PSALM 140


TEHILLIM 140



11 Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.

"AN evil speaker shall not be established in the earth"

(Ps. 140:11. R.V.)

This is definite. If we would inherit this beautiful earth we must have our tongues in subjection. However trying the ordeal may be to us, God will make no exception in our favour. How numerous are the warnings and admonitions of the Spirit on this subject. Let us open our eyes wide to them that we be not put to shame in the great day of account.

The earth is for the righteous only. The righteous do not join in slander, foolish talking, or ribaldry. Their effort is to speak to edification or not at all. They follow David's example, who said:

"I will keep my mouth with a bridle (muzzle) while the wicked is before me" (Ps. 39:1.)

They have respect unto Paul's words,

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth" (Ephes. 4:29.)

They regard every form of speech which has been forbidden as corrupt. The righteous also refrain from much talking, for they know that

"in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin."

They know that much volubility is inconsistent with reflection. They do not talk simply for the sake of talking. They are careful to be accurate in statement. They do not say that which they do not mean. They are not given to exaggeration. They have a trembling regard for the proverb:

"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord."

Solomon's description of the righteous runs as follows:

"The mouth of the righteous is a well of life." "The lips of the righteous feed many." "The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom."

Let us pause and enquire if these statements apply to us. If they do not, then we lack the characteristics of those who will inherit the earth.

Bro AT Jannaway

The Christadelphian, Dec 1899



13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.


The Bible an honoured guest. It is in the hands of many millions who cherish it, though they don't read or understand it. It is on the pedestal, and men bow down to it, though they do not believe it. In this there is great comfort for us when we come to enquire how the Bible has got into such a position. It has come into it through what it is in itself, and through the actual events of the work of God connected with its production.—And the Jews are God's witnesses.

There they are in the very position long ago foretold, wanderers among the nations, carrying with them wherever they go Moses and the prophets which give us their history (under the seal and sanction of Christ, who endorsed Moses and the prophets in his day). All the dreadful things written against Israel in Moses and the prophets have come to pass, God's word has failed in nothing of all that He has said for 3,000 years; and His word is full of prophecy concerning Jew and Gentile.

What then? The guarantee is before our eyes if we have eyes to see. The matter does not stand in the position of a "maybe." The ground of our hope is not hypothetical. It does not rest on something beyond reach among the stars, or concealed in the fathomless depths of the great abyss that lies under our feet. It might well be said to us, as Israel said to Moses:

"It is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it? But the Word is very nigh unto thee."

The Bible, which we see exalted in the land and which we treasure in our own private studies, is a great and palpable reality which brings all the other realities with it to enlightened conviction. The Bible in the earth means that God is in heaven, and that Christ lives, and that the purpose of God will come to pass in the restoration of Israel and the salvation of all His people.

He that caused "the dimness of anguish" to come will bring the everlasting joy. He that brought the darkness and the desolation will cause righteousness and light and praise to spring forth before all the nations. He that in anger overthrew the house of David in the hands of rebellious kings, will as certainly build again the tabernacle of David that is fallen down, and establish it high in all the earth in the hands of His Beloved, under whose shadow Israel will revive, the nations find peace, and the saints be saved with an everlasting salvation, even life for evermore:

"He shall sit upon it in truth, seeking judgment and hasting righteousness."

Then will glory dwell in the land and overflow to the utmost bounds of the earth. Then shall the Lord be King over all the earth: then shall all the nations be blessed in Abraham and his seed. Shall we not share the blessing if we continue patient in our confidence in the covenanted word that pledges all these things? Is it not written,

"Them that honour me, I will honour," and "They shall not be ashamed that wait for me?"

These things are beyond contradiction.

Editor.

The Christadelphian, Nov 1889