SERMON XI.
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT: THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS.
The Ten Commandments were written on tables of stone, by God Himself; and were then given to Moses in the Mount, to be brought down to the children of Israel, and to be deposited in the sacred Ark, thence to be a light to the church forever. Those Commandments, therefore, are truly and altogether Divine; there is nothing human about them,—they passed through no human mind, nor were they even penned by human hand: but they came directly from the Divine mind, and were written by the finger of God. And being Divine,—they are consequently infinite in meaning; for whatever is Divine, is infinite. The Ten Commandments are, in themselves, a summary of all the Divine Commandments, as, when they are traced through their derivations and conclusions, may be seen to be true. For they are each of them great first principles, whence are derived innumerable minor principles; they are great fountain-heads of truth, from which flow countless streams: and they themselves are derived from the One Supreme Fountain, the Lord Himself. Like the rest of the Divine Word, they have, too, an internal sense, within and above that of the letter. As the literal sense is intended for men in a simple, natural state, so the internal or spiritual sense is for those men whose minds are in a more elevated and spiritual state; and also for those who were once men in this world, but are now dwelling in the spiritual world, good and happy—angels of heaven. They, too, have these Divine Commandments, and know and obey them; for it is written, "Forever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven."[1]
We propose on the present occasion to explain the meaning of the Commandment which is the subject of our text,—first in its literal, and then in its spiritual sense.
"By bearing false witness against the neighbor," says the Doctrine of the New Church, "is meant, in the natural sense, first of all, to act as a false witness before a judge, or before others not in a court of justice, against any one who is rashly accused of any evil; and to asseverate this by the name of God or anything holy. By this Commandment, in a wider natural sense, are meant lies of every kind, and hypocrisies, which look to a bad end; and also to traduce and defame the neighbor, so that his honor, name, and fame, on which the character of the whole man depends, are injured. In the widest natural sense are meant, unfaithfulness, stratagems, and evil purposes against any one, from various origins, as from enmity, hatred, revenge, envy, rivalship, &c.; for these evils conceal within them the testifying of what is false."[2] Thus extensive is the range of this Commandment in the natural sense alone: it forbids falsehood of every kind, in all its myriad shapes and forms. Let us consider some of the various kinds of false witness, presented in the above extract, and examine them more minutely; so that, knowing them well, we may, when we meet with them in the daily walks of life, at once detect them both in ourselves and others, and shun them as sins against God; for so only can they be removed and cast out from our own hearts, in the first place, and then, so far as our influence extends, from society at large. For, there is, perhaps, no evil, that directly causes more bitterness and hard and bad feeling in society, than that which is forbidden by this Commandment.
The first and most manifest form, which this evil assumes, is that of bearing false witness, or testifying falsely, in a court of justice. This is so obvious and so gross a sin, that no man, who makes any pretensions to an honorable character, would be guilty of it; and it is moreover punishable by the law of the land. Little therefore needs to be said, on this point, by way of explanation or comment; yet one important remark may be made in connection with it. Men of the world often shun the commission of certain crimes, merely because they fear the punishment of the law, or the loss of wealth, or reputation and standing in society; while, at the same time, were those fears removed, they would not hesitate to commit them. Such persons, therefore, do commit those crimes, in thought and in heart, though not in act. Wherefore, they are, in heart, and before the Divine eye that sees the heart, already guilty of them; and after death, if not in this world, they will be punished accordingly: for every evil fixed in the heart, brings its own punishment. It behoves every man, therefore, to look well to his motives; to look well to his heart, and ask himself why it is, that he avoids such and such criminal acts: whether it is from fear of God or from fear of men? If he shuns that evil, from any other motive than because it is a sin against God, then he is always committing it in spirit. In regard, then, to this crime, of testifying falsely against another before a court of justice, let us ask ourselves, why we should disdain to commit it: is it from fear of the law, and because it is disreputable, or is it because we should feel it to be a sin against God? If the last be our true motive, then the same motive will prevent us from testifying falsely, out of a court of justice, as well as in it,—when we are not under oath, as well as when we are; as, for instance, in cases brought before arbitrators, in cases of appraisement and valuation of property, either our own or that of others, and in the numerous other cases that occur daily in the business world; in all such instances, even to the smallest, the man of principle, the spiritual man, acts in the remembrance that he is under the Divine eye.
But this Commandment has a still wider signification. It forbids falsehood and lying, and also every species of hypocrisy, pretence, and wrong concealment. Open falsehood is forbidden by this commandment, as it is in other parts of the Divine Word; for instance, in the 101st Psalm, "He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house; he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight." But this is a vice so gross and shameless that most men will refrain from it for the sake of character, if on no other account. But secret falsehood, which in the Lord's sight is the same as open falsehood,—secret falsehood, under all its various forms of misrepresentation, deception, cunning, is daily and hourly committed by how many? by how many, too, who think that they would scorn to be guilty of a direct falsehood? Look through the business world. Follow the shop-keeper or merchant to his place of business—stand by him, while he sells his goods—set down a black mark (as a black mark is graven on his heart) every time he misrepresents and deceives the buyer—and then, at evening, count up those marks—and see how that man has blackened over his soul in one day—see how many times he has broken this Divine commandment!
Nor does the seller stand alone in his iniquity: how ready is the buyer, too, to take selfish advantage when he can! how does he strive to cheapen the article, to "beat down" the price to the lowest possible point, not considering that a truly honest man will not desire anything at less than its fair value. But the sin of falsehood is not confined to those; go through the whole world of business—in town and in country, wherein there is trading and dealing of one man with another—and witness, alas! the fraud and deception that are everywhere practised. See how the whole race is tainted with the foul pollution of falsehood—men selling their souls for a piece of money. The sin is rank, and, like the smoke of blood just shed, ascends to heaven.
Look, then, at the world of public life; mark the wickedness that prevails in high places! See how the sin of falsehood and deception runs riot there! How does the Lord look down and behold his Commandment broken every hour! We may judge what an age we live in, when truth, the guardian and preserver of all that is good and pure, is so little regarded.
Now, every man of principle, every man who has any religion, every man who is looking towards heaven, who knows and realizes what he is living for in this lower world,—who cares for the good of his fellow-men and his own eternal good and happiness—every such man is imperatively called upon to take his stand against this course of things. He must set his face firmly against this evil. And let him begin with reforming himself. Let him take care that there is no fraud or deception, no falsehood, open or disguised, in his own dealings. Let him strive to keep all his engagements punctually. Let truth be on his lips and in his acts—and the Lord will bless and prosper him, even in this world, and save him at last.
But let us now turn to another view of the subject. "To bear false witness" is also to traduce and defame the neighbor, and falsely to speak anything evil of him. And here a wide field of remark opens before us. If there be a sin, which is the pest of society, and destroys its peace and harmony,—which nourishes bad and hard and unkind feelings, which rouses and stirs up angry passions, and is the cherisher of "envy, malice, and all uncharitableness"—it is the sin here forbidden, the sin of speaking evil of others. This sin is sometimes committed openly, and from wilful and malicious purpose; and then it is indeed a sin of the deepest dye. It may be said indeed almost to rank with the crime of murder; indeed, it is declared by the New Church Doctrine to be a species of murder; there is in it the principle of murder, for there is in it hate and malice, and hate is the soul of murder and is its parent. One who can deliberately go about traducing and defaming his neighbor, and seeking to destroy his character and good name, has in his heart that principle which might lead him at length, and under certain circumstances, to take his neighbor's life itself. Such criminality as this, however, is, it is to be hoped, comparatively rare.
But there is another species of this sin, which, though less heinous in its nature, is yet a great evil, and baneful in its effects; and that is the sin of contemptuously, or carelessly and recklessly, speaking evil of others. This sin, besides being referred to in this Commandment, is also forbidden in express language, in other parts of the Divine Word. It is written in the 101st Psalm, "Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off." And in the 15th Psalm, it is thus written, "Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor." So it is said in Leviticus,[3] in very plain language, "Thou shalt not go up and down, as a tale-bearer amongst thy people" How many are there, who keep faithfully these Commandments? "Who is there of us, that is careful never to "go up and down as a tale-bearer amongst his people?" Should we not earnestly pray the Lord, in the words of the Psalmist, to "set a watch before our mouth," and "keep the door of our lips;" and then strive hard ourselves to do what we have prayed the Lord to help us do? Truly speaks the Apostle James, when he says, "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." My brethren, this subject demands our particular attention. The habit of speaking uncharitably and ill of others is too common. It is indeed often done thoughtlessly; but it is not the less a sin on that account. For though we may not be aware of it, it proceeds from evil in our hearts. It comes either from secret malice, bitterness, and hard feeling, or, at best, it is a proof of indifference and recklessness in regard to the comfort and welfare of our neighbor—which indifference certainly shows the want of love to the neighbor; and where that good affection is not, there must be an evil feeling in its place: for where there is not good, there is evil: there is no medium: there can be no vacuum.
Yes! it is secret evil in our hearts, which produces this habit of speaking harshly, uncharitably, ill of our neighbor; and if we watch ourselves closely, we shall find it to be so. Let us observe our feelings, note our thoughts carefully, when we are saying or about to say something to the prejudice of another. Let us observe if we do not discover a hidden feeling of dislike, or, envy, rivalry, bitterness, or petty revenge, which prompts us to speak. It must be so: it cannot be otherwise. Words come from thoughts, and thoughts spring from feelings. Where there is only love, and kind feeling in the heart, it is utterly impossible for a hard thought to enter the mind, or an unkind word to come from the lips. All this evilspeaking, then, is from an evil heart: there is the impure fountain: cleanse that, and the stream will be clear and pure. As it is written, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things; and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you," said the Lord, "that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."[4] My brethren, let us ask ourselves, how many idle words and evil words we shall have to give account of, at our day of judgment! How many times in the week, do we make unkind and uncharitable remarks about our neighbors, about even our friends (so called)! How often are sly inuendoes thrown out against them! How often are bad motives ascribed to them, for this or that part of their conduct, when perhaps they are entirely innocent of any such intentions! Is not this "bearing false witness?" How often do we take a kind of evil delight (which we do not acknowledge to ourselves or even distinctly perceive) in dwelling upon the little faults of others, or on some trifling mistake or error in their conduct! Let us examine ourselves in regard to these things: we need such a self-examination—all of us—and a thorough one. If I mistake not, it will be found that we have all sinned deeply on this head: and we have need to ask humble forgiveness of the Lord, for the past, and to commence a new course in the time to come. We must break up this evil habit; we must put this sin away from us.
And how is this evil to be overcome? like every other evil,—by combating it, by resisting it, when the tempter comes upon us—in no other way can it be overcome. We must watch ourselves, and stand ready to resist, as soon as the evil thought comes into our minds, and the unkind word to our lips. For instance: two persons are talking together:—the name of a third person is mentioned. Now comes the temptation. If either of the speakers has been in the habit of indulging himself in making uncharitable remarks about his neighbor, the evil spirit that was sleeping in his heart now rises, and at once commences searching about the memory, to see if it cannot discover some piece of information, which has been laid up there, to the prejudice of that person: if it can, it rejoices, and at once brings it out: if it cannot, its next thought is, to coin something of the kind, or at least, to offer some suggestion, some supposition, some expression of "wonder," why that person did this or that—or whether it is not likely that he intends to do so and so,—thus often impertinently and ungenerously prying into his private and family concerns:—and moreover throwing over all the shade of evil—infusing the taint of uncharitableness into all that is said. This is the wicked spirit of Slander, whose poisonous breath pollutes the air.
Now, how is this evil spirit to be resisted? It is not very easy to resist it, especially if the bad habit has been long indulged. But with earnest effort it may be done. In the first place, call to mind some command from the Word, for that is Divine and has power—as, for instance—"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor": or that other passage, "Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer amongst thy people." With this Divine truth in the mind, resist the evil thought and strive to drive it away: close the lips; either say nothing at all about the person, or else say something good. Struggle in this way, till the temptation is past, and the victory won. The next time, the conquest will be easier. And after a few such combats, all desire of speaking evil of others will be gone; and in its place there will be found, after a time, a new inhabitant of the heart, just come from heaven—that is, a delight in speaking well of others, and a repugnance at saying anything ill of them. He who has arrived at this state has advanced a good way in the path of regeneration.
And now, let us conclude with a few words on the internal sense of this Commandment. To "bear false witness," signifies, in the spiritual sense, to endeavor to persuade another that false principles of religion are true; and also that various evils of life are good and right:—and to do this knowingly and intentionally. For instance, if a religious teacher endeavors to instil into his hearers the principle that they may be saved by mere faith, without regard to the life; and that it is in vain to try to keep the Divine commandments—he bears false witness; for he knows, or may know, what is taught everywhere in the Word, that men are saved by a good life according to the Divine commandments. So, if a parent teaches his child—either by direct instruction, or indirectly by his conversation,—to think that the chief good of life is to be rich, and that the great end he should have in view, is worldly advancement,—that parent bears false witness, for he teaches what is not true nor good: for the Divine Word says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all things needful shall be added to you."[5]
In the supreme or Celestial sense, "to bear false witness," is to blaspheme the Lord and the Holy Word. To endeavor to confirm in one's self, and to infuse into the minds of others, the awfully false idea—that there is no God, and thus to destroy men's souls by separating them from their Maker and Heavenly Father: to affirm, also, and obstinately to insist, that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, was a mere man,—and thus to turn away men's minds from looking to and worshiping Him, who was "God manifest in the flesh:" or to reject the Holy Word, and deny its inspiration and Divinity, and thus to cast aside that precious Book of Revelation, which the Lord in his mercy and love, has sent down to show men the way to heaven:—to do these things, wilfully and obstinately, when one knows or might know better—this is to "bear false witness," in the worst and most dangerous manner.
Thus various and comprehensive are the meanings of the Divine Commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." Let us strive, henceforth, to keep and obey this Commandment better than we have done heretofore; and pray the Lord to give us the wish and the strength to do so. "If ye know these things," said the Lord, "happy are ye if ye do them."
- ↑ Ps. cxix. 89.
- ↑ True Christian Religion, n. 321.
- ↑ xix. 16.
- ↑ Matt, xii. 34—36.
- ↑ Matt. vi. 33.