Evil Speaking Not To Be Listened To

Psa 15:1  LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

Psa 15:2  He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

Psa 15:3  He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
                                                 
Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. Then we are not only forbidden to speak evil, we are forbidden to listen to it.

We are not only forbidden to cast a slander, we are forbidden to take it up when another has hurled it. 

To repeat a thing is to incur guilt quite as much as if we originated it.

I think that one of the great needs of our day is the grace of sanctified hearing. How much the Master made of the responsibility of possessing ears!

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. "Take heed how ye hear."

There is a discriminating way of listening.

There is a listening which encourages the speaker of slander, and there is a closing of the ears which reduces the slanderer to silence.

There would be much less evil speaking if there was much less evil listening.

The evil speaker yearns for the reward of attention and applause. 

If these are withheld he will soon tire of his nefarious trade.

The companion of the Lord listens for commendations, eulogies, and repeats them to others.

He likes to hear a good thing of somebody, and he sings it again into the ears of somebody else. 

~J. H. Jowett~

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