Is it true that life and death is in the power of the tongue?

"The belly" has a bad name in both Old Testament and New; but not always, as John 7:38 conclusively proves. And so it may be here, where it seems employed in its twofold application for the innermost affections, good or evil. The mouth indicates the heart, as the Lord tells us both of the good man and of the wicked. Out of its abundance the mouth speaks. Here it is the other side — a man's inwards satisfied with the fruit of his mouth, with the increase of his lips. How weighty then our every word if we bring in God! But if this satisfies man, the child of God can be satisfied with nothing less than God's Word and grace. Hence too are life and death said to be in the power of the tongue, and so the issues in both good and evil. All Scripture declares it; all experience confirms and illustrates it.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" (verse 21). The Epistle of James (chapter 3) speaks in the same manner of the power of the tongue and its misuse. Evil words will bring evil results. But the tongue speaking the words of life and love, as given in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a power for good, the power of life--and oh! what shall the harvest be in that day!

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (v. 21). For this reason, how careful we should be in the way we use our tongue! The apostles, being ministers of the new covenant, used their tongues to communicate the Word of God to others, with serious results, first, to "those who are perishing," to whom they were "an aroma of death leading to death," but to believers "the aroma of life leading to life" (2 Cor. 2:15-16). The latter are "those who love it."

Verse 29. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth," etc. Edification is to be kept constantly in view, as the main end of the walk of those who confess that they are members of one another. And purity of speech and action can alone conduce to this. The lips of a believer have been purged from their natural uncleanness (Isa. 6:5-7), by the confession of the holy name of Jesus. Instead, therefore, of uttering perverseness, or indulging in the speech of fools, he is to speak as one who knows that both death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21). Our lips are no longer our own, but His who has bought us altogether for Himself. What is looked for in Christian intercourse is such an habitual remembrance of the Divine presence as shall effectually restrain the ebullitions of natural corruptions. Nothing that we cannot say confidently in that presence is fit for the ears of one another. We shall do well to remember, that if our words do not edify, they are injurious. For whatever does not savour of Christ does savour of the world; and such communications tend not to the strengthening of God's building, but to its dilapidation and destruction (1 Cor. 3:17). Now if the flesh be allowed to act in any way, it is always in derogation of the Spirit; and so it is immediately added:

We read in Proverbs that “God hates … a lying tongue”; He denounces “the flattery of the tongue”; “a wholesome tongue is a tree of life”; “a liar gives heed to a naughty tongue”—a good man would refuse to listen; “a perverse tongue falls into mischief”; “death and life are in the power of the tongue”; “a back-biting tongue” is denounced, etc., etc. “Whoso keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles” (Prov. 21:23). May we take solemn warning by all this. We all need it, or else it would not have held a place in the inspired Word.

But the apostle goes on more fully into this question of the tongue. "If any offend not in word, he is a perfect man, able to bridle also the whole body." And yet how easily we let our tongues run on! In fact, the place that the apostle gives the tongue is that which governs the whole body. The bit in the horse's mouth is a small thing in itself, and yet the whole body is turned by it. The ships, in the midst of violent winds that act upon them, yet are turned about by a very small rudder, according to the direction that the helmsman gives. So, we may think little of the tongue, although it is the very thing by which we boast so much, but, verily, "How much wood can be kindled by how small a fire!" And here he breaks out into a description of it which is startling in its vehemence. "The tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell." Of course, he is speaking of it as unrestrained by the fear of God, or unguided by the power of the Spirit. How much might we speak of the wonderful power of the tongue on the other side! What a ministry of comfort and blessing is in it! But the best gifts are in their perversion just as fruitful for evil as they are good when used aright. The sweetest ties, the most precious relationships that God has instituted amongst men, are just in the same proportion fruitful for evil in their perversion. Nevertheless there is, no doubt, a special need for such a warning as this with regard to the tongue. How apt we are to be careless about it! How apt we are to release it somewhat from the control that we ought to exercise over it! How soon, if it escapes from such control, it does the damage which we know a little fire may! How much further evil may a little evil in it — mere unguarded words, as we say — excite in others! It is an untamable evil, says the apostle; that is, of course, naturally. We have always to govern it, saints as we may be. The liberty which is truly ours does not extend, as we know, to a liberty with regard to that body which is still unredeemed, which is dead because of sin; and among Christians, where is there, in fact, any source of evil, and so readily allowed to manifest itself, as the tongue? "It is a restless evil," says the apostle, always seeking expression, yet "full of death-bringing poison." "We bless the Lord on the one hand, and curse men on the other; men whom God has made in His own likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. How thorough an inconsistency, as the apostle urges! In nature you do not find such things. The fountain does not send forth sweet and bitter water out of the same opening; nor a fig tree yield olives; nor a vine, figs; nor can that which is salt produce sweet water. Nature itself in this way rebukes one who was meant to be the lord of nature, as the image of Him who is the Governor over all. He has, alas, yielded himself to the government of another, and thus he has lost the power of government, largely, over nature, but above all over himself. The child of God away from God displays in full reality the power of the fall, and, as the apostle urges here, the tongue is an eminent example of this.

Now what is said as to offending, leads to a continuation of the discourse concerning the tongue; that most direct index to the heart, which is so easily set in motion, and which follows every impulse of the heart. All things, even wild beasts and serpents, have been tamed; but the tongue can no man tame, it is full of deadly poison. This is very strong, but alas! it is very true: nevertheless, let us remember that if the flesh is practically held for dead, and we are living by the Spirit, the tongue will become the expression of His impulses, or there will be silence, because grace has nothing to say.

Many according to the flesh would avoid giving a blow, who cannot restrain a passionate or hard word against a neighbour. But if no man can restrain the tongue, the grace of Christ can do it, for the inner man on one side is under the yoke of the Lord, and is meek and lowly in heart: Christ fills the heart, and thus precisely because the tongue follows the impulses of the heart, the speech will express this meekness and lowliness. For this, it is needful that Christ alone should dwell there, and the flesh be so held in check, that when temptation comes it may not stir. It is difficult not to fail, but it is very useful to see that the tongue shews what is working within, just as the hands of a clock shew the hidden workings of its wheels.

The mouth has a widely different intent and character in man from the beast, where it expresses animal need, innocuous or baneful to others. Man's mouth has a nobler purpose and unique, as the means of expressing his inner nature in relationship, not with the realm of nature which he is set to rule, but, in subjection, with God whom he represents, or, alas! misrepresents. Here it is the mouth of a righteous man, and is said to be a fountain of life; for this is the divine mind as to such a one in the desert world. He is not merely seen of God providentially as Hagar by a fountain of water in the wilderness, which was called accordingly. He endures as seeing Him who is invisible. He becomes thereby an active source of blessing to others, and of blessing toward that nature which has in it now the taint of death through the sin of man, its first typical head, before the second Man (the unfailing and true Head) restores all things as He surely will in due time. Meantime the righteous man's mouth by grace is a fountain of life. He is a witness of God in Christ; and as he believes therefore so he speaks. With the wicked it is wholly otherwise. His mouth not only utters the violence of self-will and ungodliness, but does yet worse in covering the violence he feels, which if disclosed might lead to wholesome caution or restraint and solemn warning.

"The mouth of the righteous is a well of life" (v. 11), for from such a mouth flows living water, words of refreshing value, influenced by the truth of God's Word. But from the mouth of the wicked come words of violence. While hatred stirs up anger and strife, love in contrast serves to cover sins (v. 12). Of course, there are cases where sin needs to be exposed, but if it is not harmful to others, wisdom seeks to cover wrong doing.

Now turn back to our Psalm. "Come, ye children, hearken to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord." It is presented as a daily practical thing. "What man is he that desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?" (Ps. 34:12). That question appeals to each of us. Do you love life? Do you want many days, and to see good? Is it good you are seeking? Here is the instruction how to secure these blessings. "Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile" (Ps. 34:13). It does not begin here with my heart. It begins with my tongue. "Keep thy tongue." Oh, that is a most difficult job. How do you find it? We all know how hard it is to keep the tongue. But here it is. Are you set to see good? That is the question. I know the people who are desiring good, by the way they use their tongues.

And now, why so keep the tongue? Well, I think the sixth chapter of Luke will answer that question. "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good: and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45). What is really filling my heart will come off my tongue. And therefore you can always tell what my heart is occupied with, because I have a tongue. I cannot long deceive you.

When you come to the epistle of James you find a great deal about the tongue. Strange to say, it is not very often read, and yet that is a most important epistle. No saint gets on rightly that is afraid of James. "For in many things we all offend. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor lists. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed of mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom" (James 3:2-13). Yes, it is quite true, "in many things we all offend. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man." I am quite sure I am not that man. But I think it is a beautiful thing to find such a man. Do you know him? No, nor do I ever expect to meet him. Let us meet him in you. A son was once complaining to his father of the evil in the world. Said the old man, "Improve the world by one man, John!" i.e., begin the correction with number one. Wise old man!