In the book of James chapter 3 the apostle has quite a bit to say about a subject that is in everyone's mouth and that's the tongue. Everyone has a tongue and everyone therefore can take heed to what it says in this portion. In the book of Proverbs And we will be referring back to James chapter 3, undoubtedly in this message. But in the book of Proverbs, there's quite a lot that is said about the mouth, about the tongue, about the words, about the lips, about speech and so on. There are various references to all of these. For instance, way back in chapter 4 and verse 24, the command is, put away from thee a froward mouth and perverse lips put far from thee." And there are many precepts like that found in the book of Proverbs. I was actually amazed as I read through the book of Proverbs how many references there are to our speech, to our words, to our tongue and so forth. In chapter 6 for instance, and I'm only picking out a few of them by the way, If you read the book of Proverbs, and I trust that you will do that and read it carefully and closely, you'll see that there are lots and lots more references than what I'm giving to this subject. But look at chapter 6 and verse 17. It's telling us about the things that the Lord hates, and the seven that are an abomination unto Him. Verse 17, a proud look, a lying tongue. and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." So, there's actually quite a percentage of the seven things that the Lord hates that have to do with the tongue. There's the lying tongue, the false witness, he that soweth discord among brethren. We read on in chapter 8 of Proverbs from verse 6, And the opening of my lips shall be right things, for my mouth shall speak truth, and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge." And I think that those particular scriptures would do well to be in the mouth of the preacher. It's His job to speak excellent things, right things, to speak truth, not to speak wickedness, to speak all the words of His mouth in righteousness, that there might be nothing froward or perverse in them, and that they might be plain words understood by those who listen. Go to chapter 10, and we've already read in our Scripture reading from this portion. There are numbers of references in this chapter 10, from verse 11 to verse 14. It speaks of the mouth of the righteous man. It speaks of the mouth of the wicked. It says, "...the lips of him that hath understanding." Wisdom is found there. Verse 13. Verse 14. The mouth of the foolish is near destruction. If you go down to verse 18, it talks about lying lips. It talks about he that uttereth a slander who is a fool. And in the next verse, in the multitude of words, there wanteth not sin, but he that refraineth his lips is wise. The tongue of the just is as choice silver. The lips of the righteous feed many, verse 21. And in the last couple of verses of that chapter, it speaks in verse 31, "...of the mouth of the just that bringeth forth wisdom, the froward tongue that will be cut out, and the lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness." And so we could go on through this great book of wisdom. And notice time and time and time again, how that the Lord is instructing us about that which we say and about the use of our tongue. Go over, for instance, to chapter 12 and you will see there From verse 17, He that speaketh truth showeth forth righteousness, but a false witness deceit. There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise is health. The lip of truth shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Chapter 14 then, verse 3, In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride, but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. Verse 7 of the same chapter, Go from the presence of a foolish man when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge. And we could go on, chapter 19, verse 5, chapter 21, verse 23, chapter 25, verse 11, where it says, A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and pictures of silver. That's a beautiful text. And then, finally in this connection, chapter 26, from verse 20, Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out. So, that's a very good reference to not having the fuel for the fire, so where there is no tail-bearer, this strife ceaseth." So, you have a situation sometimes where if someone would just shut their mouth, then there would be no more strife. Where there is no tail-bearer, this strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife." And so we could read on and read on about the lips, about the tongue, about the words. There's much here in this book of wisdom about that subject. I suppose we could say the book of Proverbs talks a lot about restraint in speech. And oh how all of us, all of us, could do well to heed these words, to restrain our tongue, to bring it under control, or rather let the Lord bring it under control, so that we might not say the things that we do say. There needs to be a restraint in our speech. There also needs to be a righteousness in our speech. And there is quite a bit in the Proverbs, and we will probably deal with that when we're talking about the issue of soul winning, about spreading the Gospel. There's quite a lot about the use of the tongue in a positive way in speaking forth truth. And there used to be a great preacher in the country where I come from, who used to say, some Christians don't seem to know where their mouth is. And he said, let me just point it out to you. It's that small hole under your nose. And he said, if you open it, you'll be able to speak for the Lord. And we need to do that, as the Lord would give us grace, and as He would give us help. There are times when we need to know when to be quiet, and there are other times when we know when to speak. And the great wisdom is knowing the difference between those occasions. But the Lord will use our tongues In the right way, there can be righteousness in speech, such as it talks about there in chapter 15 and verse 7. The lips of the wise disperse knowledge. The lips of the wise disperse knowledge. I know that we might be, as it is there in chapter 14 and verse 25, a true witness who delivereth souls. I pray God would make me such a minister, a true witness who delivereth souls. When I was a little boy, sometimes I had to go to the doctor with my mother. And if I wasn't feeling very well, and even if I was feeling well, the doctor used to always say just about the same thing every time I went in, stick out your tongue. That ever happen to you? That happened to me. He used to take this thing that looked like, we call it a lollipop stick, I guess you would call it a popsicle stick, and he would put it on the tongue and I would half gag to death when he's trying to hold my tongue down. You know why they do that? Doctors do that because you can tell a lot about somebody's condition by looking at their tongue. If the tongue is swollen, or if it's discolored, or if there's lumps on the tongue, or whatever, there's various things that the physician can tell about your condition by your tongue. And he can tell that little boy, or that little girl, or whoever it may be, isn't very well, because when they stuck their tongue out, I see something that I don't like. You know, spiritually, This is also the case. The Bible teaches us, and the book of Proverbs as a whole teaches us this, that the tongue is the index of the soul. Stick out your tongue and God will tell us what our spiritual condition is. I want to deal with this subject by looking at some of these Proverbs in the light of James chapter 3, because Many of the things that are said in the book of Proverbs are said in another way in James chapter 3. In fact, you may be forgiven for thinking that when James wrote his third chapter of the epistle that he was actually reading the Proverbs at the same time. Because he deals there with this whole issue of the use of the tongue as the end to the soul. I want to say several things about this particular matter. First of all, regarding the tongue, there is the testing that is required of the tongue. As we look here at the Proverbs, and we've read many of them, I'll not read them again, we will see that there is evidence of our spiritual state to be found in the things that come forth from our lips and from our tongue. When James was writing his epistle, the whole point of the epistle was to establish the point that faith without works is dead. You can say what you want about having faith, but it's what you do that is the proof of that or otherwise. That's what James tells us in the words of chapter 2, for example, and verse 18, Yea, a man may say, and of course, the way that we say things is with our tongue. We make a profession with our lips, with our mouths. We make a profession. Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. And one of the ways in which we show forth that we are the children of God is by the use of the tongue. And so it's not a wrong thing to test a profession by the words of the lips. After all, it was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who said, Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. When I hear someone taking the Lord's name in vain, when I hear someone using the Lord's name in a blasphemous way, that tells me quite a bit about that person. and where they're at spiritually speaking. That's telling me that they haven't got any regard for the holiness of God. They haven't got any desire really to worship the Lord because they're taking His name in vain. But of course that's not the only example that could be used. An unbridled tongue, when there's a lack of restraint in the words that it utters, it does reveal a heart unchanged by grace. Now of course we have to be very careful when we say something like that because immediately we all come under conviction because we say things that we shouldn't say and if we are not careful we're going to chalk all of our professions off as being not genuine because there are times when all of us can lapse into this kind of thing. But what we're talking about is that which is the normal practice of the life. You can tell a lot by the tongue. The unreality of a profession is evidenced by the words spoken. And our Lord Jesus Christ spoke about this. He talked about that in Matthew chapter 12. If you care to turn to that portion, Matthew chapter 12 and look at verse 34. And I just quoted this a moment or two, we're going to read the verses thereafter. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. So the Lord identifies the problem, it's on the inside, just like the doctor when he says stick out your tongue and your tongue shows forth that something's wrong, then he knows that something's wrong on the inside of your body, because of the outward evidence on the tongue. Jesus said, verse 35 of Matthew 12, A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. That's interesting, isn't it? Oftentimes we want to say, well, it's by your deeds. And yes, the Bible talks about that, about being judged according to your works. But notice that Jesus says, by thy words thou shalt be justified. By thy words thou shalt be condemned. Now when I find that in someone's life there is a constant use of bad language, gossip, filthy talk, dirty stories, those are signs of an unchanged heart. Those are not evidences of a regenerate person. And if you look again at James, and we can't look at all the references here tonight in detail, but he refers over and over again to the tongue as being a means of testing the quality of spiritual life. It's an indicator of the true state of the soul. Whenever Peter said what he said at the time of our Lord's judgment and trial, Remember how they said to him, you have the speech of a Galilean? And he denied it. And they said, no, we know that you were with Jesus because thy speech betrayeth thee. And you know, when the Lord Jesus said, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, we could say of that, thy speech betrayeth thee. Your speech tells a lot about you. And of course that is true from a positive standpoint as well as from a negative one. Someone said a tongue uncontrolled by the speaker is a sign of a heart uncontrolled by the Saviour. One of the marks of falsity in religious profession is a tongue that is lacking in restraint. Look at one of those verses that we read at the beginning. In Proverbs chapter 10 verse 31. The mouth of the just, this is the justified person. The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom. That is as a matter of course. In general this is true. But the froward tongue shall be cut out. And then the next verse. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness. Oh, how important our words are in the context of the day of judgment. Because the tongue, you see, reveals what we are. And there is this testing that is required of the tongue. The thing that we must remark upon, and the Proverbs hint at this as well, and the book of James certainly speaks of it very clearly, is that there are no sins that are more prone to be committed by mankind than sins of the tongue. There are no sins that are more prone to be committed than sins of the tongue. I read a comment of a preacher. I know he was being clever and preachers sometimes do that. But I liked what he said. He said, the tongue is in a wet place and it slips ever so easily. And that's one of those little things that you remember. The tongue is in a wet place and how easily it slips. And I know that's true by my own experience. How often have I wished there was a muzzle on my mouth because I've said something that I shouldn't have said. There was a lot of wisdom among the ancient rabbis in Judaism and one of the things that the rabbins used to say was that man was created with two ears and only one mouth because he was to be twice as ready to listen as to speak. And what wisdom there is in that. And really, that's biblical wisdom. Proverbs 10, verse 19. Oh, how this needs to be written upon my heart. In the multitude of words, there wanteth not sin, but he that refraineth his lips is wise. There's a man that I'm thinking about tonight, and I've heard it said of him many times. He is a man of few words. And I have to say, he is a wise man. Wiser than me. In the multitude of words, there wanteth not sin. The more we speak, the more possibility there is that we're going to say the wrong thing. Right? That's what the scripture is really saying here. And the believer has a constant duty to restrain and bridle and bring under control his tongue. Because the control of the words of the tongue means really a control of the whole man, of the whole person. Again we go there to James chapter 3, and it tells us that most clearly there in the second verse. James 3 verse 2, For in many things we offend all. So James was not a subscriber to the doctrine of sinless perfection. In many things we offend all. We know that there are things that we do that are not right. But listen, if any man offend not in word, the same as a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. So, if you bring the tongue under control, you've brought the whole man under control. And by the way, when he talks about a perfect man here, he's not talking about perfection per se. It's not sinlessly perfect, because we've just gotten through telling you that the first part of the verse denies that. Obviously he doesn't mean absolute perfection, otherwise he would have been contradicting himself. In many things we offend all, but then you can be a perfect man, therefore you don't offend. That's not what he's saying. He's talking about maturity. And a true Christian, by grace, will be maturing in the use of the tongue. It's not going to be his constant habit to show no restraint in his speech. Because true Christians in this area, as in every other area, have a desire for holiness. To have a tongue that's controlled and kept in check. And this is the hardest thing. The Bible tells us that this is the hardest part of the body to control. Read on in verse 3 of James 3, Behold, we put bits in the horse's mouth that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. If you know anything about horses, you'll know that there's a little thing that you put into his mouth, the bit and the bridle, and that is used to control the direction that the horse goes in. It's just a small thing. But it is very effective. It is a control item. And then verse 4 gives a different analogy. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. And there you have this illustration. Again, we could go back to our talking about small things. and how that there's a small thing that exercises a great influence. There's the horse and the bit. There's the ship and the rudder. And we know that the rudder, as it moves back and forth, will control the direction in which the ship goes. If the tongue is controlled, the whole being is mastered. A large ship can have its whole direction dictated by a comparatively tiny thing called a rudder. And James says it's just like that with the human tongue. But yet how difficult it is for us to grasp that. Our words are so easily blurted out and they're difficult to hold back, aren't they? We have difficulty holding them back. And yet the effort must be made and I say it will be made by the child of God. There will be this effort made because the tongue reveals what we are. I've been setting myself a project over the last while of reading through the works of Thomas Brooks. I'm halfway through volume five and there are six volumes. And boy is it rich reading. And I was reading a statement by Brooks and here's what he said. We know metals by their tinkling and we know men by their talking. That's good, isn't it? We know metals by their tinkling. You know what kind of metal it is when you hit it with something? Lead, for instance, makes a different sound from tin. And tin makes a different sound from something else. We know metals by their tinkling. We know men by their talking. It's an index of the soul. And if we're truly maturing as Christians, it's going to be manifested in the control that we exercise over our tongues. This is a practical truth, but how important it is that we take care about our words. Go back to the Proverbs, to chapter 18. Chapter 18 of Proverbs, verse 21. Oh, what a text this is. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Death and life. are in the power of the tongue. You could apply that to a judge on the bench. And according to the verdict that he brings down, it can either mean that a man lives or he dies. I think there's also an application to the preaching of the Word. And oh, how death and life are in the power of the tongue. And death and life are certainly in the answer of the tongue. But look at chapter 21 then of Proverbs and verse 23. Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. Isn't that something similar to what James said about if we can master the tongue then we've controlled the whole body? Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. A tongue under control will make for the well-being of the whole person. There's the testing that is required of the tongue. I want to think secondly about this. The tragedy that can result from the tongue. Now we've read quite a few verses in Proverbs which speak about that very thing. We've just read one about death and life being in the power of the tongue. And I think the human tongue is a little bit like a bread knife. You can either use it to cut the bread or you can use it to cut someone into pieces verbally. You can use a bread knife to cut bread or kill someone. The tongue can be used either to have a good purpose or to cut someone to pieces. That's what I mean to say. The bread knife has a good use, cutting the bread. It has an evil use, killing someone. And we read in the book of James chapter 3 and verse 10 that we can use the same tongue to bless or to curse. Now think about this. In the Proverbs it says that a true witness delivereth souls. And yet it also says in chapter 12 and verse 18, there is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword. So you can have those who speak the truth with their lips, those who use their lips for a righteous purpose, and then there are those with lying lips which are an abomination to the Lord. There are those who use their lips and their tongues to speak the truth and to build up and to edify and to encourage. And there are those who use the tongue as a tail-bearer who revealeth secrets, who use their tongues to cause trouble, to gossip and to slander. I know that the gospel can be preached by man's tongue or the doctrines of devils. and many there are who use the mouth that God has given them to preach falsehoods. There are wholesome words that can be uttered by our tongues and then there are unclean, undesirable and even untrue words. No question about the potential for evil that there is in the tongue. And not only do the Proverbs refer to that, but James dwells upon it as well there in that third chapter. He talks about the great tragedy that can result from an uncontrolled tongue. For instance, look here at James 3 and verse 5. And notice how there is this terrible potential for evil. There's damage that can be caused. By fire, James 3 verse 5, Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth. Now didn't we read a few minutes ago about where there is no wood, the fire goes out? Well look at this, here's the same thing. I tell you, James must have been reading the Proverbs when he wrote James chapter 3. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth. And actually the word in the margin of our authorised version is wood. How great would a little fire kindleth. I'm sure you've done some travelling, some of you, and you've gone to places where there are forest parks and where there's a lot of timber and there are signs up everywhere about the hazard of fire. If you have a barbecue or something like that, you're not to leave it just smoldering. There's places where you're not even allowed to have it because of the potential for fires. And we hear from time to time on our news items about the terrible devastation that's wrought by fires out west. Recently there, there was a lot of talk about fires and how people's homes and multi-million dollar homes were threatened by these fires. There's a tremendous damage that can be caused by a blaze that spreads. How great a matter a little fire kindling, just a spark or a match, can ignite. A whole big conflagration that burns thousands and millions of acres. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which I hasten to add I was not alive to witness, you know it destroyed 17,500 buildings? Think of that. 17,500 buildings destroyed. You know how it was started? Somebody knocked a lantern over in a barn. How great a matter a little fire kindleth. You think of the damage that's done when somebody spreads an evil and a malicious story about someone. Think of the damage it caused in lives, in homes, in families and in churches. by tongues that are set on fire of hell. And I think a lot of times even Christians don't realize the great potential for tragedy that there is in our power by the use of our tongues. Again, let's refer back to Proverbs, to chapter 26. And it is amazing that we can bring teaching on this matter from so many places in the Proverbs. Proverbs 26, look at verses 21 and 22. Again, it says, As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife. He's the one that is the fire-raiser. The words of a tail-bearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. One of the most untruthful sayings that I heard all the time growing up as a child was this, sticks and stones may hurt my bones but names will never hurt me. I want to tell you something, that is not true. That is not true. Because there are names that some little kids have been called that have stayed with them their entire lives and have brought them untold harm. Things that people have said have stayed with them. Wounds that go down into the innermost chambers of the belly. That's what it says there. An uncontrolled tongue can cause tremendous damage. How destructive words can be. And that's why men and women, we need to pray for grace to be slow to speak. Because sometimes when we're using our tongues, all's we're doing is spreading the fire. Or maybe throwing gasoline on the fire. That's what we're doing. Again, Proverbs 26 verse 20. Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out. Or you could say, where there's no gasoline, the fire goes out. Where there is no tail-bearer, the strife ceaseth. It comes to an end when you cease to spread it any further. I'm interested that James said something in James chapter 3 verse 6, which is that every evil in the world is in the tongue. That's a huge statement, isn't it, when you really stop to think about it. James 3 verse 6, The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature. And it is set on fire of hell. It is a world of iniquity. The misuse of the tongue will blot and stain the whole of our lives. There in Matthew 15, our Lord said in verse 11, Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. He went on to say in verse 18, But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. The things that come out of the mouth. And O, a tongue that is on fire spreads that fire to others, and the wheel of nature rolls that great fire in every direction, leaving behind it a trail of destruction. And we could read on in the book of James, in chapter 3, in verses 7 and 8, it talks about how the tongue is more dangerous than a wild animal. I used to love, again, I'm reminiscing a lot tonight, I must be getting old, talking about when I was a child, I used to go sometimes with my folks or with somebody else to the Belfast Zoo. And I used to love that because there were very exotic animals there, animals that I never would have seen unless I came to America, like raccoons. Can you imagine a raccoon being in the zoo? That's what we had because we wouldn't have seen it otherwise. We don't have raccoons. We don't have groundhogs. You say, When can I move there? We don't have groundhogs. We don't have a lot of animals there that you have here. And the only time that I would see them would be in the zoo. So that's the first time I ever saw a raccoon was in the zoo. The next time was in a tree at my wife's people's home in the Midwest. But listen to this. It's amazing to think of some of those animals that are caged up in the zoo because if they were let loose they would cause havoc and devastation in the city. And I'm glad that there's cages to keep them in. But a lot of animals have been tamed. And way back in the 30s and 40s in the city of Belfast, there was a man that lived there, not so far from the zoo by the way. And he was known locally as Buck Alec. And he was a wild man, and he used to walk the streets of Belfast, I kid you not, with a lion. A real lion, not a pretend one, a real lion with the mane and everything. And nobody went near him, I'm not surprised. Of course you wouldn't be allowed to do it now, there are laws against that sort of thing, but in those days it wasn't a problem with it for some reason. They probably hadn't even thought of it, that someone would have a lion. And Buck Alec used to walk the streets with that lion. Now how could he do that? Because the lion had been tamed. It had it from when it was little, from when it was a cub. And so it knew him very well. And it trusted him. He trusted the animal. And that just really endorses what the Bible says here in James 3 and verse 7. Every kind of beast, birds, serpents and of things in the sea is tamed and have been tamed of mankind. So I say to you, there were animals that were in the zoo, there were lions in Belfast Zoo that weren't tamed. If they had to get out of the cage, they would have ripped people to pieces. And Buck Alec had a lion that used to walk the streets with him. Every beast has been tamed. But wait a minute. But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. People might think that's an exaggeration, but the Word of God doesn't exaggerate. The Spirit of God doesn't exaggerate. We could say the tagger, but not the tongue, has been tamed. It's an unruly evil, like a viper that spews out venom and poison, according to Romans 3, verse 13. The poison of asps is under our tongues by nature. And when the tongue goes on the attack, boy, it is like a savage beast, how it can tear someone's character to pieces. How by evil, gossip and slander, poison, venom can be injected into the minds and hearts of other people? Did you hear that about so-and-so? Did you know this about so-and-so? And so this evil is perpetuated. It says that there in James 3 verse 8, But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. Full of deadly poison. You know, there are some who go on the attack with the tongue like a wild beast would attack its prey. And there is a great danger of dreadful havoc being perpetrated. That is why when Paul wrote to the Galatians, to Christians now, he warned them in Galatians 5 and verse 15, But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. The tragedy that can result from the tongue. It's very, very great. We must recognize it. But let's move on thirdly to the talk that is reproduced by the tongue. The thing about the Proverbs you will notice is that it's a series quite often of opposites. It'll talk about the tongue of the wise and then it'll talk about the tongue or the heart of the wicked. It talks about the lips of the righteous feeding many, and then fools dying for want of wisdom. There's this balance all the time. There's the righteous tongue, there's the evil tongue. There's the lips of the righteous, there's the mouth of the wicked. And so, you see that there's two uses of the tongue. Totally opposite things proceeding from a mouth. But what James talks about is interesting, because in James chapter 3, he talks about not two different kinds of people necessarily, but how that totally opposite things are proceeding from the same mouth, and he's showing that that kind of hypocrisy that's seen in a man's speech is not a mark of grace, but it's a mark of the lack of grace. James 3 verse 10, he says, "...therewith," that's with this tongue, "...bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be." This paradoxical speech shouldn't be found in a Christian. It's not found in nature. You look at verse 11 and verse 12 of James 3. He asks the question, does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? And the answer to that is, no it doesn't. It's either one or the other. Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? No. Either a vine, figs? No. So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh? Such hypocrisy that can't be witnessed in the world of nature can be seen in a man's speech. The tongue can express that, and it ought not to be. No spring in the east produced salt water and fresh. No tree produced two different kinds of fruit. But yet, he says, an evil tongue can give forth two entirely opposite messages, blessing and cursing. the same tongue that prays and praises God, then using bad language and profanity. No, no. How can we be, how can we be guilty of such paradoxical talk? I read a sermon, I read about a sermon that was once preached, which was entitled, Ten Minutes After the Benediction. ten minutes after the benediction. And in that sermon, the preacher spoke about those who move very quickly from the gloria to the gossip. He said they move very swiftly from the creed to the criticism and from worshipping God to wounding men. These things ought not so to be. But one other thing I want to speak about, and we're talking about the tongue, and that is the taming that is recognisable in the tongue. It was the Lord Jesus who said, By thy words thou shalt be justified. And if you look again at Proverbs 21 and verse 23, a verse that we almost began with, it says there, Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from troubles now there is a taming that's done upon the tongue that's recognizable and it is the work of grace my father I cannot remember once using bad language I can't recall it when he ever used bad words as we would call them I've never heard him take the Lord's name in vain and I've never heard him use profanity or bad language and yet my father has told me many many times that before he was converted he had the most filthy tongue he had the most vile tongue and of course he used to work in the workplace with other rough guys and so forth but despite the fact there's a lot of things he didn't do in his life he said that his mouth was a most filthy mouth Now, what is it that made the difference? What was it that made this change between a man whose constant talk was profanity and taking the Lord's name in vain and so forth to where you never hear that sort of speech? What is it that causes that? Well, it certainly isn't the power of man. He didn't just decide one day to turn over a new leaf and to put this sort of talk out of his life. This was, I believe, a work of grace. And that is why it says there in James 3, no man can tame the tongue. But it doesn't say the tongue can't be tamed. It just says that no man can tame the tongue. But while man cannot do it, God most certainly can and does. And that tells me, even as we read the Proverbs, that those who have the kind of tongue that speaks good things and righteous things are those who have the power of grace at work in their lives. And we do need divine help and power, even as Christians, to have our tongues under control, under the overall control of the Holy Ghost. The psalmist made a wonderful prayer in Psalm 141 verse 3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips. And despite the fact that you and I have a double guard on our tongues, our teeth, real or purchased, and our lips, There's a double guard that God has put on our tongues, yet despite that, we still manage to be able to use the tongue in a negative way. But no Christian wants to have an uncontrolled tongue. The true Christian wants to have his tongue under control. That's why he prays with the psalmist, and I must pray this prayer, and so must you if you're a child of God. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips. And I think in the context, it's talking about prayer, and that's not to be missed. We are to be very careful about our tongues when we come into the presence of God. We learn that from Ecclesiastes chapter 5. We are not to be quick to make oaths and promises to God that we can't keep or we don't intend to keep. But nevertheless, is it not applicable to every area of our lives? Not just the area of prayer. Lord, set a watch before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips. Lord, help me. Help me. to have a tongue that's under control. Help me to have this kind of tongue that is so commended in the book of Proverbs. Help me not to have the kind of tongue that is so condemned by the Proverbs. Give me a tongue that is wise. Like the one that's mentioned in Proverbs 10 verse 20. The tongue of the just is as choice silver. choice silver, something to be admired, something that's beautiful, a tongue that's under control. If you want another prayer of the psalmist, which we need to pray constantly, it's found in Psalm 19 and verse 14. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Good test for us is, would we say the things that we say to others if we were saying them to the Lord? Let the words of my mouth be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Notice very quickly before we finish what the Proverbs have to say about the kind of tongue that the grace of God will produce. What kind of tongue will God give us if we're truly His? Proverbs 10 verse 11, the mouth of a righteous man is a well of life. Or as it is in verse 19, in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin, but he that refraineth his lips is wise. The tongue of the just is his choice, silver. Or verse 21, the lips of the righteous feed many. Remember how the New Testament speaks of the kind of tongue, the kind of lips, the kind of mouth that our Lord Jesus Himself had. Do we not want to be like Christ? Do we not want to be like the blessed man? Well, what does it say of our Saviour? Luke chapter 4, verse 22, And all bear Him witness and wonder at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. The gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. Lord, let there be gracious words that proceed out of my mouth. And even if you have to rebuke someone, let it be with grace. Let it be with grace. 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 21 and 22. Again, it's talking about our Saviour. For even here unto where ye called, Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow His steps. I know we are not saved by following the example of Christ. We are not saved, we are not converted, we are not redeemed by the imitation of Christ. That is a falsehood. But if we are redeemed, if we are washed in the blood of the Lamb, if we are the Lord's own children, surely He has left us an example that we should follow His steps. And in what should we follow him who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth? As believers, we need to pray continually for grace to be manifested in our words. We need to pray for that. Lord, give me a tongue that is as choice silver. Psalm 39 verse 1, I said I will take heed to my ways that I sin not with my tongue I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me. Of course it goes on in that chapter to talk about the sound speech and how that when his heart was hot within him When he was musing, the fire burned, then spake I with my tongue, and what he spoke then was wholesome and good and gracious. But finally, Colossians 4 verse 6, and I suppose we could call this a New Testament proverb. Colossians 4 verse 6, summing up a lot of what the man of wisdom said in Proverbs, he says, Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, and salt we know is a purifier, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. Lord, help us with our tongues, for Jesus' sake. Amen.