First, According to the direct meaning of the word, when a man accuseth his neighbour without the least ground of truth.  So we read, that Jezebel hired two sons of Belial to accuse Naboth for blaspheming God and the King, for which, although he was entirely innocent, he was stoned to death.[2] And in our age it is not easy, to tell how many men have lost their lives, been ruined in their fortunes, and put to ignominious punishment by the downright perjury of false witnesses!  The law itself in such cases being not able to protect the innocent.  But this is so horrible a crime, that it doth not need to be aggravated by words.

[Footnote 2:  i Kings, xxi. 8-13.]

A second way by which a man becometh a false witness is, when he mixeth falsehood and truth together, or concealeth some circumstances, which, if they were told; would destroy the falsehoods he uttereth.  So the two false witnesses who accused our Saviour before the chief priests, by a very little perverting his words, would have made him guilty of a capital crime:  for so it was among the Jews to prophesy any evil against the Temple:  “This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days;"[3] whereas the words, as our Saviour spoke them, were to another end, and differently expressed:  For when the Jews asked him to shew them a sign, he said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  In such cases as these, an innocent man is half confounded, and looketh as if he were guilty, since he neither can deny his words, nor perhaps readily strip them from the malicious additions of a false witness.

[Footnote 3:  Mat. xxvi. 6]

Thirdly:  A man is a false witness, when, in accusing his neighbour, he endeavoureth to aggravate by his gestures and tone of his voice, or when he chargeth a man with words which were only repeated or quoted from somebody else.  As if any one should tell me that he heard another speak certain dangerous and seditious speeches, and I should immediately accuse him for speaking them himself; and so drop the only circumstance that made him innocent.  This was the case of St Stephen.  The false witness said, “This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law."[4] Whereas St Stephen said no such words; but only repeated some prophecies of Jeremiah or Malachi, which threatened Jerusalem with destruction if it did not repent.  However, by the fury of the people, this innocent holy person was stoned to death for words he never spoke.

[Footnote 4:  Acts, vi. 13.]

Fourthly:  The blackest kind of false witnesses are those who do the office of the devil, by tempting their brethren in order to betray them.  I cannot call to mind any instances of this kind mentioned in Holy Scripture.  But I am afraid, this vile practice hath been too much followed in the world.  When a man’s temper hath been so soured by misfortunes and hard usage, that perhaps he hath reason enough to complain; then one of these seducers, under the pretence of friendship, will seem to lament his case, urge the hardships he hath suffered, and endeavour to raise his passions, until he hath said something that a malicious informer can pervert or aggravate against him in a court of justice.