Let us, then, this very night begin to do something practical after all
this talk about talk. And let us all begin to do something in the direct
line of our present talk. What a noble congregation of evangelical
Carthusians that would make us if we all put a bridle on our tongue to-
night before we left this house. For we all have neighbours, friends,
enemies, against whom we every day sin with our unbridled tongue. We all
have acquaintances we are ashamed to meet, we have been so unkind and so
unjust to them with our tongue. We hang down our head when they shake
our hand. Yes, we know the men quite well of whom Pascal speaks. We
know many men who would never speak to us again if they only knew how,
and how often, we have spoken about them behind their back. Well, let us
sin against them, and against ourselves, and against our Master's command
and example no more. Let this night and this lecture on Talkative and
his kindred see the last of our sin against our ill-used neighbour. Let
us promise God and our own consciences to-night, that we shall all this
week put on a bridle about that man, and about that subject, and in that
place, and in that company. Let us say, God helping me, I shall for all
this week not speak about that man at all, anything either good or bad,
nor on that subject, nor will I let the conversation turn into that
channel at all if I can help it. And God will surely help us, till,
after weeks and years of such prayer and such practice, we shall by slow
degrees, and after many defeats, be able to say with the Psalmist, 'I
will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. I will keep my
mouth with a bridle. I will be dumb with silence. I will hold my peace
even from good.'
JUDGE HATE-GOOD
'Hear, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel . . .
who hate the good and love the evil.'--Micah.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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