"But I say unto you, That every idle word that
men shall speak, they shall give account thereof
in the day of judgment." Matthew 12:36
There are many idle talkers. An idle word is a profuse
or needless word, used rashly or unadvisedly, lacking
a reason of just necessity, bringing neither honor to
God nor edification to others, nor conducing to any
profitable end.
And as there are many idle talkers, so there are many
over-talkers; and they are such who spend a hundred
words when ten will serve the turn.
And as there are many over-talkers, so there are many
who are only-talkers, who can do nothing but talk.
And as there are many who are only talkers, so there
are many who are unprofitable talkers. "The beginning
of the words of their mouth is foolishness, and the end of
his talk is mischievous madness," Eccles. 10:13.
And as there are many unprofitable talkers, so there are
many unseasonable talkers, who place one word where
another should stand. "A wise man discerns time and
judgment," Eccles. 8:4.
And as there are many unseasonable talkers, so there are
many rash talkers, who speak first and think afterwards,
Eccles. 5:2.
God has set a double bar about the tongue—the teeth and
the lips—that men should not speak rashly. Words once
spoken cannot return. A man who thinks before he speaks,
seldom repents of what he speaks. Silence is far better
than rash speaking, or than vain speaking, etc.
O sirs, the tongue is the true revealer of the heart. If there
is piety or iniquity at the bottom of your hearts, your tongues
will reveal it. What is in the well, will be in the bucket.
Just so, what is in the heart, will be in the mouth. If there is
anything of God, of Christ, of grace, of heaven, of hell, of sin,
of the world, of self in the bottom of your souls, your tongues
will reveal it.
A man's heart may sometimes be seen at his tongue's end.
Many a man's tongue has cut his throat; that is, it has been his ruin.
The Holy Spirit shows the mischief of the tongue, by the several
characters by which he brands it. He calls it the flattering tongue,
the double tongue, the deceitful tongue, the lying tongue, the
perverse tongue, etc., Psalm 52:2; Proverbs 18:21; Eccles. 10:12;
Psalm 19:4, and 73:9; Mat. 28:13, 15.
The tongue is often like a sharp razor, that, instead of shaving
the hair, cuts the throat. If a man does not look well about him,
he may every day be in danger of dying by his tongue. "Life and
death," says Solomon, "are in the power of the tongue," Prov. 18:21.
Ah, how good had it been for many that they had been born
dumb! The tongue can easily travel all the world over, and wound
men's names and credits in this country; and that in this city and
that in this town, and that in this family, and that in an instant run
from one place to another: here it bites, and there it tears: in
this place it leaves a blot, and in that it gives a wound; and
therefore you have cause to watch your tongues on every day.
O sirs, how many men and women are there who are discriminating
about what they eat, who are not discriminating about what they speak;
who are particular about the food which goes into their mouths, lest it
should hurt or poison them, who are not particular about the words
that go out of their mouths, lest they should hurt or poison others!
Of all the members in the body, there is none so serviceable
to Satan as the tongue.
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Thomas Brooks (1608 - 1680)
Much of what is known about Thomas Brooks has been ascertained from his writings. Born, likely to well-to-do parents, in 1608, Brooks entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1625, where he was preceded by such men as Thomas Hooker, John Cotton, and Thomas Shepard. He was licensed as a preacher of the Gospel by 1640. Before that date, he appears to have spent a number of years at sea, probably as a chaplain with the fleet.After the conclusion of the First English Civil War, Thomas Brooks became minister at Thomas Apostle's, London, and was sufficiently renowned to be chosen as preacher before the House of Commons on December 26, 1648. His sermon was afterwards published under the title, 'God's Delight in the Progress of the Upright', the text being Psalm 44:18: 'Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from Thy way'. Three or four years afterwards, he transferred to St. Margaret's, Fish-street Hill, London. In 1662, he fell victim to the notorious Act of Uniformity, but he appears to have remained in his parish and to have preached as opportunity arose. Treatises continued to flow from his pen.[3]
Thomas Brooks was a nonconformist preacher. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He soon became an advocate of the Congregational way and served as a chaplain in the Civil War. In 1648 he accepted the rectory of St. Margaret's, New Fish Street, London, but only after making his Congregational principles clear to the vestry.
On several occasions he preached before Parliament. He was ejected in 1660 and remained in London as a Nonconformist preacher. Government spies reported that he preached at Tower Wharf and in Moorfields. During the Great Plague and Great Fire he worked in London, and in 1672 was granted a license to preach in Lime Street. He wrote over a dozen books, most of which are devotional in character. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.