Chrysostom compares the Scripture to a garden set with
ornaments and flowers. A godly man delights to walk in this garden and
sweetly solace himself. He loves every branch and part of the Word:
1. He loves the counseling part of the Word,
as it is a directory and rule of life. The Word is the direction sign which
points us to our duty. It contains in it things to be believed and
practiced. A godly man loves the directions of the Word.
2. He loves the threatening part of the Word.
The Scripture is like the Garden of Eden: as it has a tree of life in it, so
it has a flaming sword at its gates. This is the threatening of the Word. It
flashes fire in the face of every person who goes on obstinately in
wickedness. "God will wound the head of His enemies, the hairy scalp of the
one who still goes on in his trespasses." (Psalm. 68:21). The Word gives no
indulgence to evil. It will not let a man halt half-way between God and sin.
The true mother would not let the child be divided (1 Kings 3:26), and God
will not have the heart divided. The Word thunders out threats against the
very appearance of evil. It is like that flying scroll full of curses
(Zech.5:1).
A godly man loves the threatenings of the Word. He knows
there is love in every threat. God would not have us perish; he therefore
mercifully threatens us, so that he may scare us from sin. God's threats are
like the buoy, which shows the rocks in the sea and threatens death to such
as come near. The threat is a curbing bit to check us, so that we may not
run in full career to hell. There is mercy in every threat.
3. He loves the consolatory part of the Word -
the promises. He goes feeding on these as Samson went on his way eating the
honeycomb (Judges 14:8,9). The promises are all marrow and sweetness. They
are reviving to us when we are fainting; they are the conduits of the water
of life. "In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight
my soul." (Psalm. 94:19). The promises were David's harp to drive away sad
thoughts; they were the breast which gave him the milk of divine
consolation.
A godly man SHOWS his love to the Word:
(a) By diligently reading it. The noble
Bereans "searched the Scriptures daily" (Acts 17:11). Apollos was
mighty in the Scriptures (Acts 18:12). The Word is our Magna Carta for
heaven; we should be daily reading over this charter. The Word shows what is
truth and what is error. It is the field where the pearl of price is
hidden. How we should dig for this pearl! A godly man's heart is the
library to hold the Word of God; it dwells richly in him (Col.3:16).
It is reported of Melanchthon that when he was young, he always carried the
Bible with him and read it greedily. The Word has a double work: to teach us
and to judge us. Those who will not be taught by the Word shall be judged by
the Word. Oh, let us make ourselves familiar with the Scripture! What if it
should be as in the times of Diocletian, who commanded by proclamation that
the Bible be burned? Or as in Queen Mary's days, when it spelled death to
have a Bible in English? By diligent conversing with Scripture, we may
carry a Bible in our heads.
(b) By frequently meditating on it. "It is
my meditation all the day" (Psalm. 119:97). A pious soul meditates on
the truth and holiness of the Word. He not only has a few transient
thoughts, but leaves his mind steeping in the Scripture. By
meditation, he sucks from this sweet flower and ruminates on holy truths in
his mind.
(c) By delighting in it. It is his
recreation: "Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me
the joy and rejoicing of my heart." (Jer 15:16) Never did a
man take such delight in a dish that he loved as the prophet did in the
Word. And indeed, how can a saint choose but take great pleasure in the
Word? All that he ever hopes to be worth is contained in it. Does not a son
take pleasure in reading his father's will and testament, in which he
bequeaths his estate to him?
(d) By hiding it. "Your word I have
hidden in my heart" (Psalm 119:11) - as one hides a treasure so that it
should not be stolen. The Word is the jewel; the heart is the cabinet
where it must be locked up. Many hide the Word in their memory, but not
in their heart. And why would David enclose the Word in his heart? "That I
might not sin against you." As a man would carry an antidote about
him when he comes near an infected place, so a godly man carries the Word
in his heart as a spiritual antidote to preserve him from the infection of
sin. Why have so many been poisoned with error, others with moral vice,
but because they have not hidden the Word as a holy antidote in their
heart?
(e) By defending it. A wise man will not
let his land be taken from him but will defend his title. David looked upon
the Word as his land of inheritance: "Your testimonies I have taken as a
heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart." (Psalm 119:111)
And do you think he will let his inheritance be wrested out of his hands? A
godly man will not only dispute for the Word but die for it: "I saw
under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of
God." (Rev 6:9)
(f) By preferring it above things most precious:
(1) Above food: "I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my
necessary food." (Job. 23:12). (2) Above riches: "The law of Your
mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver." (Psalm.
119:72). (3) Above worldly honor. Memorable is the story of King
Edward the Sixth. On the day of his coronation, when they presented three
swords before him, signifying to him that he was monarch of three kingdoms;
the king said, "There is still one sword missing." On being asked what that
was, he answered, "The Holy Bible, which is the 'sword of the Spirit' and is
to be preferred before these ensigns of royalty."
(f) By talking about it. "My tongue shall
speak of your word." (Psalm. 119:172). As a covetous man talks of his
rich purchase, so a godly man speaks of the Word. What a treasure it is,
how full of beauty and sweetness! Those whose mouths the devil has
gagged, who never speak of God's Word, indicate that they never reaped any
good from it.
(g) By conforming to it. The Word is his
compass, by which he sets his life, the balance in which he weighs his
actions. He copies out the Word in his daily walk: "I have kept the faith"
(2 Tim. 4:7). Paul kept the doctrine of faith, and lived the life of faith.
Question: WHY is a godly man a lover of the Word?
Answer: Because of the excellence of the Word.
1. The Word written is our pillar of fire to guide us.
It shows us what rocks we are to avoid; it is the map by which we sail to
the new Jerusalem.
2. The Word is a spiritual mirror through which we
may see our own hearts. The mirror of nature, which the heathen had,
revealed spots in their lives, but this mirror reveals spots in the
imagination; that mirror revealed the spots of their unrighteousness, this
reveals the spots of our righteousness. "When the commandment came, sin
revived, and I died" (Rom. 7:9). When the Word came like a mirror, all my
opinion of self-righteousness died.
3. The Word of God is a sovereign comfort in distress.
While we follow this cloud, the rock follows us. "This is my comfort in my
affliction, For Your word has given me life." (Psalm. 119:50). Christ is
the fountain of living water, the Word is the golden pipe through which it
runs. What can revive at the hour of death but the word of life
(Phil.2:16)?
1. Do we love the Word? What sums of money the
martyrs gave for a few pages of the Bible! Do we make the Word our bosom
friend? As Moses often had 'the rod of God' in his hand, so we should have
'the Book of God' in our hand. When we need direction, do we consult
this sacred oracle? When we find corruptions strong, do we make use
of this "sword of the Spirit" to hew them down? When we are disconsolate,
do we go to this bottle of the water of life for comfort? Then we are lovers
of the Word! But alas, how can they who are seldom conversant with the
Scriptures say they love them? Their eyes begin to be sore when they look at
a Bible. The two testaments are hung up like rusty armor which is seldom or
never made use of. The Lord wrote the law with his own finger, but though
God took pains to write, men will not take pains to read. They would rather
look at a deck of cards than at a Bible.
2. Do we love the Word preached? Do we prize it in
our judgments? Do we receive it into our hearts? Do we fear the loss of the
Word preached more than the loss of peace and trade? Is it the removal of
the ark that troubles us?
3. Again, do we attend to the Word with reverential
devotion? When the judge is giving his charge from the bench, all
attend. When the Word is preached, the great God is giving us his charge. Do
we listen to it as to a matter of life and death? This is a good sign that
we love the Word.
4. Again, do we love the holiness of the Word?
(Psalm. 119:140) The Word is preached to beat down sin and advance holiness.
Do we love it for its spirituality and purity? Many love the Word preached
only for its eloquence and notion. They come to a sermon as to a performance
(Ezek. 33:31,32) or as to a garden to pick flowers, but not to have their
lusts subdued or their hearts bettered. These are like a foolish woman
who paints her face but neglects her health.
5. Again, do we love the convictions of the Word? Do
we love the Word when it comes home to our conscience and shoots its arrows
of reproof at our sins? It is the minister's duty sometimes to reprove. He
who can speak smooth words in the pulpit, but does not know how to reprove,
is like a sword with a fine hilt but without an edge. "Rebuke them sharply"
(Titus 2:15). Dip the nail in oil, reprove in love, but strike the nail
home. Now Christian, when the Word touches on your sin and says, "You
are the man", do you love the reproof? Can you bless God that "the sword of
the Spirit" has divided between you and your lusts? This is indeed a sign of
grace and shows that you are a lover of the Word.
A corrupt heart loves the comforts of the Word, but not
the reproofs: "They hate the one who rebukes in the gate." (Amos 5:1O).
"Their eyes flash with fire!" Like venomous creatures that at the least
touch spit poison, "When they heard these things they were cut to the heart,
and they gnashed at him with their teeth." (Acts 7:54). When Stephen touched
them to the heart, they were mad and could not endure it.
Answer 1: When we desire to sit under a
heart-searching ministry. Who cares for medicines that will not work? A
godly man does not choose to sit under a ministry that will not work upon
his conscience.
Answer 2: When we pray that the Word may meet with our
sins. If there is any traitorous lust in our heart, we would have it
found out and executed. We do not want sin covered, but cured.
We can open our breast to the bullet of the Word and say, "Lord, smite this
sin."
Answer 3: When we are thankful for a reproof: "Let
the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It
shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is
against the deeds of the wicked." (Psalm. 141:5). David was glad for
a reproof. Suppose a man were in the mouth of a lion, and another should
shoot the lion and save the man, would he not be thankful? So, when we are
in the mouth of sin, as of a lion, and the minister by a reproof shoots this
sin to death, shall we not be thankful? A gracious soul rejoices when the
sharp lance of the Word has pierced his abscess. He wears a reproof like a
jewel on his ear: "Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold is a
wise reprover to an obedient ear." (Prov. 25:12).
To conclude, it is convincing preaching which must do the
soul good. A nipping reproof prepares for comfort, as a nipping frost
prepares for the sweet flowers of spring.