April 28, 2021 – Proverbs 13-17

We are familiar with James and his warnings about the tongue (James 3). The Bible has so much to say about the tongue and speech. A quick sampling from Proverbs:

“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin” (3:3).

“By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will preserve them” (14:3).

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. . . . The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. . . .A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. . . . The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.”(15:1-2,4,7).

For consideration, this morning, Charles Spurgeon on the tongue: “No description of a man’s character can be perfect which does not include his speech. A man who lies, or who talks obscenely or profanely, is a bad man! A man whose words are arrogant and boastful, cruel and slanderous, unreliable and deceptive, unchaste and impure, is no child of God. The grace of God very speedily sweetens a man’s tongue, and if his religion does not operate upon his speech surely it is not the religion of the pure and holy God.”