Mr. Lincoln was loosely quoting Solomon, the wise man who said, "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding."

It has been said that God gave us two ears and one mouth, so therefore we should listen twice as much as we talk. Instead, some people appear to have two mouths, and sometimes they speak out of both sides of each one.

Right now the British Isles are alarmed over the spread of hoof and mouth disease in their cattle, but we have had an epidemic of this terrible malady in humans for years. Most of us have been guilty of putting the tongue in gear before engaging the brain. If only we would stop and think before we speak, we would have a great many less sins to take to our Heavenly Father in prayer for forgiveness.

We read that in a fit of anger Moses spoke "unadvisably with his lips," and, as a result, was kept out of the promised land. We need to guard our tongue. It was David who said, "I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me."

James warns us of the dangers of the tongue. He tells us:

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

It ought not to be so, but it is. We need to realize that our tongue could keep us out of the Kingdom. Jesus tells us, "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

If only we could just remember that we never learn anything while we are talking. There is a course that no college curriculum offers that we would be wise to take. Paul tells us about it when he exhorts us to "study to be quiet."

Isaiah tells us, "For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; in returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." Isaiah’s message projects an image of peaceful pastures, of quiet, of comfort and security from living under God’s guiding hand – until the picture is shattered when Isaiah adds four more words. "And ye would not." Will we? Are we willing to be quiet, to quietly wait and hope for the salvation of our God?

Let us be wiser than those Isaiah wrote about. Let us guard our tongue. Let us study to be quiet and trust in the strength of the Lord of Hosts, and let us learn by listening to the Lord. "The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him".