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Ezekiel Chapter
Ten
Ezekiel 10
Chapter Contents
A vision of the burning of the city. (1-7) The Divine
glory departing from the temple. (8-22)
Commentary on Ezekiel 10:1-7
(Read Ezekiel 10:1-7)
The fire being taken from between the wheels
under the
cherubim
13
seems to have signified the wrath of God to
be executed upon Jerusalem. It intimated that the fire of Divine wrath
which
kindles judgment upon a people
is just and holy; and in the great day
the
earth
and all the works that are therein
will be burnt up.
Commentary on Ezekiel 10:8-22
(Read Ezekiel 10:8-22)
Ezekiel sees the working of Divine providence in the
government of the lower world
and the affairs of it. When God is leaving a
people in displeasure
angels above
and all events below
further his
departure. The Spirit of life
the Spirit of God
directs all creatures
in
heaven and on earth
so as to make them serve the Divine purpose. God removes
by degrees from a provoking people; and
when ready to depart
would return to
them
if they were a repenting
praying people. Let this warn sinners to seek
the Lord while he may be found
and to call on him while he is near
and cause
us all to walk humbly and watchfully with our God.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Ezekiel》
Ezekiel 10
Verse 2
[2] And
he spake unto the man clothed with linen
and said
Go in between the wheels
even under the cherub
and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the
cherubims
and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.
He — That sat on the
throne.
Scatter —
That it may take fire in all parts
and none may escape.
Verse 3
[3] Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house
when the man went
in; and the cloud filled the inner court.
The right side —
The north-side
the side towards Babylon
from whence the fire came which
consumed the city.
The man —
Christ
the Lord of angels
who now attend his coming and commands.
The cloud — As
the sign of God's presence.
The inner court —
The court of the priests
who were chief in the apostacy.
Verse 4
[4] Then
the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub
and stood over the threshold of
the house; and the house was filled with the cloud
and the court was full of
the brightness of the LORD's glory.
The glory —
The visible token of the presence of the God of glory.
Went up — In
token of his departure from the temple.
And stood —
Shewing his unwillingness to leave
and giving them time to return to him
he
stands where he might he seen
both by priests and people
that both might be
moved to repentance.
Verse 5
[5] And
the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court
as the
voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.
Was heard — As
a mighty and terrible thunder.
Verse 6
[6] And it came to pass
that when he had commanded the man clothed with
linen
saying
Take fire from between the wheels
from between the cherubims;
then he went in
and stood beside the wheels.
And stood —
Either as one that deferred execution
to try whether the city would repent
or
as one who was to give some farther order to the angels
that were to be the
ministers of his just displeasure.
Verse 7
[7] And
one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire
that was between the cherubims
and took thereof
and put it into the hands of
him that was clothed with linen: who took it
and went out.
One Cherub —
One of the four.
And took — As
a servant that reaches what his master would have.
Went out —
Out of the temple.
Verse 9
[9] And
when I looked
behold the four wheels by the cherubims
one wheel by one
cherub
and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels
was as the colour of a beryl stone.
Looked — Attentively
viewed.
Beryl stone — Of
sea-green.
Verse 10
[10] And
as for their appearances
they four had one likeness
as if a wheel had been in
the midst of a wheel.
They —
The wheels. This intimates the references of providence to each other
and
their dependences on each other: and the joint tendency of all to one common
end
while their motions appear to us intricate and perplexed
yea
seemingly
contrary.
Verse 11
[11] When
they went
they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went
but
to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they
went.
When —
The wheels moved by the cherubim
or that spirit of life
which moved the
living creatures.
They went —
They were so framed
that they could move on all four sides without the
difficulty and delay of turning.
Head — Of
the living creatures.
Verse 12
[12] And
their whole body
and their backs
and their hands
and their wings
and the
wheels
were full of eyes round about
even the wheels that they four had.
And —
Now he describes both the cherubim and wheels as full of wisdom
and as
governed by an excellent wisdom.
The wheels —
Which the four cherubim had to move
govern
and direct.
Verse 13
[13] As
for the wheels
it was cried unto them in my hearing
O wheel.
The wheels — As
to their frame and motion.
It was cried —
Still there was one who guided
as by vocal direction.
Unto them — To
each of them.
Verse 14
[14] And
every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub
and the
second face was the face of a man
and the third the face of a lion
and the
fourth the face of an eagle.
Every one — Of
the living creatures
chap. 1:6.
Verse 17
[17] When
they stood
these stood; and when they were lifted up
these lifted up
themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature was in them.
For —
There is a perfect harmony between second causes in their dependence on
and
subjection to
the one infinite
wise
good
holy
and just God. The spirit of
God directs all the creatures
upper and lower
so that they shall serve the
divine purpose. Events are not determined by the wheel of fortune
which is
blind
but by the wheels of providence
which are full of eyes.
Verse 18
[18] Then
the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house
and stood
over the cherubims.
And stood — On
the right side of the house
where the cherubim were in the inner court.
Verse 19
[19] And
the cherubims lifted up their wings
and mounted up from the earth in my sight:
when they went out
the wheels also were beside them
and every one stood at
the door of the east gate of the LORD's house; and the glory of the God of
Israel was over them above.
And every one —
The glory
the cherubim
the wheels
all stood
respiting execution
and giving
opportunity of preventing the approaching misery.
The east gate —
The last court
the court of the people.
Verse 20
[20] This
is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of
Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims.
I knew —
Either by special assurance as a prophet
or by comparing them with those which
he had often seen in the temple.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Ezekiel》
10 Chapter 10
Verses 1-22
Verse 2
Fill thy hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims and
scatter them over the city.
Divine forces and human agents is retribution
I. There are in
the economy of God
terrific forces for the destruction of evil. The whirling
globe of fire was but a symbol of the manifold elements that
through processes
of pain
and it may be throes of agony
have punished and will punish sin. And
very often those elements are just those that have been guiltily used by man.
It was true of these Jews “that they had abused fire to maintain their
gluttony
for fulness of bread was one of their sins; they burned incense to
idols
and abused the altar fire which had been the greatest refreshing to
their souls
and now even this fire kindled upon them.” Thus
indeed
is it
clearly taught in the prediction of Christ
“They that take the sword shall
perish by the sword
” that the implements of our evil become the engines of our
punishment. And such engines have terrific force.
1. To avoid sin ourselves.
2. To believe in the final victory of goodness.
II. The great
forces provided against evil will often be used by the instrumentality of man.
A man’s hand was to scatter these coals of retribution. Thus it commonly is. As
man is the tempter
so is man frequently the punisher of man. Chaldean armies
are instruments of Divine righteousness. Human judges are often the swords of
God: human revolutionists the vindicators of liberty against despots. It is for
this hand sometimes to scatter the fires of retribution; but ever to scatter
the fires of purification. The consuming of the sin--sin in thought
sin in
feeling
sin in habit
rather than retribution
on the sinner
may perhaps be
the higher and better teaching of this vision for all of us. (Urijah R.
Thomas.)
Verse 8
And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man’s hand under
their wings.
The hand and the wing
There are two proofs of our religious life. The first is our great
thoughts of God; the second is our great deeds for God. On the first we soar up
to Him as on a wing; with the second we labour for Him as with a hand. The
Bible
the whole structure of our sacred faith
appeals to the two aspects of
life--divine and human. It has the wing and the hand; it reaches out to heights
we cannot attain; it is suffused in splendours and in mysteries beyond our
endurance. The Trinity and the Godhead
eternal duration
the origin of things
the eternal love of God to man
His electing and atoning grace--how far off
these things seem. On the other hand
how it sinks down to sympathy
to
fellowship
to suffering
arching them over by visible and invisible majesty.
Thus
while man mourns over his lot
that “his strength is labour and sorrow
”
he finds
as Ruskin has finely said
that “labour and sorrow are his strength”;
and God makes him fit for soaring by sorrowing or by sympathetic doing.
I. See what a
Divine work creation is. Here
in this human hand beneath the angel’s wing
do
we see the procedure of the Divine work. All God’s most beautiful things are
related to use. God does not unfold from His mind beauty alone. Infinite
thought
ah! but infinite manipulation too; this hand
the hand of the Infinite
Artist
tinted every flower and variegated every leaf into loveliness; this
hand
the hand of the Infinite Mechanician--I do not like the word
but let it
go--gave respiration and lustre arid plumage to the wing of every bird; this
hand
the hand of the Infinite Architect
poised every planet in space
and
adapted its measure of force to every grain of sand. I would not preach a gospel
of cold utilitarianism--that word usually represents the hand without the wing;
it is the depravity of logic which it represents
not the Divine reason and
fitness. On the contrary
many know nothing of use. Oh
what wasted lives we
lead! Alas! alas! our most beautiful things are as perishable foam bells
born
and expiring on a wave. Not so God.
II. Then you see
what Divine providence is. Man is the one manifold. In the multiplicity of
Divine operations we see the human hand beneath the angel’s wing. “A little
lower than the angels
” God carries on His great operations. What is this
humanity which everywhere meets us alike
in things above and beneath? “Angels
desiring to look” into the things of men
and all nature striving upward into
manhood. By men surely God carries on some of the greatest affairs of His
providence. From His exalted concealment
God is constantly energising by the
human hand. This in all ages has been. And is not our redemption a hand
the
human hand beneath the Divine wing
a hand stretched out
“the likeness of a
man’s hand beneath the cherubim.” What is the humanity of Jesus but the human
hand beneath the Divine wing? If all things on earth whisper man
and point to
man
and reflect man
and prophesy the reign and the ultimate Christian
perfectibility of man
oh
what a consolation is this! Thus
also
this
thought
this idea
rebukes the many false modern notions of God. See in this
God’s own picture of His providence; and never be it ours to divorce that human
from the Divine in God’s being.
III. See
in the
human hand beneath the wing of the angel
the relation of a life of action to a
life of contemplation. The great Gregory says
“The rule of the Christian life
is first to be joined to an active life in productiveness
and after
to a
contemplative mind in rest.” Thus
when the mind seeks rest in contemplation
it sees more
but it is less productive in fruit to God; when it betakes itself
to working
it sees less but bears more largely. Hence
then
by the wings of
the creatures we may behold the contemplations of the saints
by which they
soar aloft
and
quitting earthly scenes
poise themselves in the regions of
heaven; as it is written
“They shall mount up as on wings.” And by the hands
understand deeds
they administer even by bodily administration; but the hands
under the wings show how they surpass the deeds of their action by the
excellence of contemplation.
IV. Religion is the
human hand beneath the angel’s wing. It is both. So I may say to you: Has your
religion a hand in it? Has your religion a wing in it? Has it a hand? It is
practical
human
sympathetic. Has it a wing? It is lofty
unselfish
inclusive
divine. Has it a hand? How does it prove itself? By embracing
and
this hand laying hold upon--by works. Has it a wing? How does it prove itself?
By prayer
by faith
by heaven. I do not know if you have read and are
acquainted with the essay of that eminent man
Richard Owen
“On the Nature of
Limbs”; if so
you did not fail to meditate on that frontispiece
in which the
science of anatomy rises into more than the play of poetry; where that great
perhaps greatest of all anatomists
does not hesitate to show to us by a
diagram
the human skeleton hand
clothed upon
preening
developing into the
wing of an angel. But faith sees more than science: faith does
indeed
behold
the hand rising into the wing; indeed
sees in the hand only the undeveloped
wing. Without a doubt it shall be so; we are preparing for the hour when our
wings shall burst from their prison and spring into the light. (E. P. Hood.)
The hidden hands of Christlike ministry
Oberlin
the French philanthropist
was once travelling in the
depth of winter amongst the mountains of Alsace. The cold was intense
the snow
lay thickly upon the ground
and ere the half of his journey was over he felt
himself yielding to fatigue and sleep. He knew if he gave way to sleep he would
wake no more; but in spite of this knowledge
desire for sleep overcame him
and he lost consciousness. When he came to again
a waggoner in blue blouse was
standing over him
urging him to take wine and food. By and by his strength
revived
he was able to walk to the waggon
and was soon driven to the nearest
village. His rescuer refused money
saying it was his duty to assist one in
distress. Oberlin begged to know his name
that he might remember him in his
prayers. “I see
” replied the waggoner
“you are a preacher. Tell me the name
of the Good Samaritan.” “I cannot
” answered Oberlin
“for it is not recorded.”
“Ah
well
” said the waggoner
“when you can tell me his name
I will then tell
you mine.” And so he went away. (The Signal.)
Verse 9
The four wheels by the cherubims.
The Divine government
I. This vision
represents the absolute and universal government of God.
1. That God does possess and wield such a government is indicated by
the reference to the throne--an object which is in itself the symbol of supreme
power. It is indicated also by a reference to the influences emanating from the
throne
and regulating the movement of the cherubim and of the wheels--the
cherubim signifying angelic beings
and the wheels signifying the procedure and
course of mundane affairs
all subordinated to Him and regulated by Him
the
possessor of infinite majesty. While we acknowledge its immensity
let us
endeavour habitually and most profoundly to feel that we ourselves are subject
to the government of God.
2. The peculiar connection in which this government is exhibited. The
prophetic descriptions speak of a human form as being associated with the
manifestation of the Divine glory. Now
from the analogous statements of
inspiration we cannot do otherwise than consider this part of the vision as
introducing to us the Son of God--Him who became incarnate in the fulness of
time
as Mediator uniting in Himself the human and the Divine nature
and in
that complex state effecting the great work of human redemption. What is
pourtrayed can suit none but Him; and to Him
as “Emmanuel
God with us
” “God
manifest in the flesh
” it does emphatically and beautifully answer.
II. This vision
represents the characteristics which the procedure of the Divine government
includes and exemplifies.
1. There is a representation of its intricacy. This is conveyed in
the structure of the cherubim; it is conveyed in the relation between the
cherubim and the wheels; and it is conveyed in what is stated as to the wheels
themselves. We live truly in the midst of mysteries; and as those mysteries
pass
in their dark and shadowy forms
there ever resounds to us the challenge
“Lo
these are parts of His ways
” etc.
2. There is the characteristic of intelligence. It is stated
with
regard to the agencies which are now introduced for our attention
that “their
whole body and their backs and their hands and their wings and the wheels were
full of eyes round about
even the wheels that they four had”; the eyes
according to the interpretation of Scripture symbols
being known as the signs
and emblems of intelligence. Here
we conceive
we have the fact brought before
us
that the system according to which the course of our world proceeds is not
that of blind mechanism or fate--a dogma which modern infidelity
imitating its
predecessors
has revived and promulgated
but that it proceeds under the
direction of mind
the highest operation by which events can by possibility be
regulated. The infinite mind of Jehovah is constantly occupied in directorial
functions. That infinite mind formed the plan of government
and that infinite
mind
as the course of His government proceeds
is ever active
diffusing
itself to the furthest range
and penetrating to the most minute recesses
lighting up all as with the radiance of its own emissions
and by knowing all
prompting and ordering all.
3. There is the characteristic of immense and ever active energy. We
read
for example
of the cherubim and of their movements
that “as for the
likeness of the living creatures
their appearance was like burning coals of
fire
and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down
” etc. “And the
living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.”
And as to the wheels it is said
“when they went
they went upon their four
sides; they turned not as they went
but to the place whither the head looked
they followed it; they turned not as they went.” The agencies which are set in
motion by God never cease and never tire
but pass steadily and uniformly
onward
in order to accomplish the purpose of Him who “worketh all things
according to the counsel of His own will”--their energy being constantly
supplied and fed by the resources of His energy
which is inexhaustible
as the
God who is almighty
the Lord God Omnipotent.
4. There is the characteristic of harmony. We read that the wheels
have one likeness; and we read also that the wheels and the cherubim act and
proceed in entire and in perfect concert. “I looked
” says the prophet
“and
behold the four wheels”--“the spirit of the living creature was in them.” We
learn from this that the agencies employed under the Divine administration are
never disjointed from each other
never contravene or oppose each other
but
blend all their movements and operations as though they were actually
notwithstanding their multifariousness and variety
one. We may observe that
the procedure of these agencies is also in perfect harmony with the original
plan of the Divine mind
never for a moment deviating from it
but always
answering to that which is designed to be accomplished. We may also observe
that the procedure of these agencies thus harmonising will finally appear so
before the whole intelligent creation
that they may admire
and that God may
receive His highest glory.
III. This vision
represents the tribute which the government of God
so characterised
demands.
1. The government of God
thus characterised
demands our adoration.
It is truly the development of what is great and ineffably majestic; and the
proper tribute for the development of its greatness and majesty is that of
humble and awful reverence.
2. The government of God
so characterised
demands our study.
Intelligent beings were formed with the view that they should become the
students of the government of God. It is made known to them that they might
meditate upon it
so as to apprehend it; and only thus can they offer the other
departments of the tribute which are required from them. The Divine procedure
and government is the noblest theme which can possibly engage our immortal
mind. There is nothing but what is comprehended here. It includes all history
all the inventions of art
all the discoveries of science--science
whether
confined to matter or mind
whether referring to our own world or to the most
distant tribes that are discoverable in the vast universal of space: all things
that can engage our imagination or reason are comprehended in the government of
God.
3. The government of God
as thus characterised
demands our
submission. “Nay
but
O man
who art thou that repliest against God? Be still
and know that I am God.”
4. The government of God
thus characterised
demands our confidence.
If for our eternal welfare we are reposing upon the testimony which He has
given us concerning His Son
let us exercise the same confidence with regard to
the interests of nations
and with regard to the wellbeing of the Church; and
let us not doubt that all things now transpiring around us
in the passions of
communities
in the convulsions of nations
and in the events disastrous or
Otherwise
which affect the interests of the Church
are under the management
of the same perfect principle
and are gradually intended to evolve the same
grand and delightful results. And then let us trust also in our anticipations
of the future. (J. Parsons.)
Verse 12
Full of eyes round about.
Divine vigilance
God has been called “All eye.” This is the terrible pain of
living
that there is no privacy
no solitude
no possibility of a man getting
absolutely with himself and by himself. Wherever we are we are in public. We
can
indeed
exclude the vulgar public
the common herd
the thoughtless
multitude; a plain deal door can shut out that kind of world: but what can shut
out the beings who do the will of Heaven
and who are full of eyes
their very
chariot wheels being luminous with eyes
everything round about them looking at
us critically
penetratingly
judicially? We live unwisely when we suppose that
we are not being superintended
observed
criticised
and judged. “Thou God
seest me”; “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.” We
need not regard this aspect of Divine providence as alarming. The aspect will
be to us what we are to it. Faithful servants are encouraged by the remembrance
of the fact that the taskmaster’s eye is upon them; unfaithful servants will
regard the action of that eye as a judgment. Thus God is to us what we are to
God. If we are humble
He is gracious; if we are froward
He is haughty; if we
are sinful
He is angry; if we are prayerful
He is condescending and
sympathetic. Let the wicked man tremble when he hears that the whole horizon is
starred with gleaming eyes that are looking him through and through; but let
the good man rejoice that all heaven is one eye looking upon him with
complacency
watching all his action that it may come to joy
reward
rest
and
higher power of service in the generations yet to dawn. (J. Parker
D. D.)
The eyes of Providence
“Full of eyes round about.” Here is a difference from that in Ezekiel 1:18. It is said there the rings
were full of eyes; here
that all
even wheels and cherubims
were full of
eyes
and He that sat on the throne
even the Lord
He is full of eyes.
1. The motions of causes and creatures here below are not casual or
disorderly. The wheels and cherubims are full of eyes
they see and know their
way
the work they have to do
the place they are to go unto; the eye of
Providence is in every creature and every motion. When things fall out
contrary
or beside our expectations
you say they are mischances; but you are
mistaken: in sea or land affairs
in martial
magisterial
or ministerial
yea
domestic affairs
whatever falls out is an act of Providence; surprising or
sinking of ships
disappointment of counsels
defeating of armies
escape of
prisoners
interception of letters
firing of towns
drownings
self-murderings
divisions of brethren
clandestine marriages
abortions
divorces
the eyes of Providence are in them all
and heaven’s intentions are
accomplished in them.
2. There is much glory and beauty in the works of Divine providence.
All the wheels and cherubims are full of eyes; the wheels have eyes round
about
not in one place
but in every place; the cherubims
their bodies
backs
hands
and wings are full of eyes; and (Revelation 4:8) they are full of eyes
within
they are inwardly and outwardly glorious
beautiful. Man’s eyes add not
so much beauty and glory to his face
as these eyes do to the works of God in
the world. The peacock’s train
which is full of eyes
how beautiful and
glorious is it! yet far short of the beauty and glory which is in God’s
government of the world. When the queen of Sheba saw so much wisdom in a man
so much glory and beauty in the order of his house
she admired
and had no
spirit left in her (1 Kings 10:4-5). And could we see
the wisdom which is in God
the glory and beauty which is in His ordering the
wheels
we would be so far from complaining of any wheel’s motion that we would
admire every wheel
the order and motion of it; but oh
how blind are we
who
hardly have an eye to see any of these eyes! When a man is on a high hill
there are many hedges
ditches
and separations of one piece of land from
another; there are low shrubs and higher trees
here a hill and there a river;
yet all contribute something to make a beautiful and glorious prospect to the
eye: and so it is in the works of providence. If we were lifted up by the
Spirit to view the wheels and their motions
we should find that all these
things that seem grievous to us
our wars
divisions
taxes
burdens
and such
like
do contribute much towards a glorious prospect. (W. Greenhill
M. A.)
Verse 13
O wheel.
The wheel of providence
I take this figure to refer to Divine providence--the actual
dealings of the Creator with His creatures; so various
so complicated
and yet
so harmonious after all.
I. The changes in
God’s providence. The chariot that we see here is not of the old rude type
not
a mere sledge drawn roughly and heavily along the ground; but something more
ingenious and more elaborate. It has its wheels--that beautiful kind of
mechanism
which none of the most recent improvements in locomotion have been
able to supersede; the wheel
with its many spokes and perfect circle
ever
revolving and revolving. Many of us can recollect the time when
as children
our minds first caught the idea of the motion of a wheel; the higher part
becoming the lower
the spokes that were upward becoming reversed and pointing downward
whilst from beneath other spokes were ever rising to the top; and so
nothing
continuing at one stage--nothing to be seen but change
change
perpetual
change. And now
no longer children
we see it all in providence; and
seeing
it
look up and cry
“O wheel!”
1. We see it in social life.
2. We see it in national experience. See what our Father is doing in
the earth
what changes--what mighty changes--He is working on every hand. This
is no new aspect of His dealings. There was a time when on the spokes of the
wheel were written the names of Babylon and Persia
of Greece and Rome. And
then the wheel turned round: and each in succession rose to the summit--and was
humbled to the dust. Has it not been the same story ever since? and is it not
the same story now? It matters not what political opinions you may hold. As you
watch the rise and fall of nations
parties
and opinions on the wheel of
Divine providence
you are constrained to cry
“O wheel!”
3. We see it in the history of the professing Church. Ephesus
Smyrna
Pergamos
Thyatira
Sardis
Philadelphia
Laodicea--these are the names
of seven famous Churches: Churches to which Christ Himself dictated sacred
letters
and which stood high and conspicuous in the religious history of the
world. Where are they now? The wheel has turned! They are sunk down into the
mire
and lie buried there! So too with the Churches to which Paul wrote. Where
are Corinth
Galatia
Philippi
Colosse
Thessalonica? The mosque rises where
once stood the Christian sanctuary
and the Crescent has displaced the Cross.
But you say
The Church of Rome still stands. It does! But is this the Church
to which Paul wrote? So you may go through the professing Churches of every
name--at home and abroad--near or far
and you will find nothing uniform or
stationary: only change upon change--increase and decrease--advance and decline
until you stand amazed and bewildered
and can only cry
“O wheel!”
II. Progress in the
midst of all these changes. The wheel the prophet saw was not like the wheel we
may see in fireworks
--one which revolves round the axle
leaving the axle
motionless; it was the wheel of a chariot--one which carries the axle with it
and bears the chariot on with each revolution. And there is something in this
view very cheering in the truth it suggests: that in the midst of so many
changes of God’s providence a real progress is taking place. Bear in mind--the
progress of the chariot is independent of the position of the separate spokes.
Some of them may be rising
some falling; but each moment the chariot goes on.
Nay
some of them may be actually moving backwards--but still the chariot goes
forwards. Just so
all the changes in God’s providence--even those that look
like changes in the wrong direction--are helping on the progress after all.
1. In what sense is this to be understood? In what forward movement
are these changes bearing a part? I answer
in the accomplishment of the
purposes of God. The world is to be converted to God. “All the ends of the
earth shall remember
” “I
if I be lifted up
” etc. The Church is to be
complete in members
purity
and bliss. We read of “a multitude that none can
number
of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues.” We read of saints
“without spot or blemish
” and these are “presented faultless
” etc. The
Redeemer is to have a large and abundant reward. “He shall see of the travail
”
etc.
2. In what way can this progress come to pass? How can changes so
disastrous help forward the accomplishment of purposes so delightful? We have
to do with One who is “wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.” There
may be lions in the path--but He slays the lions
“and out of the eater comes
forth meat
and out of the strong
sweetness.” There may be passions in man’s
heart worse than beasts of prey
--but He so controls their working that in the
end “the wrath of man shall praise Him.” “Is there anything too hard for the
Lord?” (F. Tucker
B. A.)
The mysteries of providence
I. The extent and
universality of its operations. The wide reach of God’s providential government
comprehends what is easy to be understood as well as what is mysterious. The
light and the darkness are often placed together
though in reality they are
both alike to Him. With God there is nothing incomprehensible:--the terms great
and little
easy and difficult
with Him are words of the same meaning. When we
read the account of these wheels
of their rings and their motions
and the
living creatures that accompanied them
we are confounded. Yet it is easy to
conceive of the Son of Man governing the celestial inhabitants according to the
will of His Father
regulating their movements by the agency of His Spirit
and
employing them as instruments in accomplishing His gracious purposes.
II. The complexity
of its movements.
1. Is it not intended to mortify our pride? There is no religion
without humility.
2. Does it not serve to exercise our faith and patience?
3. Is it not designed to check in us a lawless spirit of curiosity?
III. The perpetuity
of its revolutions. The changes that are taking place in the history of
nations
churches
families
and individuals are all tending to the completion
of His designs. Are they not intended to teach us how uncertain and
unsatisfactory are all created things?
IV. The harmony of
their concurrence.
1. They are all directed to one object.
2. They are all acting upon one plan. Here there is nothing casual or
fortuitous. The past has made way for the present
and the present is preparing
for the future.
3. They are all animated by one influence.
V. It is unimpeded
in its progress. We mean not to say that there are no hindrances in the way of
the Divine purposes being accomplished; for ignorance
prejudice
and sin
present most formidable barriers; but as the wheels in the vision are described
as going forward
impelled by a Divine influence
it certainly teaches us that
God’s will is irresistible
and intimates the certain triumph of truth in the
world. (Essex Remembrancer.)
Ezekiel’s vision of the wheel
The cry
“O wheel
” the articulated cry of the universal human
spirit
meant
“O Divine mystery! the intellect cannot comprehend thee
yet the
heart’s aspiration is towards thee.”
1. This exclamation indicates our proper attitude in presence of
these mysteries as one of awe
and not of definition. Modern scientific
investigation tends to reveal to us
more and more humiliatingly
the
narrowness and impotence of our faculty. The very growth of knowledge makes
manifest the limitations and the illusiveness of knowledge. And the danger is
that of a universal scepticism; that men should say
“I cannot know anything as
it is
and therefore I will believe nothing
obey nothing
but the instincts of
my own nature.” It is only the spirit of reverence that can save us. Let us not
spend our intellectual energies and dissipate our spiritual forces in the
pursuit of that which ever eludes us. Let our language be
“Though we cannot
comprehend
we will adore.” And so let our reverence teach us obedience and
love
and our piety be of the life and not of the intellect. Let us not divorce
religion from life
and make it a series of dead abstractions instead of a
living spirit. It is the pursuit of a good that is known
and not speculation
however dogmatic
upon that which is unknowable
that constitutes practical
religion. It is “in loving our brother whom we have seen” that we attain to the
love of God
“whom we have not seen.”
2. In all this imagery the prophet is describing a vision of God
and
by the emblem of the wheels he describes so much as is understood of the Divine
nature. There is breath in the wheels. It is a living deity. There are eyes
around the peripheries. This points to infinite knowledge and intelligence as
overruling the world. The wheels are four-faced; the faces representing the
different orders of creation
showing the relation of the Divine Spirit to all
the various kingdoms of life. The movements are swift and in all directions
there being a double motion of the wheels
which are inserted in pairs at right
angles to each other. This suggests the idea of omnipresence. The mischief is
that so many minds stay in the symbol and suffer it to block out the spiritual
idea
instead of serving as a stepping stone to it The wheel becomes the deity
instead of the symbol of deity; the object of idolatry
instead of simply a
spiritual hieroglypbic to aid our conceptions of the Divine.
3. The wheel which the prophet saw in his vision stands not only for
a representation of the Divine nature
as he conceived it
but also as an
illustration of the Divine method in the universe.
4. I find further suggested by this emblem
the Divine law of
progress. The revolution of the wheels results in transition over space. There
is the motion
not only upon their own several axes
but through the air and
over the ground
according to the will of the informing spirit. They are the
type
not only of motion
but of locomotion
Winter after winter the leaves
fall
and vegetation dies down
and everywhere is apparent decay and death. But
nature is only recovering herself for another effort
and in the spring every
tree shoots forth into a more vigorous growth. Nature dies to live again. Out
of the decomposition of last year’s foliage what new and beauteous forms of
floral life have sprung! And their decay in turn will nourish other forms of
life. “Every atom of the soil is in the universal wheel of things.” Shall this
be true of nature alone? Shall not man rise through seeming dissolution to his
true completion? As one of our modern mystics says
“We call autumn the fall of
the year
and winter the dead past of the year
but they are as really included
in the circuit of the year as spring and summer. Let us learn to contemplate
the fall and the death of man
together with his new birth and resurrection
his ascension and glorification
as comprehended in the wheel of God.”
5. The prophet is careful to tell us that
complex as were the
wheels
they were not mere dead mechanism. “The spirit of life was in the
wheels.” The immanency of the Divine life in all things was to him a noble and
a helpful conception. And the latest teachings of science and philosophy
God’s
modern priests and prophets
are that all this mighty universe
all the things
that we see and hear and perceive
are the phenomena
the manifestations
of a
hidden but all-pervading life that
through our sensations
is thus in direct
constant
and vital contact with our consciousness. There is no such thing as
dead matter. It is we who are dead
not to perceive the life that is in all.
6. Think of Ezekiel’s monsters and griffins
and his impossible
machinery careering through the air
as embodying the thought of God; and then
contrast these representations with those of Him who said
“He that hath seen
Me hath seen the Father”; who translated Divine abstractions into living and loving
deeds; who healed the sick
and said
“That is God”; who taught the ignorant
and said
“That is God”; who forgave injuries
and said
“That is God”; who
laid down His life
and said
“That is God”; who pointed to no grotesque
symbols and spoke in no mystical jargon
but of the ever-serving
the
ever-sacrificing
the ever-present
the ever-loving Father--God. (J. Halsey.)
Wheels
I. The wheel
as a
rule
moves round one central bar of wood or iron
which we call an axis or
axle. It teaches us a lesson in this respect. Our lives should have one strong
principle
about which they should move just as the wheel does round its axle
and never turn aside in the least.
2. The wheel often bears the burdens of others
and thus hellos the
world to go on. This is true of many kinds of wheels; but I will only speak now
of those which you see every day under all kinds of conveyances on railways and
in our streets. How patiently they turn round and round
often along dirty
roads
in order to carry the heavy burdens laid upon them! I want you children
to be like the wheels
always ready to render a kind service to others: “Bear
ye one another’s burdens
and thus fulfil the law of Christ.”
3. There is many a wheel that is satisfied with working out of sight.
For instance
the wheels of the clock or watch go on doing their work although
most attention is paid to the hands which they turn rather than to themselves.
There are many in the world who could learn a great deal from wheels that work
patiently out of sight. They are willing to be flywheels
which everybody can
see and admire; but not to be little wheels
which do their work unnoticed by
anyone--except by the Great Engineer
who knows them well
and what important
work they are doing. There are others who are satisfied with the thought that
this Divine Engineer is pleased with them because they do just the work He
wishes them to do; and know that He is “no respecter of persons.”
4. The wheel only asks of us a little oil to encourage it to go on.
The other day I heard the wheels of a perambulator crying piteously for just
two drops of oil; but the nursemaid was as deaf as a pest
and did not hear
them
and the poor wheels went on squeaking. There are some good
kind people
who will do all they can for the sake of others; but occasionally they want a
little oil by way of encouragement; a kind word or smile
that is all. (D.
Davies.)
The vision of the wheels
None of all the prophets have set out the providence of God in His
wisdom
power
sovereignty
and superintendency more than this prophet Ezekiel
nor by more elegant emblems. In the whole verse you have four parts.
I. The crier.
Which though not expressed
yet is necessarily to be understood. “It was
cried”; by whom? By Him that sat upon the throne (verse 1)
that is the Lord.
II. You have the
cry itself. “O wheel!”
III. The object of
the cry. To whom it was made; it was to the wheels. “As for the wheels
it was
cried to them.”
IV. Here is the
witness in whose presence the cry was uttered
and that was the prophet. “It was
cried in my hearing.” In speaking of these wheels
it will be necessary to look
into the whole vision. In which vision you may see an excellent subordination
of causes one to another
and all to the supreme cause
in the carrying on the
government in the providential kingdom of Christ.
1. You have the supreme cause set out by the appearance of a man upon
a throne above the firmament (Ezekiel 1:26). Above the firmament was
the likeness of a throne
and upon the throne was the likeness of a man above
upon it. The likeness of a man. Who is this but the Lord Christ in the Person
of the Mediator? But Christ was not as yet come in the flesh
why then is He
here represented in the likeness of a man?
2. Though Christ rules absolutely
yet He doth not rule immediately;
He governs the world by the agency of the Eternal Spirit. As Christ rules for
God
so the Spirit rules for Christ. He is the great Administrator of the
government throughout the mediatory kingdom. He sets all a-going (Ezekiel 1:12). Whither the Spirit was to
go
they went; and again (verse 20)
whithersoever the Spirit was to go
they
went; thither was their Spirit to go. All the angels of God are under the
command of the Spirit. And so it is with the wheels
they all move as the
Spirit of God moves them. What great things did the judges in Israel of old!
Why
all was by the Spirit of God. So it is said of Othniel
the Spirit of the
Lord came upon him
and he went out to war
and the Lord delivered his enemies
into his hand ( 3:10). So it is said ( 11:29)
The Spirit of the Lord came upon
Jephthah
and he fought against the children of Ammon; and the Lord delivered
them into his hands. So it is said of Samson: The Spirit of the Lord moved him
( 13:25). Princes
armies
navies are all
nothing without the Spirit of God act them. If God dispirits
the men of might
cannot find their hands. The sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them (Leviticus 26:36). And if God spirits men
one shall chase a thousand
and two put ten thousand to flight (Deuteronomy 32:30). The wheels go which
way soever the Spirit goes. If you see the wheel go over kingdoms
and break
down thrones and sceptres
marvel not at the matter
for the Spirit of God is
in the wheels.
3. Here is another subordination of causes; and that is the living
creatures. In chap. 1:5 you read of four living creatures
every one of which
had four faces (Ezekiel 1:6). He doth not say who or what
these living creatures are in that vision; but in this tenth chapter he tells
you they are the angels (Ezekiel 1:20). The living creatures that
I saw
under the God of Israel
I knew that they were the cherubims; everyone
had four faces apiece (Ezekiel 1:21). The former vision was at
Chebar
this was in the temple. God discovers Himself more in the temple than
at Chebar (Psalms 29:9). And if you look into chap.
1:10
there is a description of their faces. As for the likeness of their
faces
they four had the face of a man
and the face of a lion
and the face of
an ox
and the face of an eagle. The very same faces with the four beasts
mentioned (Revelation 4:7). These four faces show
four excellent endowments. Wisdom and prudence
typed out by the face of a man.
Courage and boldness
by the face of a lion. Diligence and industry
by the
face of an ox. Expedition and dispatch
by the face of an eagle. These were the
likeness of the four faces of each cherubim
all which is to instruct us in the
wise forecast by which the Providence of God doth dispose of all these lower
events that come to pass in the world. The angels are the great ministers of
Christ in the government of the world
called four here (chap. 1:5)
four
living creatures; not because Christ uses that number
and no more
but the
number relates to the object
namely
the world
which is constantly divided
into four parts
east
west
north
and south; and these are called the four
quarters of the earth (Revelation 20:8). And the four quarters
of heaven (Jeremiah 49:36). As there are four parts
of the world
so the angels are said to be four; to show that they have a care
of the whole earth (Revelation 7:1). But otherwise God doth
not use only four angels in the conducting the affairs of the world
but many
yea multitudes (2 Kings 6:17). Christ hath His
angels in all quarters; as the devil and his angels compass the whole world for
evil
so Christ hath His angels who compass it for good. They are in every
corner and company; especially in every church and assembly. The inward part of
the temple was to be adorned with cherubims
to note the special attendance of
the angels in the assemblies of the saints (1 Corinthians 11:10). If Satan and
fallen angels have a power to influence the affairs of the world for evil
then
surely good angels have as much power as they to influence them for good
otherwise devils should gain by their fall more than ever they had by their
standing. Great is the influence of angels in the governments of the world;
therefore the wheels are said to follow the motions of the cherubims (Ezekiel 10:16).
4. Here is a further subordination; and that is of the affairs of the
world to the angels. Christ
who rules all
sends His Spirit
the Spirit acts
the angels
the angels rule the world
and therefore you have in the next place
a vision of wheels. By these wheels the world is resembled
and all the affairs
of it (Ezekiel 1:19). When the living creatures
went
the wheels went by them; and when the living creatures were lifted up
from the earth
the wheels were lifted up. And ver.
2. When those went
these went; and when those stood
these stood.
Now they which are called here the living creatures are in Ezekiel 10:16 called the cherubims
and
the reason of all is in the next words
for the Spirit of the living creature
is in them
i.e. in the wheels
as it is twice mentioned (Ezekiel 1:20-21). So that here you have a
short view of the whole subordination of causes one to another
and of all to
the supreme cause
in ordering all the affairs of this lower world. God the
Father puts the government of all into the hands of Christ. Christ substitutes
the Spirit to be His Prorex
and sends Him into the world to manage all things.
The Spirit acts the angels
and they all minister to Him. The angels act the
wheels
and they all are governed by them. I must open this part of the vision
a little more distinctly concerning the wheels--
1. As to the nature of them.
2. As to what is ascribed to them.
1. As for the nature of these wheels
they are visional
and
presented by way of emblem. The prophet tells you (chap. 1:1) the heavens were
opened
and I saw visions of God. These wheels were a part of those visions
and therefore not material wheels
but yet as really represented to the eye of
the prophet in similitude
and as strongly impressed upon his mind in the image
of them as if they had been material. By the wheels we are to understand this
visible world
because of the turnings and changes of all things in it. It is
usual with the Spirit of God to resemble the world to things that are in their
nature most mutable.
2. As to what is ascribed to them. Now
concerning these wheels
there are several things ascribed to them that are of very great moment.
1. Their going.
2. Their being lifted up.
3. Their returning.
1. Their going. It is said they went; and this going of theirs hath
two circumstances not to be passed by.
2. They are lifted up. The living creatures were lifted up from the
earth (Ezekiel 1:19; Ezekiel 10:17). The expression may be
taken either in an active or a passive sense. Take it actively
the living
creatures lift up themselves from the earth
and the wheels lifted up
themselves also
and then it imports their looking up to heaven for direction
and assistance. So do the angels
and so do the wheels
to teach us that there
is no moving right in the work of God
without direction and assistance from
God; therefore says David
To Thee
O Lord
do I lift up my soul (Psalms 25:1). Wisdom to guide the
undertaking
help to perfect the performance
and success to crown the service.
If the expression be taken in a passive sense
then this lifting up imports a
Divine power influencing the creatures in a more than ordinary manner
to fit
them for some eminent service. It is said of Jehoshaphat
that his heart was
lifted up in the ways of the Lord (2 Chronicles 17:6)
i.e. he
was carried above all discouragements and difficulties; and made strong and
valiant for God and His work. This teaches us that God doth sometimes spirit
second causes in an unwonted manner
and elevates them above themselves. So it
was with David’s worthies; of one of whom it is said
he lifted up his spear
against eight hundred whom he slew at one time (2 Samuel 23:8). There is a notable
promise referring to this in Zechariah 11:8. He that is feeble among
them shall be as David
and the house of David as the angel of the Lord. Let
the Spirit of the Lord but lift up some Zerubbabel to set on foot temple work
and nothing shall hinder; what though there be a Samaritan faction at home
and
that backed with a foreign confederacy with the Persian court? What great
things did the apostles do in the infancy of the Gospel! Lord
even the devils
are subject to us through Thy name (Luke 10:17).
3. There is the return of the living creatures. So it is said (Ezekiel 1:14). The living creatures ran
and returned; but this seems to contradict the ninth and twelfth verses
for
there it is said
They turned not when they went. But this receives an easy
solution. They turned not from going and doing the work appointed them; but
when that work was done
then they returned. They turned not from executing
their commission
but then they returned to receive new instructions. And hence
they are called watchers (Daniel 4:13). Behold a watcher
and an
holy one
and (verse 17)
This matter is by the decree of the watchers. They
watch for God’s orders to execute them for the Church’s good; and this teaches
us two things.
4. Here is another thing ascribed to these wheels
and that is
the
influencing virtue of the same spirit which acted the living creatures (Ezekiel 1:20). The spirit of the living
creature was in the wheels. By the spirit here is meant the Divine Spirit
the
eternal Spirit of God: the same Spirit that acts the living creatures
acts the
wheels also; which in chap. 10:17 is called the Spirit of Life; and this is
that Spirit which guided all their motions; therefore it is said (Ezekiel 1:12)
Whither the Spirit was to
go
they went. There is not an angel in heaven
nor a wheel upon earth
but are
all acted and governed by the same Spirit. As the Spirit was concerned in the
framing of the wheels; so He is in the motions of them: as He was in the
creating of all things; so He is in all their operations. Lastly
these wheels
are under the direction of a voice: as there are eyes round about them to guide
them in their way
so there is a voice above them to command their motions. As
for the wheels
it was cried to them
O wheel! This cry is the voice of Him
that sits upon the throne (verse 1). And though it be particularly directed to
Jerusalem
yet in a more general sense it is intended to the whole world
to
all kingdoms
cities
churches
to all people. But why is the cry made to one
wheel
when here is mention of more? It was cried to the wheels
O wheel! It is
to show us that all inferior causes
and instruments
are but as one in the hand
of the Lord. But though all creatures are included in these wheels
yet
rational agents are principally intended; and if so
then to you is this word
cried; and perhaps it is therefore made in the singular number
that everyone
may look on it as his duty to hearken to the voice of God in the cry. As in
giving out the decalogue
it is so directed that everyone may think himself
concerned. Great desires
great joys
great grief
and great love are
frequently thus expressed; and so this “O!” is a servant to the affections.
1. It is an “O” of discipline
by which we are instructed to admire
and adore the wonders of Providence. The voice is from the throne
but it is to
direct us at the footstool; therefore it is said
It was cried in my hearing
O
wheel! (Romans 11:33).
2. It is an “O” of rebuke; and it is to every particular wheel
of
what degree soever. Are magistrates wheels? this O wheel is cried to them. Why
do ye stand still? Why have you acted no more for God? ye are heirs of
restraint ( 18:7). Are ministers wheels? the cry
from the throne is to you. O wheel! why do you not take heed to your ministry
to fulfil it? Why do ye not move with more zeal for God
like the living
creatures
that ran as the appearance of a flash of lightning? Why do ye not
cry aloud against the sins of the times? Are parents and masters wheels? then I
hear a cry to you; why do ye not mind the duty of your places? why move ye not
more exemplarily in your families? Finally
every man is a “wheel” that is to
be in constant motion for God; according to the place wherein God hath set him;
and therefore the cry from the throne is to all of all sorts
rich and poor
young and old
high and low
male and female; to all
without exception of any.
“O wheel!” why move ye not! why seek ye not after God?
3. It is an “O” of threatening. And this follows the former where no
repentance intervenes to prevent it. Counsel goes first
but if that be
slighted
reproof comes; and if that makes no impression
threatening takes
place
then it is O wheel! O church! O city! O kingdom! Judgment is near at
hand
wrath is coming upon thee. And this seems to be the sense of it here.
Jerusalem had highly provoked the Lord
not only in setting at nought His
counsels.
4. It is an “O” of lamentation
a language full of sorrow and
compassion
and so shows the pity of Christ to a self-undoing world and people.
“O wheel!” What hath sin brought upon thee? O people
O notion
how deplorable
is your case become!
5. It is an “O” of calling
and carries a command in it
which is to
be understood
though not expressed. O wheel! repent and turn yourselves from
your idols
and turn away your faces from all your abominations (Ezekiel 14:6).
1. Doth He that sits in the throne govern the “wheels”? is it He that
cries to them and commands them? then let us not fear the Church’s enemies
how
many or how great soever they may be. One God is more than all opposers.
2. If He who sits above upon the throne doth command and govern the
“wheels
” then our duty is to commend them to His care. Therefore
in all our
addresses to God
let us make conscience of praying for the “wheels.”
3. Doth He that sits above upon the throne govern the “wheels”? Then
let not us do anything to hinder Him in His work.
4. If He that sits above upon the throne guides the “wheels
” then
commit all into His hands; subscribe to His wisdom
and be resigned to His
will; for He doth all things well and wisely: He is wonderful in counsel
and
excellent in working. Many pretend to bow to His commanding will
who yet
cannot subscribe to His effecting will. Suppose things do not go in the world
as you would have them
yet they go as God orders them: the wheels go right on
God doth not need to set His sun by your dial. Trust Him with the government of
the world
for He is head over all things to the Church. (Matthew Mead.)
Verse 14
Every one had four faces; the first face was the face of a cherub.
The Christian ministry
The text seems to have a decided reference to the angelic hosts
--those
ministers of God who do His pleasure. To resemble these should be the great
desire of every Christian
that God’s will may be done on earth even as it is
done in heaven. But especially should this be the case with the Christian
minister: his office greatly resembles that of the holy intelligences above; he
is a messenger of God to mankind
an angel of the Church
and therefore well
does it become him to study the character and emulate the holiness of cherubim
and seraphim in heaven.
I. The first face
was that of a cherub. The symbol--
1. Of exalted dignity. Dwelling around the throne of Deity. His
especial ambassadors
etc. No office can be more exalted than that of the
Christian ministry. It is that to which Jehovah appointed His own Son. One writer
quaintly remarks
“God had only one Son
and He made a preacher of Him.”
“Workers together with God
” etc.
2. Of elevated devotion. They are represented as holding great
intimacy and close fellowship with God. How indispensable that the ministers of
Christ live near to the Lord
hold close communion with the skies.
3. Of distinguished holiness. Ye that bear the vessels of the Lord
etc.
as the priests of old. Not only partakers of the ordinary graces of the
Spirit
but adorned with the mature fruits of holiness to the glory of God.
II. The second
symbol is that of a man. With the sanctity of the cherub is to be united the
sympathy of sanctified humanity. As men
Christian ministers are--
1. To be influenced by their relationship to Jesus as Head of the
Church. They should have His meekness
humility
lowliness
desire to labour
readiness to suffer
etc.
2. To feel for their fellow sinners peculiar compassion. They are
their brethren
of one blood
spirit
and destiny.
3. To know their own insufficiency and entire dependence on God’s
blessing. This treasure in earthen vessels
etc. Paul planteth
etc.
III. The third
emblem was the face of a lion. By this we are to understand the strength and
magnanimity which are necessary to the ministerial office. The Christian
minister must be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus. He must be
strong to resist evil
to stand firm in the conflict
and to conduct himself as
a man of God.
IV. The fourth
symbol is that of the eagle. By this--
1. The true character of the minister’s work is portrayed. He has to
do with spiritual things. He teaches not philosophy
science
economy
legislation
but the truths of the kingdom of God
the knowledge of the way of
salvation.
2. The symbol of the eagle may be designed also to be expressive of
their ardour and zeal The minister of Jesus is to be instant
earnest
energetic
zealously affected in every good thing.
3. His soul is to yearn with intense anxiety over perishing sinners.
Application--
1. Let the solemn character of the office ever be cherished
and a
lively sense of its importance be maintained from day to day.
2. Let the glorious results of faithfulness in the Saviour’s service
animate to constancy and perseverance. (J. Burns
D. D.)
The combination of faculties in spiritual life
In the power of this life it does not matter where we are
or
under what conditions we are found
we find a sufficiency of grace. Mr. Ruskin
in his Love’s Meinie
describes the Phalerope
a strange bird
living out of the way of human beings
in the Polar regions of Greenland
Norway and Lapland
which he calls “The Arctic Fairy.” It is a central type of
all bird power
but with elf gifts added: it flies like a lark
trips on water
lily leaves like a fairy
swims like a duck
and roves like a seagull
having
been seen sixty miles from land; and finally
though living chiefly in Lapland
and Iceland
it has been seen serenely swimming and catching flies in the hot
water of the geysers
in which a man could not bear his hand. As the above bird
has a combination of faculties
so the gift of Eternal Life as personified in
Christ bestows faculties of grace which enable us to stand in the clear light
of God’s holy throne
which empower us to bear trial’s fiery ordeal
which
equip us for conflict with the great adversary
which endow us with endurance
in treading life’s rough way
which energise with strength in the work of the
Gospel
which environ us with peace and joy in time of persecution
and which
ennoble our whole being
for we are lifted into the realm of God’s dear Son. (Footsteps
of Truth.)
Verse 17
When they stood
these stood; and when they were lifted up
these
lifted up themselves also.
Feet and wings
Flying creatures have wings for the air and feet for the ground.
This touch of nature is put on God’s cherubim. The prophet intends no special
religious lesson here
but the fact he cites may be used to convey such.
I. The subject of
Christian experience
what it is and how to be maintained. We have faculties of
locomotion
feeding
sense
perception
etc.
by which we act our parts on
foot
as it were. We have attributes of faith perception
love appropriation
spiritual imagination
in which we become aerial creatures
resting
suspensively in things above the world. This uplifting produces the
transcendent mystery of experience in Christian conversion. We rise by trust in
God--admitting the full revelation of His truth and friendship. Can the soul
thus lifted stay in that serene element? It has gravitations which pull it all
the while downward
and settle it on its feet
as the flying creatures fold
their wings when they settle. Let us trace some of the instances and ways in
which it ceases to live by faith. When a man of enterprise thinks of
independence
how easily
how insensibly he ceases to hang on Providence as he
did. His prayers lose their fervour. God is far less dear and less consciously
present; and how long will he have the consciousness of His presence at all?
The moment any disciple touches ground with but the tip of his foot
and begins
to rest on earthly props
a mortal weakness takes him
and he goes down. Only a
calm and loving return to his trust will recover him
and God is faithful enough
to be trusted at all times. Let there be this rest by faith
and he will carry
himself more steadily in studies
toils
or engagements. Sometimes obscurations
may occur
but he has only to believe the more strongly and wait till they be
cleared.
II. Many persons
miss ever going above a service on foot
by not conceiving at all the more
ethereal range of experience into which true faith would lift them. Sometimes
they become reformers or philanthropists. They mean business in their religion
caring little for the fervours that are not fervours of work
The combining and
roiling up of great masses of opinion are the means by which they expect to
carry their projects. Censure and storm and fiery denunciation are close at
hand. They
many times
do not conceive that they are disciples because of
their repentances
or their prayers
or sensing of God by their faith
or any
other grace that separates them from the world. They have much to say of love
but they visibly hate more strongly than they love. They never go above to
descend upon the reform by inspirations there kindled; they keep on their feet
and war with the evils on the same level with them. Sometimes they attempt
self-culture in the name of religion. They could mend defects
chasten faults
put themselves in the charities they have learned from Christ
perhaps
to
admire; but the work is a far more hopeless one than they imagine
if there is
no uplifting help from gracious inspirations. Oh
if they would go up to
Christ
or to God in a true faith culture
faults would fall off
as blasted
flowers from a tree
by the life principle therein. Sometimes they suppose they
are religious because of a certain patronage they give to the Church and the
Word. Not being in the gift of spiritual discernment
their tastes will be the
better; and as there are always a great many reasons why a thing should not be
done to any single reason why it should
they assume to be specially qualified
critics. They contribute these critical powers
while others
less gifted
may contribute
their prayers! Such negatives do not belong to the range of the Spirit
but to
the nether world of fashion or opinion or custom. The critics have feet
but no
wings. If they could give themselves over in trust to the Saviour
instead of
giving their opinions and tastes
their contributions would be of worthier
significance. (H. Bushnell
D. D.)
Verse 18-19
Then the glory of the Lord departed.
Departing glory
1. How unwilling the Lord is to depart
and leave that people He hath
dwelt amongst
and been engaged unto!
2. There is no visible church but may fall
and cease to be. God is
not tied to any place
to any people; but if they corrupt His worship He may
withdraw: He did depart from Jerusalem
from the temple
and they were
unchurched.
3. When the Lord goes from a people
then the protection and benefits
they have by the angels go away. When the sun is gone from us
we have short
days and long nights
little light but much darkness; and when God departs
you
have much night and little day left
your comforts fade suddenly
and miseries
come upon you swiftly. When God and His angels go from a church
the dragon and
his angels get in; when men’s inventions prevail
they are subject to all woes
and miseries (Hosea 9:12).
4. God would have men the notice of His departure. The cherubims
stood at the door of the east gate
and there the glory stood over them; that
gate was so seated in Mount Zion that they might see the entrance by it from
most parts of the city
and here the glory now stood; it was come forth from
the temple
and now exposed to public view
that they might inquire what was
the matter
use all means to recover the glory which was going. (W.
Greenhill
M. A.)
God’s gradual withdrawal
Observe with how many steps and pauses God departs
as loth to go
as if to see if there be any that will intercede with Him to return. None of the
priests in the inner court between the temple and the altar would court His
stay; therefore He leaves their court and stands at the east gate
which led
into the court of the people
to see if any of them would yet at length stand
in the gap. God removes by degrees from a provoking people; and
when He is
ready to depart in displeasure
would return to them in mercy if they were but
a repenting
praying people. (M. Henry.)
The likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.
Wing and hand
In two places in Ezekiel we are told there were hands under the
wings: human hands; hands like ours. If this world is ever brought to God
it
will be by appreciation of the fact that supernatural and human agencies are to
go together; that which soars
and that which practically works; that which
ascends the heavens
and that which reaches forth to earth: the joining of the
terrestrial and the celestial
“the hand and the wing.”
1. We see this union in the construction of the Bible. The wing of
inspiration is in every chapter. What realms of the ransomed earth did Isaiah
fly over! Over what battlefields for righteousness; what coronations; what
dominations of gladness; what rainbows around the throne did St. John hover!
But in every book of the Bible you just as certainly see the human hand that
wrote it. Moses
the lawyer
showing the hand in the Ten Commandments
the
foundation of all good legislation; Amos
the herdsman
showing the hand in
similes drawn from fields and flocks: the fishermen Apostles
showing the hand
when writing about Gospel nets; Luke
the physician
showing the hand by giving
especial attention to diseases cured; Paul showing the scholarly hand by quoting
from heathen poets
and making arguments about the Resurrection that stand as
firmly as on the day he wrote them; and St. John shows the hand by taking his
imagery from the appearance of the bright waters spread round the island of
Patmos at the hour of sunset
when he speaks of the sea of glass mingled with
fire; scores of hands writing the parables
the miracles
the promises
the
hosannas
the raptures
the consolations
the woes of ages.
2. Behold this combination of my text in all successful Christian
work. We stand or kneel offering prayer. Now
if anything has wings
it is
prayer. Prayer flies not only across continents
but across centuries. If
prayer had only feet
it might run here and there and do wonders. But it has
wings
and they are as radiant of plume
and as swift to rise
or swoop
or
dart
or circle
as the cherubim’s wings which swept through Ezekiel’s visions.
But
oh
the prayer must have the hand under the wing
or it may amount to
nothing. Stop singing
“Fly abroad
thou mighty Gospel
” unless you are willing
to give something of your own means to make it fly. Have you been praying for
the salvation of a young man’s soul? That is right; but also extend the hand of
invitation to come to a religious meeting. From the very structure of the hand
we might make up our mind as to some of the things it was made for: to hold
fast
to lift
to push
to pull
to help
and to rescue. And endowed with two
hands
we might take the broad hint that for others as well as for ourselves we
were to hold fast
to lift
to push
to pull
to help
to rescue.
3. This idea is combined in Christ. When He rose from Mount Olivet He
took wing. All up and down His life you see the uplifting Divinity. But He was
also very human. It was the hand under the wing that touched the woes of the
world
and took hold of the sympathies of the centuries.
4. There is a kind of religion in our day that my text rebukes. There
are men and women spending their time in delectation over their saved state
going about from prayer meeting to prayer meeting
and from church to church
telling how happy they are. But show them a subscription paper
or ask them to
go and visit the sick
or tell them to reclaim a wanderer
or speak out for
some unpopular Christian enterprise
and they have bronchitis
or stitch in the
side
or sudden attack of grippe. Their religion is all wing and no hand. They
can fly heavenward
but they cannot reach out earthward. There was much sense
in that which the robust boatman said when three were in a boat off the coast
in a sudden storm that threatened to sink the boat
and one suggested that they
all kneel down in the boat to pray
and the robust man took hold of the oar and
began to pull
saying: “Let you
the strong
stout fellow
lay hold of the
other oar
and let the weak one who banner pull give himself up to prayer.”
Pray by all means; but at the same time pull with all your might for the
world’s rescue.
5. There is also in my subject the suggestion of rewarded work for
God and righteousness. When the wing went the hand went. When the wing ascended
the hand ascended; and for every useful and Christian hand there will be
elevation celestial and eternal. Expect no human gratitude
for it will not
come. That was a wise thing Fenelon wrote to his friend: “I am very glad
my
dear
good friend
that you are pleased with one of my letters which has been
shown to you. You are right in saying and believing that I ask little of men in
general. I try to do much for them and to expect nothing in return. I find a decided
advantage in these terms. On these terms I defy them to disappoint me.” But the
day cometh when your work
which perhaps no one has noticed
or rewarded
or
honoured
will rise to heavenly recognition. While I have been telling you that
the hand was under the wing of the cherubim
I want you to realise that the
wing was over the hand. Perhaps reward may not come to you at once. But I
promise you victory further on and higher up; if not in this world
then in the
next. Roll on that everlasting rest for all the toiling and misunderstood and
suffering and weary children of God
and know right well that to join your
hand
at last emancipated from the struggle
will be the soft hand
the gentle
hand
the triumphant hand of Him who wipeth away all tears from all faces. That
will be the Palace of the King of which the poet sang in somewhat Scotch
dialect:--
“It’s
a bonnie
bonnie warl’ that we’re livin’ in the noo
And
sunny is the lan’ we often traivel thro’;
But
in vain we look for something to which oor hearts can cling
For
its beauty is as naething to the Palace o’ the King.
We
see oor friends await us ower yonder at His gate:
Then
let us a’ be ready
for ye ken it’s gettin’ late;
Let
oor lamps be brichtly burnin’; let’s raise our voice an’ sing:
Soon
we’ll meet
to part nae mair
i’ the Palace o’ the King.”
(T. De Witt Talmage.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》