THE Westminster Divines in answer to Question 145 in the Larger Catechism* give the following answer: “The sins forbidden in the Ninth Commandment are all prejudicing the truth and the good name of our neighbours as well as our own, especially in public judicature, giving false evidence, suborning false witnesses, wittingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause, out-facing and overbearing the truth; passing unjust sentence, calling evil good, and good evil; rewarding the wicked according to the work of the righteous, and the righteous according to the work of the wicked, forgery, concealing the truth, undue silence in a just cause, and holding our peace when iniquity calleth for either a reproof from ourselves, or complaint to others, speaking the truth unseasonably or maliciously to a wrong end, or perverting it to a wrong meaning, or in doubtful or equivocal expressions, to the prejudice of truth or justice, speaking untruth, lying, slandering, backbiting, detracting, tale-bearing, whispering, scoffing, reviling, rash, harsh, and partial censuring, misconstruing intentions, words, and actions, flattering, vain-glorious boasting, thinking or speaking too highly or too meanly of ourselves or others, denying the gifts and graces of God; aggravating smaller faults, hiding, excusing, or extenuating of sins, when called to a free confession, unnecessary discovering of infirmities, raising false rumours, receiving and countenancing evil reports, and stopping our ears against just defence, evil suspicion, envying or grieving at the deserved credit of any, endeavouring or desiring to impair it, rejoicing in their disgrace or infamy, scornful contempt, fond admiration, breach of lawful promises, neglecting such things as are of good report, and practising, or not avoiding ourselves, or not hindering what we can in others, such things as procure an ill-name.
*The Larger Catechism, though not so well known as the Shorter is mentioned with it in the Deed of Separation to which every office-bearer of our Church gives his consent.
The Divines certainly spread their net widely and brought within its ambit breaches of the Ninth Commandment which are not usually regarded as breaches at all. We do not intend to write a commentary on this question, or rather answer, but there are some of the breaches mentioned that may be briefly noticed—backbiting, all kinds of lying, slander, evil speaking, tale-bearing. Not only is the stock-in-trade of the agents of the devil condemned, but the receivers of the messages. Speaking the truth unseasonably is condemned by the Divines as a breach of the commandment and the text they quote in support is Prov. xxix. 11: “A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.” Speaking the truth maliciously. The truth is to be spoken in love, and a man who has malice in his heart, while he may be speaking the truth, is breaking the commandment. Satan may speak the truth not because he loves it but because by doing so he may injure the character of the believer and hold up the cause of Christ to ridicule. He may say to the believer that he is altogether unworthy to be doing anything for Christ and if the target of Satan’s malice be a servant of Christ serving his Master, Satan may whisper to him that God would never employ such a person in such responsible and holy service. John Knox tells how Satan tempted him after this manner at the beginning of the noble work of the Reformation. “If this was God’s work do you think he would employ such a man as you? was the devil’s temptation to hamper Christ’s servant in his noble work.” When Knox was on his death-bed Satan took another tack and whispered in his ear: “If ever a man got to heaven by what he did for God you are the man,” but with the truth ringing in his ears: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done but by His great mercy He saved us,” he rejected the subtle temptation of the devil.
The testimony of Scripture is on the side of truth and against falsehood in every form whether in speech or action. Christ came as a witness to the truth and to destroy the works of the devil whose kingdom was established on falsehood and maintained by falsehood. The place of the liar who loveth and maketh a lie is among sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers and idolaters” (Rev. xxii. 15). Who in possession of his reason would care to have such companionship for a week to say nothing of an eternity of it. It has been said that the first casualty in war is truth and in recent years what grievous injury the truth has suffered. Some who professed to be leaders of their fellows treated the truth as if it were no more worthy of respect than the dust under their feet. Both in Church and State truth should be honoured. Parents should exercise the greatest care in speaking to their children to be on their guard against saying anything that is false and should check their children whenever or wherever they notice any tendency in their offspring to indulge in lies.
The worst kind of lying and the most serious is that perpetrated in the pulpit where the speaker may be proclaiming lies instead of truth. Some sins, by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous than others, and this is true of the great sin of lying to God. Such conduct will assuredly bring a harvest of desperate sorrow. One of the glorious descriptions of the living and true God is that He cannot lie—this is one of the things He cannot do.