Ecclesiastes 5:2

Be not rash with thy mouth The rule follows the worshipper from the threshold into the Temple-court and tells him how he is to act there. We are reminded of our Lord's warning against "vain repetitions," after the manner of the heathen (Matthew 6:7). The second clause, though parallel to the first, carries the thought further. The "heart" or mind of the worshipper also is to be calm and deliberate. We are not to turn every hasty wish into a prayer, but to ask ourselves whether it is one of the things for which we ought to pray. Here also the precept has its analogies in the counsels of the wise of heart outside the covenant of Israel. See especially Juven. Sat. x.

therefore let thy words be few The Son of Sirach gives the same rule for our speech when in the presence of the "great men" of earth (Sir 32:9), and à fortiorithe reverence due to God should shew itself in the same form as our reverence for them. In a Talmudic precept we find the rule in nearly the same words, "the words of a man should always be few in the presence of God" (Berachoth, 61 a, quoted by Ginsburg). Comp. also Hooker E. P.1. 2. § 3.