Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1895-01-10
f We THE TRUTH.
A Synopsis of the Sermon of Rev.
F. w. FAIRIES, in the Presbyter-
ian Church of this City Sunday
Morning.

These are the things that We shall
do: Speak We every man the truth to
his neighbors; execute the Judgment of
truth and peace in your gate; and let
none of you imagine evil in your hearts
against your neighbOr; and o no
false oath; for all these are the things
that I hate, saith the Lord. Zach. 3:
Is, II.
In the verses which precede the text
God gave the people of Judah promises
of great prosp erity and progress. They
had been a smitten people for many
years. They had passed through the
sufferings and humiliation and sorrows
of a terrible overthrow, They had
borne, through weary years, the an
guish and horrors of a dreary and bit
ter bondage and exiles. But still they
had not been utterly abandoned of the
Lord, He brought hem back at length
their own land. True, when they re-
turned their land was a dreary waste,
and their city and temple in which they
gloried, a scene of terrible ruin. But
now they have reared again the altar
of burnt offering, and the temple is in
a large measure restored, and the walls
of the city repaired. The appearance
of d~esolation and ruin begin to disap-
pear before their divinely directed eff
forts, and their country to show the
signs of restoration to its former fruit
fulness and glory, Still, at the time
to which our text refers, they YER a
depressed people. They had made
considerable progress, but they +
still poor, few in number, and limited
IN material resources and military
power. And hence to nerve them for
their work, and to cheer them on to
persevering efforts, and inspire them
with hope of success, God gave to them
the great promises OF prosperity which
precede the text y
But still these promises of prosperi-
ty are not absolute, but conditional,
God does not bind himself to bless and
them no matter what they are
in character, or what they do in con-
duct, God will not permanently bless
and prosper an unjust, a~false, a dishont
people. The whole nature of God, all
the laws that give order and harmony
and stability to the universe, the very
stars in their courses fight against a
man or a nation who is untruthful, I'M
lust, dishonest and impure. And hence
to secure the blessings promised, God
said to them by his prophet: ''These
are things hat We shall do"
The text is therefore, a statement of
the conditions upon which God fulfills
his promises of prosperity and well-be-
ing to an individual or a nation. And
these conditions are Interchangeable,
They are the same to day as they were
proclaimed by he prophet 1850
years ago. And the first condition of
and prosperity is truthtulness.
''Speak ye every man the truth to his
Truth is that which con-
to fact or reality, And truthful
ness of speech, or veracity, consists in
intention to convey to another, to
the pest of our ability, the conception
of a fact exactly as it exists in our own
such truthfulness does God
require of us. His law is truth, and it
demands truthfulness, And speaking
generally, there are three
ways in which the law is frequently
violated.
1st. We violate this law when we
speak as truth what we know to be
false. This, as DR.. Johnson said. is
lying and knowing that you lie" To
speak as true what is known to be
false no matter what the motive or
purpose, is a crime of the deepest dye.
Upon the lie and the liar the consum-
ing wrath of God rests. And a man or
nation might as we'll hope to be happy
and prosperous when swathed in flame
as to prosper beneath the hatred, the
consuming lightnings of Gods wrath.
And vet how prevalent this sin is. 1t
hangs like a deadly miasma over all SO
ciety. In buying and selling, in the
social circle, in The political arena, in
the courts of law, in families, in jest OF
in earnest, lies are uttered, and false
statements abound-men speak as truth
what they know to be false.
And, Ind. We violate the law of
truth when we speak as true what we
don't know to be rue.
And 3rd. We violate the law of truth
when we speak What is in reality the
truth in such a as to convey a
false impression to others. This may
be done by exaggerating or b~elittleing
the facts so as to make them appear
very different from what they are, as
the facts may be sc arranged as to con-
very a false impression. For example;
O'Clock. Five minutes after A left, B
stolen. Now, thought is not said that
A stole BIS watch, yet the facts, which
are all supposed to be true, are so ar
ranged as to make that impression up
on the mind of the nearer.
The Jaw of God is absolute, it forbids
lying in any form. and he who violates
that law cannot prosper. And from the
time that the Lord said unto Cain;
Where is thy brother? and he an
sweted 81 know not" to the present
hour, the liar has been the meanest,
the most despicable,. as well as the
most miserable of men, Falsehood has
ever been weakness. 1t has always led tC
shame, to defeat. even Abraham could
80 ~ - ~, 1ffa ar h0 o,,-1
without suffering shame and degrade
ton. It is always a rotten plank in the
little boat of individual life, or in the
great ship uf State. That life, thai
that home, that business, that scheme,
whether personal or national, that ha.
a lie at its basis, and is dependent upor
falsehood for its success, like the house
| built upon the sand, will sink in ruins
The second condition of we'll being
and prosperity is rectitude of conduct
Execute the judgment OF truth and o
peace" In the East the courts of jus
| tice were held at the gates of the city
| And the primary reference here i
doubtless to the judgment Or sentenc'
upon cases submitted to the judges
| That Judgment was to be according t
truth. no bride, no threat no DANCE
should be allowed to warp the judg
ment from truth. And the judgmen
must be according to truth in order t
have peace. Throughout the Scrip
lures a special emphasis is laid upo
this, the rendering of a just and right
eous judgment between man and mar
Bnt the p~erversion of truth and justic
by rulers and magistrates and judge
lies in the line of all dishonesty and il
Justice between man and man. Ever
dishonest act. whether it be the passin
Of an Unjust sentence by a Judge, or th
cheating of a man in a business tran
action, is a departure from the cours
of rectitude which God enjoins, and is
failure to execute judgment and peac'
Tho praat 1aw of social and huSjDes