In times of trial, stress, and frustration we often say things we later regret. It can be very hard to hold one’s tongue until the red mist fades. William Kempe, however, was weighed with so much regret after one indignant outburst, in which he accused his wife of adultery, that he swore to hold his tongue. Kempe, a gentleman of the country house called Spains Hall in the 17th century, would have surely been familiar with Psalm 141 and its prayer: “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch…
