Blog

Psa 39:1 I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me.

A muzzle is a device placed over the snout of an animal when it needs it the most, to keep it from biting or otherwise opening its mouth. God’s word is a muzzle: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psa 119:11).

There is a great deal to be learned from Isaiah (Isa 6:1-7). Being alone in the presence of the Lord allowed him to encounter and reflect. The glory of God first showed him his own sins before showing him the sins of others. Mark, in the first 5 chapters, at length displayed the wickedness of the people and the pending judgment. He learned that the issue was not uniquely out there, it started with him. God touched his lips to remove his iniquity.

Therefore, “19 …, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (Jam 1:19-20). We must, “23 … avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth” (2Tim 2:23-25). All these are cultivated by the fear of God that drives us to muzzle our mouths. Our tongues untamed by the Holy Spirit is lethal all alone.