Shalom,
Psalm 106 speaks of the failings of the nation of Israel, for the purpose of bringing praise to the LORD for His mercy and forgiveness! Verses 1-5 gives the glory to God:
1 PRAISE THE LORD (Hallelujah!) O give thanks to the LORD for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever. 2 Who can put into words and tell the mighty deeds of the LORD? Or who can show forth all the praise [that is due Him]? 3 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are those who observe justice [treating others fairly] and who do right and are in right standing with God at all times. 4 Earnestly] remember me, O LORD, when You favor Your people! O visit me also when You deliver them, and grant me Your salvation! -- 5 That I may see and share the welfare of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your heritage.
After giving God glory for all He had done, the psalmist said this about the people and nation in verse 6:
6 We have sinned, as did our fathers; we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
He does this through the entire psalm, exposing the sins of the nation and praising God for His mercy and forgiveness. Verse 8:
8 Nevertheless He saved them for His Name's sake [to prove the righteousness of the divine character], that He might make His mighty power known.
Again and again the people rebelled, they lusted, they envied, they spurned, they despised, they murmured, they provoked, they angered God, they mingled with idolaters, they shed innocent blood, they defiled themselves and other wicked things. Just read over this entire psalm again to get all of this! Even though there WAS a price they paid for their wickedness, STILL He had mercy on them! Verses 45-46:
45 And He [earnestly] remembered for their sake His covenant and relented their sentence of evil [comforting and easing Himself] according to the abundance of His mercy and loving-kindness [when they cried out to Him]. 46 He also caused [Israel] to find sympathy among those who had carried them away captive.
Remember, and NEVER forget, that He IS the Covenant making, Covenant keeping God! he will never leave or forsake YOU, wither! AMEN!
James 3 is speaking mainly about the tongue! He uses the example of the rudder of a ship that is very small in proportion to the ship's size, but it controls the direction of the entire ship. The bit that is put into the horse's mouth with the bridle will cause the horse to change direction, start, stop, walk, run or gallop, even though it is very small! Verses 5-10:
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and it can boast of great things. See how much wool or how great a forest a tiny spark can set ablaze! 6 And the tongue is a fire. [The tongue is a] world of wickedness set among our members, contaminating and depraving the whole body and setting on fire the wheel of birth (the cycle of man's nature), being itself ignited by hell (Gehenna). 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea animal, can be tamed and has been tamed by human genius (nature). 8 But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil. full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God's likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so.
If WE can't possibly tame our tongue, then what in the world are we to do? Matthew 12:34b-35 gives us a clue!
34b ...For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things.
So we see that it is what is IN THE HEART that comes out of the mouth! So what can we do to stop it? Psalm 119:11:
11 Your Word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
Meditate the Word of God day and night (Joshua 1:8) and the Word will rise up big within you so that when YOU speak, the scorners will be silenced, just like they were when Jesus spoke! AMEN!
In Jeremiah 35 the prophet tries to get the people of Israel to realize their sin so that they can repent. he uses the example of the Rechabites and their obedience to the command of God to try to shame them into obedience, but to no avail! In Jeremiah 36 the LORD tells Jeremiah to write down everything He had instructed Jeremiah to speak to the people previously. He then arranged to have it read in the LORD's house, giving the people one more opportunity to repent and turn back to God. Not only did they refuse, but the king had it burned! STUBBORN and STIFF-NECKED! God just simply had Jeremiah prepare another one! This one contained the more that the LORD had promised would come on them for their disobedience!
DON'T be a Jehoiakim! What you see in the Word of God to do - DO IT - and do it RIGHT NOW! Don't hesitate or you will delay the blessing that obedience to the Word of God brings!
Shalom in Him!
