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Here we are first directed what to lay aside, in order to our fruitful and profitable entertainment of the word of God, namely, these five sins, malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy, and evil-speaking.
Whence note in general, That if any sin, much more if many sins, be kept close and lie dormant within us, they will certainly hinder the efficacy of the word upon us. As the foulness of the stomach hinders the natural digestion: till it be purged out, nothing can nourish within; in like manner, our apostle here advises to purge out these pestilent lusts of malice and guile, of hypocrisy and envy, &c., before we hear the word of God, as ever we expect to be nourished with it, and grow thereby.
As sin hinders good from coming to us, so it hinders the word from working good in us; particularly
malice, or invetrate anger harboured in the heart; guile, or deceit in words or actions; hypocrisy, or an appearance of friendship, when the heart is otherwise affected; envy, or grieving at another's good; and evil-speaking of all kinds, by lying, by slandering, by back-biting, by detracting, all which are contrary to the great command of love, and abstructive of the word of truth, by which we are born again;
but it is observable, particularly concerning malice, and guile, and evil-speaking, that our apostle puts the note of universality to them, Lay aside all malice, and all guile, and all evil-speaking; importing, that though some other sins will stick close unto us, yet not a jot of malice or guile should be found in us, at least prevailing in us, of any kind, or in any degree or measure, for one drop of this deadly poison may destroy us; therefore lay aside all malice, and all guile, and all evil-speaking, &c.