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Nation's Decline in Moral Conduct IX
Nation’s Decline in Moral Conduct IX
When David asked the questions, “Jehovah, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” Psalm 15, he initiates a thought process that should be a staple in the lives of the godly. Who is it among the godly that does not want to know the answers?
As we have moved into the positive side of this Psalm, we want to direct our attention to the second of these positive characteristics, i.e., “Speaketh truth in his heart.”
The man who “speaketh truth in his heart” is not a man of pretense, and this is the character that Jehovah desires in His people.
Jesus taught concerning those whose religion is simply an outward show. Jesus’ “Sermon on the mount” dealt with the issue of external religion, (religion that appealed to external rewards). Jesus said, “Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). As we do an internal inventory of our lives, what do we find?
When the Pharisees and Scribes came to Jesus, questioning the failure of His disciples to keep the traditions of the elders, Jesus said, “Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people honoreth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, Teaching [as their] doctrines the precepts of men” (Matthew 15:8-9). To this, the Apostle Paul affirmed by his life the necessity of being the type of man that “speaketh truth in his heart,” when he said, “For neither at any time were we found using words of flattery, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness, God is witness; nor seeking glory of men, neither from you nor from others, when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse cherisheth her own children: even so, being affectionately desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were become very dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:5-6).
Speaking truth in one’s heart will regulate what comes out of the mouth: “But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings: these are the things which defile the man” (Matthew
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