THE TONGUE THAT SPEAKETH PROUD THINGS.
Such a tongue as this, the Lord says he will destroy. And not the tongue only, but the person who uses it. The psalmist gives us a specimen of these proud things. “Who have said, with our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own; who is lord over us?” Ps. xii, 3, 4. We have plenty of such persons all around us. Some of this kind are so deceived as to suppose themselves Christians. Many churches of Christ are so afflicted as to have some of this class as members. They have some show of piety. Perhaps they are able to deceive themselves with the idea that they are the servants of Christ. But they cannot deceive the Lord, and they do not deceive the people of God; no, nor even the men who make no profession of godliness. They give them occasion to reproach the cause of Christ, but they do not pass for Christians in the judgment of any sensible person. There is no person upright enough to escape the venom of these all-devouring tongues. Such tongues, which are set on fire of hell, can never be cured till the fire of Gehenna shall destroy the wicked with everlasting destruction. Our lips are not our own. God has given us the noble gift of speech. He will call us to the strictest account. Not our lying words merely, nor our proud words, nor our words of cruelty, nor our words of rebellion and unbelief, but even our idle words shall all come up in the day of Judgment. Oh! fatal mistake to suppose that we are possessed of a right to use our lips as we please. It is an easy thing to scatter sparks of fire, each of which may raise a destructive conflagration. Beware of your words. Unspoken words do no hurt. But words once spoken cannot be recalled. 1. Do not ever speak words of anger. Such words are unbecoming a disciple of Christ. 2. Do not speak words of levity. Men about to be tried for their lives have little occasion to jest. 3. Do not speak evil of any man. Such is the imperative command of the Bible. Titus iii, 2. We may never speak the faults of others except when necessity compels. 4. Do not take up a reproach against your neighbor. Ps. xv, 3. He may be entirely innocent. If others have made a cruel lie, do not you join in the conspiracy as a volunteer to ruin the innocent. Be governed by the great precept, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;” and by the golden rule: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” Matt. vii, 12. 5. The backbiting tongue shall never ascend into the hill of the Lord. Ps. xv. 6. Some men can never speak even of sacred things, but some coarse word has to be used, or some irreverent expression, or even some indecent language must be uttered. Such persons need a new conversion. Or, if this term be objected to, they need a real and thorough conversion, which it is evident they have never had. 7. Finally, we must be circumspect in our words. The eyes of sinners are upon us. We cannot afford to trifle. We must adorn the doctrine of Christ, and the best way to adorn his doctrine, is to live as he lived. We cannot speak at random, even of the humblest of the human race. Much less, will it do for us to speak evil of those in high dignity, even if Nero were our ruler. What will, perhaps, be denied by some, we must not lightly, nor wantonly, nor contemptuously, speak evil of Satan. Michael, the archangel, when contending with Satan, dare not bring a railing accusation against him. Then certainly it does not become us to do it. By our words, we shall be justified, or by our words, we shall be condemned.