Key Verse: "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil."
- Proverbs 16:6 KJV
There is a very close and intimate connection between godly fear and being holy in all manner of life. When do we drop into levity of conversation? When do light and frothy words fall from our lips? When do any of those hasty bursts of temper, or those fretful expressions, or that mere carnal, worldly talk to which we are naturally prone, hover upon our lips and break forth, more or less unguardedly, from our tongue? Is it not when this godly fear is not flowing its streams as a fountain of life, to well water the soul and soften it into humility and love, and is not springing up in wholesome checks and godly admonitions to keep the tongue as with a bridle and to rule that little member which, though so little, if untamed, defiles the whole body?
But if this godly fear be in exercise, it will restrain
that levity of speech which not only grieves and wounds our own conscience,
but is often a stumbling-block to the world, a bad example to the family of
God, and a weapon in the hands of Satan to bring death into their soul. We
should do well to ponder over those words of the Apostle, and to carry them
with us when we are brought into conversation with others in the daily walks
of life--Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only
what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may
benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with
whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Eph. 4:29, 30)
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