“EVERY kind of beasts, and of birds....is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind, but the tongue can no man tame.” James 3:7, 87For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:7‑8). These words came into the mind of an invalid, as she lay watching her little tame canary, for indeed it was tame. It would come on to the table beside her, and take things from her hand; or light on her bed. It would hop about on the floor, and fly up on her lap to show her what it had in its mouth. As she watched it she thought, “What is it that has made my little bird more tame than others?”
It must be love. It knows that I love it, and therefore it has no fear of me. Then she thought, “Yes, I can tame my bird, but the tongue can no man tame.”
Only love, the love of God, can “tame” the tongue. How often as Christians have we to humble ourselves before our Lord, because we have said what our hearts have afterward told us, has been grieving to Him! Again and again have we failed with the tongue, when the life, perhaps, with this exception, may appear blameless.
Love to our Lord alone can tame our tongues, dear young believers. Nothing else will do it. It is true, indeed, that no man can tame it. Shall we not then, for His glory seek to use even this “unruly member” more for Him alone, who has so loved us as to give Himself for us?
May we more frequently, in dependence upon Himself use the prayer of the Psalmist, “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” Psa. 111:33His work is honorable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever. (Psalm 111:3).
ML-05/09/1920