cast upon others, and many also who are ready to cast it, showing off their penetrating discernment and power of sarcasm without reflecting that they are guilty of inhumanity--that every indulgence of the kind is a sin against God and His law of love; without reflecting, too, that every indulgence of the kind is exerting a petrifying power upon their own hearts. There are many ways in which the law of love is broken in the social intercouse of life, broken by that thoughtless malice which is so common, but which, however thoughtless, is malice still. Whoever retails the floating reproach, whoever puts a bad construction on the conduct of another, whoever deals bitterly and harshly with the character of others, may do it thoughtlessly, but still he is responsible, perhaps the more so; for if he were conscientious he would reflect, and never, except in cases of necessity, say that which may injure another’s feelings, reputation, or peace. There is one way in which unmeasured evil is brought into social life. It is by repeating to a friend the evil that has been said of him by another. If you produce any alienation or unkindness, you do it at your peril; and however you may say you did not think of it, the day will come when you will be obliged to think of it with a heavy heart. We may see in the conversation of social life many other things which show the wisdom and necessity of the charge to be swift to hear, but slow to speak. How many there are who talk themselves into what they call their opinions! When any subject is presented they speak without reflection, according to their impressions, or party associations, or perhaps guided by chance alone, and what they have once happened to say becomes their opinion. They maintain it not seriously and earnestly, as they would if they had seriously formed it; but when they hear it questioned they become angry with those who differ from them, because they have thought upon the subject and deliberately make up their minds. When we consider how much our judgment of moral questions, our views of what is passing round us, our feelings towards others--indeed, how much all the interests of the mind and heart are involved in this thoughtless way of speaking, we see how important it becomes to set a guard at the door of our lips, suffering nothing to pass till we at least know what it is--till we consider whether it will go forth for good or for evil, whether it will be a blessing or a curse to mankind. (W. B. O. Peabody, D. D.)
The government of the tongue
I. IF IT BE “OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART” THAT “THE MOUTH SPEAKETH,” THEN THE UTTERANCE OF THE TONGUE IS ONE OF THE SUREST INDICATIONS OF THE ACTUAL STATE OF THE HEART. Falsehood, evasion, artifice, dissimulation, may for a time conceal the state of the heart, but when unmasked, they declare it as surely as the most genuine expressions of sincerity can.
II. AND WHAT ARE THE MEANS WHICH THE NEW, OR “PERFECT MAN” USES, IN ORDER THAT HE MAY NOT OFFEND IN WORD?
1. First he lives in an atmosphere of prayer, and in watchfulness against every outward influence that might surprise him into the inconsistency of speaking hastily or unadvisedly with his tongue.
2. If the habit of consideration be needful at all times, it is especially needful when we are conscious of any excitement of our inward feelings, occasioned by outward circumstances beyond our control.
3. The “perfect man,” the true child of God, is studiously careful for the welfare, while he respects the very feelings of others; and on this account he bridles his tongue, so that he may not, by even an inconsiderate word, injure the one, or wound the other.
4. There is another respect in which the true Christian, aiming at real consistency, is perpetually watchful. Having become aware of those subjects which most occasioned the sinful utterance of his tongue, before he received from God the power of bridling it, he now resolutely abstains altogether from these subjects. If they recur to his mind, he represses them; if unexpectedly he be drawn into them by others, and if at any time he feels tempted to speak in a way that becomes him not of others, he perhaps calls to mind what has been very wisely and truly said, “Weak and foolish minds chatter about persons; strong and wise minds converse about things.” And then will come to his aid some holy admonition from the Word of God; or he will call to mind the words of David--“I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I offend not with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle, when the wicked is before me.” Hence he will take heed, that when provoked by the perversity of others, or when wounded by their unbridled tongue, no unchristian bitterness of retort shall escape his lips. (G. Fisk, LL. B.)
The government of the tongue
I. WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE DUE GOVERNMENT OF THE TONGUE.
1. The proper restraint of the tongue.
(1) The preservation of a seasonable silence.
(2) Constant care to avoid those sins of the tongue into which men are in most danger of being betrayed. Profaneness: Lying: Slander: Talebearing.
2. A proper employment of the tongue.
(1) We should be ever ready to employ our tongues in contributing, as we may be able, to the interest and instruction of the social circle.
(2) We muss ever be ready, as occasion may call for it, to testify our regard for Christ and determined obedience to His will.
(3) We should watch for and improve every occasion of using this faculty, in suggesting such hints as our own circumstances will justify us in offering, and as the cases of others may evidently require.
II. THE GREAT IMPORTANCE OF THE DUE GOVERNMENT OF THE TONGUE. This will appear when we view it--
1. As a criterion of our Christian character, and the extent of our religious attainments.
2. The powerful influence of speech over the human passions and conduct.
3. The solemn responsibility in which we are involved, in reference to the government of the tongue (Mat_12:36-37).
III. SUGGESTIONS WHICH MAY AID IN ATTAINING A DUE GOVERNMENT OF THE TONGUE.
1. Let us seek a renewed and more spiritual state of the heart and affections.
2. Let special vigilance be exerted where special danger is probable. If brought into the society of the ungodly, let us take heed, like David, that we sin not with our tongue; that we are not betrayed by the force of example or the power of ridicule into a levity or impropriety of speech we may have cause to regret.
3. Let us earnestly implore Divine assistance and Divine restraint.
4. Let us seek habitually to conduct all the intercourse of life with a more vivid impression of our accountability to God. (Essex Remembrancer.)
Not to offend in word, an evidence of a high pitch of virtue
1. A good governance of speech is a strong evidence of a good mind; of a mind pure from vicious desires, calm from disorderly passions, void of dishonest intentions.”
2. From hence, that the use of speech is itself a great ingredient into our practice, and hath a very general influence on whatever we do, may be inferred, that whoever governeth it well cannot also but well order his whole life.
3. To govern the tongue well is a matter of exceeding difficulty, requiring not only hearty goodness, but great judgment and art, together with much vigilance and circumspection; whence the doing it argues a high pitch of virtue.
4. Irregular speech hath commonly more advantages for it, and fewer checks on it, than other bad practices have: that is, a man is apt to speak ill with less dissatisfaction and regret from within; he may do it with less control and hazard from without, than he can act ill.
5. Whereas most of the enormities and troubles whereby the souls of men are defiled and their lives disquieted are the fruits of ill-governed speech, he that by well governing it preserves himself from guilt and inconvenience, must necessarily be, not only a wise and happy, but a good and worthy person.
6. His tongue also so ruled cannot but produce very good fruits of honour to God, of benefit to his neighbour, and of comfort to himself.
7. The observation how unusual this practice is, in any good degree, may strongly assure us of its excellency: for the rarer, especially in morals, any good thing is, the more noble and worthy it is; that rarity arguing somewhat of peculiar difficulty in the attainment of it. (I. Barrow, D. D.)
Offences of speech
The offences of speech are various in kind; so many as there be of thought and of action, unto which they do run parallel: accordingly they well may be distinguished from the difference of objects which they do specially respect. Whence
1. Some of them are committed against God, and confront piety;
2. Others against our neighbour, and violate justice, or charity, or peace;
3. Others against ourselves, infringing sobriety, discretion, or modesty; or,
4. Some are of a more general and abstracted nature, rambling through all matters, and crossing all the heads of duty. Now I shall confine my discourse to the first sort, the offences against piety; and even of them I shall only touch two or three, insinuating some reasons why we should eschew them.
These are--
1. Speaking blasphemously against God, or reproachfully concerning religion, or to the disgrace of piety, with intent to subvert men’s faith in God, or to impair their reverence of Him. This of all impieties is the most prodigiously gigantic, the most signal practice of enmity towards God, and downright waging of war against heaven. Of all “weapons formed against God,” the tongue most notoriously doth impugn Him; for we cannot reach heaven with our hands, or immediately assault God by our actions: other ill-practice indeed obliquely or by consequence dishonoureth God, and defameth goodness; but profane discourse is directly levelled at them.
2. To speak loosely and wantonly about holy things, to make such things the matter of sport and mockery, to play and trifle with them.
3. Rash and vain swearing in common discourse; an offence which now strangely reigns and rages in the world, passing about in a specious garb and under glorious titles, as a gentle and graceful quality, a mark of fine breeding, and a point of high gallantry.
4. Finally, consider, that as we ourselves, with all our members and powers, were chiefly designed and framed to serve and glorify our Maker, so especially our tongue and speaking faculty were given us to declare our admiration and reverence of Him, to express our love and gratitude toward Him, to celebrate His praises, to acknowledge His benefits, to promote His honour and service. (I. Barrow, D. D.)
The tongue
There are two thoughts in this passage distinct from each other. The first is that the tongue is an index of the character. If a man offend not in word, he will offend in no way; if he gets the mastery of that unruly member, you may rely on it he is able to control all the rest of his powers. The doctor, when called in to see a patient, asks at once, “Let me see your tongue.” the man’s physical condition is indicated by the state of his tongue, and, if St. James may be believed, the moral condition of every one is to be determined by the state of the tongue. What is the state of your tongue? The other idea of St. James is more extraordinary still, Not only is the tongue an index of character, it shows what a man is; but the apostle goes beyond that in the figure of the bit which guides the horse, and the helm which turns the ship. The tongue determines character; it makes character; it leads and guides and directs a man into good or bad ways. I solemnly believe this to be true. If, when one is angry, he will refrain from uttering a word, he will soon get the mastery of his temper; he is like a horse held in by the bit; but if he allow himself to begin to speak he will become more and more angry, and like an unrestrained horse or ship, will break over all bounds, and do mischief to himself and others. It is a well-known fact that a man may tell a lie until he comes to believe it himself, while a sort of converse of this is true that a Christian may talk so humbly of himself as unworthy that he shall greatly foster his spiritual pride. (T. H.Pritchard, D. D.)
Temper nine-tenths of religion
It was once pleaded on behalf of a man who had been criticised and condemned as unsatisfactory, that he was “a good man, all but his temper.” “All but his temper!” was the not unreasonable reply, “as if temper were not nine-tenths of religion.” (A. Plummer, D. D.)
Unserviceable because rash
The Adige at Verona appears to be a river quite broad and deep enough for navigation, but its current is so rapid as to make it quite unserviceable. Many men are so rash and impetuous, and at the same time so suddenly angry and excited, that their otherwise most valuable abilities are rendered useless for any good purpose. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Restraint of the tongue
The habit of restraint in speech was admirably illustrated by Lord Palmerston at the cutlers’ feast in Sheffield, at the time of the great struggle between the North and the South in the United States. Mr. Roebuck had made a violent speech, urging England to side with the South. It was Lord Palmerston’s place to reply, and a word from him might kindle the flames of war. He rose, and every eye was fixed on him. What he said, however, was merely, “I beg to propose a toast--The Ladies!”
Command of the tongue
Learn to hold thy tongue. Five words cost Zacharias forty weeks’ silence. (R. Fuller.)
Control of the tongue
A babbler, being at table with a number of persons, among whom was one of the seven sages of Greece, expressed his astonishment that a man so wise did not utter a single word. The sage instantly replied, “A fool cannot hold his tongue.”
Curbing the tongue, a difficult art
Some men remind one of the young man who was sent to Socrates to learn oratory. On being introduced to the philosopher, he talked so incessantly that Socrates asked for double fees. “Why charge me double?” said the young fellow. “Because,” replied the orator, “I must teach you two sciences; the one how to hold your tongue, and the other how to speak.” The first science is the more difficult. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Government of tongue
He was a wise philosopher who bound his scholars to a silence of five years, that they might not use their tongues till they knew how to govern them, nor speak till they had something to say.
