Charles Simeon: But the true Israelite (true believers)

Psalm 15 v1-3

1 LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent?

Who may live on your holy mountain?

2 The one whose walk is blameless,

who does what is righteous,

who speaks the truth from their heart;

3 whose tongue utters no slander,

who does no wrong to a neighbor,

and casts no slur on others;

They abstain from uncharitable censures.

—Amongst false professors, even as amongst the ungodly world, there is a lamentable want of tenderness to the characters of others: they will receive, and circulate, a false report, without ever considering how great an injury they do to him who is thus calumniated. They will suffer their minds to be prejudiced against a brother without any just occasion; and will even feel more alienation from him on account of some quality which they disapprove, than attachment to him for many qualities which render him worthy of their esteem.

But the true Israelite will not deal out such measure to his neighbours: he will rather put n favourable construction on the things which admit of doubt, and cast a veil over the faults which are too plain to be denied. He will in this matter conform himself to the golden rule, of ‘Doing to others as he would have them do to him.’

Simeon, C. (1836). Horae Homileticae: Psalms, I–LXXII (Vol. 5, p. 67). London: Samuel Holdsworth.

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