lighted, hell-kindled. Satan loaded the human tongue at the Fall with dynamite; and every day he ignites the treacherous magazine from the unquenchable fire. Thue, as the spirited horse represents the flesh, and the fierce winds the world, the raging fire leads us to think of the devil-the power of" the evil one." CoNOLUBION. Let us earnestly seek the grace of God, to deliver our tongue from the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Let us guard the portals of our lips, so that no uncharitable or slanderous words may issue from them. Let us welcome the Pentecostal "tongue of fire," that it may purify us from the evil tongue which is " set on fire by hell."-0. J. Vere. 7-12.-The tongue ungovernable and inconsistent. At first the apostle had reminded his readers that speech may be made a great power for good (vers. 2-4). Then he went on to say that in actual fact it is employed by most men as an engine of evil (vers. 6, 6). He proceeds now to justify his strong language on this point. I. THE UNTAMADLENESS OF THE TONGUE, (Vers. 7, 8.) We have here a fourfold classification of the inferior creatures. God gave man dominion over them at the creation, and intimated his supremacy anew after the Flood. There is no variety of brute nature that has not yielded in the past, and that does not continue to yield, to the lordship of human nature. The horse, the dog, the elephant, the lion, the leopard, the tiger, the hyena ; the partridge, the falcon, the eagle; the asp, the cobra; the crocodile ;-these names suggest ample evidence of man's power to tame the most diverse species of wild animals. But, says James, there is one little creature which human nature, in its own strength, finds it impossible to domesticate. The tongue of man is fiercer than the most ferocious beast. The rebellion of our race against good is far more inveterate than any insubordination of the brutes. Indeed, the revolt of the lower creatures against the authority of man is only the shadow and symbol of man's revolt against the authority of God. Year by year man is subduing the earth and extending his dominion over it; but his natural power to govern the tongue remains as feeble as it was in the days of Cain. This "little member" reveals the appalling depths of human corruption. "It is a restless evil;" unstable, fickle, versatile; ever stir- ring about from one form of unrighteousness to another; assuming Protean shapes and chameleon hues; its words sometimes filthy, sometimes slanderous, sometimes profane, sometimes angry, sometimes idle. Aml the untamed tongue "is full of deadly poison." It is a worse poison-bag than that of the most hurtful serpent. The words of a false tongue are fangs of moral ve,nom, for which no human skill can supply an antidote. Is not calumny just a foul virus injected into the social body, which kills character, happiness, and sometimes even life? Its venom spreads far and_ wide, and man is powerless to destroy it. II. THE INCONSISTENCY 01!' THE TONGUE. (Vers. 9-12.) The same person may just now put the faculty of speech to its highest use ; and, almost immediately after- wards, wickedly abuse it. The tongue has been given us that therewith we may "bless the Lord and Father;" and to utter the Divine praise is the most ennobling exercise of human speech. The Christian calls him "Lord," and adores him for his eternal Godhead; he also calls him "Father,'' and blesses him for his adopting grace. Then, with melancholy inconsistency, the same mouth which has been praising God may be heard invoking evil upon men. How often do those who profess godliness speak passionate and spiteful words I Do not Christians who belong to the same con- gregation sometimes backbite one another? Do not believers of different communions often, out of mere sectarian rivalry, denounce one another's Churches? Even godly men sometimes cherish the spirit which would "forbid" others to work the work of the Lord, simply because these are not of th!lir company. Now, such inconsistency is seen in all its aggravation when we consider the fact that truly to bless God forbids the cursing of any man. " The Lord" is the "Father" of all men, for men "are made after the likeness of God." In his princely intellect, and his hungering heart, and even in his uneasy conscience, man reflects the image of his Maker. God and he are so close of kin to each other-by nature, and through Christ's incarnation-that real reverence for God requires that we "honour all men." How inconsistent, then, for the same mouth to bless the Father and to curse the children! The inconsistency appears on the very face of the English word "curse." To c~rse means primarily " to invoke evil JAJ14B8, j; 50 'l'HE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [cH. III. 1-18,
upon one, by the sign of the cross." The cross is the symbol of the highest blessing to !be world ; e.nd yet those who enjoy the blessedness which it brings have used it as e.n rnst.rument of cursing. We bless God for the cross; e.nd then we curse men in the name of the cross. Such inconsistency, the apostle adds, is flagrantly unnatural (vere. 11, 12). None such is to be met with in the physical world. A spring of we.ter ?Rnn?t transgress the law of its natnre. A fruit tree can only bear fruit according to its kmd. .H?w unnatura~ then, that in the i:noral world the same fountain of speech slHmld emit ,1ust now a. nll of clear sweet praise, and soon afterwards a torrent of bitter i-lander, or e. stream of brackish minced oaths! Where a true believer falls into this sinful inconsistency, it is because the fountain of the old nature within his bee.rt has not yet been closed up. He needs to have the accursed tree on which Jesus died cast i11t0 the bitter stream within him, to sweeten it, and to make it a river of livina- water. In the case of a soul that has experienced the renewing grace of the Holy Spi~·it, this unnatural inconsistency of speech not only "ought not so to be," but does not need to be.---C.J.