vi. 8), and such men shall live in the sunshine of His eternal favour
(Psalm xxx. 5).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A man may be said to be covetous when he takes more pains for the getting of earth than for the getting of heaven. He will turn every stone, break his sleep, take any a weary step for the world; but will take no pains for Christ or heaven. The Gauls, after they had tasted the sweet wine of the Italian grape, inquired after the country, and never rested till they had arrived at it; so a covetous man, having had a relish of the world, pursues after it, and never leaves it till he hath got it; but he neglects the things of eternity. He could be content if salvation would drop into his mouth, as a ripe fig drops into the mouth of the eater (Nahum iii. 12). But he is loth to put himself to too much sweat or trouble to obtain Christ or salvation. He _hunts_ for the world, he _wisheth_ only for heaven. . . . Covetousness is (1) a _subtle_ sin, a sin that men do not so well discern in themselves. This sin can dress itself in the attire of virtue. It is called the "cloke of covetousness" (1 Thess. ii. 5). It is a sin that wears a cloke; it clokes itself under the name of frugality and good husbandry. It hath more pleas and excuses for itself than any other sin. (2) It is a _dangerous_ sin. It damps good affections, as the earth puts out the fire. The hedgehog in the fable came to the coney-burrows in stormy weather, and desired harbour, but when once he had gotten entertainment he set up his prickles, and did never cease till he had thrust the poor coneys out of their burrows; so covetousness, by fair pretences, wins itself into the heart; but as soon as you have let it in it will never leave till it hath thrust all religion out of your hearts. . . . Covetousness chains men to the earth, and makes them like the woman which Satan had bound together that she could not lift herself (Luke xiii. 11). You may as well bid an elephant fly in the air as a covetous man live by faith. We preach to men to give freely to Christ's poor; but covetousness makes them to be like him in the Gospel who had a withered hand (Mark iii. 1). . . . Covetousness shuts men out of heaven (Ephes. v. 5). What should a covetous man do in heaven? . . . Like a bee that gets into a barrel of honey, and there drowns himself, like a ferryman that takes in so many passengers to increase his fare that he sinks his boat, so a covetous man takes in more gold to the increasing of his estate that he damns himself in perdition.--_Watson._
It is not enough to abstain from evil, we must also _hate_ it.--_Fausset._
Who is ignorant of the woeful success which Achan found in coveting unlawfully the gold and silver in Jericho? He hoped to get more than any man in Israel; but no man in Israel lost so much as he.--_Dod._
He that maketh gain to be the gain that he looked for in all things, he may hope to fill his home with wealth, but he shall be sure to fill it with trouble. He that is given to gain, and hath made himself the prey as it were and gain of gain, he may have his hand open to take gifts, but with the same hand taketh in disquietness into his heart. . . . Now, because such are often crying--How shall I live? therefore the wise man telleth them he that hateth such things shall live.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 28.
STUDYING TO ANSWER.
+I. Every righteous man is a student.+ The aim of study in any department of knowledge is, first to gain possession of certain facts, and then to make the knowledge of practical service in life. If a man intends to be a builder he must first be a student. He must first gain certain theoretical knowledge, and then make use of it. And so with every profession or calling--each requires thought before any work is entered upon. Every righteous man is a man with a profession--he is a professor of righteousness--he gains a knowledge of righteous precepts with the view of reducing them to righteous practice. A knowledge of what is right and true in the abstract will be of little use to himself or to any other man unless the knowledge influences his words and deeds. The proverb before us sets forth the righteous man as a student of his speech. His aim is to speak the "word in due season," spoken of in verse 23, and to do this he must be a student of the human heart--1. _He must study the workings of his own heart._ This is a study peculiar to the righteous man. Many men study themselves and others as frameworks of bone and muscle, who never bestow a thought upon the soul, of which the body is but the raiment. Other men watch the operations of the mental powers and tabulate all the movements of the mind as they are brought to light by internal consciousness. But the godly man goes deeper. He ponders his thoughts and feelings in the light of moral truth and righteousness--he weighs his words in the balance in which he knows that God will weigh them. 2. _He must study other men's hearts._ He desires that his words should not only be harmless but beneficial to others; he desires to answer wisely questions relating to God, and man, and immortality; he sets his speech in order before he opens his mouth upon any of these weighty matters, and he considers the circumstances and dispositions of those to whom he speaks that like one of old, his _"doctrine may drop as the rain, his speech distil as the dew,"_ when he _"publishes the name of the Lord"_ (Deut. xxxii. 2, 3). Before his thoughts become words he submits them to the revision of his conscience and his judgment, and asks himself if they are such as he can hope God will bless to the edification of others.
+II. All men who do not thus study their thoughts and words are the authors of much mischief.+ They are those who have never made what they think a matter of conscience and consequently their words are the outcome of an unsanctified heart. As is the fountain, so must be the stream. For the words of such a man to be other than evil is an impossibility. _"How can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things; and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things"_ (Matt. xii. 34, 35).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The tongue is the heart's messenger. So often as it speaks before the heart dictates, the messenger runs without his errand. He that will not speak idly, must think what he speaks; he that will not speak falsely, must speak what he thinks.--_Arnot._
What is before said (verse 2, and chap. xii. 23) of the _wise and the foolish,_ is said here of the _righteous and the wicked:_ and what is before said of the utterance of _wisdom and folly,_ is here said of the utterance of _good and evil._ We have repeatedly seen how Solomon identifies these in his statements. Wickedness is folly; goodness is wisdom.--_Wardlaw._
_"Mouth,"_ all agency. Religion is so much like politeness, that a polite man "winnows" (ver. 7) his acts till they look sometimes like religion; but watch men where the guise of kindness fails them, viz., their aim to be polite, and their _"mouth pours out evils."_ There is a recklessness of act that only a religious purity can essentially restrain.--_Miller._
The wicked, speaking so _much,_ cannot but speak "evil things" (chap. x. 19). Not his _heart,_ as in the case of the righteous, but his _mouth_ takes the lead.--_Fausset._
I. It is not easy at the first to apprehend the right, because error at the first ken standeth usually in men's light, and hindereth them from seeing the truth, whereof they may better inform themselves by serious deliberation. II. When the mind hath time and liberty to ponder upon, and will to weight the point to be spoken unto, it findeth out good arguments for good causes, and digesteth the same in so apt a manner as may best persuade the hearts of the hearers. III. A meditating heart affecteth itself for that which it provideth for others to hear, and such men speak not only truly and pertinently, but faithfully also, and conscientiously: their souls having first feeling of that within, which after their mouths are to deliver out.--_Dod._
The _answer,_ which I conceive the heart of the righteous to _study,_ is the answer of obedience unto God's commandments--the answer of thankfulness for His favours and mercies received. For, as St. Gregory speaketh, to answer to God is to render to His precedent gifts the duties of our service. Now, _this study_ is the study of the whole life of a righteous man. Whatsoever he goes about, he knows that he must answer to God for it, and therefore he considereth before he doth it, that it be answerable unto God's law.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 29.
GOD NEAR AND FAR OFF.
+I. God is not far from the wicked in a local sense.+ The most wicked man upon the face of the earth lives and moves and has his being by reason of his relation to that God who he practically ignores. The power of life that he possesses is not self-originated, and although we do not know exactly how he lives in God, we know that in this sense he is near to Him, for _"He is not far from every one of us"_ (Acts xvii. 27). But--
+II. God is far from the wicked in a moral sense.+ There is often a wide moral distance between those who are locally near each other. The father who lives and toils for his children, and eats with them at the same table may be as far from them morally as he is near to them locally. Judas lived for three years with the Son of God--often shared the same hospitality and partook of the same meal. There was a local nearness to Christ but a wide moral gulf between the Master and the professed disciple. The moral distance between God and the wicked is the subject of the first clause of this verse. Notice--1. _The cause of this distance._ The ungodly man cherishes purposes and desires which are directly opposed to the will and purpose of God. God has one view of life and the ungodly man has another. That which God esteems of the highest moment is lightly esteemed by a wicked man. This being so, there can be no sympathy between the creature and his Creator--a great gulf is fixed between them. 2. _The wicked man is to blame for remaining at this distance from God._ God invites him to bridge the chasm. _"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him: and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon"_ (Isa. lv. 7). He rolls upon him the responsibility of the separation. _"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live"_ (Ezek. xxxiii. 11). 3. _This distance, if not annihilated, will increase with time and continue through eternity._ Sinful habits and desires, if yielded to, grow harder to overcome--a man never stands still in the way of transgression. And no local change from one world to another can have any effect upon the moral distance. It is not to be bridged by change of place but by change of character. Either the man must turn to God or be ever getting farther from Him. But--
+III. There is a sympathy between God and the righteous man which keeps the Divine ear open to his prayer.+ As we have before noticed, the foundation of sympathy is likeness of character, and those who have sympathy with each other have open ears for the reception of each other's thoughts and desires. The godly man has an open ear for the commands and promises of God, and God, in return, "heareth the prayer of the righteous." There is a like-mindedness between the righteous God and a righteous man--a oneness of desire and purpose--that makes the words of each acceptable to the other. 1. _God's ear is the first that is open to the prayer of the righteous._ The sentinel watching on the height for the first streaks of dawning day has a view of the objects around him before those in the valley are able to perceive them. They are unable to see what he sees, because they are still shut in by the darkness. But if this sentinel had power to pierce the darkness of night, he would not even have to wait for day in order to discern all that lies around him. God is such a sentinel over the children of men. Others are dependent upon the light that comes from words before they discern the desires of others, but God can see into the darkest corner of the human soul--can discern the unuttered desire of the heart long before it shapes itself into words. God's ear is open to hear before the man's mouth is open to pray. He _"understandeth his thought afar off,"_ knows it before it has even shaped itself into a petition, or even into a desire in the man's own heart, and consequently long before it is known to any other creature. 2. _No power outside the righteous man can come between his prayer and God's ear._ When we present a prayer or express a desire to any human benefactor, it is possible that some opposing influence may prevent our suit from being favourably received. A third person may come between, and by misrepresentation or by other means, may hinder our request from receiving impartial consideration. But God's _first-hand_ knowledge of all His children makes it a blessed certainty that all their requests will enter His ear and receive impartial treatment at His hands. (For other thoughts on this subject see Homiletics on verse 8, page 407.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We may perhaps trace a reference to this maxim, a proof how deeply it has taken root in men's hearts, in the reasoning of the blind man in John ix. 31.--_Plumptre._
_The Lord is far from the wicked._ He was so far from the proud Pharisee who yet got as near God as he could, pressing up to the highest part of the temple. The poor Publican, not daring to do so, stood aloof, yet was God far from the Pharisee, near to the Publican. "Behold a great miracle," saith Augustine. "God is on high, thou liftest up thyself and He flees from thee; thou bowest thyself downward and He descends to thee. Low things He respects, that He may raise them; proud things He knoweth afar off, that He may depress them." _But He heareth the prayer of the righteous._ Yea, He can feel breath when no voice can be heard for faintness (Lam. iii. 56). When the flesh makes such a din that it is hard to hear the Spirit's sighs, He knows the meaning of the Spirit (Rom. viii. 26, 27), and can pick English out of our broken requests; yea, He hears our "afflictions" (Gen. xvi. 11), our "tears" (Psa. xxxix. 12), our "chatterings" (Isa. xxxviii. 14), though we cry to Him by implication only, as "the young ravens" do (Psa. cxlvii. 9).--_Trapp._
The second clause of this verse becomes exegetical of the first. God is not far from anybody (Psa. cxxxix. 8). But He is far from many people's _"prayer."--Miller._
Faith is the soul, and repentance is the life of prayer; and a prayer without them hath neither life nor soul. If we believe not, we are yet in our sins; if we repent not, our sins are yet in us. . . . But first "will I wash my hands in innocency, and then will I compass thine altar" (Psa. xxvi. 6). "Then shall my prayer be set before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice" (Psa. cxli. 2). When, with the sword of severe and impartial repentance, we have cut the throat of our sins and done execution upon our lusts, then let us solicit heaven with our prayers; then pray, and speed; then come, and welcome. Then the couriers about the King in heaven shall make room for prayers. Then the Prince Himself shall take our prayer into His own hand, and with a gracious mediation present it to the Father. Then is that court of audience ready to receive our ambassadors, which be our prayers and our tears. Then St. John sees twelve gates in heaven, all open, and all day open, to entertain such suitors.--_Adams._
Learn to distinguish betwixt God's hearing and His answering the saint's prayer. Every faithful prayer is heart and makes an acceptable report in God's ear as soon as it is shot; but God doth not always thus speedily answer it. The father, at the reading of his son's letter (which comes haply upon some begging errand) likes the motion, his heart closes with it, and a grant is there passed; but he takes his own time to send his dispatch and let his son know this. Princes have their books of remembrance, wherein they write the names of their favourites whom they intend to prefer, haply some years before their gracious purpose opens itself to them. Mordecai's name stood some while in Ahasuerus' book before his honour was conferred. Thus God records the names of His saints and their prayers. "The Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him, of them that feared the Lord and thought upon His name." But they hear not of God in His providential answer, haply a long time after. . . . There comes oft a long and sharp winter between the sowing time of prayer, and the reaping. He hears us indeed as soon as we pray, but we oft do not hear of Him so soon. Prayers are not long on their journey to heaven, but long a-coming thence in a full answer. Christ hath not at this day a full answer to some of the prayers He put up on earth; therefore He is said to expect till His enemies be made His footstool.--_Gurnall._
When the season has been cold and backward, when rains fell and prices rose, and farmers desponded and the poor despaired, I have heard old people, whose hopes, resting upon God's promise, did not rise and fall with the barometer, nor shifting winds, say, We shall have harvest after all; and this you may safely say of the labours and fruits of prayer. The answer may be long in coming--years may elapse before the bread we have cast upon the waters comes back; but if the vision tarry, wait for it! Why not? We know that some seeds spring as soon almost as they are committed to the ground; but others lie buried for months, nor, in some cases, is it till years elapse that they germinate and rise, to teach us that what is dormant is not dead. Such it may be with our prayers. Ere that immortal seed has sprung the hand that planted it may be mouldering in the dust--the seal of death on the lips that prayed. But though you are not spared to reap the harvest, our prayers are not lost. They bide their time, God's "set time." For in one form or another, in this world or in the next, who sows in tears shall reap in joy. The God who puts his people's tears into His bottle will certainly never forget their prayers.--_Guthrie._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 30.
CHEERFULNESS AND GOOD TIDINGS.
Two views are taken of the meaning of the first clause of this verse. Some understand it to mean that the objective light that plays upon the eyes of the body rejoices the heart of the man who is under its influence; and others understand by "the light of the eyes" that "cheerfulness of countenance" spoken of in verse 13, which has such an inspiring effect upon those who behold it. We suggest a line of thought upon both views.
+The light of the material sun rejoices the heart.+ 1. _Because of its healthful influence upon the bodily frame._ It is well known that sunlight is favourable to bodily health--that a dwelling into which it does not freely enter has a most depressing influence upon its inhabitants, because it deprives them of natural bodily health and vigour. Other things being equal, health of body adds much to cheerfulness of spirit, to gladness of heart. Everyone can testify from personal experience how a low state of bodily health depresses the spirit, and how returning health after sickness revives and gladdens it. Therefore, in this sense the "light of the eyes rejoices the heart." 2. _Because of its beautifying influence upon all that the eyes behold._ If we go from the light and brightness of noonday into a dark cave or dungeon where the sun's rays never penetrate, we find none of that beauty of colour or contrasts of light and shade, which afford us such exquisite enjoyment in the landscape outside. When we come again into the light of day we realise that "light is sweet, and that it is a pleasant thing to behold the sun" (Eccles.