He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again. Prov. 19,17.
To do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Heb. 13, 16.
QUESTIONS.
1. Stating it in one word, what do we call all the money and goods our neighbor has? 2. From whom did he receive his property? 3. How should the property of our neighbor be to us? 4. What does it mean to steal? 5. In what way do men take the property of their neighbor against his will? 6. What do we call robbery? 7. What is theft? 8. How should we also not take our neighbor's money or goods? 9. When do we take our neighbor's money by false wares? 10. When do we take it by false dealings? 11. How does the Bible call him who borrows money but does not repay it? (Ps. 37,21.) 12. What does God command us to do in behalf of our neighbor's property and business? 13. How should we help our neighbor when he is poor and suffering want? 14. What does our Lord say Matt. 5,42? 15. To whom does he lend who takes pity on the poor? 16. What do we learn from Heb. 13,16? 17. What should we do to protect our neighbor's property? 18. If we love God, whom shall we love also?
LESSON 9.
The Eighth Commandment.
Which is the Eighth Commandment?
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, nor defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well, of him, and put the best construction on everything.
1. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor," that is the command of our heavenly Father in the Eighth Commandment. False witness is any false statement against our neighbor, anything false and deceitful that we say against him. A false statement is saying something that is not true; it is a statement against our neighbor when it will harm him, or hurt his good name, or deprive him of it altogether.—False witness comes out of an evil heart, a heart that is false and insincere against our neighbor. We should not even think evil of him. "Let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against your neighbor." Zech. 8,17. If we love God and for His sake our neighbor, we shall always think well of him, even if he is our enemy.