|
Home - Pastoral and Study Resources - Biblical Articles & Papers
- D.L. Moody - The Ten Commandments
"The Ten Commandments" by D.L. Moody
.<< continued from
previous page
The Ninth Commandment
Thou shalt nor bear false witness against thy neighbour.
TWO OUT OF THE Ten Commandments deal with sins that find expression
by the tongue-the third commandment, which forbids taking God's name
in vain, and this ninth commandment, which forbids false witness
against our neighbor. This twofold prohibition ought to impress us
as a solemn warning, especially as we find that the pages of
Scripture are full of condemnation of sins of the tongue. The
Psalms, Proverbs, and the epistle of James deal largely with the
subject.
TRUTH NECESSARY
Organized society of a degree higher than that of the herding of
animals and Rocking of birds depends so much upon the power of
speech, that without it we may say society would be impossible.
Language is an essential element in the social fabric. To fulfill
its purpose it must be trustworthy. Words must command confidence.
Anything which undermines the truth takes (as it were) the mortar
out of the building, and if general, must mean ruin. Paul said,
"Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his
neighbour: for we are members one of another" (Eph 4:25). Note the
reason given-- "we are members one of another." All community, all
union and fellowship would be shattered if a man did not know
whether to believe his neighbor or not.
The transgressions of this commandment are very varied in form, and
very frequent. Men and women of all ages have to guard against them.
They include some of the most besetting sins. David said in his
haste, "All men are liars" (Ps 116:11). Someone has remarked that if
he had been living nowadays, he might say it without haste and not
be very far wide of the truth.
PERJURY
The bearing of false witness is forbidden, but this must not be
limited merely to testimony given in the law court or under oath.
Isn't it a condemnation that men have to be put under oath in order
to make sure of their speaking the truth? As a legal offense,
perjury-- the bearing of false witness when under oath-- is one of
the most serious crimes that can be committed. Nearly every
civilized nation visits it : with heavy punishment. Unless promptly
checked, it would shake the very foundation of justice. Lying--
uttering or acting falsehood-- and slander-- the spreading of false
reports tending to destroy the reputation of another-- are two of
the most common violations of this commandment.
LYING
We have got nowadays so that we divide lies into white lies and
black lies, society lies, business lies, etc. The Word of God knows
no such letting-down of the standard. A lie is a lie, no matter what
are the circumstances under which it is uttered, or by whom. I have
heard that in Slam they sew up the mouth of a confirmed liar. I am
afraid if that was the custom in America, a good many would suffer.
Parents should begin with their children while they are young and
teach them to be strictly truthful at all times. There is a proverb:
"A lie has no legs." It requires other lies to support it. Tell one
lie and you are forced to tell others to back it up.
SLANDER
You don't like to have anyone bear false witness against you, or
help to ruin your character or reputation; then why should you do it
to others? How public men are slandered in this country! None
escape, whether good or bad. Judgment is passed upon them, their
family, their character, by the press and by individuals who know
little or nothing about them. If one-tenth that is said and written
about our public men were true, half of them should be hung. Slander
has been called "tongue murder." Slanders are compared to flies that
always settle on sores, but do not touch a man's good parts.
If the archangel Gabriel should come down to earth and mix in human
affairs, I believe his character would be assailed inside of
forty-eight hours. Slander called Christ a gluttonous man and a
wine- bibber. He claimed to be the Truth, but instead of worshiping
Him, men took Him and crucified Him.
When anyone spoke evil of another in the presence of Peter the
Great, he used promptly to stop him, and say:
"Well, now, has he not got a bright side? Tell me what you know good
of him. It is easy to splash mud, but I would rather help a man to
keep his coat clean."
I need not stop to run through the whole catalog of sins that are
related to these three. False rumor, exaggeration,
misrepresentation, insinuation, gossip, equivocation, holding back
of the truth when it is due and right to tell it, disparagement,
perversion of meaning: these are common transgressions of this ninth
commandment, differing in form and degree of guilt according to the
motive or manner of their expression. They bear false witness
against a man before the tribunal of public opinion-- court whose
judgment none of us escapes. As so much of our life is passed in
public view, any untruth that leads to a false judgment is a
grievous wrong.
A TEST OF TRUE RELIGION
Government of the tongue is made the test of true religion by James.
"If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his
tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain"
(Ja 1: 26). "For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not
in word, the same is a perfect man, and be able also to bridle the
whole body" (Ja 3:2). Just as a doctor looks at the tongue and can
tell the condition of the bodily health, so a man's words are an
index of what is within. Truth will spring from a good heart:
falsehood and deceit from a corrupt heart. When Ananias kept back
part of the price of the land, Peter asked him, "Why hath Satan
filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost" (Ac 5:3)? Satan is the
father of lies and the promoter of lies.
FOR GOOD OR EVIL The tongue can be an instrument of untold good or
incalculable evil. Someone has said that a sharp tongue is the only
edged tool that grows keener with constant use. "Thy tongue deviseth
mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully" (Ps 52:2); "They
have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders poison is under
their lips" (Ps 140:3); "The mouth of a righteous man is a well of
life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked" (Pr 10:11); "A
wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a
breach in the spirit" (Pr 15:4). Bishop Hall said that the tongues
of busybodies are like the tails of Samson's foxes-- they carry
firebrands and are enough to set the whole field of the world in a
flame.
"Behold, we put bits in the horses mouths, that they may obey us;
and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which
though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are
they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor
listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great
things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the
tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our
members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the
course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
"For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of
things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed by mankind: but the
tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men,
which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth
proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not
so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water
and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries?
either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and
fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let
him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of
wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts,
glory not, and lie not against the truth" (Ja 3:3-14).
Blighted hopes and blasted reputations are whims to its awful power.
In many cases the tongue has murdered its victims. Can we not all
recall cases where men and women have died under the wounds of
calumny and misrepresentation? History is full of such cases.
WORDS NEVER CALLED BACK
The most dangerous thing about it is that a word once uttered can
never be obliterated. Someone has said that lying is a worse crime
than counterfeiting. There is some hope of following up bad coins
until they are all recovered; but an evil word can never be
overtaken. The mind of the hearer or reader has been poisoned, and
human devices cannot reach in and cleanse it. Lies can never be
called back.
A woman who was well known as a scandalmonger, went and confessed to
the priest. He gave her a ripe thistle-top, and told her to go out
and scatter the seeds one by one. She wondered at the penance, but
obeyed; then she came and told the priest. He next told her to go
and gather again the scattered seeds. Of course she saw that it was
impossible. The priest used it as an object lesson to cure her of
the sin of scandalous talk.
THE FATE OF THE LIAR AND SLANDERER
These sins are devilish, and the Bible is severe in its
denunciations of them. It contains many solemn warnings. "Thou shalt
destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD Will abhor the bloody and
deceitful man" (Ps 5:6). The mouth of them that speak lies shall be
stopped. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off"
(Ps 101:5); "Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD: but they
that deal truly are His delight" (Pr 12:22); "By thy words thou
shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Mt
12:37); "All liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth
with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev 21:8).
"Whosoever loveth and maketh a lie" shall in no wise enter into the
new Jerusalem (Rev 22:15).
HOW TO OVERCOME
"But, Mr. Moody," you say, "how can I check myself? How can I
overcome the habit of lying and gossip?" A lady once said to me that
she had got so into the habit of exaggerating, that her friends said
they could never understand her.
The cure is simple, but not very pleasant. Treat it as a sin, and
confess it to God and the man whom you have wronged. As soon as you
catch yourself lying, go straight to the person and confess you have
lied. Let your confession be as wide as your transgression. If you
have slandered or lied about anyone in public, let your confession
be public. Many a person says some mean, false thing about another
in the presence of others, and then tries to patch it up by going to
that person alone. That is not making restitution. I need not go to
God with confession until I have made it right with that person, if
it is in my power to do so; He will not hear me.
Hannah Moore's method was a sure cure for scandal. Whenever she was
told anything derogatory of another, her invariable reply was:
"Come, we will go ask if it be true."
The effect was sometimes ludicrously painful. The talebearer was
taken aback, stammered out a qualification, or begged that no notice
might be taken of the statement. But the good lady was inexorable.
Off she took the scandalmonger to the scandalized to make inquiry
and compare accounts.
It is not likely that anybody ventured a second time to repeat a
gossipy story to Hannah Moore.
My friend, how is it? If God should weigh you against this
commandment, would you be found wanting? "Thou shalt not bear false
witness." Are you innocent or guilty?
Continued on next page...
Opening
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
Return to Biblical Articles & Papers |
