The Pulpit Commentary — Psalms — Volume 3 — Section 130

sincerity. The one supreme offence to man, and to our Divine Lord, the Son of man, is hypocrisy. The suspicion of it kills trust. Let a. man have an apparently complete set of good qualities, if we suspect insincerity it is all spoiled for us, as is the good shield a.cross which lies the "bar sinister." .A.II the goodness will not suffice to win confidcmce. And, on the other hand, if we are convinced of a. man's sincerity, we are well able to deal with his infirmities. This may be illustrated from imaginative lite- rature even more effectively than from actual experience. The one thing we look for in the characters presented to us is sincerity; and the most fascinating persons lose all charm for us if we are led to suspect that they are not genuine or true. Nothing so convincingly limits human perfection as the sense of twerfa.cedness-the sense that a man is not when away from us what he seems to be when before us. II. INSINCERITY LIMITS PERFECTION IN THE BIGHT OF HEN. Distinguish between God's idea. of perfection for himself and his idea of perfection for man his creature. God looks for no perfection that is not within the range of possibility for the creaturo man, and for the particular man whose character he may be estimating. But, to use familiar language, God draws the line somewhere. He draws it at sincerity. A man must be true ; he must be what he seems to be. No profession can take the place of fact. Illustrate by the glass carefully ground for the telescope. It seems to be perfect. Nay, there is a flaw, and it must be rejected. The acceptance of God is absolutely conditioned upon this-tbe man must be "undefiled in the way" by any trace or suspicion of insincerity.-R. T. Ver. 4.-0are in obedience. "Observe them diligently." There are possible obediences which cannot be acceptable to God. The things required are done, but then, is no heart, and therefore no merit, in the doing. "Diligently" implies atten- tively, carefully, intelligently, persistently. .And when we worthily apprehend God, we discover that what he accepts is the spirit in the doing, not the mere doing. It is not enough for God that he gets what he wants done; he fixes attention on the spirit that finds expression in the doing. This is made quite plain in the Mosaic persuasions to the keeping of the Law. "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently;" "Hear, 0 Israel, the statutes and judgments, that ye may learn them, and keep and do them;" "Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee." I. DILIGENCE IN OBEDIENCE AS A SIGN OF CHARACTER. lt is more especially the indicntiou that a man has his heart in his work, and that is the condition of all good work. None so aggravate the business man as the servants who only get through their work. Character i~ revealed by the heartlessness of it, and there is no disposition to put fuller trusts in the bands of such persons. Diligence is distinct from ability. .and it is quite possible to trust ability and neglect diligence. But ability has nothing to do with character, and diligence has everything to do with it. Diligence is a sign of (1) self-control; (2) of a cherished sense of duty and obligation ; (3) of reverence for high things; (4) of humility; (5) of desire to win approbation. "Seest thou a man diligont in his business, he shall stand before kings." Diligence in the spheres of Divine obedience is precisely what it is in ordinary relations. II. DILIGENCE IN OBEDIENCE AS A CONDITION OF ACCEPTANCE. Is it conceivable that God'~ favour can rest upon a mere doing of what be requires? A father will accept such obedience, but he hardly cares to smile on the child who has only that to offer. A business man accepts such obedience, and does nothing for the man who has only that to offer. God accepts it as bare duty, but he has no favour, no smile, for him who has but that to offer. We must put our hearts into keeping God's Law. Then we shall be diligent, and meet the conditions of full acceptance.-R. T. Ver. 5.-Good habits confirming goodness. "Oh tbat my ways were established to observe thy statutes I" The importance of settling good habits in the religious life is seldom dealt with in publio teaching, and yet thero are few subjects of more directly practical importanco. It iR quite true that perils attach to the fixing of habits; they are chiefly (1) the disposition to judge others by our own ways; and (2) the loss of spiritual force through the routine character of our doings. But we need never depreciate good thiugs because it is possible to misuse them and make mischief out of them. In  144 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [PS. onx. 1-176.