LECTURE X.

NINTH COMMANDMENT.

EXODUS, Xx. 16.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

In this commandment, three kinds of interests are combined, - the interests of truth, of character, --and of neighbourhood. To each of these it would be desirable to devote some portion of your attention. Were this our object, it would be necessary to insist, throughout an extended series of illustrations, on a never-failing agreement between our thoughts and words, and between our words and our conduct; and to instance, for the purpose of most solemn condemnation, the varieties of falsehood and dissembling, of insincerity and unfaithfulness, with which we are familiar, or to which we might be tempted.

It would be interesting,-it would be humbling too, and, on that ground as well as others, might be attended with happy results, to expatiate on these topics. How many trains of mortifying remembrances would it excite! What scenes of treachery and delusion would it unfold,-scenes in which every spectator would feel that he had performed but too prominent a part, and in the guilt as well as folly of which his conscience would assure him he is inex

tricably involved! It would be recollected that a considerable part of your career has been influenced entirely by falsehood,-false views,-false pretences, -false appearances,-false declarations, false impressions, studiously produced, and as studiously maintained. It would be seen, as the history of your own life passed before your reflection, and as the history of other men was disclosed, how indelibly the character of falsehood is stamped on the human character, and how decidedly it forms one of the most active elements in its composition. In the direct lying and equally mischievous equivocation which so soon betray themselves,-in the forms and in the spirit of social intercourse, in the professions of esteem and offers of service,-in the courtesies of life, in the excuses and evasions that mingle with the daily transactions of the world, from its lowest to its highest spheres,-in the assumption of religious belief and character, which has at all times been the grief of the sincere and the exultation of the profane, -enough, and more than enough would be observed to verify the inspired assertion, "The heart is deceitful above all things;-Who can know it?"

It is dreadful, indeed, to think, that He who does know your heart, and who has pronounced "judgment according to truth" on its darkest secrets, is at this moment searching it, and will be continuing to search it till you stand at his tribunal. If such a thought has never awakened your anxieties; or if you have struggled to escape its terrible forebodings; or if you have been content with any method of alleviation short of implicit reliance on the grace of God, through the atonement of Jesus Christ; or if, while supposing that you do rely on that grace, you are not living under the practical conviction that the God of Truth beholds you, oh, in what language ought you to be addressed? To you there must be something so appalling in that truth which reveals your state and prospects, that you are afraid to dwell on its meaning, or determined not to believe it. Yet

you must believe it, you must ponder its meaning, with the seriousness of a man in earnest, and resolved not to perish in delusion, or the doom of the last day will speak it to your soul in thunders!

The interests of TRUTH are combined, in this commandment, with those of CHARACTER.

It is natural for us to desire the good opinion of our fellow-creatures; and so happy, notwithstanding all the corruptions of the world, is the effect of personal excellence on the welfare of society, that its worth is appreciated,-the very selfishness and policy of men, independently of their sympathies and better principles, inducing them to approve it. They are the negative qualities of character, however, that are most vigilantly observed. Men are rather disgusted at what is vicious than satisfied with what is good. There is more surmising, insinuating, censuring of what is dishonourable, inconsistent, or iniquitous, than expressed approbation of what is pure and just. The highest attainments in moral excellence may be constantly at work, and (like the unheeded beneficence of their adorable Author) may be shedding most blessed influences on the world, while no admiration is kindled, nor eulogy pronounced. The possessor of such attainments needs not, and he will not, complain. He is thankful to preserve the tenour of his way in silence:-in that silence he feels a testimony that coincides with the approbation of God and of his conscience.

There is a large sphere of practical virtues, which, besides being honoured by some from a consideration of their intrinsic value, and their connexion with the state of mind they indicate, and the influence producing them, are "of good report" among mankind in general.

We have little doubt that the esteem in which these virtues are held, where it is not affected or merely echoed from the oracles of common opinion, is, for the most part, selfish. But, whatever be the ground of esteem, it exists; and the social affections

must be extinguished ere a man has ceased to prize it.

The peace and safety of society so much depend on mutual confidence, that the tranquillity of a man's mind, the security of his property, the comfort of his privacy, the success of his undertakings, and, in many cases, his support, and even his life, will be affected by the character he bears.

Every man's character, therefore, is of incalculable importance, both to himself and to the community. He is indeed to be despised who can be deterred from what he knows to be of consequence, and feels to be a duty, by the dread of man's displeasure, whatever shape it assumes, from what quarter soever it may come. But, does not that man deserve to be execrated as a common enemy, on whom the judgment of the world, in matters within the province of its judgment, has no control? He is a compound of injustice and audacity. His own opinion is his law. He can trample with contempt on the wisdom of ages. Spurning the satisfactions that arise from the esteem of enlightened and impartial men, and braving all that is keen in ridicule, or bitter in sarcasm, he is as reckless of the character of others as he is disdainful of attention to his own. He can riot on the reputations he has blasted; and to him no gratification could be more delicious than to walk abroad amidst the faded beauties of every character around him, with the consciousness that he has been the spoiler.

The claims of NEIGHBOURHOOD are joined to those of character.

Your neighbour, of course, is he who lives near you, and whose character, coming under your notice, and lying more or less at your mercy, is capable of being affected by your representations. The word neighbour," it is true, is used more extensively, and is applicable to every partaker of our common nature. But, whatever claims arise from this common participation, for the protection of character,—

and such claims undoubtedly there are, they are enhanced by the nearness of the individual to you, by the intimacy of your acquaintance with him, and by all the local and relative obligations that bind you to each other. In proportion to the facility with which an injury may be inflicted, ought to be the power of those principles, and the vividness of those terrors, by which the disposition to inflict it may be curbed. In proportion, too, to the number and strength of the social attachments that have been sacrificed to such a disposition, are its depravity and the guilt of its indulgence. To defame any human being is forbidden. But if he whom you defame is your countryman,-your townsman,-a member of the same profession, or of the same voluntary society, whether secular or religious,-if he is your companion; if he is your avowed friend; if he is of your own family or kindred; if he is your benefactor or dependent; if his official station be one requiring special honour, or your's be one requiring towards him the extension of special protection ;-then these are aggravations of your crime.

Whatever is solemn in truth, whatever is sacred in character, whatever is endearing in the sympathies and relations of humanity, has, surely, a distinct and urgent claim on your regards. In this com-. mandment, all this solemnity, sacredness, and endearment, appeal to us with united force,-asserting their individual and combined authority over the JUDGMENTS we form, the FEELINGS we cherish, and the LANGUAGE we employ in relation to our neighbour's character.

First. The authority of this commandment is to preside over your judgment on your neighbour's character.

If the weight of this authority is at all impressed. upon your conscience, it will suggest many questions before you proceed to form any judgment. You will ask, for instance,-Is it necessary, for any practical purpose, that the character of a supposed indi