He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
The word for life in the saying is neh-phesh, the same word elsewhere rendered soul, showing that soul can also mean life. Guarding mouth and lips preserves life and soul, while opening the lips wide without restraint brings destruction, ruin, death, and harm. Careful control of speech protects the speaker, and careless speech destroys.
Keeping the mouth is bridling the tongue and not letting the carnal mind prevail. It is keeping the lips from guile and evil so that conversation and words are just right in the sight of God and the mouth does not transgress. What comes from the mouth comes from the heart, so a right heart produces blessing from the mouth, and pure thoughts are necessary for guarded speech. The mouth reveals the storehouse of the heart.
The small, weak tongue can crush and kill, destroy more people than the sword, bring early death and even cost the head, and speak with speed outstripping a horse. Great evils, guilt, and grief flow from one incautious hasty word, so the tongue must never be allowed to slip even where feet may slip. An open mouth points to an empty heart, just as an open chest suggests it contains nothing, while valuable contents are kept securely shut.
Opening the lips wide is failing to bridle the tongue and speaking carelessly and loosely. It is giving way to idle conversation, murmuring and complaint, vain discussions, trifling themes, and earthly hopes and schemes. It condemns levity, foolish talking, and jesting as sin as surely forbidden as swearing, stealing, or lying. Control of the tongue does not mean silence, for speech on proper occasions can comfort and build others up when spoken in Christ's Spirit and for God's glory. Letting light shine by words and conversation means speaking words of wisdom, meekness, and love that prove a renewed heart.
Keeping the mouth keeps life by bringing the salvation of God at the appearing of Jesus Christ, since salvation is secured in part by having words in perfect conformity to the will of God. Confession with the mouth belongs to salvation, since by words a person is justified and by words condemned, so idle words must be avoided because account for them must be given in the day of judgment. The saying stands as the divine crown over all human wisdom about speech.
Keeping the mouth is being slow to speak, looking within to check what leads to sin, and praying constantly and striving earnestly for help against being betrayed unawares so as to lay aside idle words and walk worthy. It is refusing to condemn or judge a brother and instead searching out and subduing one's own faults. It is restraining murmuring and complaint by counting one day's mercies. It is speaking as one whose every word is heard by God and whose time is short and who may die today, so that no word of the day will be deplored.
Light-minded jesting marks superficial religion that grieves the Holy Spirit, hinders prayer, and denies Christian profession. Holy consistent Christians remain cheerful without vanity or light-mindedness.
The word for life in the saying is neh-phesh, the same word elsewhere rendered soul, showing that soul can also mean life. Guarding mouth and lips preserves life and soul, while opening the lips wide without restraint brings destruction, ruin, death, and harm. Careful control of speech protects the speaker, and careless speech destroys.
Keeping the mouth is bridling the tongue and not letting the carnal mind prevail. It is keeping the lips from guile and evil so that conversation and words are just right in the sight of God and the mouth does not transgress. What comes from the mouth comes from the heart, so a right heart produces blessing from the mouth, and pure thoughts are necessary for guarded speech. The mouth reveals the storehouse of the heart.
The small, weak tongue can crush and kill, destroy more people than the sword, bring early death and even cost the head, and speak with speed outstripping a horse. Great evils, guilt, and grief flow from one incautious hasty word, so the tongue must never be allowed to slip even where feet may slip. An open mouth points to an empty heart, just as an open chest suggests it contains nothing, while valuable contents are kept securely shut.
Opening the lips wide is failing to bridle the tongue and speaking carelessly and loosely. It is giving way to idle conversation, murmuring and complaint, vain discussions, trifling themes, and earthly hopes and schemes. It condemns levity, foolish talking, and jesting as sin as surely forbidden as swearing, stealing, or lying. Control of the tongue does not mean silence, for speech on proper occasions can comfort and build others up when spoken in Christ's Spirit and for God's glory. Letting light shine by words and conversation means speaking words of wisdom, meekness, and love that prove a renewed heart.
Keeping the mouth keeps life by bringing the salvation of God at the appearing of Jesus Christ, since salvation is secured in part by having words in perfect conformity to the will of God. Confession with the mouth belongs to salvation, since by words a person is justified and by words condemned, so idle words must be avoided because account for them must be given in the day of judgment. The saying stands as the divine crown over all human wisdom about speech.
Keeping the mouth is being slow to speak, looking within to check what leads to sin, and praying constantly and striving earnestly for help against being betrayed unawares so as to lay aside idle words and walk worthy. It is refusing to condemn or judge a brother and instead searching out and subduing one's own faults. It is restraining murmuring and complaint by counting one day's mercies. It is speaking as one whose every word is heard by God and whose time is short and who may die today, so that no word of the day will be deplored.
Light-minded jesting marks superficial religion that grieves the Holy Spirit, hinders prayer, and denies Christian profession. Holy consistent Christians remain cheerful without vanity or light-mindedness.