verse 20. Had he the right view of God's goodness, he would have seen himself as a sinner and obeyed the command of Christ. In verses 13, 14 sin is shown to be in human conversation; what a man says. These verses are dealing with sin as is evidenced in the speech of man. Now keep in mind the fact that this portrait of man is composed of descriptions taken from the Old Testament, for God would impress upon the reader the authority of His Word. He is here using different parts of the human body to show how far man has departed from what God created him to be. The Great Physician begins His examination of the sinner's body by having a look into his mouth. "Their throat is an open sepulchre" (3: 13). The quotation is from a Psalm which says, "For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre . .." (Psalm 5:9). And what is an open sepulchre? It is an opened grave in which a dead body has been placed. An open grave will emit a foul odor, a stench. When our Lord ordered the stone to be removed from the grave of Lazarus, Martha said to Him, "Lord, by this time he stinketh" (John 11:39). The stench came from the rottenness within. Just so, the unclean and defiling speech of some persons is like the noxious odor of a decaying body. The speech of many a person reflects the foulness that is in the heart. Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matthew 13:34). "With their tongues they have used deceit" (3:13). The tongue is a flatterer (Psalm 5:9), and it delights in lies (Psalm 62:4). We all know about the slick-tongued smooth talker who attempts to cover up with words the corruption in his heart. With nice words he entices and deceives. The sinner with a graveyard throat will try to cover up his rottenness with nice words. But he must know the warning of Jesus Christ Who said, "I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36). "The poison of asps is under their lips" (3: 13). The Old Testament verse reads, "They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips" (Psalm 140:3). The asp is a poisonous viper, a deadly Egyptian cobra. Under the lips is a sac containing a death-dealing venom. 88
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