“But how is this government of the tongue to be practised? The very detailing of the evils will implicitly at least suggest the remedies. Listen to an hour of conversation in any Christian company. How much of it turns, almost of necessity as it would seem, on the actions and character of others! The meaning of judging others appears to be this: the judgment seat of our Divine Lord is as it were already set up on the earth. But it is empty. It is waiting for Him. We, meanwhile, unmannerly and unbidden, keep ascending the steps, enthroning ourselves upon His seat, and anticipating aud mimicking His judgment of our brethren. To put it in this way brings home to us the wretchedness of what we are doing. It will also surely assist us in endeavoring to cleanse our conversation of so much unnecessary canvassing of the motives and actions of others. Yet, for the most part we have gone far along our road in devotion and done ourselves many an irreparable mischief, before we bestow half the carefulness on the government of our tongue, which it not only deserves, but imperiously requires.”
~ Rev. Frederick William Faber, Growth In Holiness,
72.
72.