Homiletic Magazine Malachi 2:5-7 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear with which he feared me, and was afraid before my name.… I. A GOOD MAN'S CONVERSATION IS MARKED BY A STRICT REGARD FOR THE TRUTH. "The law of truth was in his mouth." 1. Slander is a violation of the law of truth. 2. Exaggeration is a violation of the law of truth. Some never speak but in the superlative. Exaggeration may spring from (1) an enthusiastic temperament; or (2) a morbid desire to say startling things" or (3) wilful wanton ness. 3. Flattery is a violation of the law of truth. 4. The habit of making excuses is often a violation of the law of truth. 5. Equivocation and dissimulation are violations of the law of truth. II. A GOOD MAN'S CONVERSATION IS MARKED BY THE ABSENCE OF EVERY FORM OF EVIL. "Iniquity was not found in his lips." 1. Idle conversation is a form of evil condemned by the text. 2. Profane conversation is a form of evil condemned by the text. 3. Censorious conversation is a form of evil condemned by the text. 4. Impure conversation is a form of evil condemned by the text. III. A GOOD MAN'S LIFE IS MARKED BY CLOSE AND PEACEFUL COMMUNION WITH HIS MAKER. "He walked with Me in peace and equity." 1. There is intimate fellowship. "He walked with Me." This figure always implies close friendship. Enoch, Abraham, Noah, etc., walked with God. (1) This walk implies reconciliation. (2) This walk indicates progress. (3) This walk suggests constant intercourse. 2. This fellowship is productive of peace. "He walked with Me in peace." (1) Subjectively, peacefulness. The inward disposition of peace. (2) Objectively, peaceableness. The outward manifestation of peace.If there were more peace in human hearts there would be more in the home, the Church, and the world. 3. This fellowship is productive of moral integrity. "He walked with Me in peace and equity." There can be no sustained communion with the Holy One if there be moral obliquity in the heart, or dissimulation or dishonesty in the life. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." This moral equity is very searching and comprehensive. (1) It governs the relation between master and servant (Colossians 4:1). (2) It governs the relation between buyer and seller (Proverbs 20:14). IV. THE GOOD MAN'S LIFE AND CONVERSATION WILL EXERT A SAVING INFLUENCE ON OTHERS. "And did turn many away from iniquity." 1. It will act as a restraint upon evil-doers. This is the leaven which preserves the whole from corruption. 2. It will act as an incentive to the well-disposed. Union is strength. The view of unfaltering piety will encourage the Nicodemuses to avow their principles. 3. It will prove to the world the genuineness of religion. (Homiletic Magazine.) Parallel Verses KJV: My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. |
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