The wise man knows when to speak and when not to speak.

“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue.”
What does it mean to “keep” our mouth and tongue? Strong defines “keepeth” as,

“properly to hedge about (as with thorns), that is, guard; generally to protect, attend to, etc….1 (Strong).

We are to be guarding our mouths, that is we are cautious about what words we let come out of them.  More than once in Proverbs, Solomon tells us to have guarded lips.

“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19).

“He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction” (Proverbs 13:3).

Solomon knew that the problem of the tongue wasn’t just that floppy, wagging muscle in our mouths, for it is only an extension of our hearts. And there lies the real trouble.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

Whatever is in our hearts will eventually come to the surface.  The tongue is just the mechanism that reveals what is hidden deep within us.

The one who can “keep his mouth and tongue,”

“Keepeth his soul from troubles.”
No doubt we all have had plenty of experience with saying the wrong thing at the wrong time or saying it to the wrong person, or we said it in the wrong way…  These miscues lead us to trouble. And what will help us keep out of trouble?  Guarding our tongues (hearts).

James understood the impossibility of correcting the tongue when he wrote,

“But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).

These are very discouraging words until we realize that the only way to tame our tongue is with the help of the Holy Spirit working in us.  The issues of the tongue can never be fixed until the heart is changed.  And the Holy Spirit uses His Word to change us through sanctification.  This is done progressively, over time as we grow into the image of our Savior (Romans 8:28-29).

Believers, let’s set a guard on our lips but depend on the Holy Spirit’s strength to do what’s right when we speak.  He can help us keep our tongue out of trouble.

1.  Strong, Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, the electronic version in eSword.