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Ezekiel Chapter
Fourteen
Ezekiel 14
Chapter Contents
Threatenings against hypocrites. (1-11) God's purpose to
punish the guilty Jews
but a few should be saved. (12-23)
Commentary on Ezekiel 14:1-11
(Read Ezekiel 14:1-11)
No outward form or reformation can be acceptable to God
so long as any idol possesses the heart; yet how many prefer their own devices
and their own righteousness
to the way of salvation! Men's corruptions are
idols in their hearts
and are of their own setting up; God will let them take
their course. Sin renders the sinner odious in the eyes of the pure and holy
God; and in his own eyes also
whenever conscience is awakened. Let us seek to
be cleansed from the guilt and pollution of sins
in that fountain which the
Lord has opened.
Commentary on Ezekiel 14:12-23
(Read Ezekiel 14:12-23)
National sins bring national judgments. Though sinners
escape one judgment
another is waiting for them. When God's professing people
rebel against him
they may justly expect all his judgments. The faith
obedience
and prayers of Noah prevailed to the saving of his house
but not of
the old world. Job's sacrifice and prayer in behalf of his friends were
accepted
and Daniel had prevailed for the saving his companions and the wise
men of Babylon. But a people that had filled the measure of their sins
was not
to expect to escape for the sake of any righteous men living among them; not
even of the most eminent saints
who could be accepted in their own case only
through the sufferings and righteousness of Christ. Yet even when God makes the
greatest desolations by his judgments
he saves some to be monuments of his
mercy. In firm belief that we shall approve the whole of God's dealings with
ourselves
and with all mankind
let us silence all rebellious murmurs and
objections.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Ezekiel》
Ezekiel 14
Verse 1
[1] Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me
and
sat before me.
Elders — Men of note
that were in office and power among the
Jews
who were come from Jerusalem.
Verse 3
[3] Son of man
these men have set up their idols in their
heart
and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I
be enquired of at all by them?
Set up — Are resolved idolaters.
The stumbling block — Their idols which
were both the object of their sin
and occasion of their ruin.
Verse 4
[4] Therefore speak unto them
and say unto them
Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his
heart
and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face
and
cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the
multitude of his idols;
According — According to his desert
I will
give answer
but in just judgment.
Verse 5
[5] That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart
because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Take — That I may lay open what is in their heart
and
discover their hypocrisy
and impiety.
Through their idols — It is always through some
idol or other
that the hearts of men are estranged from God: some creature has
gained that place in the heart
which belongs to none but God.
Verse 7
[7] For every one of the house of Israel
or of the stranger
that sojourneth in Israel
which separateth himself from me
and setteth up his
idols in his heart
and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his
face
and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will
answer him by myself:
The stranger — Every proselyte.
I the Lord — He shall find by the answer
'twas not the prophet
but God that answered: so dreadful
searching
and
astonishing shall my answer be.
Verse 8
[8] And I will set my face against that man
and will make
him a sign and a proverb
and I will cut him off from the midst of my people;
and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
A sign — Of divine vengeance.
Verse 9
[9] And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a
thing
I the LORD have deceived that prophet
and I will stretch out my hand
upon him
and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
The prophet — The false prophet
who speaks all
serene
and quiet
in hope of reward.
Have deceived — Permitted him to err
or justly
left him in his blindness.
Verse 13
[13] Son of man
when the land sinneth against me by
trespassing grievously
then will I stretch out mine hand upon it
and will
break the staff of the bread thereof
and will send famine upon it
and will
cut off man and beast from it:
When — At what time soever.
Verse 14
[14] Though these three men
Noah
Daniel
and Job
were in
it
they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness
saith the
Lord GOD.
Noah — Who 'tis probable prevailed with God to spare the
world for some years
and saved his near relations when the flood came.
Daniel — Who prevailed for the life of the wise men of Chaldea.
Job — Who daily offered sacrifice for his children
and at
last reconciled God to those that had offended.
Verse 17
[17] Or if I bring a sword upon that land
and say
Sword
go
through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:
That land — What land soever it be.
Verse 19
[19] Or if I send a pestilence into that land
and pour out
my fury upon it in blood
to cut off from it man and beast:
In blood — In death and destruction
not by the sword.
Verse 21
[21] For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send
my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem
the sword
and the famine
and the
noisome beast
and the pestilence
to cut off from it man and beast?
How much more — If they could not be able to keep
off one of the four
how much less would they be able to keep off all four
when I commission them all to go at once.
Verse 22
[22] Yet
behold
therein shall be left a remnant that shall
be brought forth
both sons and daughters: behold
they shall come forth unto
you
and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted
concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem
even concerning all
that I have brought upon it.
Their way — Their sin and their punishment.
Comforted — In this proof of the truth of
God.
Verse 23
[23] And they shall comfort you
when ye see their ways and
their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I
have done in it
saith the Lord GOD.
Comfort you — That is
you will be comforted
when you compare their case with your own: when they tell you how righteous God
was
in bringing these judgments upon them. This will reconcile you to the
justice of God
in thus punishing his own people
and to the goodness of God
who now appeared to have had kind intentions in all.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Ezekiel》
14 Chapter 14
Verses 1-11
These men have set up their idols in their heart.
Heart idols
The Lord is now going to search the heart
to turn out the corners
of the inmost recesses of the mind
the idol and favourite sin. He will proceed
to do a spiritual work; He will lay aside His hammer with which He has broken
the wall
and no more will He tear and rend the garments which cover falsehood:
He will enter the heart
He will name the idols one by one which occupy that
secret sanctuary; He will name them
He will bring them forth to judgment
and
He will conduct that most penetrating of all criticism
the judgment of the
thought and motive and purpose of man. “Then came certain of the elders of
Israel unto me
”--came to be looked through
weighed
measured
and adjudged.
No office can save men from Divine criticism. How comforting is this thought
though terrible in some aspects! It were well that our judges should be judged
else who can tell to what extremes of folly they might go
hounded on by
ambition
or stung to further issues by envy and malice? The higher the office
the greater the responsibility; the larger the privileges
the greater the sin
if they are outraged; the more brilliant the genius
the more infamous the
mischief if that genius be perverted. The able man
the man of faculty and
education
can do more sin in one moment than a poor uneducated soul can do in
a lifetime. Elevation aggravates sin. The place of the disease indicates its
fatal character--“in their heart.” This is heart disease. Men almost whisper
when they indicate that some friend is suffering from disease of the heart;
there is hopelessness in the tone: great allowance should be made
they say
for a man who is suffering from heart disease; be must not be startled
or
excited
or suddenly pounced upon; his wishes must be gratified
they must as
far as possible even be anticipated; and any little impatience he may show must
be looked at charitably. The talk is humane
the considerateness is full of
affection
the conditions imposed are suggested by reason. Is there not a
higher disease of the heart? What is the meaning of this disease of the heart
this idolatry in the inmost soul? When a moral disease is of the heart it means
that the disease is liked
enjoyed; it is wine drunk behind the door
it is a
feast of fat things eaten in secrecy; every mouthful so sweet
so good
so
rich. When a disease is of the heart in a moral and spiritual sense it means
that it is consented to; it is voluntary
it is personal
it is desired; there
would be a sense of loss without it. Disease of this kind
too
is most
difficult of eradication. It is not in the skin
or it might be cut out; it is
not in the limb
or it might be amputated
and the knife might anticipate
mortification: the evil is in the heart; no knife can touch it
no persuasion
can get at it; nothing can be done with it but one thing--only a miracle of the
Holy Ghost can overcome that difficulty and turn that disease into health.
“Marvel not that I said unto thee
Ye must be born again.” Are we chargeable
with heart idolatry? We have no idols of a visible kind
it may be
yet we may
be the veriest pagans in our hearts. We say
How distressing that poor human
nature should fall down before stock and stone and worship it! and we
inflated
pagans
worship a golden calf
a tinsel crown
a sounding name
a crafty
policy. Are we chargeable with heart idolatry? Certainly we are. No man can
escape this accusation. It is subtle
far reaching
all but ineradicable. If we
do not face such difficulties our piety is a stucco that will peel off in the
wet weather
and leave the ghastly moral ugliness exposed to public scorn.
Doubt may be an idol used to diminish responsibility. Others
again
may have
in the heart an idol called Ignorance
kept there for the purpose of
diminishing service: we will not go into the dark places of the city
then we
need not attend to the cries which are said to be arising there from overborne
and hopeless humanity; we will keep on the broad thoroughfare
where the
gaslight is plentiful; we shall see the surface and outer shape of things
and
then retire to rest
saying that
say what fanatics may
there is really a good
deal of solid happiness in the city. Have we not an idol in the heart we call
Orthodoxy
which We keep there in order to enlarge moral licence? Is there not
an intellectual orthodoxy and a spiritual heterodoxy often united in the same
man? “Therefore say unto the house of Israel
Thus Saith the Lord God: Repent.”
When did the Lord ever conclude a discourse without some evangelical tone in
it? The Bible is terrific in denunciation
awful beyond all other books in its
denunciation of sin and its threatening of perdition; yet through it
and
through it again
and ruling it
is a spirit of clemency and pity and mercy and
hope
yea
across hell’s burning mouth there lies the shadow of the Cross. (J.
Parker
D. D.)
Mental idolatry
The father of modern philosophy and science has shown us that
there are in the mind of man
as man
natural idols which act as impediments to
his acquisition of knowledge and his search after truth. Till these idols are
overthrown and broken in pieces and taken away it is simply useless for man to
pursue knowledge. His efforts will be neutralised and their results vitiated.
Now
if this is so in the matter of human science
it is none the less worthy
of our regard in the matter of Divine truth and of the knowledge of God. We
cannot know God
whom to know is eternal life
as long as these natural
obstacles are not taken out of the way. We cannot serve Him acceptably as long
as
instead of being dethroned
they are still set up in our hearts. What
then
is the practical bearing of this truth? First
there must be a single eye
to the knowledge of God. If we have not determined with ourselves that God
and
the knowledge of God
and the fear of God
is more to be desired
and if we
personally do not desire it more than wealth
or ease
or success
or the
applause of men
or position in life
or influence
or comfort
or anything
else
then we may be never so punctual in our religious duties
never so
zealous for the outward honour of God
never so eager for the triumph of
particular principles
or a particular party
or a particular cause
but for
all that there is still enshrined in some inner recess
some secret corner of
our hearts
an idol which disputes with the Most High God the possession and
sovereignty of them. Again
not only must there be a clear and undimmed
perception of God as the one sole object of our services
but there must also
be a readiness to sacrifice anything in order to know and to serve Him. How
many there are in the present day
not
thank God
who cannot afford to be
religious--for that brings with it no slur in our times
but rather the
reverse--but how many there are who dare not follow Truth whithersoever she may
lead
who cannot afford to obey their own convictions
and therefore stifle
them with the excuses of propriety or usage or convenience. This is a hard
thing
and it is so because the claims of truth and the idol in the heart
cannot both be acknowledged. And there is no condition of life where this does
not apply. It is hard for the man of science
whose name has been identified
with certain theories and principles
to sacrifice his name and fair renown to
the growing conviction of counter theories and principles which will make the
past a blank
or show it to have been a mistake. It is hard for the religious
partisan
whose life has been east in a particular mould
and whose sympathies
are linked to one form of opinion and practice
to yield to the force of truth
when it comes with the authority of conviction to the mind and compels the
acknowledgment of previous error and misunderstanding. But more than this
it
is hard not to approach the consideration of religious truth with a distinct
bias; but it is certain that the existence of any such bias must damage our
appreciation of the truth. Unless we can see all round a thing
we can have no
true apprehension of the thing. We may view it partially
but shall have no
conception of it as a whole. The idol in possession of the mind will prevent
the entrance of the true idea. But if this is true
and in proportion as it is
there are certain general principles to which it behoves us all to give heed
when we come to the worship of God. First of all
we must empty ourselves of
ourselves. We must come as though our present knowledge of God were as nothing
and as if God were still to be known and learnt. The whole of what we have must
be sacrificed for the sake of what we are to have and to gain. As long as sin
in one of its innumerable forms
lurks in the heart or on the conscience
the
service of God will be a vain thing
because the pursuit of truth is a lie. It
is that practised dishonesty
it is that cherished lust
it is that pampered
self-love
it is that incurable indolence
it is that willingly defiled
imagination
it is that malice and envy which vitiates all your worship and
renders all your religion a lie. There is One who searches the heart
and who
cleanses it because He searches it. There is One whose blood cleanses us from all
sin
if we are willing to walk in the light
as He is in the light. It is in
direct personal communion with this heart-searcher
with this sin-bearer
but
only so
that we become sinless. But if anything is suffered to interfere with
that direct personal intercourse and communion
no matter what it is
even
though it should be some sacred word or ordinance of His own
that is an idol
which interferes with our worship and service of Him
and therefore an idol
which must be broken down. (S. Leathes
D. D.)
Idolaters inquiring of God
I. What is meant
by the setting up of idols?
1. It is oppressive to men in their natural state to think of the
spiritual
omnipresent
heart-searching God. Accordingly they have brought down
their conception of God to something that can be apprehended by sense. They
have thus tried to satisfy the religious instinct within them
while at the
same time pleasing themselves. It is much easier to have an object of worship
that we can see
or touch
or taste. An idol
too
is not so exacting as the
incorruptible and sin-hating God. Being material
it cannot require heart
worship.
2. We are in no danger of worshipping idols of wood and stone. But
the tendency of human nature is always the same
and where there is not
renewing grace there is something creaturely that is idolised--it may be some
place of power
or wealth
or some sensual pleasure
or child
or creation of
the mind.
II. The inquiring.
These Israelites did not mean by setting up their idols utterly to east off
Jehovah. They meant still to connect Him with their past history as their
national deity. And so we can understand their going to inquire of one of the
Lord’s prophets. There were cross-currents in their life. There was the
idolatrous current which led them to do what was forbidden by God
and yet
there was the old current which led them to inquire of God. We may find an
analogy to this still.
1. There is this inquiring when we ask for light and help in prayer
while at the same time we are determined to follow what pleases ourselves.
2. There is this inquiry when we search the Bible while yet we are
resolved to see in it only certain things.
III. The divine
treatment.
1. Why it must be futile to inquire of God while bent on our own way.
2. How God shows the futility of inquiring of Him while we are bent
on our own way. “I the Lord will answer him.”
Idols in the heart
I. The principle
laid down. As a magnet attracts out of rubbish only the bits of iron for which
it has an affinity
so the idol-idea in a man’s mind will make him fix on
whatever will minister to it
and neglect everything else. The very Word of God
will be but a mirror in which he sees reflected the thought which possesses his
soul.
II. The working of
this principle.
1. The apostles
like the rest of the Jews
had a settled conviction
that the Messiah would be a great temporal Prince.
2. Another instance is found in those who seek a system of Church
government in the New Testament.
3. The controversy as to the ultimate doom of the unbelieving.
Restorationist
annihilist
and believer in endless torment--all appeal to same
Word
and often to same texts.
III. Practical use.
Three common idols--
1. The thought that to repent of sin and turn to Jesus at last hour
will be enough.
2. The thought that good works are not essential to salvation.
3. The thought that the new life of faith must be ushered in with
some great and overwhelming spasm of feeling. (J. Ogle.)
The idols in the heart a barrier to the truth
I. The idols that
are in the heart and the stumbling blocks that are before the face
are the
sins with which God’s people are sometimes chargeable.
II. Men professing
to inquire after God while their idols are in their hearts
and their stumbling
blocks before their faces; or
the gross inconsistency of seeking to mingle the
service of God with the pursuit of sin.
1. Men may pray from the influence of custom.
2. From the promptings of conscience.
3. From the desire to stand
well with their fellow men.
4. From a yam desire to set themselves right with God.
III. God taking
notice of the idols that are in men’s hearts
and the stumbling-blocks that are
before their faces
or the faithful warnings which God addresses to those who
follow sin while they profess to serve Him.
1. He intimates that He is perfectly acquainted with us.
2. He tells us that He cannot answer the requests of those who
indulge in sin.
3. He shows us how unreasonable it is to expect that He will be
inquired of by us. (Evangelical Preacher.)
Heart disease the worst disease
Manton says
“What would we think of a man who complained of the
toothache
or of a cut finger
when all the while he was wounded at the heart?
Would it not seem very strange?” Yet men will lament anything sooner than the
depravity of their hearts. Many will confess their wandering thoughts in
prayer
but will not acknowledge the estrangement of their hearts from God.
They will be sorry for having spoken angrily
but not for having a passionate
heart. They will own to Sabbath breaking
but never lament their want of love
to Jesus
which is a heart matter. The evil of their hearts seems nothing to
them: their tongues
hands
feet
are all that they notice. What! will they cry
over a cut finger
and feel no fear when they have a dagger thrust into their
bowels? Oh
madness of sinners
that they trifle most with that disease which
is the most dangerous
and lies at the bottom of all other ills. God’s great
complaint of men is that they set up in their hearts idols which they
themselves think nothing of. Certain in our day are so far gone that they even
deny that the human heart is diseased. What then? It does but prove the
intimate connection between the heart and the eyes. A perverted heart soon
creates a blinded eye. Of course
a depraved heart does not see its own
depravity. Oh that we could lead men to think and feel aright about their
hearts; but this is the last point to which we can bring them! They beat about
the bush
and mourn over any and every evil except the source and fountain of
it all. Lord
teach me to look within. May I attend even more to myself than to
my acts. Purge Thou the spring
that the stream may no longer be defiled. I
would begin where Thou dost begin
and beseech Thee to give me a new heart.
Thou sayest
“My son
give Me thine heart.” Lord
I do give it to Thee
but at
the same time I pray
“Lord
give me a new heart”; for without this my heart is
not worth Thy having. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Idolatry in the heart
Travellers tell us that there is a tribe in Africa so given to
superstition that they fill their huts and hovels with so many idols that they
do not even leave room for their families. How many men there are who fill
their hearts with the idols of sin
so that there is no room for the Living
God
or for any of His holy principles! (John Bate.)
Verses 1-11
These men have set up their idols in their heart.
Heart idols
The Lord is now going to search the heart
to turn out the corners
of the inmost recesses of the mind
the idol and favourite sin. He will proceed
to do a spiritual work; He will lay aside His hammer with which He has broken
the wall
and no more will He tear and rend the garments which cover falsehood:
He will enter the heart
He will name the idols one by one which occupy that
secret sanctuary; He will name them
He will bring them forth to judgment
and
He will conduct that most penetrating of all criticism
the judgment of the
thought and motive and purpose of man. “Then came certain of the elders of Israel
unto me
”--came to be looked through
weighed
measured
and adjudged. No
office can save men from Divine criticism. How comforting is this thought
though terrible in some aspects! It were well that our judges should be judged
else who can tell to what extremes of folly they might go
hounded on by
ambition
or stung to further issues by envy and malice? The higher the office
the greater the responsibility; the larger the privileges
the greater the sin
if they are outraged; the more brilliant the genius
the more infamous the
mischief if that genius be perverted. The able man
the man of faculty and
education
can do more sin in one moment than a poor uneducated soul can do in
a lifetime. Elevation aggravates sin. The place of the disease indicates its fatal
character--“in their heart.” This is heart disease. Men almost whisper when
they indicate that some friend is suffering from disease of the heart; there is
hopelessness in the tone: great allowance should be made
they say
for a man
who is suffering from heart disease; be must not be startled
or excited
or
suddenly pounced upon; his wishes must be gratified
they must as far as
possible even be anticipated; and any little impatience he may show must be
looked at charitably. The talk is humane
the considerateness is full of
affection
the conditions imposed are suggested by reason. Is there not a
higher disease of the heart? What is the meaning of this disease of the heart
this idolatry in the inmost soul? When a moral disease is of the heart it means
that the disease is liked
enjoyed; it is wine drunk behind the door
it is a
feast of fat things eaten in secrecy; every mouthful so sweet
so good
so
rich. When a disease is of the heart in a moral and spiritual sense it means
that it is consented to; it is voluntary
it is personal
it is desired; there
would be a sense of loss without it. Disease of this kind
too
is most
difficult of eradication. It is not in the skin
or it might be cut out; it is
not in the limb
or it might be amputated
and the knife might anticipate
mortification: the evil is in the heart; no knife can touch it
no persuasion
can get at it; nothing can be done with it but one thing--only a miracle of the
Holy Ghost can overcome that difficulty and turn that disease into health.
“Marvel not that I said unto thee
Ye must be born again.” Are we chargeable
with heart idolatry? We have no idols of a visible kind
it may be
yet we may
be the veriest pagans in our hearts. We say
How distressing that poor human
nature should fall down before stock and stone and worship it! and we
inflated
pagans
worship a golden calf
a tinsel crown
a sounding name
a crafty
policy. Are we chargeable with heart idolatry? Certainly we are. No man can
escape this accusation. It is subtle
far reaching
all but ineradicable. If we
do not face such difficulties our piety is a stucco that will peel off in the
wet weather
and leave the ghastly moral ugliness exposed to public scorn.
Doubt may be an idol used to diminish responsibility. Others
again
may have
in the heart an idol called Ignorance
kept there for the purpose of
diminishing service: we will not go into the dark places of the city
then we
need not attend to the cries which are said to be arising there from overborne
and hopeless humanity; we will keep on the broad thoroughfare
where the
gaslight is plentiful; we shall see the surface and outer shape of things
and
then retire to rest
saying that
say what fanatics may
there is really a good
deal of solid happiness in the city. Have we not an idol in the heart we call
Orthodoxy
which We keep there in order to enlarge moral licence? Is there not
an intellectual orthodoxy and a spiritual heterodoxy often united in the same
man? “Therefore say unto the house of Israel
Thus Saith the Lord God: Repent.”
When did the Lord ever conclude a discourse without some evangelical tone in
it? The Bible is terrific in denunciation
awful beyond all other books in its
denunciation of sin and its threatening of perdition; yet through it
and
through it again
and ruling it
is a spirit of clemency and pity and mercy and
hope
yea
across hell’s burning mouth there lies the shadow of the Cross. (J.
Parker
D. D.)
Mental idolatry
The father of modern philosophy and science has shown us that
there are in the mind of man
as man
natural idols which act as impediments to
his acquisition of knowledge and his search after truth. Till these idols are
overthrown and broken in pieces and taken away it is simply useless for man to
pursue knowledge. His efforts will be neutralised and their results vitiated.
Now
if this is so in the matter of human science
it is none the less worthy
of our regard in the matter of Divine truth and of the knowledge of God. We
cannot know God
whom to know is eternal life
as long as these natural
obstacles are not taken out of the way. We cannot serve Him acceptably as long
as
instead of being dethroned
they are still set up in our hearts. What
then
is the practical bearing of this truth? First
there must be a single eye
to the knowledge of God. If we have not determined with ourselves that God
and
the knowledge of God
and the fear of God
is more to be desired
and if we
personally do not desire it more than wealth
or ease
or success
or the
applause of men
or position in life
or influence
or comfort
or anything
else
then we may be never so punctual in our religious duties
never so
zealous for the outward honour of God
never so eager for the triumph of
particular principles
or a particular party
or a particular cause
but for
all that there is still enshrined in some inner recess
some secret corner of
our hearts
an idol which disputes with the Most High God the possession and
sovereignty of them. Again
not only must there be a clear and undimmed
perception of God as the one sole object of our services
but there must also
be a readiness to sacrifice anything in order to know and to serve Him. How
many there are in the present day
not
thank God
who cannot afford to be
religious--for that brings with it no slur in our times
but rather the
reverse--but how many there are who dare not follow Truth whithersoever she may
lead
who cannot afford to obey their own convictions
and therefore stifle
them with the excuses of propriety or usage or convenience. This is a hard thing
and it is so because the claims of truth and the idol in the heart cannot both
be acknowledged. And there is no condition of life where this does not apply.
It is hard for the man of science
whose name has been identified with certain
theories and principles
to sacrifice his name and fair renown to the growing
conviction of counter theories and principles which will make the past a blank
or show it to have been a mistake. It is hard for the religious partisan
whose
life has been east in a particular mould
and whose sympathies are linked to
one form of opinion and practice
to yield to the force of truth when it comes
with the authority of conviction to the mind and compels the acknowledgment of
previous error and misunderstanding. But more than this
it is hard not to
approach the consideration of religious truth with a distinct bias; but it is
certain that the existence of any such bias must damage our appreciation of the
truth. Unless we can see all round a thing
we can have no true apprehension of
the thing. We may view it partially
but shall have no conception of it as a
whole. The idol in possession of the mind will prevent the entrance of the true
idea. But if this is true
and in proportion as it is
there are certain
general principles to which it behoves us all to give heed when we come to the
worship of God. First of all
we must empty ourselves of ourselves. We must
come as though our present knowledge of God were as nothing
and as if God were
still to be known and learnt. The whole of what we have must be sacrificed for
the sake of what we are to have and to gain. As long as sin
in one of its
innumerable forms
lurks in the heart or on the conscience
the service of God
will be a vain thing
because the pursuit of truth is a lie. It is that
practised dishonesty
it is that cherished lust
it is that pampered self-love
it is that incurable indolence
it is that willingly defiled imagination
it is
that malice and envy which vitiates all your worship and renders all your
religion a lie. There is One who searches the heart
and who cleanses it
because He searches it. There is One whose blood cleanses us from all sin
if
we are willing to walk in the light
as He is in the light. It is in direct
personal communion with this heart-searcher
with this sin-bearer
but only so
that we become sinless. But if anything is suffered to interfere with that
direct personal intercourse and communion
no matter what it is
even though it
should be some sacred word or ordinance of His own
that is an idol which
interferes with our worship and service of Him
and therefore an idol which
must be broken down. (S. Leathes
D. D.)
Idolaters inquiring of God
I. What is meant
by the setting up of idols?
1. It is oppressive to men in their natural state to think of the
spiritual
omnipresent
heart-searching God. Accordingly they have brought down
their conception of God to something that can be apprehended by sense. They
have thus tried to satisfy the religious instinct within them
while at the
same time pleasing themselves. It is much easier to have an object of worship
that we can see
or touch
or taste. An idol
too
is not so exacting as the
incorruptible and sin-hating God. Being material
it cannot require heart
worship.
2. We are in no danger of worshipping idols of wood and stone. But
the tendency of human nature is always the same
and where there is not
renewing grace there is something creaturely that is idolised--it may be some
place of power
or wealth
or some sensual pleasure
or child
or creation of
the mind.
II. The inquiring.
These Israelites did not mean by setting up their idols utterly to east off
Jehovah. They meant still to connect Him with their past history as their
national deity. And so we can understand their going to inquire of one of the
Lord’s prophets. There were cross-currents in their life. There was the
idolatrous current which led them to do what was forbidden by God
and yet
there was the old current which led them to inquire of God. We may find an
analogy to this still.
1. There is this inquiring when we ask for light and help in prayer
while at the same time we are determined to follow what pleases ourselves.
2. There is this inquiry when we search the Bible while yet we are
resolved to see in it only certain things.
III. The divine
treatment.
1. Why it must be futile to inquire of God while bent on our own way.
2. How God shows the futility of inquiring of Him while we are bent
on our own way. “I the Lord will answer him.”
Idols in the heart
I. The principle
laid down. As a magnet attracts out of rubbish only the bits of iron for which
it has an affinity
so the idol-idea in a man’s mind will make him fix on
whatever will minister to it
and neglect everything else. The very Word of God
will be but a mirror in which he sees reflected the thought which possesses his
soul.
II. The working of
this principle.
1. The apostles
like the rest of the Jews
had a settled conviction
that the Messiah would be a great temporal Prince.
2. Another instance is found in those who seek a system of Church
government in the New Testament.
3. The controversy as to the ultimate doom of the unbelieving.
Restorationist
annihilist
and believer in endless torment--all appeal to same
Word
and often to same texts.
III. Practical use.
Three common idols--
1. The thought that to repent of sin and turn to Jesus at last hour
will be enough.
2. The thought that good works are not essential to salvation.
3. The thought that the new life of faith must be ushered in with
some great and overwhelming spasm of feeling. (J. Ogle.)
The idols in the heart a barrier to the truth
I. The idols that
are in the heart and the stumbling blocks that are before the face
are the
sins with which God’s people are sometimes chargeable.
II. Men professing
to inquire after God while their idols are in their hearts
and their stumbling
blocks before their faces; or
the gross inconsistency of seeking to mingle the
service of God with the pursuit of sin.
1. Men may pray from the influence of custom.
2. From the promptings of conscience.
3. From the desire to stand
well with their fellow men.
4. From a yam desire to set themselves right with God.
III. God taking
notice of the idols that are in men’s hearts
and the stumbling-blocks that are
before their faces
or the faithful warnings which God addresses to those who
follow sin while they profess to serve Him.
1. He intimates that He is perfectly acquainted with us.
2. He tells us that He cannot answer the requests of those who
indulge in sin.
3. He shows us how unreasonable it is to expect that He will be
inquired of by us. (Evangelical Preacher.)
Heart disease the worst disease
Manton says
“What would we think of a man who complained of the
toothache
or of a cut finger
when all the while he was wounded at the heart?
Would it not seem very strange?” Yet men will lament anything sooner than the
depravity of their hearts. Many will confess their wandering thoughts in
prayer
but will not acknowledge the estrangement of their hearts from God.
They will be sorry for having spoken angrily
but not for having a passionate
heart. They will own to Sabbath breaking
but never lament their want of love
to Jesus
which is a heart matter. The evil of their hearts seems nothing to
them: their tongues
hands
feet
are all that they notice. What! will they cry
over a cut finger
and feel no fear when they have a dagger thrust into their
bowels? Oh
madness of sinners
that they trifle most with that disease which
is the most dangerous
and lies at the bottom of all other ills. God’s great
complaint of men is that they set up in their hearts idols which they
themselves think nothing of. Certain in our day are so far gone that they even
deny that the human heart is diseased. What then? It does but prove the
intimate connection between the heart and the eyes. A perverted heart soon
creates a blinded eye. Of course
a depraved heart does not see its own
depravity. Oh that we could lead men to think and feel aright about their
hearts; but this is the last point to which we can bring them! They beat about
the bush
and mourn over any and every evil except the source and fountain of
it all. Lord
teach me to look within. May I attend even more to myself than to
my acts. Purge Thou the spring
that the stream may no longer be defiled. I
would begin where Thou dost begin
and beseech Thee to give me a new heart.
Thou sayest
“My son
give Me thine heart.” Lord
I do give it to Thee
but at
the same time I pray
“Lord
give me a new heart”; for without this my heart is
not worth Thy having. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Idolatry in the heart
Travellers tell us that there is a tribe in Africa so given to
superstition that they fill their huts and hovels with so many idols that they
do not even leave room for their families. How many men there are who fill
their hearts with the idols of sin
so that there is no room for the Living
God
or for any of His holy principles! (John Bate.)
Verse 4
I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude
of his idols.
Answered according to their idols
With them
as froward
the All-seeing will
in the psalmist’s
terribly bold phrase
“show Himself froward”; they will incur that penalty
which Scripture describes as a blinding of their eyes and a hardening of their
heart
and which essentially consists in their being left to themselves without
the light which they do not sincerely seek for--left
in fact
to take their
own way
and see what will come of it. This line of Biblical language has caused
difficulties which cannot be passed over; the more so
because one passage in
which it is found (Isaiah 6:10) is of all passages in the
Old Testament the one most frequently cited in the New Testament; and St. John
with a startling distinctness
attributes the “blinding” and “hardening” to the
Lord. The explanation must be found in that law of ethical life whereby
persistency in self-will--the process
as Shakespeare
in an awfully vivid
passage
calls it
of “growing hard in viciousness”--does inevitably produce
moral insensibility. All serious moralists
whatever be their theological
standpoint
will admit this to be a fact; and all who believe in a God will see
in it a revelation of His character
so that when it works He is
in fact
allowing it to take its course. And it is the method of Scripture writers to
impress the fact on men’s minds with a concrete vividness
by representing such
action on God’s part as a literal penal infliction. There
anyhow
stands the
fact
and we have to reckon with it. Let us’ also fear
and be on our guard
lest
for lack of the single-eyed purpose which our Lord insists upon in His
great sermon
we too should be left in the great darkness which waits like a
shadow on hardness of heart. (Canon Bright.)
The blight of the idol
A man’s vision determines what kind of revelation he will accept.
It will guide him in the choice of his prophet: “Son of man
these men have set
up their idols in their heart
and put the stumbling block of their iniquity
before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?” (Ezekiel 14:3). When an inquirer comes
with his idol in his heart
he is not an inquirer
but a claimant; he has
brought with him the only answer which he is prepared to entertain: he falls
over the stumbling block of his iniquity
and misses the light of the bright
and morning star. How that “according to” reverberates through the prophet’s
messages! Here it declares that every idol carries with it a lie that will be
believed for truth. There is an atmosphere in which the true prophet cannot
draw his breath and speak distinctly; the false prophet can and that is the
disaster. “Mischief shall come upon mischief
and rumour shall be upon rumour;
then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the
priest
and counsel from the ancients” (Ezekiel 7:26). when idols flourish
ideals perish. (H. E. Lewis.)
Verse 5-6
They are all estranged from Me through their idols.
Alienation from God
We read here
in God’s own words
His rule of dealing with persons
who come to Him in a certain disposition of mind.
1. The word “estranged” implies a former condition of close
relationship and affection
from which they have since fallen. You would not
apply the term to foreigners. You would not say of a Frenchman that he was
estranged from this country
simply because he never belonged to it; but if an
Englishman resided so long in Paris as to lose his patriotism and interest in
our affairs
you would say that he was estranged. So
again
you would not say
of a mere acquaintance
if you ceased to see him
that he was estranged from
you; but if the love of an old friend grow cold
if a child become indifferent
to his home
or a husband fail in his devotion to his wife
you describe such a
falling off as estrangement. In this temper certain elders of Israel presented
themselves before the prophet of God. They came to inquire His will and seek
His aid. What self-delusion
then
is this! what blindness of heart! Men coming
to God to inquire of Him
and not knowing that there is that within them which
will forbid God’s hearing them! Who has persuaded them to come this way at all?
No voice but that of their own heart! And yet do you say that it is their heart
which bars the way of God against them? “Estranged from Me through their
idols!” Oh
to us
who may be as these elders of Israel
how hard does this
rule of God press upon us! Like them
only far more favoured in all spiritual
blessings
with everything to turn our feet towards God
the very currents of
society swaying us in this direction
the breeze of fashion gently impelling us
hither
the hand of custom with its constant but almost unfelt pressure laid
upon the helm of our daily life to guide us within the haven of the Church. We
learn to say our prayers
and prayer becomes a trick of words. Bibles are
cheap
and in every man’s hand. And yet
even now
there may be amongst us some
who do not remember
that with idols in our heart we are estranged from God
and that He will not be inquired of by us at all!
2. But this is not the worst. The question God puts expects the
answer “No”; and yet it is not the answer which He gives it. His answer admits
us to a nearer view of His mysterious dealings with man. We see Him work by a rule
that we know nothing of
a rule of mystery
marvellous and inscrutable
but one
which example and experience teach us He applies with unerring force. When men
thus estranged and alienated from Him in heart present themselves in person
before Him
He does not refuse them an audience. They pray--He hears--their
prayer is answered: but how fatal is the gift which He grants! “I the Lord will
answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols.” What
illustrations of the Divine conduct does Scripture offer both in the Old
Testament and the New! The Jews clamoured for a king
and God gave them one
but in this wise
--“I gave thee a king in Mine anger
and took him away in My
wrath.” They cried in the wilderness for flesh
--“So they did eat
and were
well filled
for He gave them their own desire; they were not disappointed of
their lust. But while the meat was yet in their mouths
” etc.
“and smote down
the chosen men that were in Israel.” Balaam received the king’s messengers a
second time
and though God had once answered him
he professed to inquire of
Him again. He came with idols in his heart
his affection estranged from God:
and what was the result? Did God forbid his praying? Oh that He had done so!
Did He refuse his prayer? Alas! He granted it
saying
“Rise up and go with
them.” And Balaam
too happy to get the permission
went. But God’s anger was
kindled because he went: and the end was that he fell from sin to sin
selling
himself to do the tempter’s work; and he died among God’s enemies
his own
pious prayers and blessings ringing the curse of the hypocrite in his ears.
There is yet another example nearer the person of the blessed Lord Himself; and
therefore the warning is more terrible. Jesus chose but twelve to help Him in
His work; and even on one of these He looked--a man with idols in his
heart--and said of him
“Have not I chosen you twelve
and one of you is a
devil?” This man came near to Christ
as the eleven: he passed as one of them.
He was with them almost up to the very last; he just wanted a little time to go
away and finally arrange the plot
and that time he had. God gave him the
opportunity
--say not gave
but permitted him. Jesus looked at him and said
“What thou doest
do quickly.” Was ever prayer heard like that? was ever man on
earth answered after the multitude of his idols like that?
3. God’s purpose in answering the evil desires of hearts alienated
from His love. Their heart is to become their snare
the net in which they
shall be caught
the pitfall in which they shall be entrapped. Your talents and
tastes and affections and ruling desires
--the gifts with which nature’s hand
has made you rich
the inheritance with which you started in life
--your
physical strength
your youth
your beauty
your wit
your attractiveness
your
amiable temper
your power of sympathy
your grace of manner
your aptitude for
business
your strong will
your influence over others--with these you made
your casts early in life: they have brought you in glittering spoils and stores
of comfort
and have enriched your home with pleasures and with wealth. But
these very instruments of gain
what else have you done with them? Have they
entangled you too much in the world? impeded you on your way to God? implicated
you dangerously with others? Have you ensnared others
and made inextricable
confusion in their projects of a peaceful
holy
happy life? And now
as you
grow older
are you so involved in this world’s business that you cannot escape
its toils? When Christ
the rightful Master of your heart
calls to you from
the quiet shore
and bids you leave your nets
and become
if not expressly
“fishers of men
” yet at least servants in His work
is your heart free to
follow Him? is your heart His at all? nay
is your heart your own to give? Have
you not given it away already to idols
to false gods
to the world? or it may
be
you have lost your heart in sin! (Archdeacon Furse.)
Things that estrange the heart from God
It was a true and beautiful remark made by the mother of Wm.
Allan
the Quaker chemist
when she was seeking to win her son to give more
attention to religion
and to devote less time to the prosecution of his
studies in his favourite and fascinating science: “Remember
my boy
that
Christ cast even the doves out of the temple.” The lesson thus gently taught
was effectually taken to heart. Young Allan learned
with lasting profit
that
the most innocent and lawful of earthly objects of interest may not occupy that
central place in our affections which our Saviour claims for Himself; but in
the souls of the redeemed all other desires will
without painful effort
arrange themselves at due distances from this centre.
Repent
and turn
yourselves from your idols.--
Repentance
1. Repentance is a turning from sin to God. It is not any turning
but
a turning of the judgment
so that men judge otherwise of God
of His laws and
ways
of sin
of themselves
than before; a turning of the will and affections
so that they are carried wholly and fully unto God (Joel 2:12).
2. Repentance is a continued act. It is a grace
and must have its
daily operation
as well as other graces. Where a spring breaks forth it is
always flowing.
3. Sinners should stir up themselves
and do the utmost which lies in
their power to further their turning unto God. “Turn yourselves from your
idols”; use all arguments you can to cause your hearts to turn from idols
and
from other sinful ways. Consider--
4. True repentance and turning to the Lord doth manifest itself in
the effects and fruits of it: it hath meet fruit (Matthew 3:8)
worthy fruit (Luke 3:8). Now
here are three effects
thereof in these words:
Sin not tolerated
When his people at Wittenberg showed him their licences to sin
Luther’s answer was
“Unless you repent you will all perish.”. . . “Please God
I’ll make a hole in his drum
” he said
when he first heard of Tetzel selling
these indulgences. (Anecdotes of Luther.)
Verse 7
Which separateth himself from Me.
Point of contact disturbed by sin
Dr. Cortland Meyers says that one of the electric bells in his
home recently refused to ring. He failed to discover the cause. An electrician
was sent for. After some time spent over it he found that right up under the
bell
so insignificant as to be almost imperceptible
was a place where the
point of contact was lost. It is often so with the Church. “Battery all right
machinery and wires all right
but the point of contact is
defective”--disobedience
pride
covetousness have estranged the heart from
God. (R. Venting.)
Sin’s power to separate man from God
A man never gets to the end of the distance that separates between
him and the Father
if his face is turned away from God. Every moment the
separation is increasing. Two lines start from each other at the acutest angle
are farther apart from each other the farther they are produced
until at last
the one may be away up by the side of God’s throne
and the other away down in
the deepest depths of hell. (A. Maclaren.)
Verse 11
That the house of Israel may go no more astray from Me.
Chastisement of God’s people
Manton says
“There is more squaring and hewing and hacking used
about a stone that is to be set in a stately palace than that which is placed
in an ordinary building; and the vine is pruned when the bramble is not looked
after
but let alone to grow to its full length.” This should reconcile
believers to their chastisements. Brambles certainly have a fine time of it
and grow after their own pleasure. We have seen their long shoots reaching far
and wide
and no knife has threatened them as they luxuriated upon the commons
and waste lands. The poor vine is eat down so closely that little remains of it
but bare stems. Yet
when clearing time comes
and the brambles are heaped for
their burning
who would not rather be the vine? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verses 12-14
Though these three men
Noah
Daniel
and Job
were in it
they
should deliver but their own souls.
The limit of influence
The solemnity of this assurance is increased by the fact that it
forms quite an exception to the general tenor of the Divine government. Again
and again God has saved the earth because of the righteous men who were in it:
He would have spared the cities of the plain if Abraham could have found ten
praying souls in the whole of their corrupt population; He blessed the house of
Potiphar for Joseph’s sake; He allowed the intercession of Moses to shield
Israel from judgment well deserved; for Paul’s sake He
saved the ship in the
storm. In the text we come upon a sharp variation of the general method: no
longer is Noah or Daniel or Job to count for more than one; the day of prevailing
intercession is to close; character is to be individualised
and the diffusion
of collateral benefit is to pass away forever. Terrible as it may seem on first
reading
yet there is quite a deep well of comfort in all this wilderness of
desolation. It will be observed that though the darkness brought down upon the
earth by sin is very great
yet through all the gloom the figures of Noah
Daniel
and Job are seen in all their vividness and pathetic suggestiveness
showing that the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous
and that their memory
is precious to Him. It is clear
however
that the text is meant to be a
warning rather than a comfort
and it is in this spirit that we must approach
its interpretation. It is a warning to individual men. They cannot tell how
soon they will be called upon to cease their intercessory ministry. Specially
however
is this a warning to households. How terrible is this tragedy
that a
man should no longer be the priest of his own family! The son shall be
separated from the father
and the daughter from the mother
and shall realise
in an awful individualism of position how true it is that every soul must give
an account of itself to God. The Lord will not spare the children when they
have gone astray
having broken every holy vow and shattered every commandment
issued from heaven. “I will also send wild beasts among you
” etc. This is a
threatening which may operate in either of two ways; either because the
children have forfeited Divine confidence
or because the parents have
abandoned the right way
and can only be brought home again by processes of
affliction and desolation. This is a warning also to nations. The nation is
saved because of the living Church that is within it. Prophets must not cease
to pray for the land in which they live. Amid political tumult and uproar the
voice of their prayer may seem to be but a feeble sound
yet they are called
upon by the very genius of their faith to keep the way clear between heaven and
earth for large and profitable intercourse. Into the mystery of intercession we
cannot enter
but we find that it is at the very heart of things
a rule and a
law
a judgment and a blessing
an opportunity large in its possibilities
but
always hastening to a solemn conclusion. The great principle of mediation is
of course
most vividly and gloriously represented by the ministry of our Lord
Jesus Christ; but even in His case the priesthood is to cease
the long and
loving prayer for others is to come to a perpetual close: “Then cometh the end
”
etc. We live in a great intercessory period; the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered; we need not fear
because our prayer halts and stumbles as to the mere eloquence of its
expression; the eloquence of prayer is in its sincerity; to the man who is of a
broken and a contrite heart will God look
and on him will He set signs of
approval. A wondrous gift is it to have the gift of intercession
the power of
putting into heavenly words the wants of other men
and the power of pleading
with God on behalf of those who never plead for themselves. Some suppliants can
but pray for themselves; others can only pray concerning great events and great
subjects; others
more Christ-like
seem to carry the world in their hearts
and
to plead for continents and empires in great intercessions. Let us get a clear
view of the system of spiritual government under which we live. We are to
conclude all our prayers
and indeed begin them and continue them
with the
sentiment
“For Christ’s sake.” We cannot understand the mystery of this
ground
and yet we feel how solid it is
and how impossible it would be for us
to pray without it. It is in Christ that we find God. It is through Christ that
we find access to the throne of the heavenly grace. We do not plead Christ as
if we were pleading with an arbitrary deity
who would not do anything for us
ourselves
but would only do it through the mediation of His Son
or because of
His partiality for one whom He calls His Only-Begotten. Though our prayers are
to be heard for Christ’s sake
yet Christ Himself was given for our sake!
Herein is love
that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us! God sent His
Son to seek and to save that which was lost. (J. Parker
D. D.)
A delusion dispelled
I. The righteousness
of the most godly cannot avail for the ungodly.
1. We prove this
first
by referring you to our text
and asking you
to read it for yourselves. Mark ye how the anger of the Lord kindles
and how
the words are launched forth like hot thunderbolts from the lips of the Most
High.
2. Next
I ask you to inspect more narrowly the portraits of these
men of God
who are presumed to have stood counsel for the defendants
and to
have occasioned so much astonishment
because with all their special pleadings
they signally lost their case. The Lord declares that if the whole three were
put together they should not save son or daughter.
3. This truth may be further substantiated by observing the course of
Providence as regards the things of this life. Could the merits of friends and
parents secure the salvation of their relatives or children
we must expect to
see “the son or the daughter” of a righteous man screened from the full
punishment of his own misdeeds; but we have evidence that such is not the case.
4. Painful though it be
I must carry the assertion a stage further.
The righteousness of good men has not availed to save their relatives from the
terrors of the world to come. Cain
where are you tonight? Are you sitting
here; and do you dream that your brother Abel now with God can by any means
bless you? That must not be. Dispel the delusion.
II. The prayers of
the greatest intercessors cannot avail if men persist in their unbelief.
1. Remember that all the prayers of godly men cannot alter the nature
of sin
and if they cannot alter the nature of sin
then they that continue in
it must perish.
2. Moreover
the prayers of good men cannot alter the conditions of
the eternal future
so long as the present abides the same. There is no law
more immutable than that “to be good is to be happy
” and to be bad is sooner
or later to be wretched. It must be so. Trust not
therefore
to the prayers of
others
but come to Christ for yourselves
that you may be cleansed from sin
and made meet for heaven.
3. Perhaps you say
“Sir
I did not think prayer would suffice to
effect a change in my circumstances without a corresponding change in myself;
but I thought that somehow by prayer I should be compelled to believe and to
repent.” Compelled to believe and to repent? Well
man
what sort of repentance
and faith must that be which comes of compulsion? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Good men: their power and their weakness
I. God recognises
the existence of good men. Many ages had passed away since two of the men
mentioned here
Noah and Job
had left the world. Yet they were not forgotten
by God. Their histories were fresh to Him. Good men are ever before the mind of
God. They are “had in everlasting remembrance.”
2. God appreciates the services of good men. The language implies
that Noah
Daniel
and Job could do much for the world. God hath been pleased
to endow men with power for great achievements
and when this power is rightly
used He grants the smile of His approval.
III. God limits the
influence of good men. These men could do much
had done much; but there was
much they could not do. When righteous retribution overtakes us
the services
of the best men that ever lived will be of no avail.
IV. God secures the
salvation of good men. Their righteousness ensures their salvation. A righteous
man--a man right in his relation towards God
standing fully acquitted before
his Maker
and right in the principles and purposes of his own soul
is safe
everywhere--safe amidst the most terrible judgments of heaven. (D. Thomas
D. D.)
Noah
Daniel
and Job
If we look at the history of the three holy men mentioned in the
text we shall find that they did save their souls or their lives by their
righteousness. And it is manifestly in accordance with our own deepest sense of
right and justice that this should be so; the notion that good deeds will bring
a reward
and that evil deeds will bring punishment
is too deep to be rooted
out. You perceive how thoroughly it was assumed as a principle by Abraham (Genesis 18:25)
as it must be by anyone
who has a sense of the goodness of God
and who believes that the feelings of
right and justice which he finds in his own soul are but the reflexion of God’s
image there
--assumed as a principle
I say
that God would make a difference
between the evil and the good
and would allow a righteous man to live by his
righteousness. Precisely the same kind of doctrine may be found in the New
Testament. For let us turn to that solemn description which our blessed Lord
has Himself left to us of the final judgment; I mean the description which is
contained in St. Matthew 25:1-46. Who shall say
with this
description of the judgment before him
that the last judgment will not be a
judgment according to works
that righteousness will not save souls alive? The
description is only a sketch
it is not intended to be complete; but this
feature is there
you cannot get rid of it
it is that which gives to the whole
judgment its tone and its complexion. And why should we desire to get rid of
it
when the principle upon which it is based is so thoroughly in accordance
with all our sense of right
and in accordance too with those other words of
Christ in which He declares that those who have done good shall rise to the
resurrection of life
and those who have done evil to the resurrection of
condemnation? And why also
with such words of our Lord before us
should we
hesitate to give to the words of St. James their full and undiminished force
when He says
“Ye see
then
how by works a man is justified and not by faith
only”? (Bishop Harvey Goodwin.)
Verse 19-20
Or if I send a pestilence.
Public calamity a call to private humiliation
Depend upon it
we have need
and as the years roll away we shall
have more and more need
to remind ourselves of the unseen Hand which sends us
our blessings or withdraws them from us. New appliances of mechanical skill
have a tendency to keep God out of our sight. The simple machinery which
depended on the wind or the stream for motion did not suffer men so easily to
forget their immediate dependence on God. His agency is half obscured when they
become independent of the breath of heaven
and of the moisture which cometh
down from above. And so there is a constant danger of our lapsing into
practical atheism
if we allow ourselves
in the mere contemplation of a natural
law apart from its Divine Author; or attend to its results
without adverting
to the revealed cause of its operation. It is no disparagement to natural
science to declare that
pursued in any but a godly spirit
it sometimes has a
tendency to obscure the vision of God: to interpose hard names and technical
phrases between Him and ourselves; and practically to keep Him out of our
sight. Nay
the very progress of civilisation
the increase of wealth and
refinement and luxury--all have the same tendency. The table daily spread
without our care helps to keep God out of sight. And the special value of
Scripture is seen in the unconditional and most unceremonious way in which it
brushes aside this web of words; puts God
the Giver
prominently forward; and
vindicates His absolute Sovereignty in creation. When Christ says
“He maketh
His sun to rise
”--His language is altogether unscientific
to be sure; but He
declares a truth which to the devout soul is of paramount importance; namely
that the heavenly bodies are all His creatures; and that
in reality
the
phenomena which attend them are but the visible expression of His will. While
thoughtful men are investigating the natural history of a calamity which
unless it be stayed
will inevitably press with terrible severity on the
poor;--which
if it spreads
may bring contagion to all our doors
--occasion
death within our homes and darken every domestic hearth;--“a more excellent
way” is revealed to us in Holy Scripture; a method which is within the reach of
us all. I allude
of course
to individual acts of repentance
--personal
efforts after holiness
--the heartfelt use of private prayer. The special
mention of three of God’s chiefest saints “Noah
Daniel
and Job
” reminds us
that we must as individuals seek to turn away God’s anger from this Church and
nation. What
above all
shall be said of our unconcern for the spiritual wants
of the benighted heathen
--of our own countrymen in foreign parts
of our
fellow citizens here at home? (Dean Burgon.)
Verse 23
Ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have
done in it
saith the Lord God.
Waiting for God’s vindication
I. The truths
doubted. In all ages
as in our own
men have doubted the goodness and justice
of God
and have murmured at His acts. They reject consolation
and charge
Jehovah with cruelty. Speak of the sufferings of Jesus for us
and the agnostic
declares that is simply another example of injustice.
II. Causes of
scepticism. Ask for a reason of doubt
and the rationalist asserts that pain
contradicts either the goodness or the power of the Divine Being. But reasons
given are not always causes. Grief is selfish
and tears blind us. Most people
in trouble are like a ship directed by a careless captain
and left with full
canvas when the tempest bursts upon it. We sink because we are not prepared for
gales. Men indulge false hopes
refuse all warnings
expect all things but
death
and when the end comes they cry out that they have been wronged. Custom
makes them regard a loan as a possession
and they call restoration robbery.
III. The futility of
doubt. Of what use is doubt of the fundamental truths of Christianity? How does
it work? A sinner suffering penalty is hardened by doubt of God’s justice
and
discouraged from repentance by question of His mercy. A saint in agony and near
to death is plunged in deeper darkness by doubt of all that remains to her.
Doubt confirms a transgressor
and robs the holy of consolation. To whom
then
is it good?
IV. Comfort in
God’s truth. If we could look at sin in its hideous deformity
its deep guilt
its inhuman effects
with sound vision
we mould be slow to complain. If God
did not punish moral evil we could not respect Him
and if He permitted wrong
to go uncorrected the holy could not hope. Haste and impatience hide truth from
us. If we could see the results of suffering in character we might be consoled.
History is an account of the martyrdom of man. But martyrs have not complained.
They have preferred truth
beauty
goodness to the alternatives
and have not
regretted the price. Can we confide in God and wait? And while you wait
be not
idle. There are works meet for repentance. God’s winds are hard to face as “head
winds
” but wondrously helpful to those who will sail with them. The Divine
purpose works toward correction of evil and edification of good. Build with
God
and you will have naught to tear down. (C. R. Henderson
D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》