"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." Matt. xii, 36, 37. Then if our justification or condemnation depends upon our words, how careful ought we to be to "let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." Eph. iv, 29.
We may think it a little sin to speak an idle or wrong word; but in the eyes of him who sees not as man sees, it is enough, if unrepented of, to sink a soul in death. "For it is written, be ye holy, for I am holy." God is holy and none but holy beings can ever live in his sight. If we are found at the appearing of Christ, with one spot upon our garments, it will for ever debar us from the presence of God.—"Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." Prov. xviii, 21. "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few." Eccl. v, 2.
When Moses was leading the children of Israel through the wilderness, they murmured against him, because there was no water. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: take the rod, and gather the assembly together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water And Moses took the rod and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?" Num. xx, 8-10. For one wrong word which Moses there spoke, he was not permitted to enter the land of Canaan.—And is it any less sin for us who are living in these last days to speak a wrong word? I tell you nay; God is unchangeable, and were it not for our merciful High Priest, Jesus the Son of God, who is now pleading his blood in the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary, in our behalf, we should now be where hope and mercy could never reach us.
O, let us see to it that "whatsoever we do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." Col. iii, 17. "If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and also able to bridle the whole body. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body." James iii, 2, 6. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy: for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Cor. iii, 16, 17. Then if our bodies are the temple of God, let us be careful that we do not defile them with our words, lest we be destroyed; but let us pray in earnest the prayer of David: "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips." Ps. cxli, 3. Remembering that "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from troubles." Prov. xxi, 23.
"Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man." Matt. xv, 11, 18. "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Matt. xii, 34. If our hearts are pure, our words will, also, be pure, or if they are corrupt our words will be.—"Ye shall know them by their fruits. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." Matt. vii, 16, 18. "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." Matt. xii, 35. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend to the world, is the enemy of God.
Let us look for a moment at the example of our Blessed Saviour. Never did an idle or wrong word escape his lips. He was despised and rejected of men—a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses, and on him was laid the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.—He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.
We may think it no harm to converse with our friends about the things of this world, but methinks if we realized as we should the shortness of time, and that soon the last message of mercy will be closed, and the last servant of God sealed, we should not find much time to converse about the things of this world, which are so soon to be destroyed. No, our whole hearts and conversation would be in heaven, from whence we look for the Saviour. We must not expect to please the world, and our friends, and at the same time have the smiles of Jesus. But we must faithfully warn them of their danger, and tell them of the dreadful storm that is fast gathering, soon to burst upon this guilty world, and then if they will not hear, we must leave them, and press onward, crying, eternal life! eternal life!
Yes, my dear brethren and sisters, it is eternal life that we are seeking for; and if we are faithful and hold out to the end it will soon be ours. Do we realize it? I fear that I do not realize it as I should. My prayer to God is, that he will deepen the work of grace in my heart, and in the hearts of all his dear, waiting children.
"So let our lips and lives express,
The holy gospel we profess;
So let our works and virtues shine
To prove the doctrine all-divine."
LOIS J. RICHMOND.