"If anyone considers himself religious, and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." James 1:26

Other versions translate this to read "control" or "bridle" the tongue. In Apocalypse Explained 923 we read: "The term 'bridle' is used in a number of passages of the Word, and it signifies in the spiritual sense restraint and government, and it is predicated of the understanding and its thought, because a bridle belongs to horses and “horses” signify the understanding."

One of the more revealing facts about ourselves may be that the simplest, most basic, most obvious principles of the spiritual way of life are the ones we seem to need to be reminded of over and over again. Is there any one of us who does not really know—deep inside—that the Lord's way is the way of peace, of gentleness, of purity, of friendliness, of compassion, of fruitfulness, of forbearance, of self-control? Yet which of us has never been guilty of belligerence, contentiousness, overbearing attitude, impurity, lust, hostility, ill will, indifference, harshness, sloth, shiftlessness, vindictiveness, or gross indulgence? Over and over again!

It seems unfortunately true of "human nature", as we know it, that all of us—young and old, rich and poor, saint and sinner—stand in need repeatedly to be reminded of the basic ingredients of human decency. It is thus no surprise to us that the Scriptures are liberally sprinkled with admonitions about the obvious. The words of Micah 6:8 come readily to mind: "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

If in fact, we were to set out to collect and review all such passages in the Scriptures, we would be here all of today and well into the night, I suspect. This I do not intend to do, you'll be glad to know. Instead, let us narrow our gaze to one relatively small facet of this life-wide problem, the focus of our text from James, the need to bridle the tongue.

In the Old Testament, in Psalm 15, we read of the danger inherent in slandering with the tongue. In Psalm 34 we read, "Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile"—not only to avoid speaking anything evil, but also to refrain from even thinking it.

A little further on—in Psalm 39—the psalmist apparently decided to take things in his own hands and to set for himself course of action. He decided he would, in fact, repress or suppress his feelings and desires. "I will not let my tongue make me sin... I will not say anything while evil men are near... not say a word, not even about anything good."

Did it work? No. "My suffering only grew worse, and I was overcome with anxiety. The more I thought, the more troubled I became."

Complete silence does not seem to be the answer. (Those of us who essentially earn our living by talking should be relieved to learn this.) No, the symbol of the bridle or restraint seems to be the direction in which one must move. Swedenborg, in reporting a meeting with spirits from another planet, said these extraterrestrial beings observed that "the spirits of our earth...speak much and think little" (Arcana Coelestia 8031). Not too flattering, but probably accurate.

In his work on Ethics, Spinoza noted that "the world would be much happier if men were as fully able to keep silence as they are to speak. But experience abundantly shows that men can govern anything more easily than their tongues."

He (Spinoza) may have been prompted in part to write that by the picturesque analysis in the third chapter of the letter of the apostle James, which reads in part:

"We put a bit into the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, and we are able to make it go where we want. Or think of a ship: big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go. So it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things.

“Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame! And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself. Man is able to tame and has tamed all other creatures—wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish. But no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. It is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison. We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse our fellow-man, who is created in the likeness of God. Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My brothers, this should not happen! No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening. A fig tree, my brothers, cannot bear olives: a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water.

“Is there anyone among you who is wise and understanding? He is to prove it by his good life, by his good deeds performed with humility and wisdom. But if in your heart you are jealous, bitter and selfish, don't sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven: it belongs the world; it is unspiritual and demonic. Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil. But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.” (James 3:3-18)

We are forced to face the reality that there is no easy or "pat" answer to the problem of bridling the tongue. The early American political motto—"eternal vigilance is the price of liberty"—could as well have been spoken of the "battle of the tongue." May we paraphrase and say, "Eternal vigilance to restrain the tongue is the price of regeneration"?

In a provocative Diary entry, Swedenborg wrote: "When souls speak otherwise than they think, as if they speak good because it is to their advantage, there appears a sword, and the point of the sword appears, as it were, to be falling upon the head of the speaker. And this is the case even when no deceit is intended, but when it appears as though one ought to speak in this manner because the speaker observes it to be true, even though his mind does not feel the truth of what he says, but disagrees with it; in which case a sword appears behind the back, endangering the speaker" (Spiritual Diary 934). What a compelling word-picture to have in mind whenever we find ourselves "speaking guile!"

It is an axiom of the New Church that we are citizens of two worlds—that we are living simultaneously in both the natural world and the spiritual world. Further, that the two fold spiritual world profoundly influences us at all times—heavenly influences leading us to think and say heavenly things, hellish influences beguiling into thinking and saying hellish things. We dare never ignore the reality and presence of these influences. Nor can we take refuge in claiming, "The devil made me do it!" For the truth is that although "the devil" undoubtedly suggested it, we—you and I—decide whether or not to accept the suggestion.

“In the natural world man has a twofold speech, because he has a twofold thought, an exterior and an interior; for a man can speak from interior thought, and at the same time from exterior thought; and he can speak from exterior thought, and not from the interior, and even against the interior: hence come simulations, flatteries, and hypocrisies. But in the spiritual world man's speech is not twofold but single. He there speaks as he thinks: otherwise the sound is harsh, and offends the ear. But still he can be silent, and thus not divulge the thoughts of his mind: therefore when a hypocrite comes among the wise, he either goes away, or hurries himself into a corner of the room and makes himself inconspicuous, and sits mute.” (Apocalypse Revealed 294)

Can we set before ourselves an ideal? Yes. We find one in that short portion of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:33-37. It involves the danger in resorting to oaths and vows. Literally it sounds strange, as if we are not to make binding promises. But spiritually, we learn, it refers to the ideal state of those in the celestial or highest heaven. The Rev. William Bruce explains, "The command not to swear is a command not to confirm or uphold, by our own wisdom, the authority of divine wisdom, not to obtrude ourselves or our own wisdom into the domain of the eternal government, where the wisdom of God is everything."

He further explains that “if we loved good with our whole heart, and always followed it, if we hated evil in every form and constantly shunned it," we would then be able to obey the scripture, "Simply let your Yes be Yes and your No be No" (Matthew 5:37). But pending our reaching that exalted state, we do well to heed the words of our text: "If anyone considers himself religious, and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."

922. Verse 20. And the wine-press was trodden without the city, signifies the bringing forth of falsity from evil out of hell. This is evident from the signification of "treading the wine-press," as being to bring forth truth from good, and in the contrary sense to bring forth falsity from evil, since "grapes," from which wine is made in the wine-press, signify the good of charity, and in the contrary sense evil; and from good truth is brought forth, and from evil falsity. That this, as well as falsifications of the Word, are signified by "the great wine-press of the anger of God," can be seen from the preceding article n. 920. The above is evident also from the signification of "without the city," as being from hell, for "city" signifies the doctrine of truth from the Word (See above, n. 223), while "without the city" signifies the doctrine of falsity from the Word falsified; and as the falsification of the Word is from hell, "without the city" means out of hell. In the Word "city" signifies doctrine, and "the city of David," that is, Zion, and "the city of Jerusalem," signify the church as to the Word and as to doctrine from the Word, therefore "without the city" signifies, not from the Word and doctrine from the Word; and what is not from the Word and from doctrine therefrom is from hell. "Without the city" has a like signification as "without the camp" of the sons of Israel in the desert, for their "camp" signified heaven and the church, and "without the camp," signified hell. For this reason the lepers and all that were unclean were sent out of the camp (Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:1-6); and the excrements, by which things infernal were signified, were left without the camp (Deuteronomy 23:13, 14).

[2] That the "wine-press" and "treading it" signify the bringing forth of falsity from evil and the bringing forth of truth from good, can be seen from the Word where "wine-press" is mentioned. That it signifies the bringing forth of falsity from evil can be seen from the following passages. In Lamentations:

The Lord hath prostrated all my strong ones in the midst of me, He hath proclaimed against me an appointed time for breaking my young men; the Lord hath trodden the wine-press for the daughter of Judah (Lamentations 1:15).

This treats of the end of the church with the Jewish nation; and "the strong ones whom the Lord hath prostrated in the midst thereof" signifies the destruction of the love of good; those who are in love of good are called in the Word "strong ones," because good from its love prevails over the hells, and is therefore "strong." "In the midst" signifies all and everywhere. "To break the young men" signifies the destruction of all the understanding of truth; "an appointed time" means when both the goods and the truths of the church were all devastated with that nation; this time was when the Lord came into the world, and is what is meant by "the fullness of times." So "the Lord hath trodden the wine-press for the daughter of Judah" signifies the perversion of the church and the adulteration of the Word that is brought forth from evils of life and falsities of doctrine, "the daughter of Judah" being the church from the doctrine of truth from the Word, and "wine-press" being the bringing forth of falsity from evil, and the consequent adulteration of the Word and overthrow of the church. In the sense of the letter this is attributed to the Lord; but this is reversed in the spiritual sense, in which it is meant that this was done by that nation itself.

[3] In Joel:

Send forth the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get ye down, for the wine-press is full, the vats have overflowed; for their wickedness is great (Joel 3:13.)

The devastation of the church as to good and as to truth is thus described; and "the wine-press is full and the vats have overflowed" signifies that there was nothing except falsities from evil. (The rest may be seen explained, n. 911.

In Hosea:

Be not glad, O Israel, over a likeness, like the nations: for thou hast committed whoredom under thy God; thou hast loved the reward of whoredom upon all corn-floors; the floor and the wine-press shall not feed them, and the new wine shall be false to her (Hosea 9:2).

This treats of the falsification of the Word; "the floor and the wine-press shall not feed them" signifies that they will not draw from the Word the goods and truths that nourish the soul. (But this passage also has been explained above, n. 695)

[4] In Jeremiah:

Upon thy vintage hath the spoiler fallen; therefore gladness and joy are gathered out of Carmel, and out of the land of Moab; and I have caused the wine to cease from the wine-presses; none shall tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting (Jeremiah 48:32-34).

What is signified by "the vintage" upon which the spoiler hath fallen, and what by "the gladness and joy" that were gathered, may be seen above n. 919; that there is no longer any truth because there is no good is signified by "I have caused the wine to cease from the wine-presses;" and that there is no longer any joy from any spiritual love is signified by "none shall tread with shouting," "shouting" meaning the rejoicing of those that tread the wine press.

[5] In Isaiah:

Who is this that cometh from Edom, His garments sprinkled from Bozrah, He that is honorable in His apparel, walking in the multitude of His strength? I that speak in justice, mighty to save. Wherefore art Thou red in Thy garment, and Thy garments as of one that treadeth in the wine-press? I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people not a man was with Me; therefore have I trodden them in mine anger, and trampled them in My wrath; therefore their victory is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My raiment (Isaiah 63:1-3).

This is said of the Lord, and of His combats against all the hells; and as He fought against them from the Human, in which was the Divine Itself, it is said, "Who is this that cometh from Edom, His garments sprinkled from Bozrah?" which signifies fighting from the good of love and from truth, which are from the Divine; for Edom means red, and Bozrah gathering the vintage; and "red" is predicated of good, and "gathering the vintage" of truth; and because this is what Edom and Bozrah mean, the expressions "red" and "as one treading in the wine-press" are afterwards used. And as the Divine good and the Divine truth that are here meant are the Word in the letter, and this is what is signified by the Lord's "garments" it is said, "garments sprinkled," also "honorable in His apparel." And as all strength in the Word is in the letter it is said, "walking in the multitude of His strength." Judgment from His Divine upon the good and upon the evil and consequent salvation, is meant by "I that speak in justice, mighty to save." The violence offered to the Word by the Jewish nation is signified by "Wherefore art Thou red in Thy garments, and Thy garments as of one that treadeth in the wine-press?" "Red in garment" is predicated of the violence offered to the Divine good of the Word, which is meant above by "Edom," and "garments as of one that treadeth in the wine-press" is predicated of the violence offered to Divine truth in the Word, which is meant above by "Bozrah." "The Lord's garments" signify the Word in the letter, to which violence was offered through adulterations and falsifications of it. The casting down of the hells and of their falsities by His own power is signified by "I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the people not a man was with Me." The casting down into the hells of those who were in direful evils and in falsities therefrom is signified by "I have trodden them in Mine anger and trampled them in My wrath;" "anger" is predicated of evils, and "wrath" of falsities; and these are attributed to the Lord; although it is those who are in evils and in falsities therefrom that are angry and wrathful against the Lord. And as the judgment by which the hells were subjugated was accomplished by the Lord by means of temptations admitted into His Human, even to the last, which was the passion of the cross, it is said, "therefore their victory is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My raiment." For by all things of His passion and by the last temptation on the cross the Lord represented the violence offered by the Jewish nation to the Word, that is, to Divine truth (See above, n. 183, 195, 627, 655, 805).

[6] That "wine-press" and "treading it" signify the bringing forth of truth from good, because "the grape" signifies spiritual good, and "wine from the grape" truth from that good, can be seen from the following passages.

In Joel:

Rejoice, ye sons of Zion, the floors are full of corn, and the winepresses overflow with new wine and oil (Joel 2:23, 24).

"Sons of Zion" signify those who are in wisdom from the Divine truth; "the floors are full of corn" signifies that they have celestial good in abundance; "the wine-presses overflow with new wine and oil" signifies that from the good of charity they have truth and its delight.

[7] In Matthew:

A man, a householder, planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a wine-press in it, and built a tower; and let it out to husbandmen, who slew the servants sent to them, and finally the son (Matthew 21:33).

The "vineyard" which the householder planted signifies the church that was instituted with the sons of Jacob; the "hedge" which he set about it signifies protection from the falsities of evil, which are from hell; "and digged a wine-press in it" signifies that it had spiritual good; "and built a tower" signifies interior truths from that good which looked to heaven; "and let it out to husbandmen" signifies to that people; "they slew the servants that were sent to them" signifies that they slew the prophets; "and finally the son" signifies the Lord.

[8] In Isaiah:

My beloved had a vineyard in a horn of a son of oil, which he fenced and gathered out the stones, and planted it with a noble vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a wine-press in it; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes (Isaiah 5:1, 2).

"Vineyard," "tower," and "wine-press," have a like signification here as just above in Matthew. (The rest may be seen explained n. 918. In most passages, where "vintage" and "wine press" are mentioned, the "harvest" and "corn floor" are also mentioned (as in Hosea 9:1, 2; Joel 2:23, 24; 3:13; Numbers 18:26-30; Deuteronomy 15:14; 16:13; 2 Kings 6:27); and for the reason that "harvest" and "corn-floor," from "corn" and "bread" signify the good of celestial love, which is love to the Lord; and "vintage" and "wine-press," from the "grape" and the "wine," signify the good of spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbor; for these two loves make one, like an efficient cause and its effect. This has been said because here in Revelation the "harvest" is mentioned, and afterwards the "vintage" in the same way. (For the "harvest" see verses 14, 15; and the "vintage," verse 19.)