Sowing in Peace for a Harvest of Righteousness

Let's begin our worship then singing in Psalm 106. That's in the Scottish Psalter, page 378,

to the tune Warwick. We're singing verses 1 to 5.

Give praise and thanks unto the Lord, for bountiful is he. His tender mercy doth endure

unto eternity. God's mighty works who can express or show forth all his praise?

Blessed are they that judgment keep and justly do always. Psalm 106, verses 1 to 5.

Psalms 106:1–5

If you're able to stand, please stand to sing.

His tender mercy doth endure come to eternity.

God's mighty works who can express or show forth all his praise?

Blessed are they that judgment keep and justly do always.

We thank God thee, Lord, with the love which thou to thine dost bear.

With thy salvation, O my God, to this safety from here.

God's mighty works who can express or show forth all his praise?

For thy thy chosen goodness see, and in their joy rejoice, and may with thine inheritance

cry a prayer with cheerful voice.

Let's call on the Lord now in prayer. Let's all join together and give our minds to prayer.

Almighty and ever-gracious God, we do owe thanks to you once again for this privilege

of being gathered in your holy presence.

We pray that you would make us conscious that it is into your presence that we come

whenever we gather together like we do now, or even individually when we come,

to have our prayers addressed to you and our praise given to you.

We thank you, Lord, for every privilege attached to this time of worship.

And we give thanks for every promise that is attached to it also,

that you will not allow your word to return to you empty,

but you will bless it and you will use it for the good of your people

and for the glory of your great name.

We thank you, Lord, today that we come as a people who are not unfamiliar with the gospel.

And we thank you, Lord, for the way that that familiarity with the gospel

brings us more and more into a knowledge of those holy things

that pertain to you and to your salvation.

And we give thanks, O Lord, for every occasion we have,

that when we're able to gather up our thoughts and our voices and sing your praise

and come to join together in minds that are united in prayer.

We thank you, Lord, tonight that you promise to meet with your people as they gather in your name.

And we pray that as we are conscious, Lord, that the teaching of your word

reminds us of how you dwell in your people.

They dwell in their hearts.

And in that sense, Lord, we know that they carry you even as they come together in this way,

that each of your people carries your presence with them.

But we pray that we may know that presence in our experience,

and that we may know it more than a mere theological truth,

though it is so precious to us,

that we may know, Lord, your blessing through your Holy Spirit being with us

and blessing your word to us once again.

Lord, we thank you for every gift that you have given us

and for all the variety of gifts represented here before us in this congregation.

And for all the congregations of your people in the world today,

we give thanks, Lord, for the variety and the sheer number of gifts

that you have endowed them with.

And we pray that you would remind us that all the gifts you give us,

whatever nature they be of,

that they are for the furtherance of your cause,

for your glory,

that we are not to keep them selfishly to ourselves

or simply enjoy them for ourselves personally alone.

Help us, Lord, to see that we need to use

all the gifts that you have given us

so that we may reach out into our community

and show people around us the wonder of Christ,

the worth of him in his grace,

and the beauty of his holiness,

the perfection of his being,

the wonder of his salvation.

We pray, Lord, tonight that your salvation

will be further imparted to us

in the work of your Spirit.

Grant us, Lord, that we may know a further understanding

of these things,

that we may give ourselves and our minds once more

to seek to understand and to read through

and to come to dwell our minds upon

those things that are of such importance.

We give thanks tonight for all the ways

in which you have blessed us already as a congregation.

Even today we have known your blessing

in the gatherings of your people.

We pray, O Lord, that your blessing will continue with us

in all that we have set before us

by way of our concerns and plans for this week.

Lord, while we know not what a day might bring forth,

yet we give thanks for the ability you give us

to look ahead and to seek to make provision

for ourselves and for your cause.

We pray for all the meetings that are already listed for us

on this week.

We pray for the worship services.

We pray that you would bless all, Lord,

who come to attend on the midweek services.

We pray that your blessing will accompany them

as well as the Saturday meeting

and all other meetings associated with your cause

here in the congregation.

Bless the work amongst our young people.

We thank you for them.

We thank you for every household and every family

that has a concern to have their children

educated in the gospel

and brought to know you and brought to follow you

and brought to be for themselves

a living witness to your grace and to your salvation.

Lord, we ask, too, that you'd bless the meetings

of Precept Scotland that are anticipated

in the weeks to come.

We thank you for Jonathan's organizing of it.

We pray that you'd bless these meetings

to young and to adults alike.

And we ask that your own blessing will follow them.

We pray that you'd bless the camps

as they prepare, Lord,

in the near future to come once again

to gather as camps throughout the country.

We thank you for the work of the church,

the work of the church and those who give up their time

so willingly, Lord,

to give leadership at those camps.

And we pray that once again,

as these camps come to day by day,

be prayed for and set before you,

that they might once again be blessed, O Lord,

and blessed to the young people especially

who will come.

We ask that many will come and fill up the spaces

and that the teaching received

will remain with the young people

and will be a means by your blessing

of truly buttressing their life with your truth

and coming to give to them

that biblical wisdom

which you are pleased to impart

to all who come to trust in you.

Remember them and their families.

Remember them, Lord,

as we pray for each and every family

with children in our midst.

And we ask that you would bless them

as they go about their family lives.

We pray for them

and pray for your protective care of them.

We ask that you'd bless our community at this time.

Bless us, Lord,

in days when we know

so much is done against the gospel,

so many attempts are made

to thwart the advance of the gospel.

Once again, Lord,

we pray over these proposals

against so-called conversion therapy.

We pray that you'd bless your people

so that we will come not only with prayer

but also with the practice of responding

to these proposals

as we have opportunity.

We give thanks for that opportunity.

And whatever doubts we may have

in our minds about it,

help us to use it.

Help us to appeal, Lord,

to those who are in authority over us

that they may take note of

what your people have to say

in regard to the moral standing

that your word sets out for us.

And help us especially to prize our freedom,

not only the freedom that we have

to promote the gospel,

to preach the gospel,

to witness to the gospel,

to speak about the Lord,

but the many other freedoms

that have over many years, Lord,

been obtained for us,

sometimes at great cost.

freedom to speak,

freedom of religion,

freedom of conscience,

all the things that ought to mark us,

Lord, as a free society.

But we thank you especially

for the freedom

with which Christ makes us free.

And we pray that that will more and more

be the experience of our people

and of our nation,

and that you would deliver us, Lord,

from all alternatives

that will suggest to people

that this is a better way

than that of the gospel

and that which the Lord

has provided for us.

Remember now,

Lord,

those of our number

who are confined tonight

to their homes,

those especially who are ill,

remember them,

we pray.

Remember all who are

participating in the service

online,

not only locally,

but in places

throughout the world.

We thank you

that that facility

is being used

and blessed.

We thank you

for the messages

we receive

from time to time

from different parts

that give us, Lord,

to rejoice

that the gospel

as it goes forth

in that way

is of benefit

to others

in different parts

of the world.

And so we pray

that as we commend

these to you,

we ask that you'd bless

those, Lord,

tonight who have heavy hearts.

Remember again

those who mourn

over the passing

of loved ones.

Remember those

who are anxious

over loved ones,

seriously ill

or terminally ill,

we pray that you'd bless them.

We pray for those

receiving treatment,

those anticipating such,

those who have gone

through surgery,

those who are anticipating

such as well.

We pray that you'd bless us,

Lord,

by providing us

further with resources

that are required

for our well-being

mentally and physically.

And we give thanks,

Lord,

for all who have

given of their lives

to dedicate themselves

to looking after the sick,

looking after those

who are in need

of special care.

And we pray tonight

for those who do need

that special care,

who through whatever

incapacity

have a life different

from many others.

And we pray for them

and we pray for parents

and loved ones

who look after them.

And we pray that you'd

bless the facilities

that are available to us

in order that these things,

Lord,

may come to give us

further encouragement

and strengthening.

Bless us then now,

we pray and lead us

into your word

and help us

in the singing

of your praise.

We ask it all,

seeking the pardon

and cleansing

of all our sins away

for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Now we're going to sing

further to God's praise.

Our next psalm

is Psalm 119.

This time it's

in Sing Psalms

on page 159.

We'll sing the verses

33 to 40.

The tune this time

is rocking him.

Teach me to follow

your decrees

and I will keep them

to the end.

Give insight

and I'll keep your law

with all my heart

to it attend.

Lead me in your commandments

path

for there, O Lord,

delight I find.

Incline my heart

towards your laws

from selfish gain.

Preserve my mind.

Verses 33 to 40

on page 159.

Teach me to follow

your decrees.

Teach me to follow

your decrees

that I will give

back to the end.

give insight and

I'll be cured all

with all my heart

to it attend.

take me to find

as you know.

Lead me in them

near your Theme

dogs

for

give

rồi

be

light

and

hine

and

guide

my

heart

To war still lost

From selfish days

Preserve thy might

O turn my eyes

On worthless things

With life according

To your word

To be your servant

In your flesh

So that you may

Be feared, O Lord

Bring worth from me

The ship I bear

Your cross except

In the uprightness

O God, my Lord

For your deeds

Preserve me in your righteousness

Let's now turn to read

God's word

And our reading tonight

Is from the letter of James

The letter of James

In chapter 3

And we can read through

The whole chapter

From the beginning

That's on page 1216

Or thereabouts

If you're using the Pew

Bibles

So James chapter 3

James 3 · chapter mention

Not many of you should become

Teachers, my brothers

For you know that we who teach

Will be judged with greater strictness

For we all stumble in many ways

And if anyone does not stumble

In what he says

He is a perfect man

Able also to bridle his whole body

If we put bits into the mouths of horses

So that they obey us

We guide their whole bodies as well

Look at the ships also

Though they are so large

And are driven by strong winds

They are guided by a very small rudder

Wherever the will of the pilot directs

So also the tongue is a small member

Yet it boasts of great things

How great a forest is set ablaze

By such a small fire

And the tongue is a fire

A world of unrighteousness

The tongue is set among our members

Staining the whole body

Setting on fire the entire course of life

And set on fire by hell

For every kind of beast and bird

Of reptile and sea creature

Can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind

But no human being can tame the tongue

It is a restless evil

Full of deadly poison

With it we bless our Lord and Father

And with it we curse people

Who are made in the likeness of God

From the same mouth

Come blessing and cursing

My brothers these things ought not to be so

Does a spring pour forth

From the same opening

Both fresh and salt water

Can a fig tree my brothers bear olives

Or a grapevine produce figs

Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water

Who is wise and understanding among you

By his good conduct let him show his works

In the meekness of wisdom

But if you have bitter jealousy

And selfish ambition in your hearts

Do not boast and be false to the truth

This is not the wisdom that comes down from above

But is earthly

Unspiritual

Demonic

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist

There will be disorder

And every vile practice

But the wisdom from above

Is first pure

Then peaceable

Gentle

Open to reason

Full of mercy and good fruits

Impartial and sincere

And a harvest of righteousness

Is sown in peace

By those who make peace

Amen

May again

God be pleased to bless

That portion of his word to us

Once again we'll sing to God's praise

And then turn back to this passage in James

Singing this time in Psalm 71

Psalm 71 again in the Scottish Psalter

Page 312

We'll sing to the tune Colesville

From verse 20

To 24

Thou Lord who great adversities

And sore to me didst show

Shalt quicken and bring me again

From depths of earth below

My greatness and my power

Thou wilt increase and far extend

On every side against all grief

Thou wilt me comfort send

A passage that wonderfully sets out

God's ability

To overcome those things

In his providence

Which cause us pain

And anxiety and distress

And even though these great adversities

At times come to us

The psalmist is here teaching us

To place our trust in God

But also to continue to praise him

As the psalm finishes

My tongue with just thy justice

Shall proclaim continuing all day long

For they confounded are and shamed

That seek to do me wrong

These verses then

Thou Lord who great adversities

O Lord who great adversities

And sore to me didst show

Shout with me wrong

Shout with me wrong

Shout with me wrong

And bring me again

From depths of earth below

My greatness and my power

Thou wilt increase and far extend

On every side against all grief

Thou wilt be come for send

Thou wilt be come for send

In my truth I also praise

In my truth I also praise

In my God with sottery

Thou holy one

Thou holy one

All this triumph

With hearts I sing to thee

My soul which thou redeemest

In my heart

My soul which thou redeemest

Unt witnesses

In my heart

Enjожет

Sob

Let us pray.

I'll turn with me now, please, to James chapter 3.

James 3 · chapter mention

James chapter 3, and looking at the last verse of the chapter,

James 3 · chapter mention

a harvest of righteousness, is sown in peace by those who make peace.

And I want to look at this verse in the context of the chapter as a whole, so we will be taking

material from the whole chapter as it relates to this particular verse. Let me begin by reading to

you a comment in one of the commentators on this book of James, Robert Johnston. This is what he

says. James would have us take home this thought, that in proportion as a Christian advances towards

complete government of the tongue, so he grows in spiritual maturity. We all know that nothing is

generally esteemed to be a better evidence of the state of a man's heart than the habitual tone

of his conversation. Very important words reminding us that our conversation betrays us

as to what's in our heart. And tonight, as we're looking at this verse in the context of this

chapter, we'll be conscious, I hope, by the end of the chapter that this is actually something

that's very commonly referred to throughout the whole of Scripture. It's not simply an item dealt

with by the likes of James, as we've seen before, a very practical letter, a very telling and cutting

letter at times, in the way that it gives us to address issues that need to be attended to in our

lives practically. But this actually is something that all the way through the Scripture you find

given a different emphasis, but always set before us as an important topic. Our use of the tongue,

by which it means our conversation, our use of words, the language we use, the words that we use.

What is in our heart is exposed by the words we use and how we use them, the kind of conversation we

have and how we actually engage in that conversation. You remember Jesus himself saying in the Gospels,

Acts of Mark chapter 7, where in his teaching there he spoke very clearly about how the things that

Mark 7 · chapter mention

defile the person are not the things that go into the person or into the body. They are actually the

things that come out of the person that show what he's like inwardly or internally. Mark chapter 7,

Mark 7 · chapter mention

very well-known words, I'm sure, where you find at verse 20, the Lord saying, this is actually what

actually defiles a man. Well, we can read from verse 18, now you still without understanding, do you not

see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him since it enters his heart, not his

heart, but his stomach and is expelled? And he said, what comes out of a person is what defiles him.

For from within and out of the heart of man come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. What a list! And that's not a complete list.

But the Lord who knew and knows our heart gave us this passage so that we would know that these are

the evil things, he says, that come from within, and they are what defiles a person. And in a similar

way, James is setting out for it in this passage, particularly to do with the use of language or words,

these things that are indicative of what's in our hearts. Of course, as I said, going back over the

Scripture takes you back right to the very beginning of things in Genesis, indeed in the Garden of Eden.

Because when the Lord came to question Adam as to what he had done in eating the fruit that God had

forbidden him, his immediate reaction was when he said, who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of

the fruit that I have told you not to eat of it? And he immediately said, my wife gave me, the woman

you gave me. Now, effectively, he was really blaming God. He didn't just say, my wife or this woman gave me,

the woman you gave me. Look at how quickly the language of human beings was corrupted by the entrance of

sin and our fallenness. And of course, the woman then, she placed the blame on the serpent, on Satan.

You see, the blame game comes with the wrong use of words, with the misuse of language,

with conversation that's not honoring to God, with lies, with cover-up, with a blame game that's just

part of this whole package of where we actually fall short in our conversation as sinners. And isn't it

interesting that in Isaiah chapter 6, when Isaiah had that wonderful, amazing, stunning vision

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

and experience of God high and lifted up in the temple as he saw it in his vision there,

his reaction was this,

I am a man of unclean lips. Woe is me, for I have seen the Lord of hosts. I dwell among a people

of unclean lips. Isn't it interesting that that was what he focused upon? That's what he came to confess,

his language, his lips, the uncleanness of his mouth, and the uncleanness of the mouths of all

who lived with him in that society. That's what the Lord actually brought to him by seeing this

great vision. That was his first reaction, Lord, I'm unclean, and I'm unclean especially in the words of

my mouth, in my language. And that's a telling statement, isn't it? And then when you go to,

again, the New Testament, as I said, we're ranging all the way from the beginning of the Bible right

through into the New Testament. You remember Romans chapter 3, where Paul is demonstrating there that

Romans 3 · chapter mention

there isn't a single person as a sinner who is righteous and can therefore claim the favor of God.

And he says, none is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God.

All have turned aside together. And so he goes on, and then he says, their throat is an open grave.

They use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses

and bitterness. Who's he talking about? He's talking about you and me. He's talking about the whole world.

He's talking about human beings, human society, human individuals, human together, humans together.

You see, the quality of our conversation, isn't it, again, is something right throughout Scripture

in line with the emphasis it gives to the wrong use of words. But the quality of your conversation

distinguishes you as a Christian from the world. If there's one thing that really distinguishes you

from that world that is so full of hatred and antipathy to God and the wrong use of conversation

and language and bad language and denigrating insults and so on, it's that your language is in keeping

with your heart as a Christian. It's one of the great distinguishing marks of a Christian

that they can tell you're a Christian by the quality of your conversation, the quality

of your words and how you use them. And that was really a mark of what set Jesus apart, wasn't it?

Remember in John chapter 7 that some officers were sent out by the Pharisees to try and bring him

John 7 · chapter mention

into captivity, to take him in for questioning, and they came back without him. And the Pharisees asked

these offers, why have you not brought him? You remember their answer, no one spoke, no one ever

spoke like this man. They were more or less saying, such is the quality and power and authority of his

conversation, of his language, of his words. It just prohibited us from taking him into captivity.

We couldn't take him. He was so different in his use of language.

It's quite a thought, isn't it, that Jesus never thought a bad thought, never used a bad word,

never in all his life on earth sinned in the use of words or in anything else, of course.

But when you think how easy it is for you and for me to let the sin that's in our hearts out by the

language we use, by the thoughts we have that then are put into words, it's such an amazing but wonderful

thing to realize that Jesus was always perfect in his speech and in his whole way of life.

So we see verse 18 here. Let me turn to the context here. That was by way of introduction. Let me just

turn to the verse at the end of the chapter.

And I'm taking the verse as something that really is a climax led into by the chapter as it unfolds.

The chapter is to do largely with the use of the tongue or the misuse of the tongue, really,

the misuse of our words and of language, and the damage that's done by the wrong use of language,

by injurious use of words. And it leads into this final verse. If we're going to sow a harvest of

righteousness, then we have to take care that we're dealing with our conversation, that we're

holding our tongues when we need to hold them, that we have purity of language as far as possible.

A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace, by those whose words are committed

to peacemaking, as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. So first of all, as we go through the

chapter, you can see first of all the tongue, our use of language, is always influential. Verses 3 to 5.

Our language, our tongue, is always influential. Not always influential in a good way, although it is,

of course, possible, thankfully, to be influential in a good way with the use of your tongue,

the use of your words that you use, your quality of conversation. But James is really focusing on

the other side of things, because there must have been a problem amongst those that he was writing to,

or at least he was setting out a standard for them that they needed to keep to. What he knew about this,

we don't know. He doesn't say for sure, but he is saying, this is really how it should be with you.

And the tongue is always influential, and he uses three metaphors here that are really powerful

illustrations. You find there in verse 2, a man also able to bridle his whole body, and that

leads him into the illustrations. We put bits in the mouths of horses. Look at the ships, though they

are large, yet they're guided by a very small rudder. And he moves thirdly to a little fire that begins

and leads to the whole forest being set ablaze. Look at what he's saying there. Small and yet

potential for really evil influence. Small and yet proportionally, it can do so much damage.

The wrong use of words, the wrong use of the tongue. Look at what he's saying there. He's saying if we put

bits in the mouths of horses. Well, you know what a bit is, what's put in the mouth of a horse,

that the rider then, through the reins, can actually pull and control the horse and get the

horse to stop. Hopefully. I've never tried it, but that's how they control the horses, as you know,

and change their direction. And if you look at the bit, the size of the bit, in proportion to the whole

size of the horse, the bit is much, much smaller than the horse. And the horse itself, in many ways,

you could say, is a far more powerful creature than that bit on its own. But when that bit in its mouth

uses the influence that it has by the rider's use of it, it controls that whole horse, that whole

powerful animal. And he's saying the same about the ships. The ships, although they're so large and

driven by strong winds, yet they're guided by a very small rudder, wherever the will of the pilot

directs. You see a massive big tanker, or some container ship, massive in size, and yet you think

of small rudder in comparison actually steering that ship. And whoever is actually controlling

the rudder, wherever it's controlled from these days, probably electronically, but it moves about

in such a way that the whole ship can be steered according to the will of the person that's in charge

of the direction of the ship. Small in size compared to the whole, but just look at the influence,

look at the effect, look at what it does to that whole ship, even when it's driven by strong winds.

Yes, the same with a small campfire. We know how easy it is for a small campfire. You look at it,

and it's nice. You have a nice evening out, perhaps, with a campfire. But if you're not very careful,

that campfire can set the whole forest ablaze. That's why people need to be very careful when

they're out actually lighting fires or having barbecues out in public places where there are

trees or shrubs or bushes nearby. You need to make sure that it's kept from spreading and that it's out

before you leave it. Because he's saying here, so also a great forest is set ablaze by such a small

fire. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. And it goes on to speak

about the tongue is small among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of

life, and set on fire by hell. Come to that in a minute, but just look at the point that we're making

just now the smallness of it, the apparent innocuousness of it, the apparent innocuousness

of our words. They don't seem to be really in any great danger of causing very much damage, but you

know very well that it doesn't take many words to cause a great deal of damage. And you can't get them

back. And when you put a forest on fire, it takes a lot of effort and a lot of resources to put it out.

And that's the same James is saying about our use of the tongue, our use of conversation, how we use

our words, what words we choose, and how we present them, and how we go about setting out our thoughts

and words. It has a capacity to be immensely destructive. And sadly, we all know that to our

cost to some extent. I doubt if there's anyone here, myself included, that haven't at some point or

other regretted saying things or saying things in a certain way. And you realize then, I really

shouldn't have said that. Or I shouldn't have said it in that spirit. I shouldn't have said it in that

way. And you can't take that back. The damage is done. You can repair it to some extent, but then it's

sometimes too late. Well, he says, this is what it's like. This with the tongue as well.

Now, you know that the sixth commandment is a commandment not to take human life. You shall

not kill. You shall not murder, as it's put in some translations. You shall not kill. You shall

not commit murder. We mustn't confine that, though it is certainly primarily about committing murder,

taking a person's life. Nevertheless, as you go through the whole of Scripture, you can see the

capacity of words to wound and even to kill reputations. All of that is part of what's

envisaged by that commandment, you shall not kill. Slander, innuendo, using a rumor to actually just

carry out further damage against somebody or against a family or against people in our society.

That's the same thing in that commandment as it is with these words of James.

This little member, this little in proportion, these words, this conversation, this tongue we

use to speak literally, it's very small compared to the damage that it can do, the capacity it has

for creating havoc and real damage. And that happens, of course, in the church as well.

And you notice in verse 9 here that James is actually saying, with this tongue,

we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so,

and so on. And he's saying, here is what we find ourselves as sinners confronted with,

our own capacity to cause great damage by our misuse of the tongue.

You know what he's saying? He's saying, with it we bless our Lord and Father, with it we curse people.

It's quite possible to go from a worship service, where we sing praise to God,

where we preach the gospel, to go from that context to another context all too soon,

where we're engaged in something destructive of a person's reputation, or personality, or relationships.

We're really, it's telling how James is putting here, we curse people with the same tongue as we sing with,

people who are made in the likeness of God.

That's not just Christians.

Everybody's made in the likeness of God, created in the likeness of God.

And you know, the telling thing about it is, it's not just something that's aimed at people themselves.

Why does he say, made in the likeness of God?

Well, because our misuse of words is actually indirectly an assault on God himself.

You remember Jesus saying to Paul, to Saul of Tarsus, on the way to create further havoc,

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

Who was Paul persecuting?

He was persecuting the church.

He was destructive of the church of God, of the gospel, as far as he could.

But Jesus said, why are you persecuting me?

You see, indirectly, his words and his actions were an assault upon Jesus himself.

And that's the telling thing here.

We actually assault the image of God.

We assault God himself indirectly when we actually misuse our words and our language to wrong people.

And character assassination and all of that stuff that you have so readily nowadays.

He puts it here, the whole course of life in verse 6.

The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness, set among our members, staining the whole body,

setting on fire the whole course of life.

What does he mean by that, the whole course of life?

Well, it means certainly from our infancy through to the time that we leave this world,

our tongue has to be controlled.

Our tongue has the capacity to cause huge damage.

Our words have to be carefully chosen and carefully used and carefully presented.

He's saying here really from the beginning to the end of life, the whole course of life.

But I think it's more than that.

It's the words that are indicative of something more than just a personal matter.

It's not just the whole extent of a person's life individually.

The whole course of life means really pretty much all of human society is susceptible to being damaged

by the wrong use of tongues, by the wrong use of language, by misuse of language.

I mean, all you've got to look at and think about, just to take a primary example nowadays,

is the use of social media.

And if you're at all involved with social media, with the likes of X or Twitter, as it used to be called,

it's a toxic environment.

It doesn't mean that Christians shouldn't be involved with it at all,

because you can make points through it, briefly at least,

in answering some of the stuff that comes up there.

But it is so, so toxic, especially when you actually write something or put something up

that's supportive of the gospel, supportive of gospel principles, gospel practices, the truth of God.

And when you counter the evil of the world, whether it's the evil of abortion,

the evil of other things related to the ways of the world,

you will soon find that you're in a toxic environment where words are used simply to try and destroy you

and destroy your reputation, to annihilate you, to wound you, to deliberately just take it out on you.

That's the world we live in.

That's the world as it's always been.

But all of these present-day means and media are actually usable by those who want to use them in the wrong way to that end.

And sadly, as you well know, people, many young people sadly, have ended up really drastically taking their lives,

committing suicide,

because of the unending attack on social media by others who are bombarding them,

not just with criticism, but with the nastiest of stuff.

That's killing with words.

That's annihilating people's reputation.

That's attacking people for the sake sometimes of just attacking them.

And the Lord is saying to us here,

The tongue with which we bless our Lord should never be used to curse people with,

to bring destructive forces down on people's heads.

It has the capacity to cause great damage.

It is always influential, even the whole force of life.

And you see, not only that, but does it say that the whole course of life,

it also says the tongue is a fire in itself, a world of unrighteousness,

sustaining the whole body, setting on fire the whole course of life,

and set on fire by hell.

It's the word Gehenna he used, which is hell,

the literal sense of the word hell in the teaching of the New Testament.

Because, you see, Satan has access to our tongues.

Satan has access to our use of the tongue.

Satan has access to our use of words, our choice of words,

our thoughts, and how we're going to present things in the words that we choose.

And that's always been the case since the fall,

since Satan had access to our first parents, Adam and Eve.

And, of course, his first question was, with regard to the words of God,

Has God indeed said?

Isn't that telling us well,

that the first assault on our human lives in Adam and Eve,

came to Eve, first of all,

that the first assault from evil, from the evil one,

was to do with words,

and to do with the words of God?

Can you trust God?

Has he been truthful?

Has he told you things as they really are?

That was his thrust.

And he fell for it, sadly.

And we fall for it ourselves all the time.

Because he's still active,

even in the case of Christians as well.

Let's not imagine tonight that,

just because we're Christians,

we're converted people,

we're people who follow the Lord,

and confess the Lord,

that Satan doesn't have access to our minds

and to our use of words.

Of course he does.

You have to watch against that.

You have to pray against that.

You remember how it was with Peter?

In Matthew 16, verses 22 and 23,

Matthew 16:22

the Lord had just divulged to them

that he needed to go to Jerusalem

and suffer many things

and be put to death.

What did Peter do when he heard these words by Jesus?

It says that he took Peter aside.

He took the Lord aside.

Peter actually took him,

you can imagine,

just him putting his arm on him

and taking him away from the rest,

as it were,

at that time,

just a wee distance.

And what did he say to him?

This shall not happen to you.

This is not going to be the case with you at all.

Put that out of your mind,

he's saying to Jesus.

That's really what his words amounted to.

Don't think those thoughts.

Don't go down that route.

That's not for you.

How did Jesus answer him?

Get behind me,

Satan.

Satan.

An apostle of the Lord.

And Satan has access to his mind

and to his words.

And got him to use words

by which he tried to deflect the Lord

from the course that he was on

towards the cross.

Get behind me,

Satan.

So what we said at the beginning is important.

That the whole of Scripture

brings us teaching

that we need to take stock of

every single day we live

in regard to our use of the tongue,

our use of language.

It is always influential

for good or for evil.

And as we said,

James is dealing with that evil side of it.

And you notice he's saying

it's an untamable evil

from verse 7 there.

He says,

every kind of beast and bird

and reptile and sea creature

can be tamed

and has been tamed by mankind,

but no human being

can tame the tongue.

And that's a telling

and a really solemn point

that he's making there.

There is no human being

that's a mere human being

that can actually tame the tongue.

To some extent,

you can control it

and to some extent,

you can keep watch

over how you use it.

Of course, it's necessary.

But he's saying,

literally,

no human being

can tame the tongue.

It's a restless evil

full of deadly poison.

All of these animals

that I mention

is possible for a human being

to tame a lion.

I understand the only creature

that's totally untamable

is what's called

the Tasmanian devil,

made famous by the

Looney Tunes cartoons.

But that animal

seems to be untamable.

Whereas even other animals

like lions, tigers,

to a great extent,

they can be tamed.

They can become your pets.

You can have them

as in friendship with them,

human and animal terms.

But he says,

the tongue,

nobody can tame.

No human being

can tame the tongue.

It has never been tamed

by mankind himself.

What do we need

when we can't tame it ourselves?

We need every day to say,

Lord, help me today

by your grace

to tame my tongue.

Help me today, Lord,

to think about the words

that I should say

before I say them.

Help me, Lord,

today to use words wisely,

to use words cleanly,

to use words in such a way

that will not be destructive.

Help me to think even,

especially when I'm feeling angry

or annoyed,

or concerned about something.

Help me to choose words

and to say them

in such a way

that honors you,

that keeps to a purity of speech,

and that doesn't set out

in any way

to destroy reputations.

It's all too easy, isn't it,

to throw back at someone

when they've come at you

with something

that accuses you wrongly,

that denigrates your name,

that just calls into question

or speaks about you

in such a way

as to really cause

your hackles to rise

and easy to return

in kind, isn't it,

just to do the same back.

And here is James saying,

don't do that.

Ask the Lord for His help.

Ask the Lord for the help

of His Spirit.

Remember whose cause

you belong to.

Remember who your Lord is.

Remember who your fellow

Christians are.

Remember who your fellow

human beings are.

Remember the reputation

of the Lord especially

is at stake.

And that's why he's saying

a greater power is needed

than actually we have ourselves.

And you go back to

the likes of the book of Proverbs.

The book of Proverbs

is one of the great books

of the Bible

in terms of wisdom.

And we'll see in a minute

James is going on

to speak here about wisdom

or different kinds of wisdom.

The book of Proverbs

Proverbs 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10, for example,

just picking out a couple

of example verses.

There's many in the book

of Proverbs.

It's a book to do

with wisdom

and how we have wisdom

from the Lord

that we need to carry through.

Proverbs chapter 10

Proverbs 10 · chapter mention

and verse 19.

When words are many,

transgression is not lacking.

But whoever restrains

his lips is prudent.

The tongue of the righteous

is choice silver.

The heart of the wicked

is of little worth.

Whoever restrains his lips

is prudent.

I think we should give thanks to God

if we're people of few words.

Because if we're people

of many words,

if we're people who speak incessantly

so that others can hardly

get a word in edgeways,

we're in much more danger

than somebody

who's not given to that sort

of volume of speech.

Because many words

will undoubtedly

at some point

lead to hurtful words

and harmful words

and words that we regret.

Proverbs 13 and verse 3

also has something similar to that.

Whoever guards his mouth

preserves his life.

He who opens wide his lips

comes to ruin.

In other words,

think before you speak.

Weigh up your words,

weigh up your thoughts,

ahead of speaking.

And James is really saying that.

That's what he's teaching here,

teaching us against.

And remember again,

Peter, to go back to Peter,

not that we're picking on Peter,

but he's there

as an example in the Bible for us.

Chapter 14 of Mark,

where he comes to be questioned

about his relationship with Jesus.

And of course,

he came to deny Jesus

in that context three times.

The third time,

Mark tells us,

that he invoked curses upon himself

and vehemently denied

that he was ever one of his disciples.

There's a disciple

telling lies,

contradicting himself.

His use of words

is the opposite of what it should be.

And there is,

again,

an example

in the Bible

of where words

are so important

in the wrong use of them.

But our tongue

finally should be

an instrument of wisdom.

Verses 13 to 18,

that we said,

that we're using the chapter

as it leads up

to the final verse.

Evidence of true wisdom,

the wisdom the Bible speaks of,

the wisdom you gain

from coming to know your Bible,

but especially coming

to know the Lord

and to follow him

and be taught by his Spirit.

The evidence of that wisdom,

that true wisdom,

is that it is meek.

It is teachable.

The person that's wise

is a teachable person.

That's why he begins the chapter,

not many of you

should become teachers.

Because in what seems

to be an incessant drive

towards teaching others,

not only in our day

but previously,

there's always a great danger

in that.

A great danger in the fact

that we take to ourselves

to be teachers

when we have far more need

to be taught at times.

And verses 14 to 16,

you find this description,

if we have bitter jealousy,

selfish ambition,

do not boast or be false

to the truth.

This is not the wisdom

that comes from above,

but is earthly

and spiritual,

demonic.

For where jealousy

and selfish ambition exist,

there will be disorder

in every vile practice.

Now, just in passing,

you can see from that,

again, that it's what's

in your heart

that comes through

in your words.

You won't have words

that are destructive

if you don't have

selfish ambition,

if you don't have

something that's

marked by jealousy

and so on.

It's when you're

marked by these,

when these exist

in your heart,

when they lurk

in your soul,

that's when your words

accordingly show

that that's what's

in your soul

and you'll use words

that you regret sometimes.

But he says,

the wisdom from above

is first pure,

then peaceable,

gentle,

open to reason,

full of mercy

and good fruits,

impartial and sincere.

And a harvest

of righteousness

is sown in peace

by those who make peace.

One of the great verses

of the Bible

is in Matthew chapter 5

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

and verse 9,

part of the Sermon,

the Mount,

one of the Beatitudes

as we call them,

blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called

the children

or the sons of God.

See what it's saying?

Blessed are the peacemakers.

It's all too easy

to be a peacemaker,

but it's not so easy

to be a peacemaker.

It means self-denial

and many other things

like that.

But he says,

a harvest of righteousness

is sown in peace

by those who make peace.

If our heart is set

on making peace

and being peaceful people,

then we're sowing

a harvest of righteousness,

not just for ourselves,

but for others as well.

And that's why

in Colossians chapter 4,

Colossians 4 · chapter mention

we can finish with that.

Paul also picks up

that same theme

in Colossians chapter 4,

Colossians 4:5–6

verses 5 to 6.

Salt applied to speech

in the sense in which

salts apply to food

to make it savory,

to make it more palatable,

to give it a particular taste

without which it

wouldn't be the same.

Well, speech,

she's saying,

is the same.

Let your speech,

let your speech be

with that sort of quality

in it,

as you find it there

in the fourth chapter.

Let your speech

always be gracious

or with grace,

seasoned with salt.

Now, these things

are hugely challenging

for us.

I haven't been led to this,

I believe,

part of the Scripture tonight

because I know

that there's something

wrong in the congregation

in this respect.

I'm not choosing,

I haven't chosen this passage

because I'm targeting

some people here

that I know

are maybe not living up

to what they ought to be

as Christians.

Nothing like that.

I'm simply saying,

here's something

for me to live by.

Here's something

the Bible tells us

from beginning to end

is an important feature

of a believing life.

Here's something

we can't afford

to dismiss

any day we live

because our words

can be hugely destructive

and cause massive harm

in the church

or in society,

wherever we are.

Instead,

we need to come

to God daily

and come to God daily

with that concern,

with that prayer.

Lord,

keep me,

I pray,

from unwise,

damaging speech.

May God bless

these words to us.

We're going to conclude

with words

that are very much

in keeping

with our thoughts

this evening

in Psalm 141.

Psalm 141

and sing Psalms

to the tune Selma.

That's on page 185.

And it's interesting

how the Lord here,

how the psalmist here

is calling on the Lord

in a very difficult circumstance.

He's obviously

surrounded by enemies

and in many ways

he says,

verse 9 there,

protect me from the traps

the wicked set for me.

And he's also

obviously being

attacked

and buffeted

by traps

and by the

doings of the ungodly.

And it's interesting

in that context

that he says

in verses 3 and 4,

keep watch,

Lord,

on my mouth.

And guard my lips,

I pray.

Let not my heart

to evil thoughts

be drawn

and led astray.

We'll sing these three verses

from the beginning.

O Lord,

I call to you.

O Lord,

I call to you.

Come with me,

I hear thee.

And when I cry to you forever,

do my love,

you give me.

thee will murail,

before earth

his eyes.

The mercy of our hands

be Panic.

Let not hide the act, let delight, be me in sacrifice.

It was short on my heart, andissioned by my Welcome Sea,

and down thy lips I play.

Let not thy heart to evil's laws

be torn and let us stay.

If you allow me to get to the main door, please,

tonight I'll greet you at the door.

Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God the Father,

and the communion of the Holy Spirit

be with you now and always.

Amen.