The Tongue

We must commit the government of the tongue to God himself Every command in Scripture may be turned into a prayer ; for their is no command to which there is not an annexed promise , in which He engages to give the grace needed for the performance of the commanded duty . "Lord " said Augustine , " give what thou commandest , and then command what thou wilt ." We may do the same in regard to the command before us . We cannot keep it ourselves . "The tongue can no man tame ," but God can tame it , and can enable us to do so . He can keep us from sins of the tongue , as well as from all other sins . While doing our part , then , we should at the same time put the work into his hand , as David does in one of the Psalms , when he says " Set a watch ,O Lord , before my mouth ; keep the door of my lips ,."
    Seek heart purification , as a radical and only effectual remedy for sins of the tongue . Our words , like our actions , proceed from the heart . Itis the fountain from whence both flow , and according as the fountain is pure or impure , so will the streams be , for "out of the abundance of the heart , the mouth speaketh ."Seek therefore purity of heart , and make this also a matter of prayer to God . While beseeching him to keep your tongue from evil , and your lips from speaking guile , beseech him also to create in you a clean heart , and renew within you a right spirit . Thus the foul tongue will be cleansed , the deadly poison under it will be taken away , and from an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin , it will become an instrument of righteous unto God , and a means of showing forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness unto his own marvellous light