我们看到诗人让自己不致跌倒所采取的第一个步骤是阻止自己说出想说的话。换句话说，他控制了自己的想法和冲动。

这是极其重要的一点。如果基督徒愿意留意这一点，学习勒住自己的舌头，便可以免除很多麻烦。如果我们所说的话传达了主是不公平或不仁慈的讯息，尤其是当这些话出自资深基督徒的口，就有如木厂里燃点了火星一样的危险。诗人虽然疑惑，但却看到自制的重要，这是一种有拯救作用的美德。

很多人经常说：「我不可能控制自己的言语，在我发觉自己说甚么以前那些话已经从我口中出去了。」这当然是一派胡言，因为我们所说的话是自己选择的结果。有时我们可能在言语上有失控的感觉，但那只是感觉而已。基督徒心理学家克莱布（Lawrence Crabb）博士告诉我们：「觉得没有选择并不表示真的没有选择。」正如我们常说，当你想要给别人「一句心里话」的时候，你还是有那么短短的一刹那，去选择说还是不说。我们不能以舌头不受控制为借口。我们所做的乃是出于自己的选择。诗人虽然有很多疑惑和困难，但是他选择了控制自己的舌头。这是你也可以做得到的事。

We are seeing that the first step the psalmist took to save himself from falling was stopping himself from saying what was on the tip of his tongue. In other words, he took himself in hand.

This is an extremely important issue. What a lot of heartache would be saved if Christians would take heed to this and learn to put a bridle on their tongues. Expressions which convey the idea that the Lord acts unjustly or unkindly, especially if they fall from the lips of men and women who have a long experience in the Christian life, are as dangerous as sparks in a timber factory. Despite his doubts, the psalmist recognised the importance of self-discipline, and that proved to be a saving virtue.

People sometimes claim: "It is impossible for me to control what I say. It slips out before I realise what I've said." This is non-sense, of course, for what we say is the result of what we choose to say. Sometimes we may feel as though we have no control over what we say, but that is all it is - a feeling. Dr Lawrence Crabb, a Christian psychologist, tells us: "The loss of felt choice does not mean the loss of real choice." When you give a person "a piece of your mind", as we say, there is always a moment, albeit a split second, when you can choose to speak out or stay quiet. We cannot hide behind the excuse that our tongue is not under our control. What we do is what we choose to do. The psalmist, though beset by many doubts and difficulties, chose to control his tongue - and so can you.