15. The Doom of Slanderers! Psalm 31:18

Text:  “Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.”

                                                                                                             Psalm 31:18.

Good morning, slandered Christian!  No one knows better than you the hurt felt when slandered by anti-Christian enemies.  You and I seek to, at all times, live our lives in a manner that would please our Lord God Who has redeemed our souls from sin by the shedding of His precious and sinless Blood at Calvary’s Cross. 

Yet, it often seems like the more we are successful in living Christ-like lives - the more we come under verbal attack from this world’s slanderers.   Christian light and carnal darkness just will not mix.  To be the friend of Christ is to be immediately and relentlessly the enemy of the world, the flesh, and the Devil.  As it has always been, always it shall be.  Light and darkness just will not mingle.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with (partnered up with) unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?  And what communion hath light with darkness?  And what concord (agreement) hath Christ with Belial?  Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?…Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord.”    
(2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

You and I should not be surprised, therefore, when those who do not, those who will not,  those whom, in fact, cannot believe God’s truth, attack us with slanderous lies and gossip.  They are merely fulfilling their master’s instructions, and Satan hates all things Christian.  Slander from the Devil’s children should become, for the true Christian, a source of great rejoicing!  If we have any doubt that we are, in fact, God’s adopted children in Christ - the world will soon assure us of our position in Christ by the level of slander and persecution they level at us!  Slanderers do not attack false professors, for they are their own kith and kin under Satan‘s fatherhood.  (John 8:44)

“If ye be reproached for the Name of Christ happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified…Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him/her not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.  For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God?  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
(1 Peter 4:14;16-18) 

Verse 18.  “Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things, proudly and contemptuously  against the righteous.  Proud thoughts of self are generally attended by debasing estimates of others.  The more room we take upon ourselves, the less we can afford our neighbours.  What wickedness it is that unworthy characters should always be the loudest in railing at good men!  They have no power to appreciate moral worth of which they are utterly destitute, and yet they have the effrontery to mount the judgement-seat and judge the men compared with whom they are as so much draff (worthless dregs).”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 152)

Verse 18.  “…Put to silence.  Speech is a very real blessing from the Lord God Who Created Adam with the gift of verbal conversation.  Our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ who have not the blessing of verbal speech would, no doubt, be the first of agree that the use of one’s tongue and the gift of verbal language is a wondrous joy to have. 

However, God’s Word clearly teaches us that ’lying lips’, slanderers of those made righteous in Christ Jesus, will on day be ’put to silence’ - the gift of verbal communication so misused by them in the slander of God’s people will be taken from them as a consequence of their sin.  Utter silence, and living in a state of utter silence - would be a type of Hell indeed for those given to slanderously wagging their tongue.

Malicious gossips, poison-pen journalists, and anti-Christian media script-writers BEWARE!  You will be ’…put to silence’, by the hand of a Lord God Who loves ’His people’, and defends us.  Your lies and mischief are noted by God.

“The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both.” (John Calvin  1509-1564)

“I hate and abhor lying: but Thy law do I love.”  (Psalm 119:163)  God hates all lying.

Verse 18.  “…Which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.  Note two things: 1. Regenerate, Spirit-quickened and saved, Christians are righteous in the sense that we have the full righteousness of Christ imputed (put to our account) unto us.  This is what qualifies us as ‘righteous’.  2.  The grievous things spoken against us - sadly, by friend and foe alike - are motivated by self-pride and contempt within our detractors.  These worldly traits are usual possessions of unsaved souls, however, other professing Christians should not harbour such practices within hearts professed to be filled with God’s Spirit.  Christian, beware of self-pride and contempt for other fellow-believers!  God is not mocked!  (Galatians 6:7-9)

Dictionary Definition: Grievous - (adjective) causing grief or distress; burdensome; painful; severe; hurtful.  (The Chambers Dictionary, page 706)

Thought:  Blood is thicker than water - Christ’s Blood should bond true believers as One in Him; we cannot unite with the world in oppression to God‘s chosen.