Proverbs 4:24-27

Put away from thee a froward mouth.

Laws of life

A law for the tongue, a law for the eye, a law for the mind, a law for the life.

I. A demand for pure language. Speech is one of the grand peculiarities that distinguish man. It is the organ by which one man can influence the ages. Yet it has become the vehicle of error, the channel of pollution, the utterance of blasphemy, etc. A pure heart is essential to pure speech.

II. A demand for a straightforward purpose. Have no side-glances, no by-ends; but have a grand purpose on which the eye of the soul shall be always fixed. Straightforwardness stands opposed to all sly cunning, all vacillation, all ambiguity; all double meanings and aims.

III. A demand for habitual thoughtfulness. Man was made not only to think, but to be thoughtful. He should walk the path of life--

1. Thoughtfully, not by impulse.

2. Thoughtfully, not by prejudice.

3. Thoughtfully, not by custom.

IV. A demand for unswerving rectitude. Duty is a straight path. The way of sin is serpentine in its shape as well as in its spirit. Virtue is a straight line running right up to God. Any turn, therefore, would be wrong and riskful. Take care: there are by-paths tempting in every direction. (D. Thomas, D.D.)