17th April 2025

17th April 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 20v16)


Message (Scott Woodburn)
I want to ask you to consider someone you have grown to despise. Perhaps you can honestly say there is no one who you hate - praise God! But for many of us there are individuals who have wounded us and continue to cause us great grief. If you know such a person then your duty toward them can be described in this manner…


“The duties required in the ninth commandment are, the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man, and the good name of our neighbor, as well as our own: appearing and standing for the truth; and from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully, speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice, and in all other things whatsoever; a charitable esteem of our neighbors; loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; sorrowing for, and covering of their infirmities; freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, defending their innocency; a ready receiving of good report, and unwillingness to admit of an evil report, concerning them; discouraging tale-bearers, flatterers, and slanderers; love and care of our own good name, and defending it when need requireth; keeping of lawful promises; study and practising of whatsoever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report.”


Think about that man or woman deeply. Are you prepared to shun any false witness when it comes to them? The Larger Catechism teaches us that we are not to bear false witness about anyone and we are to have a charitable esteem of our neighbour. In other words it is not acceptable that we live with nothing but hatred for those who have crossed us but we are to strive to think well of them and their motives.


Furthermore, someone may have done us great harm but we should still be ready to acknowledge their gifts and graces. The person who hurt you may well be a nasty piece of work but what is good about them? Think hard and consider fully. Even those you do not love cannot be considered lost causes. Does your enemy love his wife? Praise God! Is your tormentor a hard worker! Praise the Lord! Has the person who angered you carried out kind deeds on behalf of someone else? Then amen! You are to deliberately seek what is positive about your neighbour and delight in it thinking on things which are true, honest, lovely and of good report.


But what the ninth commandment also requires is for you to stop false reports in their tracks and I think this might be harder than the internal, personal work demanded by this commandment. What does this look like? When you receive the snotty, gossipy text message you need to confront the one who sent it. When someone whispers “have you heard the latest about Joe?” your reply needs to be “I haven’t and I don’t need to hear.” Indeed there might well be occasions when you offer a rebuke to the gossip and the slanderer.


The Lord commands us to preserve and promote truth in all our relationships and especially with those with whom we do not see eye to eye. We will not get along with everyone and I’m not calling on you to have “that person” round for afternoon tea. But my friend, speak honestly about those in your life. Shun all gossip and slander. Do not bear false witness about your neighbour. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q60 How is the Sabbath to be sanctified? The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days; and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God’s worship, except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy.
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