02.03. Chapter 3 - Verse 07, 08

James 3:7-8. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: but the tongue can no man tame: it is an unruly evil, and full of deadly poison.

Having showed the cursed influence of the tongue, he showeth how difficult the cure is. Wild beasts are more tractable, and may be sooner brought to hand, than an evil tongue; it is wilder than the wildest beast.

Every kind of beasts, and birds, and serpents, and things in the sea.—The enumeration is the more full, that he may show how far human art can reach. For instances and stories, interpreters abound in them. How lions have been tamed and brought to hunt as dogs, or draw the chariot as horses, you may see Pliny in his Natural History, lib. 8. cap. 16, and Ælian, lib. 15. cap. 14. How birds have been taught, you may see Plin. lib. 10. cap 42, and Macrob. lib. 2. Saturn, cap. 10. Of elephants, Lipsius, cent, primà, Epist. 50. In short, nothing is so violent and noxious by nature but human art and industry hath made it serviceable to human uses. This is a fruit and relic of that dominion God gave man over the creatures at first; by an instinct put into their natures they were all to obey him and serve him; but man, revolting, lost imperium suum and imperium sui, the command of himself and the command of the creatures; he rebelling against God, the creatures rebelled against him, to avenge the quarrel of the creator. But now, by art and industry, and some relics of the image of God in himself, and the help and concurrence of a general providence, he doth in part recover his dominion over the creatures; but over himself he cannot by any means, no, not over his tongue, ‘a little member;’ for to that end is this illustration brought here. Is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind.—As if he had said, It riot only hath been done in ancient times, but we see it still done. He useth this distinctness of expression to show that he doth not only intend the subjection of the creatures before the fall, which was full and voluntary, or some miraculous effects, as when the whale hurted not Jonah, Jonah 2:1-10; or the lions, Daniel in the den, Daniel 6:1-28; or the viper, Paul, Acts 28:1-31; but what is usual and ordinary, and falleth out often in common experience. But the tongue can no man tame.—The old Pelagians, wholly wresting this place, did read it as an interrogation, as if the sense were, Man can tame all other things, and can he not then tame himself? which is quite contrary to the apostle’s scope, which is to show what an unruly and an untractable evil the tongue is. Others, to avoid the seeming harshness of the sentence, say, He speaketh of other men’s tongues; who can stop them? as if it were a saying of a like sense with that Psalms 120:3, ‘What shall we give to thee? or what shall be done to thee, thou false tongue?’ How shall I prevent it? But this also doth not agree with the apostle’s scope, who doth not show how we should bridle other men’s tongues, but guide our own. The meaning is, then, no man can do it of himself; and we have not such an absolute concurrence of the divine grace as to do it wholly.

It is an unruly evil, κακὸν ἀκατάσχετον.—Some take it causally; it is the cause of sedition and unruliness: but rather it signifieth what was formerly expressed, an evil that will not be held in. It is a metaphor taken from beasts that are kept within rails or chains. God hath, in the structure of the mouth, appointed a double rail to it, teeth and lips, and by grace laid many restraints upon it; and yet it breaketh out.

Full of deadly poison.—It is an allusion to such creatures as hurt by poison. The tongue is as deadly, and hath as much need to be tamed, as venomous beasts. Besides, some beasts carry their poison in their tongues, as the asp in a bladder under the tongue, which, when they bite, is broken, and then the poison cometh out; therefore it is said, Psalms 140:3, ‘They have sharpened their tongues as a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips.’ The notes are these: from James 3:7 you may observe:—

Obs. 1. The tractableness of the beasts to man, and the disobedience of man to God. Beasts are tamed, serpents are charmed by our skill, but we are not charmed by all the witchcrafts and allurements of Heaven: Psalms 58:4-5, ‘Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; they are like the deaf adder, which stoppeth her ear, which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.’ It is an allusion to the fashion of the asp, which, when he seeth the charmer, layeth one ear close to the ground, and covereth the other with his tail. But now we read in the text, ‘Serpents have been tamed, and are tamed.’ But all the magic of the gospel, the sweet spells of grace, will not cure the heart of man. So the ox, a creature of great strength, is obedient to man, a weaker creature; but we kick with the heel against God, as the prophet, Isaiah 1:3, ‘The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but my people doth not know, Israel doth not consider.’ Fallen man may go to school to the beasts to learn mildness and obedience; and yet God hath more power to subdue, and we have more reason to obey.

Obs. 2. The greatness of man’s folly and impotency in governing his own soul. Though he tameth other things, he doth not tame himself. We seek to recover our loss of dominion over the creatures, but who seeketh to recover that power which he once had over his own soul? How can we lock to have our dominion entire over beasts and inferior creatures, when by the irregularity of our lusts we make ourselves as one of them? Psalms 49:12, ‘He is as the beasts that perish.’ We all affect sovereignty, but not holiness. Men seek to conquer others, but not themselves. Solomon saith, ‘He that ruleth his own spirit is better than he that winneth a city;’ that is the nobler conquest, but we effect it not. We would recover our lordship over the creatures, but still remain captives to our own lusts. Domat feram, non domat linguam; it was Austin’s¹ complaint, we do not tame the beasts in our own bosoms. The evil tongue is the worst serpent; and the most rabid and curst of all the fierce beasts is the railer; and therefore Solomon saith, Proverbs 21:19, ‘It is better to dwell in a wilderness, than with a contentious and angry woman.’ In the wild desert there are lions, and bears, and tigers, but these assault us but now and then, and these can but rend the skin; but a contentious woman is like a tiger, that still lieth in our bosoms, with sharp and bitter words, ever ready to fret out our hearts.

¹ Aug. Serm. 4, de Verbis Domini.

Obs. 3. The deepness of man’s misery. Our own art and skill is able to tame the fiercest beasts, and make them serviceable; beasts as strong as lions and elephants; fishes that do, as it were, inhabit another world; birds as swift almost as a thought; serpents hurtful and noxious. But, alas! there is more rebellion in our affections; sin is stronger, all our art will not tame it. We may teach beasts to do things contrary to their fierceness and natural dispositions; elephants to crouch, horses to dance; but man is θήριον δυσμεταχείριστον, as Plato called him, a beast that will not easily come to hand. We see in children much stubbornness, ere they come to be ripened and habituated in sin. A man would think their inclinations should be more flexible; but ‘folly is bound up in their hearts.’ Certainly man’s will is the toughest sinew in the whole creation.

Obs. 4. Art and skill to subdue creatures is a relic and argument of our old superiority. The heathens² discerned we had once a dominion, and the scriptures plainly assert it: Genesis 1:26, ‘Let them have dominion over the fowl of the air, over the fish of the sea, and over all the earth, and over the cattle, and over every creeping thing.’ Next to God’s glory, they were ordained for man’s service and benefit. We had a right and a grant from God, and therefore all the beasts were to come to Adam and receive their names, which was a kind of formal submission to his government, and a presenting of their homage and fealty to him. For the maintaining of this government, God gave man wisdom, and planted an instinct in the creatures by which they should be ready to obey him, fearful of doing him harm and offence. And therefore, when the grant was in part renewed, it was said to Noah and his sons, Genesis 9:2, ‘The fear and dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, fowls of the air, fishes of the sea,’ &c. So that then Adam could converse among the beasts without fear (as Noah and his sons did afterwards in the ark by singular dispensation), and command them at his beck and will; there would have been, on man’s part, no such difficulty to subdue them to human uses—Adam, in the great wisdom with which he was then furnished, knowing how to accommodate himself to the dispositions of the beasts; and on the beasts’ part, there would have been no repugnancy. But, alas! ever since the fall this right was forfeited, and the creatures withdrew themselves from man’s obedience, and proved hurtful and rebellious;³ therein representing to us our own treason and disloyalty. And therefore usually wild beasts are made an instrument of divine vengeance: 2 Kings 17:25, ‘The Lord sent lions among them.’ So Ezekiel 14:15, ‘I will cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and spoil it.’ The insurrection and rebellion of the creatures against us is a memorial of our unfaithfulness and rebellion against God. But yet, though this grant be forfeited, it is not wholly extinguished. A wicked man hath lost his right, but not the use, which to him is continued out of God’s patience and general providence, for the preservation of human society. And the elect have a new title and right by Christ, which will at length fully instate them in the absoluteness of the old dominion;⁴ when the creature, being ‘freed from the bondage of corruption,’ shall willingly be subject to the children of God, Romans 8:19-22. But for the present the dominion is exercised in a much lower way than it was in innocency. Though we have some skill to subdue them, and govern them for human uses, either of profit or delight; and though there be some instinct of fear in the hurtful creatures, and therefore they do not come abroad at such times as man is supposed to be in the field, Psalms 104:20-23, yet this subjection is not with such willingness as formerly on the creatures’ part, Romans 8:20, nor with such easiness on ours, it being a matter of more difficulty and toil. Besides that, there are many creatures which, by their swiftness and fierceness, do wholly escape the terrors of man’s sovereignty.

² ‘Sanctius his animal mentisque capacius altæ, Deerat adhuc, et quod dominari in cetera possit, Natus homo est.’—Ovid. Met., lib. 1.

³ ‘Quia per peccatum deseruit homo eum sub quo esse debuit, subditus est iis supra quæ esse debebat.’—Aug. Tract, in Johan.

⁴ See Dr Alting, Problem. Theol, pars 1, quæat. 61, 62. From the 8th verse observe:—

Obs. 1. The tongue is hardly tamed and subdued to any right use. I say hardly; for he doth not say none, but no man can—no human art and power can ever find a remedy and curb for it. And in this life God doth not give out absolute grace so as to avoid every idle word. The note is useful to refute the patrons of free-will; it cannot tame one member; and also perfectists. Do but consider the offences of the tongue, and you will see tliat you have cause to walk humbly with God. If he should but charge the sins of your own tongue upon you, what will become of you? But if it cannot be tamed, what shall we do? why do you bid us bridle it? I answer—(1.) If we have lost our power, God must not lose his right. Weakness doth not exempt from duty; we must bridle it, though we cannot of ourselves. (2.) Though we cannot bridle it, yet God can: Matthew 19:26, it is a hard matter for ‘a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God; but with God all things are possible.’ Difficulty and impossibility as to the creature’s endeavours are left, that we may fly to God. The horse doth not tame himself, nor the camel himself, nor man himself;⁵ man tameth the beast, and God tameth man; thou tamest a lion, and thou didst not make it: God made thee, and shall he not tame thee? Imago Dei domat feram, saith Augustine; domabit Deus imaginem suam. The work is done by the next highest power. (3.) To those that attempt it, and do what they are able, God will give grace; he never faileth a diligent, waiting soul. When God hath given you τὸ θελεῖν, ‘to will,’ he will give you τὸ ἐνεργεῖν, ‘to do;’ the first motions are from him, and so is the accomplishment; offer yourselves to his work. (4.) Though we cannot be altogether without sin, yet we must not altogether leave off to resist sin. Sin reigneth where it is not resisted; it only remaineth in you where it is opposed. But you will say, What is our duty? I answer—(1.) Come before God humbly; bewail the depravation of your natures, manifested in this untamed member. This was one of the sins which Austin confessed, he said his tongue was fornax mali, an Ætna that was always vomiting up distempered fires and heats. Complain of it to God: ‘wretched man! who shall deliver me?’ (2.) Come earnestly; this was one of the occasions upon which Austin in his Confessions⁶ sobbed out his Da quod jubes, et jube quod vis—Lord, give what thou commandest, and command what thou wilt. He spake it upon the occasion of lust, and he spake it upon the occasion of the evils of the tongue. Your applications to grace must be the more earnest and frequent; cry for a remedy: ‘Lord, keep the door of my lips,’ Psalms 141:3.

⁵ ‘Attendite similitudinem ab ipsis bestiis quas domamus. Equus non se domat, camelus non se domat, aspis non se domat; sic et homo non se domat, sed ut dometur equus, bos, camelus, elephantus, leo, aspis, quæritur homo; ergo Deus quæratur ut dometur homo.’—Aug. Serm. 4, de Verbis Domini, tom. 10.

⁶ August. Confess, lib. 10. See Cornel. a Lapide in hunc locum.

Obs. 2. From that an unruly evil. There is an unbridled license and violence in the tongue: Job 32:19, ‘Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent, it is ready to burst like new bottles.’ When the mind is big with the conception, the tongue is earnest to utter it: Psalms 39:3, ‘My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned.’ Therefore in the remedy we should use not only spiritual care, but an holy violence: ‘I will keep my mouth as with a bridle,’ ‘I will lay my hand upon my mouth,’ Psalms 39:1. And you had need look to the heart; it cometh from ‘the abundance of iniquity,’ naughtiness must have some vent for its excrement and superfluity; and from the heat of wrath get a cool spirit; and from the itch of vainglory let man’s honour seem a small thing, 1 Corinthians 4:3; and from the height of discontent, full vessels will plash over. Meeken the heart into a sweet submission, lest discontent seek the vent of murmuring.

Obs. 3. From that full of deadly poison. A wicked tongue is venomous and hurtful: as Bernard observeth, it killeth three at once—him that is slandered, his fame by ill report; him to whom it is told, his belief with a lie; and himself with the sin of detraction. Bless God when you escape those deadly bites, the fangs of detraction ‘A good name is a precious ointment,’ and a slanderous tongue is a ‘deadly poison;’ nothing will secure you but the antidote of innocency; but if it be your lot, bear it with patience; there is a resurrection of names as well as persons. Though you are poisoned by the tongue of detraction, yet remember he is wont to give a cordial ‘in whose mouth there is no guile,’ 1 Peter 2:22. It may also dissuade men from the sin; we would not poison one another; slander is poison.