Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. -- Pro 12:1-3 Expositors Bible Commentary on THE TONGUE A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his MOUTH: and the doings of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.- Pro_12:14 In the transgression of the LIPS is a snare to an evil man: but the righteous shall come out of trouble.- Pro_12:13 A fool’s vexation is PRESENTLY KNOWN: but a prudent man concealeth shame.- Pro_12:16 He that uttereth truth SHOWETH FORTH righteousness, but a false witness deceit.- Pro_12:17 The LIP of truth shall be established forever: but a lying TONGUE is but for a moment.- Pro_12:19 Lying LIPS are an abomination unto the Lord: but they that deal truly are His delight.- Pro_12:22 There is that SPEAKETH rashly like the piercings of a sword: but the TONGUE of the wise is health.- Pro_12:18 A prudent man CONCEALETH knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.- Pro_12:23 The WORDS of the wicked are a lying in wait for blood: but the MOUTH of the upright shall deliver them.- Pro_12:6 Heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop; but a good WORD maketh it glad.- Pro_12:25 THERE is nothing which seems more insubstantial than speech, a mere vibration in the atmosphere which touches the nerves of hearing and then dies away. There is no organ which seems smaller and less considerable than the tongue; a little member which is not even seen, and, physically speaking, soft and weak. But the word which issues out of the lips is the greatest power in human life. That soft tongue breaketh the bone. (Pro_25:15) Words will change the currents of life; look for instance at a great orator addressing his audience; how miraculous must it seem to a deaf man watching the speaker that the quiet opening of a mouth should be able to produce such powerful effects upon the faces, the movements, the conduct of the listeners! We are coming to consider the importance of this diminutive organ, the ill uses and the good uses to which it may be turned, and the consequent necessity of fitly directing and restraining it. On the use of the tongue depend the issues of a man’s own life. It may be regarded as a tree which bears fruits of different kinds, and such fruits as his tongue bears a man must eat. If his words have been good, then he shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. (Pro_13:2) A man’s belly shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth, with the increase of his lips shall he be satisfied. (Pro_18:20) The fruits which grow on this tongue-tree are death and life-the tongue produces them-and he that loves the tree shall according to his love eat the one fruit or the other; if he loves death-bearing speech he shall eat death; if he loves life-bearing speech he shall eat life. (Pro_18:21) So deadly may be the fruit of the tongue that the mouth of the fool is regarded as a present destruction. (Pro_10:14) So wholesome may be the fruit of the tongue that the tongue of the wise may be actually denominated health. (Pro_12:18) In the case of the fool it is always very obvious how powerfully the tongue affects the condition of the speaker. His lips are always coming into strife, and his mouth is always calling for stripes. It is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. (Pro_18:6-7) In the transgression of the lips always ties the snare for the evil man: ultimately all men are in effect condemned out of their own mouths. (Pro_12:13) The tongue proves to be a rod for the back of the proud and foolish owner of it, while the good man’s tongue is a constant life-preserver. (Pro_14:3) As an old proverb says, a fool’s tongue is always long enough to cut his own throat. On the other hand, where the tongue is wisely used it always brings back joy to the speaker in the end. (Pro_15:23) Thus whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles, (Pro_21:23) but the man who does not take the pains to hear, but gives his testimony falsely, shall perish. (Pro_21:28) While the use of the tongue thus recoils on the speaker for good or for evil, it has a wide influence also on others. He that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief, (Pro_17:20) but when speech is good, and such as it ought to be, the words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters, a gushing brook, a well of wisdom. (Pro_18:4) Thus it is of vast and obvious importance how we use our tongue. If our speech is gracious we shall win the friendship of the king, (Pro_22:2) and it is a pleasant thing if we keep the words of the wise within us and if they be established together upon our lips. (Pro_22:18) It is better for us to be poor than perverse or untruthful in our speech. (Pro_19:1; Pro_19:22) Our teacher, especially our Divine Lord, will rejoice towardly and deeply when our lips speak right things. (Pro_23:16) We are now cautioned against some of the evil purposes to which the tongue may be turned, and as all the heads of evil are passed in review we realize why St. James spoke of the tongue as the world of iniquity (Jas_3:6); and how profound was our Lord’s teaching that out of the mouth proceed the things which defile a man. (Mat_15:18) First of all, the tongue is a fruitful source of quarrelling and discord. A fool cannot hide his vexation, but must immediately blurt it out with the tongue. (Pro_12:16) When he is angry he must utter it all at once, (Pro_29:11) though a wise man would keep it back and still it, so concealing shame. No one is more certain to come to grief than he who provokes with words. These irritating taunts and threats are like coals to hot embers, and wood to fire; (Pro_26:21) in their absence the contention would quickly die out. It is therefore the wise counsel of Agur to one who has done foolishly in exalting himself, or has even entertained for a moment the arrogant or quarrelsome thought, Hand on thy mouth! for speech under such circumstances produces strife as surely as churning produces butter from milk, or a blow on the nose blood. (Pro_30:32-33) Rash, inconsiderate, angry words are like the piercings of a Pro_12:18. If only our wrathful spirit made us immediately dumb, anger would never go far, it would die out as a conflagration dies when there is no wind to fan the flames. But again, the tongue is the instrument of Lying; one of its worst disservices to man is that when it is well balanced, so that it easily wags, it often betrays him into untruths which his heart never contemplated nor even approved. It is the tongue which by false witness so often condemns the innocent. (Pro_12:17) A worthless witness mocketh at judgment; and the mouth of the wicked swalloweth iniquity. (Pro_19:28) And though such a witness shall not in the long run go unpunished, nor shall the liar escape (Pro_19:5, rep. ver. 9), yet as experience shows, he may have brought ruin or calamity on others before vengeance falls upon him. The false witness shall perish, (Pro_21:28) but often not before he has like a mace or a hammer bruised and like a sword or a sharp arrow pierced his unfortunate neighbor. (Pro_25:18) It is the tongue which glozes over the purposes of hate, and lulls the victim into a false security; the fervent lips and the wicked heart are like a silver lining spread over an earthen vessel to make it look like silver: the hatred is cunningly concealed, the seven abominations in the heart are hidden; the pit which is being dug and the stone which is to overwhelm the innocent are kept secret by the facile talk and flatteries of the tongue; the more the tongue lies in its guileful machinations the more the heart hates the victims of its spite. (Pro_26:23-28) A righteous man hates lying, but the wicked, by his lies, brings disgrace and shame. (Pro_13:5) The lie often appears to prosper for a moment, (Pro_12:19) but happily it is an abomination to the Lord, (Pro_12:22) and in His righteous ordering of events he makes the falsehood which was as bread, and sweet to the lips, into gravel which breaks the teeth in the mouth. (Pro_20:17) The curse which is causeless is frustrated, and so also is the empty lie; it wanders without rest, without limit, like a sparrow or a swallow. (Pro_26:2) Closely allied to lying is Flattery; and to this vile use the tongue is often put. Flattery is always a mistake. It does not attain its end in winning the favor of the flattered; for in the long run he that rebuketh a man shall find more favor than he that flattereth with the tongue. (Pro_28:23) If it is believed, as often unfortunately it is, it proves to be a net spread in the path, which may trip up, and may even capture and destroy, the unwary walker. (Pro_29:5) Another evil use of the tongue is for whispering and tale-bearing. He that goeth about as a tale-bearer revealeth secrets-he is not to be trusted, it is better to have nothing to do with him. Disclosing the secret of another is a sure way of incurring reproach and lasting infamy. Such a habit is a fruitful source of rage and indignation, it brings black wrath to the countenance of him whose secret has been published, just as a north wind spreads the rain clouds over the sky. The temptation to tattling is great; the business, of a gossip brings an immediate reward; for the corrupt heart of man delights in scandal as an epicure in tidbits: The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels which go down into the chambers of the belly. (Pro_18:8, repeated at Pro_26:22) But what mischief they do! They separate bosom friends, sowing suspicion and distrust. (Pro_16:28) Where there is already a little misunderstanding, the whisperer supplies wood to the fire and keeps it burning; apart from him it would soon die out. (Pro_26:20) But if he thinks there is any prospect of a reconciliation he will be constantly harping on the matter; one who seeks love would try to hide the transgression, but the scandal-monger is a foe to love and the unfailing author of enmity. (Pro_17:9) But there is Mischief, more deliberate and more malignant still, which the tongue is employed to plot, to plan, and to execute. With his mouth the godless man destroyeth his neighbor. (Pro_11:9) The words of the wicked are a lying in wait for blood. (Pro_12:6) The mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things, (Pro_15:28) blasphemies, obscenities, curses, imprecations. A froward man scattereth abroad strife. (Pro_16:28) He deceives, and in bitter raillery declares that he was only jesting; he is like a madman casting firebrands, arrows, and Pro_26:18-19. We know what it is to hear a man pouring out foul, abusive, and impious language, until the very atmosphere seems inflamed with firebrands, and arrows fly hither and thither through the horrified air. We know, too, what it is to hear the smooth and well-turned speech of the hypocrite and the impostor, which seems to oppress the heart with a sense of decomposition; righteousness, truth, and joy seem to wither away, and in the choking suffocation of deceit and fraud life itself seems as if it must expire. It is a relief to turn from those worst uses of the tongue to the more pardonable vices of Rashness and Inopportuneness of speech. Yet these two are evil enough in their way. To pass a judgment before we are in possession of the facts, and before we have taken the pains to carefully investigate and consider them is a sign of folly and a source of shame. (Pro_18:13) So impressed is our teacher with the danger of ill-considered speech that he says, Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him. (Pro_29:20) And even where the utterance of the tongue is in itself good it may be rendered evil by its untimeliness; religious talk itself may be so introduced as to hinder the cause of religion; pearls may be cast before swine: Speak not in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. (Pro_23:9) There must be some preparation of spirit before we can wisely introduce Divine and heavenly things, and circumstances must not be chosen which will tend to make the Divine things seem mean and contemptible. It may be good to rebuke an evildoer, or to admonish a friend; but if the opportunity is not fitting, we may make the evildoer more evil, -we may alienate our friend without improving him. Considering then what mischief may be done with the tongue, it is not to be wondered at that we are cautioned against excessive speech. In the multitude of words there wanteth not transgression, but he that refraineth his lips doeth wisely. (Pro_10:19) He that guardeth his mouth keepeth his life; who opens wide his lips gets destruction, and a fool spreadeth out folly. (Pro_13:3; Pro_13:16) In all labor is profit, the talk of the lips tends only to poverty. (Pro_14:23) Wisdom rests in the heart of the understanding, but even in the inward part of fools all is blabbed. (Pro_14:33) In the fool are no lips of knowledge because he is always talking. The tongue of the wise uttereth knowledge aright, but the mouth of fools poureth out folly. (Pro_15:2) A fool hath no delight in understanding, but only that his heart may reveal itself. (Pro_18:2) One who is always pouring out talk is sure to be pouring out folly. The wise man, feeling, that all his words must be I tested and weighed, is not able to talk very much. I When your money is all in copper, you may afford to throw it about, but when it is all in gold you have to be cautious. A Christian feels that for every idle word he utters he will have to give account, and as none of his words are to be idle they must be comparatively few; the word that kindles wrath, the lie, the whisper, the slander, can therefore find no place on his lips. This brings us to the Good and beautiful uses of the tongue, those uses which justify us in calling the tongue of the wise Health. (Pro_12:18) First of all the tongue has the gracious power of soothing and restraining anger. It is the readiest instrument of peace-making. Gentleness of speech allays great offenses, (Ecc_10:4) and by preventing quarrels, disarming wrath, and healing the wounds of the spirit, it maintains its claim to be a tree of life. If in the tumult of passion, when fiery charges are made and grievous provocations are uttered, the tongue can be held in firm restraint, and made to give a soft answer, the storm will subside, the angry assailant will retire abashed, (Pro_15:1) and the flaming arrows will be quenched in the buckler of meekness which opposes them. Nor is the tongue only defensive in such cases. The pleasant words, spoken out of a kindly and gentle nature, have a purifying effect, (Pro_15:26) they cleanse away the defilements out of which the evil passions sprang; they purge the diseased humors which produce the irritations of life; they supply a sweet food to the poor hearts of men, who are often contentious because they are hungry for sympathy and love. Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, health to the bones. (Pro_16:24) They must be true words, or they will not in the end be pleasant, for, as we have seen, the sweet bread of falsehood turns to gravel in the mouth. But what a different world this would become if we all spoke as many pleasant words as we honestly could, and were not so painfully afraid of showing what tenderness and pity and healing actually exist in our hearts! For another beautiful use of the tongue is to comfort the mourners, of whom there are always so many in the world. Heaviness in the heart of a man maketh it stoop. There are these stooping, bowed-down hearts everywhere around us. We wish that we could remove the cause of sorrow, that we could effectually change the conditions which seem unfavorable to joy; but being unable to do this, we often stand aloof and remain silent, because we shrink from giving words without deeds, pity without relief. We forget that when the heart is heavy it is just a good word that maketh it glad. (Pro_7:25) Yes, a word of genuine sympathy, a word from the heart, -and in trouble no other word can be called good, -will often do more to revive the drooping spirit than the grosset gifts of material wealth. A coin kindly given, a present dictated by a heart-felt love, may come as a spiritual blessing; on the other hand, money given without love is worthless, and seldom earns so much as gratitude, while a word in season, how good it is! (Pro_15:23) It is better than silver and gold; the discouraged and despondent heart seems to be touched with the delicate finger of hope, and to rise from the ashes and the dust with a new purpose and a new life. It must, of course, be in season. As vinegar upon nitre so is he that sings songs to a sad heart. (Pro_25:20) But the seasonable word, spoken just at the right moment and just in the right tone, brief and simple, but comprehending and penetrating, will often make the sad heart sing a song for itself.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 05:35:32 +0000
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