Holy Bible

Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations. Ezekiel 16:1-2 Vile ingratitude I. Let us consider our iniquities — I mean those committed since conversion, those committed yesterday, and the day before, and today — and let us see their sinfulness in the light of WHAT WE WERE WHEN THE LORD FIRST LOOKED UPON US. 1. Hath the Lord loved us, though there was nothing in our birth or parentage to invite regard or merit esteem? Then surely every sin that we commit now is aggravated by that sovereign choice, that infinite compassion that doted upon us, though our birth was vile and our origin base. 2. There was everything in our condition that would tend to destruction, but nothing in us that would tend upwards towards God. There we were, dying, nay dead, rotten, corrupted, so abominable that it might well be said, "Bury this dead one out of my sight," when Jehovah passed by and He said unto us, "Live." The recollection of our youthful iniquity crushes us to the very earth. Yet though sovereign mercy has put all these sins away; though Jove has covered all these iniquities, and though everlasting kindness has washed away all this filth, we have gone on to sin. If some of us who are rejoicing in covenant love and mercy could have a clear view of all the sins we have committed since conversion, of all the sins we shall commit till we land in heaven, I question whether our senses might not reel under the terrible discovery of what base things we are. 3. One thing else appears designed to represent our sins as blacker still. "Thou wast cast out in the open field to the loathing of thy person in the day that thou wast born." Great God! how couldst Thou love that which we ourselves hated? Oh! 'tis grace, 'tis grace, 'tis grace indeed! And yet — O ye heavens, be astonished — yet we have sinned against Him since then, we have forgotten Him, we have doubted Him, we have grown cold towards Him; we have loved self at times better than we have loved our Redeemer, and have sacrificed to our own idols and made gods of our own flesh and self-conceit, instead of giving Him all the glory and the honour forever and forever. II. THE TIME WHEN HE BEGAN TO MANIFEST HIS LOVE TO US PERSONALLY AND INDIVIDUALLY. 1. He washed us with the water of regeneration, yea, and truly washed away the stain of our natural sanguinity. Oh, that day, that day of days, as the days of heaven upon earth, when our eyes looked to Christ and were lightened, when the burden rolled from off our back! That day we never can forget, for it always rises to our recollection the moment we begin to speak about pardon — the day of our own pardon, of our own forgiveness. The galley slave may forget the time when he escaped from the accursed slave holder's grasp, and became a freeman. The culprit who lay shivering beneath the headsman's axe may forget the hour when suddenly his pardon was granted and his life was spared. But if all these should consign to oblivion their surprising joys, the pardoned soul can never, never, never forget. Unless reason should lose her seat, the quickened soul can never cease to remember the time when Jesus said to it, "Live." Oh! and has Jesus pardoned all our sins and have we sinned still? Has He washed me, and have I defiled myself again? 2. When He had washed us, according to the ninth verse, He anointed us with oil. Yes, and that has been repeated many and many a time. "Thou hast anointed my head with oil." He gave us the oil of His grace; our faces were like priests, and we went up to His tabernacle rejoicing. Shall the body that is the temple of the Holy Ghost be desecrated? Yet that has been the case with us We have had God within us, and yet we have sinned. O Lord, have mercy upon Thy people !Now we see our abomination in this clear light, we beseech Thee pardon it, for Jesus sake! 3. He not only washed us, He not only anointed us with oil, but He clothed us, and clothed us sumptuously. "Jesus spent His life to work my robe of righteousness." His sufferings were so many stitches when He made the broidered work of my righteousness. What would you think of a king with a crown on his head going to break the laws of his kingdom? What would you think if a monarch should invest us with all the insignia of nobility, and we should afterwards violate the high orders conferred upon us while adorned with the robes of state? This is just what you and I have done. 4. We have not only received clothing, but ornaments. We cannot be more glorious; Christ has given the Church so much, she could not have more. He could not bestow upon her that which is more beautiful, more precious, or more costly. She has all she can receive. Nevertheless, in the face of all these, we have sinned against Him. III. WHAT OUR SINS REALLY HAVE BEEN. The germs, the vileness, the essence of our own sin, has lain in this — that we have given to sin and to idols things that belong unto God. When you pray at a prayer meeting, the devil insinuates the thought, and you entertain it, "What a fine fellow I am!" You may detect yourself when you are talking to a friend of some good things God has done, or when you go home and tell your wife lovingly the tale of your labour, there is a little demon of pride at the bottom of your heart. You like to take credit to yourself for the good things you have done. Sometimes a man has another god besides pride. That god may be his sloth. Have you never detected yourself, when inclined to be dilatory in spiritual things, leaning on the oar of the covenant, instead of pulling at it, and saying, "Well, these things are true, but there is no great need for me to stir myself." Sometimes it is even worse. God gives to His people riches, and they offer them before the shrine of their covetousness. He gives them talent, and they prostitute it to the service of their ambition. He gives them judgment, and they pander to their own advancement, and seek not the interest of His kingdom. He gives them influence; that influence they use for their own aggrandisement, and not for His honour. What is this but parallel to taking His gold and His jewels, and hanging them upon the neck of Ashtaroth? ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) A charge to city ministers Homilist. I. Ezekiel had a COMMISSION TO A CORRUPT CITY; So have you. Superstition, sensuality, formality, worldliness, were rampant in Jerusalem. But were her sins greater than those of Manchester, Glasgow, London? II. Ezekiel's commission was TO REVEAL THE CORRUPT CITY TO ITSELF; this is yours. 1. Because the moral corruptions of a city expose the population to terrible calamities.(1) Calamities in this life — diseases, pauperism, lunacy, etc.(2) Calamities in the life to come. A terrible retribution awaits the wicked. 2. Because the city itself is ignorant of its moral corruptions. "They know not what they do." Poor, miserable, blind, naked, etc. Go and tell them. Take the torch of the Gospel into their midst, and let it flame down upon their consciences. 3. Because a revelation of it to itself may lead it now to moral reformation. 4. Because unless you make this revelation to it no one else can be expected to do it. Who else will or can do it? Not scientists, legislators, merchants, soldiers. The work is given to you. ( Homilist. ) Fearless preaching It is related of John Wesley that, preaching to an audience of courtiers and noblemen, he used the "generation of vipers" text, and flung denunciation right and left. "That sermon should have been preached at Newgate," said a displeased courtier to Wesley on passing out. "No," said the fearless apostle; "my text there would have been, 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!'" Uncomfortable sermons "I remember one of my parishioners at Halesworth telling me," says Whately, "that he thought a person should not go to church to be made uncomfortable: I replied that I thought so too; but whether it should be the sermon or the man's life that should be altered so as to avoid the discomfort must depend on whether the doctrine was right or wrong." Conviction of sin -- the preacher's aim It is plain dealing that men need. A toyish, flashy sermon is not the proper medicine for a lethargic, miserable soul, nor fit to break a stony heart. Heaven and hell should not be talked of in a canting, jingling, and pedantic strain. A Seneca can tell you that it is a physician that is skilful, and not one that is eloquent, that we need. If he have also fine and neat expressions, we do not despise them, nor over much value them. It is a cure that we need, and the means are best, be they never so sharp, that will accomplish it. If a hardened heart is to be broken, it is not stroking, but striking that must do it. It is not the sounding brass, the tinkling cymbal, the carnal mind puffed up with superficial knowledge that is the instrument fitted to the renewing of men's souls. It is the illuminating beams of sacred truth communicated from a mind that by faith hath seen the glory of God, and by experience found that He is good, and living in the love of God; such an one is fitted to assist you first in the knowledge of yourselves, and then in the knowledge of God in Christ. ( R. Baxter . ) Thy father was an Amorite and thy mother an Hittite. Ezekiel 16:3 Hieroglyphics of truth J. K. Campbell, D. D. I. MAN IS ESSENTIALLY RELIGIOUS. Religion in the heart of man is something that pertains to the land of Canaan. It has not been invented by man, or created in his soul by human science or culture: it is not a product of education or civilisation. It is part of man's nature more truly than the raindrop is part of the cloud from which it falls, or than the river is part of the sea from which it flows and to which it returns. It is in the soul as fire is in the flint; as the oak is in the acorn, or as the day is in the dawn. Religion belongs to the soul, as hunger and thirst belong to the body. Hunger and thirst may not create bread, any more than the organ of vision can create light, or the organ of hearing sound; but bread and water, light and sound, would be useless without these organs. Were it not that man is essentially religious, all our preaching of the Gospel, and all our missionary labours at home and abroad, would be vain. Go with me in thought, and view the ruins of the temple of Heliopolis on the borders of Arabia, or the gigantic ruins of Luxor and Thebes on the banks of the Nile, or those of Baalbeck in the valley between the Lebanons. Whence the origin and purpose of these ancient temples? These temples, it may be said, were largely the outcome or expressions of man's religious beliefs — superstitious beliefs, if you will. But whence the origin of these superstitious beliefs? What was their root cause? Their root cause was man's religious nature. The word superstition means a resting upon, yes, resting upon man's natural religious convictions. II. MAY BY NATURE IS MORALLY CORRUPT. "Thy father was an Amorite and thy mother an Hittite." The Amorites and Hittites, though born in the land of Canaan, were aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants with promise; they were without God and without hope in the world. This doctrine of human depravity or moral corruption applies to all races and to men of all ranks. Sin in the soul is not the result of evil habits, as some suppose, nor the issue of a false education and corrupting companionship and circumstances. It is not a thing like cold, which a man may or may not take in certain circumstances, and which, if taken, may develop into consumption or some other disease. No. We are all horn with it. It is a constitutional malady. Apart from the doctrine of sin — original sin in the soul; I know not the doctrine of salvation, even in theory. Apart from the doctrine of man's natural alienation from God, I know not the meaning of Christ's mission to the world. What would be the meaning of physicians were there no human ailments? or of drugs were there no human diseases? or of bread and water were there no such things as hunger and thirst? Without sin in the soul, the Gospel could have no meaning, and the Cross could have no power. III. CHRISTIANITY IS GOD'S REMEDY FOR MAN'S MALADY. He who at the beginning said, "Let there be light, and there was light," now says to all men "Live." The description given in the context of man's state by nature, speaks of death, moral and spiritual of orphanage and great feebleness. There is a great amount of life in the world, and man is not without life. It is called natural life; but natural life is somewhat as the river Jordan, that ends its flow in the Dead Sea. Human life, at the best, is as the grass, and its glory as the flower. It does not last, and its duration is a contradiction of our supreme desires. Death is not natural to man. Man was not made to die, as some men seem to suppose, but to live; hence the fear of death makes men subject to bondage. The keynote of Christianity is life, life that cannot die. "I am come, said Jesus, that ye might have life, and that ye might have it more abundantly." To all who hear and believe the Gospel, God says "Live." Is there any other religion in all the world that can be compared with the Christian religion in this respect? Christianity, as a system of truth, is in harmony with the soundest deductions of enlightened reason; Christianity, as exhibited in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, is the complement of the deepest cravings, the strongest desires, and the universal wants of humanity. It makes man great with the "hopes which cheer the just." It lifts him as from "the dunghill, and sets him among princes." While it fosters the conviction that heaven is needed to complete his life on earth, it opens the way, and gives him health and power to reach it. It makes him hopeful, useful, and great. ( J. K. Campbell, D. D. ) None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee. Ezekiel 16:5 Ezekiel's deserted infant I. A survey of THE MISERY OF MAN'S ESTATE. The verse presents to us an infant exposed to die. All the common offices that were necessary for its life and health have been forgotten. 1. At the very first glance, we remark, here is an early ruin. It is an infant. A thousand sorrows that one so young should be so deeply taught in misery's school! It is an infant; it has not yet tasted joy, but yet it knoweth pain and sorrow to the full. How early art thou blasted, O sweet flower! From the very birth we go astray, speaking lies, and in the very birth we lie under the condemnation of the law of God. 2. The next very apparent teaching of the text is utter inability. It is an infant — what can it do for itself? Not even clay on the potter's wheel is more helpless than this infant as it now lies cast out in the open field. Such is human nature; it can by no means help towards its own restoration. But, mark you, and this is a thought that may crush our boastings and make us hang our head like a bulrush evermore — this inability is our own sin. 3. Apparent, too, is yet a third misfortune — we are utterly friendless. "None eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee." We have no friend in heaven or in earth that can do aught for us, unless God shall interpose. Weep and lament your kinsfolk may for you, but no lamentation can make an atonement for your sins, no human tears can cleanse your filthiness, no Christian zeal can clothe you with righteousness, no yearning love can sanctify your nature. 4. Furthermore, our text very clearly reveals to us that we are by nature in a sad state of exposure. Cast out into the open field, left in a wilderness where it is not likely that any should pass by, thrown where the cold can smite by night and the heat can blast by day, left where the wild beast goeth about, seeking whom he may devour — such is the estate of human nature: unclothed, unarmed, helpless, exposed to all manner of ravenous destroyers. O Lord God, Thou alone knowest the awful dangers which prowl around an unregenerate man; what mischiefs waylay him; what crimes beset him; what follies haunt him. 5. It seems that this child, besides being in this exposed state, was loathsome. "Thou wast cast out to the loathing of thy person." It was in such a condition that the sight of it was disgusting, and its person was so destitute of all comeliness that it was absolutely loathed. Such is man by nature. 6. We close this fearful description by observing the certain ruin to which this infant was exposed, as setting forth the sure destruction of every man if grace prevent not. II. We are now to search for MOTIVES FOR GOD'S GRACE, and we have a very difficult search before us when we look to this infant which is cast out, because its loathsomeness and its being covered with its own blood, forbid us at once to hope that there can be anything in it which can merit the esteem of the merciful One. Let us think of some of the motives which may urge men to assist the undeserving. 1. One of the first would be, necessity. Not a few are placed in such a position that they could not well refuse to give their help when it is asked of them. But no necessity can ever affect the Most High. The first of all causes must be absolutely independent of every other cause. Who dictateth counsel to the Most High? Who sits at His bar, and giveth Him advice and warning, and maketh Him do according to his pleasure? Nor had God any necessity in order to make Himself happy or to increase His glory. 2. In this case there was nothing in the birth of this child, in its original parentage, that could move the passer-by. You were conceived in sin, and stained in your very birth, and there is, therefore, nothing here that could move the heart of Deity. 3. Nor was there anything in this child's beauty, for it was loathsome. What can there be in a worm to gratify the Almighty? 4. Furthermore, as we have found no motive yet, either in necessity or the child's birth or beauty, so we find none in any entreaties that were uttered by this child. It doth not seem that it pleaded with the passer-by to save it, for it could not as yet speak. So, though sinners do pray, yet when a sinner prays, it is because God has begun to save him. 5. Yet, further, it does not appear that the pity of the passer-by was shown upon this child because of any future service which was expected of it. This child, it seems, was nourished, clothed, luxuriously decorated; and yet, after all that, if you read the chapter through, you will find it went astray from Him who had set His heart upon it. The Lord foresaw this, and yet" loved that child notwithstanding. III. But now consider THE MANDATE OF HIS MERCY. "I said unto thee, Live." I. This fiat of God is majestic. He looks, and there lies an infant, loathsome in its blood; He stops, and He pronounces the word, the royal word "Live." There speaks a God. Who but He could venture thus to deal with life and dispense it with a single syllable? 'Tis majestic, 'tis Divine! 2. This fiat is manifold. (1) Here is judicial life. (2) It is, moreover, spiritual life. 3. It is an irresistible voice. When God says to a sinner, "Live," all the devils in hell cannot keep him in the grave. 4. It is all-sufficient. "Live," dost Thou say, great God? Why, the man is dead! There is life — not in him, but in the voice that bids him live. "Live," dost Thou say? "By this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days!" There is power — not in his corruption, but in the voice that crieth, "Come forth!" 5. It was a mandate of free grace. I want to lay that down again, and again, and again, that there was nothing in this infant, nothing but loathsomeness, nothing therefore to merit esteem; nothing in the infant, but inability, nothing therefore by which it could help itself; nothing in it but infancy, nothing therefore by which it could plead for itself, and yet grace said, "Live" — freely, without any bribe, without any entreaty, said, "Live." And so when sinners are saved, it is only and solely because God will do it, to magnify His free, unpurchased, unsought grace. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) The allegory of the foundling child A. B. Davidson, D. D. Though marked by a breadth which offends against modern taste, the allegory of the foundling child which became the faithless wife is powerful, and, when the details are forgotten and only the general idea kept in mind, even beautiful, as well as true. An outcast infant, exposed in the open field and weltering in her blood, was seen by the pitying eye of a passer-by. Rescued and nourished, she grew up to the fairest womanhood, and became the wife of her benefactor, who heaped on her every gift that could please or elevate. But the ways into which he led her were too lofty to be understood, and the atmosphere around too pure for her to breathe; the old inborn nature (her father was an Amorite and her mother a Hittite) was still there beneath all the refinements for which it had no taste, and at last it asserted itself in shameless depravity and insatiable lewdness. ( A. B. Davidson, D. D. ) The first step for man's salvation taken by God I know some think that the sinner takes the first step, but, we know better. If he did, it were like the old Romish miracle of St. Dennis, where we are told that after his head was off, he picked it up and walked two thousand miles with it in his hand. Whereupon, some wit observed that he did not see any wonder in the man's walking two thousand miles, for all the difficulty lay in the first step. Just so, I see no difficulty in a man's getting all the way to heaven if he can but take the first step; for all the miracle lies in that first step — the making the dead soul live, the melting the adamantine heart, the thawing of the northern ice, the bringing down of the proud look — this is the work, this is the difficulty; and if man can do that himself, verily he can do the whole. But when God looketh upon men to save them, it is not because they cry to Him, for they never do and never will cry until the work of salvation is begun. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) I said unto thee,...Live Spiritual life J. Irons. I. THE MIRACLE OF GRACE PERFORMED. As everything in the Bible is a parable to an unregenerate man, so everything in Christian experience is a miracle wrought by the hand of God. What! is it not a miracle, to vanquish Satan and take the prey out of his hands — to "take the prey from the mighty and the captive from the terrible"? Is it not a miracle to unstop deaf ears? Is it not a miracle to raise the dead, and give them another, a new and deathless life and existence? Jehovah not only speaks into life at first — speaks it into pre-existence, if I may so express it — animating, quickening, — and then causing to grow, "that they may have life, and have it more abundantly"; but it is His also to speak life to the soul in the most exalted sense, consummating it in the life of glory. "Live!" I think, strictly speaking, in the literal sense of the word. we can hardly be said to live till we get to the world of glory. And what some people call dying, I think is just Jehovah saying to the souls of His people, Live. We have hardly begun to live yet; here we have much to do with the old Adam nature, much to do with corruption, much to do with the things that mar our enjoyment and our life, so that we live at a "poor dying rate"; but, oh! the blessedness of that moment, when all that is earthly, all that pertains to time, shall be shaken off, and by one sweet sovereign command — one gracious, kind, paternal word — Jehovah shall say, Live; and we shall pass from our deathy clay hut to the world of spirits, and live everlastingly with Himself. II. AN EPITOME OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. You may have a religion of education — and yet none of God; you may have a religion of natural feeling, natural passions — and yet none of God; you may have a religion of alarm, and be terribly frightened about going to hell — but none of God; you may have a religion of supposed joy, natural passions moved and somewhat inflamed, which perhaps may be exhibited in the style of the book you read or the eloquence you listen to — and yet none of God. All these will leave you deficient. Nothing will do but a spiritual existence. The man of the world has a natural existence, a mental existence, a rational existence, which makes him differ from the brute creation; but a real Christian has, in addition to this, spiritual existence, a heavenly life — the persons and perfections of Deity dwelling in His soul — a new creation — another, a holy, a sinless principle — the life of God — called the participation of the Divine nature. A worldling may appear like a Christian among Christians; but let him loose, and his whole heart is in the world immediately. A Christian may have to mix with the men of the world in worldly business; but let him loose, and you see in a moment that his soul has a spiritual being. This spiritual existence is the epitome of godliness. It is communicated by a word from the throne — by a touch of Jehovah's hand, by the voice of Christ, by the whisper of the Spirit. Moreover, it is immortal. I pass on, just to notice that this spiritual existence is known by the spiritual negotiations it keeps up. If I have nothing to do for God, the devil will be sure to find me something to do for him. The very nature of life is to be active. If it be animal life, it must try to move and walk and run; if it be mental life, it must find some object to pursue, something to hear or read, something to call it forth. So with spiritual life; it must have its activity called forth into exercise. III. THE TESTIMONY OF DIVINE PREROGATIVE. Jehovah says, "Live." I hear nothing in this of "I will if he will"; I see nothing of proposal, nothing of overture, nothing of an offer, nothing of a condition in all this. I know there are not a few who would have us deal with mankind, treat with sinners, as if they had a power — as if they had a capacity for spiritual things — as if they had a spiritual work to perform. I confess I have little heart — I have no heart at all for this, because I never saw an instance of its success. Find me one instance in which a sinner ever began to inquire after Christ, or knew anything about a spiritual emotion, until God had said, "Live." I will yield the point. The Son of God took this prerogative upon Himself, when, tabernacling in the likeness of sinful flesh, He went up to the widow's son as they carried him out of the city of Nain, touched the bier, and called the young man to life again; to the no small comfort of his mother. He pursued the same course, and assumed the same prerogative, when Lazarus had lain four days in the grave. And to this hour the same prerogative is exercised by the Son of God, as well as by the Father. Moreover, of the Holy Ghost it is said, "It is the Spirit. that quickeneth." So that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are concerned in the resurrection of the sinner, as well as (as we showed the other morning) in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. One thing more I just invite your attention to: while our covenant God exercises His sovereignty in calling sinners out of darkness into light and the dead into life, what a revenue of praise belongs to His holy name! ( J. Irons. ) The life of souls the ordinance of God J. Pulsford, D. D. How manifold, how great, are the works of our God! How curious, various, and vast are the forms of dead matter! Think of earths, stones, metals, waters, clouds, and all the same matter combined, modified in endless variety. Ascend one step higher, and think of the organised matter which constitutes the living verdure of our world. Ascend another step, and survey for a moment the countless tribes of beings animate. Who can number the birds that fill the air, to say nothing of insects? Think of the cattle of our home fields, the game of our woods, and the wild beasts of far-off deserts and forests, to say nothing of reptiles. Think too of the vaster seas and of the innumerable fishes, from the whale to animalcule. We lift our eyes to the heavens, and our earth, huge as it is, and much as it contains, is but as a particle of dust, or as a drop filling a bucket. Shoals of planets greater than ours are over our heads, and even suns stand crowded there as thick as forest leaves. What a universe! What a God is ours! But how instructive is the relation between man and the all things of God! Man has an eye to look abroad upon all, and to read all, and he has a spirit to conceive and adore the God who is over all. Indeed, the all things of our God are only the ladder which aids man to climb to the feet of God. When I think that man is not only elevated to bow with the ranks of prostrate angels at the feet of their God, but that he is the immediate minister of the high and lofty One, that the God of eternity is literally achieving His grandest purposes by the agency of man, I am struck dumb with amazement! I. WHAT, THEN, IS OUR OFFICE? Interesting, most animating, as it would be to be the instrumental cause of awakening nature into new life and beauty, it is less animating than our real work. Sublime as it would be to go forth awakening the dead, it is less sublime than the actual ministry committed to us. But our work is so old that we forget its grandeur. So the grandeur of the universe is slighted because suns and moons and stars are stale things, and, as stale things, are sure to be deserted for the sake of a few fireworks. The greatest change in nature — that from mid-winter to mid-summer, is but a physical change, a change in the mode of matter. Matter is therefore the agent which effects this; sun, rain, and dew are the servants of God in this work. And to call forth the bodies of men from their graves is a work very inferior to that of awakening souls to the life of God. "The former work has no glory by reason of the glory which excelleth." If our office is an office in relation to souls, then we have to do with the highest of all forms of existence. The souls of our world are desolate and dead as winter: it is the will of God that a springtime should be brought out in their history, that they should become verdant and flourishing as the garden of the Lord. Piety is ever-living verdure, and the graces of piety are never-withering flowers. Instrumentally to call forth these from human souls is the ministry committed to our hands. In a word, our ministry is a ministry of life to the dead — not to dead matter, nor to dead bodies, but to souls dead in sin. II. THERE ARE SOULS DEAD! 1. Men are ignorant of the nature of their souls. Truly they know not what souls are, or they would perceive at once that there is no adaptation between money and souls, between sensual pleasures and souls. and they would be at least uneasy that there is nothing in the wide world suited to enrich and bless the soul. Then, if souls know not their own nature, it is not too strong a figure to speak of them as dead. 2. The souls of men are not fulfilling the end of their being. Their affections are not excited; their powers are not developed; their energies are not devoted to truth, to excellence; their thoughts do not soar away in contemplation of the infinite and the eternal; their affections do not embrace the God of love; eternity is before them, but they are making no preparation; they are laying no foundation for the time to come. 3. The souls of men are strangers to the peculiar joys of their being. Every distinct order of creatures has its peculiar pleasures: insects have their pleasures, birds have their pleasures, the cattle of the field have their pleasures, and souls have their pleasures; but of all these creatures the souls of men only are alienated from, and indifferent to, their own peculiar delights. The difference between the joys of angelic minds and those of human minds consists in this, that angels are in the full and constant fruition of the proper bliss of souls; but human souls are cut off from it, if dead to this bliss; so that, without inconsistency or exaggeration, we may speak of the state of human souls under the figure of death, and of their conversion to God as a passing from death unto life. And the peculiar characteristic of the Gospel is, that it is a ministration of life to souls, immortal souls dead in sin. III. AS THE SERVANTS OF THE GOSPEL, THE CRY OF OUR MINISTRY IS, LIVE! O souls! as servants of our God and your God, our business is with you. If you carry on no commerce with your Maker, if your thoughts and affections rise not to contemplate and embrace things hidden and Divine, you are strangers to the high and joyous life of souls. In your bodies there

Benson Commentary Ezekiel 16:1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Ezekiel 16:2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, Ezekiel 16:2 . Cause Jerusalem to know her abominations — Her foul sins and multiplied transgressions, especially her idolatries, or spiritual adulteries, and unexampled folly in her lewdness. “This might probably be done by way of letter, as Jeremiah signified the will of God to the captives at Babylon. God here particularly upbraids Jerusalem for her iniquities, because it was the place he had chosen for his peculiar residence; and yet the inhabitants had defiled that very place, nay, and the temple itself with idolatry; the sin particularly denoted by the word abomination.” “Nothing can give us a greater horror of the crimes of Jerusalem than the manner in which Ezekiel speaks here. This city must certainly have carried her impiety to the greatest height, to merit reproaches so lively and strong.” See Lowth and Calmet. Ezekiel 16:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. Ezekiel 16:3 . Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem — Unto the whole race of the Jews, and especially to the natives and inhabitants of that proud city, who thought it a singular privilege to be born or to live there, counting it a more holy place than the rest of the land of Canaan. Thy birth and thy nativity — The LXX. render it, ? ???? ??? ??? ? ??????? , thy root and thy generation, and so also the Vulgate. The word rendered birth, or root, however, ?????? , seems rather to mean, commerce, or dealings, appearing to be derived from ??? , to sell. Accordingly Buxtorf translates it commercia tua, thy dealings. Houbigant, indeed, whom Bishop Newcome inclines to follow, prefers deriving the word from ??? , to dig, referring to Isaiah 51:1 , and then the sense will be, thy origin, or thy rise, and thy nativity, is of the land of Canaan. If understood of the city of Jerusalem, the assertion is strictly true. It was a Canaanitish city, or strong hold, possessed and inhabited by the Jebusites, till David took it from them: see 2 Samuel 5:6 . The father, therefore, of this city, might be properly said to be an Amorite, and its mother, a Hittite; these names comprehending all the idolatrous nations of Canaan, of which the Jebusites were a branch. Or if the Jews or Israelites be intended, their progenitors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sojourned in the land of Canaan long before the possession of it was given to their posterity; and the two latter were natives of that country. But as those are said to be our parents, in Scripture language, whose manners we imitate, the Jews or Israelites, may be here represented as being of Canaanitish origin, because they followed the manners of the idolatrous inhabitants of that country, rather than those of the pious patriarchs: see Ezekiel 16:45 ; John 8:44 ; Matthew 3:7 . There is an expression of the same import in the history of Susannah, Ezekiel 16:56 , that seems to be borrowed from this passage, O thou seed of Canaan, and not of Judah, beauty hath deceived thee, and lust hath perverted thy heart. Ezekiel 16:4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee ; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. Ezekiel 16:4 . As for thy nativity, &c. — “Jerusalem is here represented under the image of an exposed infant, whom God preserved from destruction, brought up, espoused and exalted in sovereignty. But she proved faithless and abandoned; and therefore God threatens her with severe vengeance, but graciously promises that afterward he would fulfil his early covenant with her. The allegory is easily understood; and has much force, liveliness, and vehemence of eloquent amplification. The images are adapted to a people immersed in sensuality.” — Bishop Newcome. Thy navel was not cut — The navel-string, by which thou wast held to the body of thy mother, none took care to cut. By this and the other metaphorical expressions in this and the next verse, the prophet hints how despised a people Israel was, and in what a forlorn condition when they went first into Egypt. Neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee — Hebrew, ?????? , ad aspectum meum, as Buxtorf renders it, that is, when I first beheld thee, or, ut jucunda aspectu esses, that thou mightest be pleasant to behold. Some render it, To make thee shine. The meaning is, to cleanse thee from the pollutions of thy birth. Thou wast not salted at all — It seems it was then customary to rub new-born infants over with salt; probably to dry up the humours of their bodies. All the expressions here used allude to the custom observed by the eastern nations at the birth of their children; and “the design of the prophet is to mark out that state of impurity wherein the Hebrews were found in Egypt, plunged in idolatry and ignorance, and oppressed with cruel servitude.” Ezekiel 16:5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. Ezekiel 16:5 . None eye pitied thee, &c. — The cruelty of the Egyptians, who ought, in gratitude for the services they had received from Joseph, to have been as parents to the Israelites, seems to be here hinted at. Thou wast cast out in the open field — Thou wast exposed to perish. It was the custom to lay those children, whom their parents would not take the trouble of bringing up, in the open fields, and leave them there. To the loathing of thy person — Hebrew, ???? ????? , to the despising of thy soul, or life. The Vulgate reads, in abjectione animæ tuæ in die qua nata es; in the casting away of thy soul, or life, in the day in which thou wast born. The sense seems to be, In contempt of thee as unlovely and worthless; and in abhorrence of thee as loathsome to the beholder. This seems to have reference to the exposing of the male children of the Israelites in Egypt. And it is an apt illustration of the natural state of the children of men. In the day that we were born; we were shapen in iniquity; our understandings darkened, our minds alienated from the life of God; and polluted with sin, which rendered us loathsome in the eyes of God. Ezekiel 16:6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live. Ezekiel 16:6-7 . And when I passed by thee — While as yet no body took so much care of thee as to wash thee from thy native filthiness, I took pity on thee; as a traveller that passes by and sees an infant lie exposed; and I provided all things necessary for thy support. God here speaks after the manner of men. I said unto thee, Live — This is such a command as sends forth a power to effect what is commanded: he gave that life: he spake, and it was done. I caused thee to multiply, &c. — The prophet in this verse describes the Israelites increasing in Egypt, under the metaphor of a female child growing up to maturity: compare Exodus 1:7 . Thou art come to excellent ornaments — Hebrew, ???? ????? , to ornaments of ornaments, that is, thou wast adorned with the choicest blessings of Divine Providence. Or, as Dr. Waterland renders it, “Thou didst arrive to the perfection of beauty.” Thy breasts were fashioned, &c. — Thou didst come to woman’s estate. Ezekiel 16:7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Ezekiel 16:8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine. Ezekiel 16:8-12 . Now when I passed by thee, &c. — This second passing by may be understood of God’s visiting them in Egypt, and calling them out. Behold, thy time, &c. — The time of thy misery was the time of my love toward thee. And I spread my skirt over thee — I espoused thee and took thee under my protection as a husband doth his wife, Ruth 3:9 . And covered thy nakedness — Enriched thee with the spoils and possessions of the Egyptians and Canaanites: see Ezekiel 16:10-11 . Yea, I entered into covenant with thee — This was done in mount Sinai, when the covenant between God and Israel was sealed and ratified. Those to whom God gives spiritual life, he takes into covenant with himself. By this covenant they become his, his subjects and servants, which speaks their duty: and at the same time his portion and treasure, which speaks their privilege. Then I washed thee with water — It was a very ancient custom among the eastern people to purify virgins who were to be espoused. And I anointed thee with oil — Thus also were women, on some occasions, prepared for their nuptials. The washings and purifications of the law are probably intended to be signified by these metaphorical expressions; and the priesthood by the anointing with oil here spoken of. I clothed thee also with broidered work — Or, with needlework of divers colours. The expression may refer to the rich garments of the priests, and the covering and hangings of the tabernacle; or it may denote the gifts and graces bestowed upon them. And shod thee with badgers’ skins — Or, with sandals of a purple colour, as Bochart expounds the word ???? . The eastern people had an art of curiously dressing and colouring the skins of badgers, of which they made their neatest shoes, for the richest and greatest personages. “This and the following verses allude to those parts of women’s attire which serve not only for use but for ornament also; and import that God did not only provide the Jews with necessaries, but likewise with superfluities.” I decked thee also with ornaments — This and the following expressions are descriptive of the great wealth and felicity of the Jewish people, particularly under David and Solomon. I put bracelets upon thy hands, &c. — Ornaments which none but persons of better quality used to wear, Genesis 24:47 ; Proverbs 1:9 . And I put a jewel on thy forehead — The same which is called a nose-jewel, Isaiah 3:21 . And a beautiful crown upon thy head — “Crowns, or garlands, were used in times of public rejoicing; from whence is derived that expression of St. Paul, A crown of rejoicing, 1 Thessalonians 2:19 : compare Isaiah 25:10 . Virgins were sometimes adorned with crowns; and they were commonly put upon the heads of persons newly married, Song of Solomon 3:11 .” — Lowth. Ezekiel 16:9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. Ezekiel 16:10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. Ezekiel 16:11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. Ezekiel 16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. Ezekiel 16:13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. Ezekiel 16:13-14 . Thus wast thou decked with gold, &c. — With ornaments the most costly and splendid. And thy raiment was of fine linen, &c. — Which was of the manufacture of Egypt, and one of the principal ornaments of women, as well as of great men. Thou didst eat fine flour, honey, and oil — Thy country afforded all manner of plenty and delicacies: see Deuteronomy 32:13-14 . Thou wast exceeding beautiful — This may refer to the beauty of the buildings of Jerusalem, and in particular of the temple. And thou didst prosper into a kingdom — Thou didst increase in majesty and dominion, and became superior to the nations around. Bishop Newcome renders this clause, Thou didst prosper into a queen, that is, didst become the reigning city, the mistress of many subject provinces. And thy renown went forth, &c., for thy beauty — Through thy power and riches thou wast able to procure every thing beautiful and desirable, so that thou didst soon become famous among the heathen nations around; or, perhaps, the words may refer to the excellent laws by which they were governed, and the various privileges of their church and state, which rendered their nation more perfect in beauty than any other in the world. Indeed, we can name nothing that would be to the honour of a people, but it was found in Israel in David and Solomon’s time, when that kingdom was in its zenith of prosperity, power, and glory; piety, learning, wisdom, justice, victory, peace, wealth, were found there in perfection, and all sure to continue if they had kept close to God. It was perfect, saith God, through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee — That is, through the beauty of their holiness, as they were a people devoted to God. This was it that put a lustre upon all their other honours, and was indeed the perfection of their beauty. Observe, reader, sanctified souls are truly beautiful in God’s sight, and they themselves may take the comfort of it; but God must have all the glory, for whatever comeliness they have is that which God has put upon them. Ezekiel 16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. Ezekiel 16:15-19 . But thou didst trust in thine own beauty — Houbigant translates this, “But thou, trusting in thy beauty, didst play the harlot, degenerating from thy renown:” as if he had said, Thou didst abuse those honours, privileges, and advantages which I had bestowed upon thee, and didst make them an occasion of pride, of self-confidence, and of forsaking me thy benefactor, and serving idols. It was chiefly by their frequent and scandalous idolatries that the Jews and Israelites polluted their glory, and profaned the great name of Jehovah. And they presumed upon that very favour which God had showed to Jerusalem, in choosing it for the place of his residence, as if that would secure them from his vengeance, let their idolatries and other wickedness be never so great. And playedst the harlot — Idolatry, as has been often observed, is expressed by this metaphor. And of thy garments thou didst take, &c. — This was a great aggravation of their ingratitude, that they applied those very blessings which Jehovah, the true God, had given them, to the worship of idols, contrary to his express command. And deckedst thy high places — Places of idolatrous worship, commonly built on eminences, with divers colours. Or, as the LXX. interpret it, Thou madest idols, or images, of divers colours. Thou madest little shrines, chapels, or altars for idols, and deckedst them with hangings of divers colours, Ezekiel 16:18 , 2 Kings 23:7 . The like things shall not come, &c. — I will utterly destroy those idolatries, and those that commit them. Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels, &c. — The wealth I had bestowed upon thee thou hast laid out in doing honour to idols; and particularly in setting up images to deified heroes, and didst pay them religious worship, here signified by committing whoredom with them. And coveredst them — Didst clothe with thy broidered garments the images thou hast made. And hast set mine oil, &c., before them — Thou offeredst these my creatures as meat-offerings, unto idols. The meat-offering is called an offering of a sweet savour, because of the frankincense which was put upon it, Leviticus 2:2 . The oblation here mentioned differs from those offered to God in one particular, namely, that honey was mixed with it, which God had expressly forbidden to be used in his service, Leviticus 2:11 . Ezekiel 16:16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so . Ezekiel 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, Ezekiel 16:18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them. Ezekiel 16:19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 16:20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, Ezekiel 16:20-22 . Thou hast taken thy sons, &c., whom thou hast borne unto me — Being married to me by a spiritual contract, Ezekiel 16:8 . The children, with whom I blessed thee, were mine, being entered into covenant with me, as thou wast, Deuteronomy 29:11 ; Deuteronomy 29:22 . These thou hast sacrificed unto them to be devoured — These very children of mine hast thou destroyed by consuming them with fire. These inhuman sacrifices were offered to the idol Moloch, in the valley of Hinnom. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter — Were thy spiritual whoredoms, thy idolatries, a small matter, that thou hast proceeded to this unnatural cruelty? Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth — Thy infant state in Egypt; that miserable condition from which I rescued thee, when I first took notice of thee, and set thee apart for my own people. Ezekiel 16:21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them? Ezekiel 16:22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood. Ezekiel 16:23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;) Ezekiel 16:24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street. Ezekiel 16:24-26 . Thou hast also built thee an eminent place in every street — Manasseh filled Jerusalem with idols, 2 Chronicles 33:4-5 ; 2 Chronicles 33:15 ; the altars of many of which were placed upon high or eminent places. At every head of the way — Not content with what was done in the streets of Jerusalem and other cities, thou hast erected thine altars in the country, wherever it was likely passengers would come. Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians — While the Israelites sojourned in Egypt they learned to practise the Egyptian idolatries. From Josiah’s time the Jews were in strict confederacy with the Egyptians, and, to ingratiate themselves with them, practised their idolatries; and the worship of Tammuz, the idolatry they are upbraided with, chap. Ezekiel 8:14 , was derived from that country. Great of flesh — Who are naturally lusty and strong, and men of great stature. This expression seems to signify that the Israelites were allured by the riches and grandeur of Egypt to imitate their idolatries. Ezekiel 16:25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. Ezekiel 16:26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger. Ezekiel 16:27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food , and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way. Ezekiel 16:27-29 . Behold, therefore — Open thine eyes, thou secure and foolish adulteress, see what has been done against thee, and consider it is for thy lewdness. I have stretched out my hand over thee — I have chastised and punished thee already in some measure. And have diminished thine ordinary food — Have taken away some of thy opulence, and abridged thee of many necessaries and conveniences. And delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee — Have excited them to make war against thee, have given them victory over thee, and delivered thee into their power. The daughters of the Philistines — This and what follows was effected in the reign of King Ahaz, 2 Chronicles 28:16 ; 2 Chronicles 28:18 . The daughters of the Philistines are here put for the Philistines, as the daughters of Samaria, Sodom, and Syria stand for the people of those places, to carry on the allegory and comparison between them and Jerusalem, being all of them described as so many lewd women, prostituting themselves to idols, Ezekiel 16:41 . By the same metaphor Samaria and Sodom are called sisters to Jerusalem, Ezekiel 16:46 . Which are ashamed of thy lewd way — Who have not had the wickedness to imitate thy evil deeds; for they have not forsaken the religion of their country as you Jews have done, nor have been so fond of foreign idolatries. Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians — The Jews courted the alliance of their two potent neighbours, the Egyptians and Assyrians, as it served their present turn; and, to ingratiate themselves with them, served their idols, Jeremiah 2:18 ; Jeremiah 2:36 . This is particularly recorded of Ahaz, 2 Chronicles 28:23 . Thou hast multiplied thy fornication in Canaan unto Chaldea — The sense is, thou hast defiled thyself with all the idolatries of the heathen, beginning with those that were practised by the former inhabitants of Canaan, and, by degrees, learning new kinds of idolatry, derived from distant countries, such as Chaldea was reckoned. It is said unto Chaldea, to signify that they learned and practised the idolatries of Chaldea before they were carried captives thither. Ezekiel 16:28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. Ezekiel 16:29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith. Ezekiel 16:30 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things , the work of an imperious whorish woman; Ezekiel 16:30-34 . How weak is thy heart — Not only unstable as to good resolutions, but even restless and unsettled in evil practices, still hankering after some new kind of idolatry, and resolved to indulge a wandering appetite, Ezekiel 16:28-29 . The work of an imperious, whorish woman — A woman that acknowledges no superior, and will neither be guided nor governed. In that thou buildest thine eminent place — See Ezekiel 16:16 ; Ezekiel 16:22 . And hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest hire — Thou art the more inexcusable in that thou hast practised these idolatries without being compelled to it by want and necessity, and thou also hast never gained by them. The metaphor of a lewd woman is still carried on; and as one who is lewd for the sake of a maintenance, is more excusable than those who are lewd to gratify their passions, so God here tells the Jewish people, by the prophet, that they had not even the plea, which common harlots had, of practising their sin out of necessity; for that they had never made any advantage of their idolatries, but were subservient to those idolatrous nations, and lavished their riches on them, without reaping any benefit from them. They give gifts to all whores — That is, to the most of them: it is usual for loose men to do so. But thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers — By this is signified the large presents they frequently sent to the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans, to purchase their friendship. The Jews are often upbraided for making leagues with idolaters, and courting their favours by presents, and by complying with their idolatries. And the contrary is in thee — The intelligent reader, says Bishop Warburton, perceives that the meaning of the metaphor is, “You Jews are contrary to all other nations; you are fond of borrowing their rites; while none of them care to borrow yours, or to take any of them into their national worship.” See Div. Leg., vol. 3. Ezekiel 16:31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire; Ezekiel 16:32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! Ezekiel 16:33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. Ezekiel 16:34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary. Ezekiel 16:35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: Ezekiel 16:36 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them; Ezekiel 16:37 Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. Ezekiel 16:37-39 . Behold, I will gather all thy lovers — Those allies, whose friendship thou hast courted, by complying with their idolatries; with all them that thou hast hated — As Edom, Moab, and Ammon: who were always of an envious and hostile disposition toward the Jews, and insulted over their calamities. And I will discover thy nakedness to them — They shall see thee carried away captive, stripped, and bare, without any covering to thy nakedness, according to the barbarous custom of conquerors in those times. The words allude to the punishment that used to be inflicted on common harlots and adulteresses, which was to strip them naked and expose them. And I will judge thee as women that break wedlock, and shed blood — I will inflict upon thee the punishment of adultery and murder: that is, some of thy people shall be stoned, and some killed by the sword: for these were the punishments of adultery and murder. Jerusalem might be properly said to be stoned when the Chaldeans, from their slings and engines, flung large stones into the city; for this was usual in the besieging of places in those days. And I will give thee blood in fury and in jealousy — I will punish thee with severity, as a jealous and provoked husband does a wife that has wronged him. Or, I will pour out the blood of thy slain like water: I will make an utter destruction of thine inhabitants. They shall throw down thine eminent place — Probably the temple is here meant, called their eminent place, because they had filled it with idols; and shall break down thy high places — Dedicated to idolatrous worship. They shall strip thee also of thy clothes — They shall take away thy walls: or they shall plunder thee of every thing before they carry thee away captive. And shall take thy fair jewels — Hebrew, ??? ??????? , the vessels of thy ornament, or glory. The vessels of the temple seem to be here intended. Ezekiel 16:38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. Ezekiel 16:39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. Ezekiel 16:40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. Ezekiel 16:40-43 . They shall bring a company against thee — A company shall come against thee, and beat down thy walls and houses, with stones slung out of battering-engines: see Jeremiah 33:4 . The expression alludes, as in Ezekiel 16:38 , to the punishment inflicted upon adulteresses, which was stoning. And they shall burn thy houses, &c. — The punishment allotted to an idolatrous city, Deuteronomy 13:16 . The word may likewise allude to the punishment of burning, anciently inflicted upon harlots: see Genesis 38:24 . And execute judgment upon thee in the sight of many women — Nations that shall triumph over thee; such as the Syrians, Philistines, &c. — The judgment which I shall execute upon thee shall be for an instruction to other nations, deterring them from following thine evil practices. It is said, in the sight of women, because Jerusalem is spoken of and represented as a woman. So will I make my fury, &c., to rest — I will fully satisfy my just anger, in inflicting these severe punishments upon thee. I also will recompense thy way upon thy head — Thou hast despised me, I also will despise thee; thou hast forsaken me, I also will forsake thee. Thou shalt not commit this lewdness, &c. — Thou shalt not add these manifold and shameless practices of idolatry to all thy other wickedness. The clause however may be rendered, Neither hast thou laid to heart all these thine abominations. Ezekiel 16:41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more. Ezekiel 16:42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry. Ezekiel 16:43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things ; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations. Ezekiel 16:44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. Ezekiel 16:44-45 . Every one that useth proverbs — They who love to apply proverbial sayings, shall apply that common saying to thee, As is the mother, so is her daughter — The inhabitants of Jerusalem are just such a people as the Amorites and Hittites were, whose land they inhabit. Thou art thy mother’s daughter — The Canaanites and other nations, who dwelt in the land before the Israelites, are here called their mother; and in terming the Jews their mother’s daughter, the prophet signifies that they walked in the steps of the Canaanites, or imitated their manners. That loatheth her husband and her children — Both these qualities belong to harlots, and were verified in the Jews, who hated God, their husband, and offered their children to idols, having cast off all natural affection to them. And thou art the sister of thy sisters — Thou art in disposition like to those to whom thou art allied by blood. The sisters here spoken of are Sodom, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and Samaria, the principal city of the ten tribes. Moloch, who was worshipped in general by the ten tribes, and very often by those of Judah, was the ancient god of the Ammonites and Moabites: and the Samaritans also received among them the ancient gods of Chaldea. The inhabitants of Samaria were the kindred of the Jews by Jacob, and the Ammonites and Moabites were also related to them in the female line. Ezekiel 16:45 Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite. Ezekiel 16:46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. Ezekiel 16:46-47 . Thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters — That is, her lesser towns. “Samaria is called the elder, or greater sister, because it was a much larger city and kingdom, greater for power, riches, and numbers of people, and more nearly allied to Judah. And Sodom is

Expositor's Bible Commentary Ezekiel 16:1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, JERUSALEM-AN IDEAL HISTORY Ezekiel 16:1-63 IN order to understand the place which the sixteenth chapter occupies in this section of the book, we must remember that a chief source of the antagonism between Ezekiel and his hearers was the proud national consciousness which sustained the courage of the people through all their humiliations. There were, perhaps, few nations of antiquity in which the flame of patriotic feeling burned more brightly than in Israel. No people with a past such as theirs could be indifferent to the many elements of greatness embalmed in their history. The beauty and fertility of their land, the martial exploits and signal deliverances of the nation, the great kings and heroes she had reared, her prophets and lawgivers-these and many other stirring memories were witnesses to Jehovah’s peculiar love for Israel and His power to exalt and bless His people. To cherish a deep sense of the unique privileges which Jehovah had conferred on her in giving her a distinct place among the nations of the earth was thus a religious duty often insisted on in the Old Testament. But in order that this sense might work for good it was necessary that it should take the form of grateful recognition of Jehovah as the source of the nation’s greatness, and be accompanied by a true knowledge of His character. When allied with false conceptions of Jehovah’s nature, or entirely divorced from religion, patriotism degenerated into racial prejudice and became a serious moral and political danger. That this had actually taken place is a common complaint of the prophets. They feel. that national vanity is a great obstacle to the acceptance of their message, and pour forth bitter and scornful words intended to humble the pride of Israel to the dust. No prophet addresses himself to the task so remorselessly as Ezekiel. The utter worthlessness of Israel, both absolutely in the eyes of Jehovah and relatively in comparison with other nations, is asserted by him with a boldness and emphasis which at first startle us. From a different point of view prophecy and its results might have been regarded as fruits of the national life, under the divine education vouchsafed to that people. But that is not Ezekiel’s standpoint. He seizes on the fact that prophecy was in opposition to the natural genius of the people, and was not to be regarded as in any sense an expression of it. Accepting the final attitude of Israel toward the word of Jehovah as the genuine outcome of her natural proclivities, he reads her past as an unbroken record of ingratitude and infidelity. All that was good in Israel was Jehovah’s gift, freely bestowed and justly withdrawn; all that was Israel’s own was her weakness and her sin. It was reserved for a later prophet to reconcile the condemnation of Israel’s actual history with the recognition of the divine power working there and moulding a spiritual kernel of the nation into a true "servant of the Lord". { Isaiah 40:1-31 ff.} In chapters 15 and 16, therefore, the prophet exposes the hollowness of Israel’s confidence in her national destiny. The first of these appears to be directed against the vain hopes cherished in Jerusalem at the time. It is not necessary to dwell on it at length. The image is simple and its application to Jerusalem obvious. Earlier prophets had compared Israel to a vine, partly to set forth the exceptional privileges she enjoyed, but chiefly to emphasise the degeneration she had undergone, as shown by the bad moral fruits which she had borne. {cf. Isaiah 5:1 ff.; Jeremiah 2:21 Hosea 10:1 } The popular imagination had laid hold of the thought that Israel was the vine of God’s planting, ignoring the question of the fruit. But Ezekiel reminds his hearers that apart from its fruit the vine is the most worthless of trees. Even at the best its wood can be employed for no useful purpose; it is fit only for fuel. Such was the people of Israel, considered simply as a state among other states, without regard to its religious vocation. Even in its pristine vigour, when the national energies were fresh and unimpaired, it was but a weak nation, incapable of attaining the dignity of a great power. But now the strength of the nation has been worn away by a long succession of disasters, until only a shadow of her former glory remains. Israel is no longer like a green and living vine, but like a branch burned at both ends and charred in the middle, and therefore doubly unfit for any worthy function in the affairs of the world. By the help of this illustration men may read in the present state of the nation the irrevocable sentence of rejection which Jehovah has passed on His people. We now turn to the striking allegory of chapter 16, where the same subject is treated with far greater penetration and depth of feeling. There is no passage in the book of Ezekiel at once so powerful and so full of religious significance as the picture of Jerusalem, the foundling child, the unfaithful spouse, and the abandoned prostitute, which is here presented. The general conception is one that might have been presented in a form as beautiful as it is spiritually true. But the features which offend our sense of propriety are perhaps introduced with a stern purpose. It is the deliberate intention of Ezekiel to present Jerusalem’s wickedness in the most repulsive light, in order that, if possible, he might startle men into abhorrence of their national sin. In his own mind the feelings of moral indignation and physical disgust were very close together, and here he seems to work on the minds of his readers, so that the feeling excited by the image may call forth the feeling appropriate to the reality. The allegory is a highly idealised history of the city of Jerusalem from its origin to its destruction, and then onward to its future restoration. It falls naturally into four divisions:- 1 Ezekiel 16:1-14 -The first emergence of Jerusalem into civic life is compared to a new-born female infant, exposed to perish, after a cruel custom which is known to have prevailed among some Semitic tribes. None of the offices customary on the birth of a child were performed in her case, whether those necessary to preserve life or those which had a merely ceremonial significance. Unblessed and unpitied she lay in the open field, weltering in blood, exciting only repugnance in all who passed by, until Jehovah Himself passed by, and pronounced over her the decree that she should live. Thus saved from death, she grew up and reached maturity, but still "naked and bare," destitute of wealth and the refinements of civilisation. These were bestowed on her when a second time Jehovah passed by and spread His skirt over her, and claimed her for His own. Not till then had she been treated as a human being with the possibilities of honourable life before her. But now, she becomes the bride of her protector, and is provided for as a high-born maiden might be, with all the ornaments and luxuries befitting her new rank. Lifted from the lowest depth of degradation, she is now transcendently beautiful, and has "attained to royal estate." The fame of her loveliness went abroad among the nations: "for it was perfect through My glory, which I put upon thee, saith Jehovah" ( Ezekiel 16:14 ). It will be seen that the points of contact with actual history are here extremely few as well as vague. It is indeed doubtful whether the subject of the allegory be the city of Jerusalem conceived as one through all its changes of population, or the Hebrew nation of which Jerusalem ultimately became the capital. The latter interpretation is certainly favoured by chapter 23, where both Jerusalem and Samaria are represented as having spent their youth in Egypt. That parallel may not be decisive as to the meaning of chapter 16; and the statement "thy father was the Amorite and thy mother a Hittite" may be thought to support the other alternative. Amorite and Hittite are general names for the pre-Israelite population of Canaan, and it is a well-known fact that Jerusalem was originally a Canaanitish city. It is not necessary to suppose that the prophet has any information about the early fortunes of Jerusalem when he describes the stages of the process by which she was raised to royal magnificence. The chief question is whether these details can be fairly applied to the history of the nation before it had Jerusalem as its metropolis. It is usually held that the first "passing by" of Jehovah refers to the preservation of the people in the patriarchal period, and the second to the events of the Exodus and the Sinaitic covenant. Against this it may be urged that Ezekiel would hardly have presented the patriarchal period in a hateful light, although he does go further in discrediting antiquity than any other prophet. Besides, the description of Jerusalem’s betrothal to Jehovah contains points which are more naturally understood of the glories of the age of David and Solomon than of the events of Sinai, which were not accompanied by an access of material prosperity such as is suggested. It may be necessary to leave the matter in the vagueness with which the prophet has surrounded it, and accept as the teaching of the allegory the simple truth that Jerusalem in herself was nothing, but had been preserved in existence by Jehovah’s will, and owed all her splendour to her association with His cause and His kingdom. 2 Ezekiel 16:15-34 -The dainties and rich attire enjoyed by the highly favoured bride become a snare to her. These represent blessings of a material order bestowed by Jehovah on Jerusalem. Throughout the chapter nothing is said of the imparting of spiritual privileges, or of a moral change wrought in the heart of Jerusalem. The gifts of Jehovah are conferred on one incapable of responding to the care and affection that had been lavished on her. The inborn taint of her nature, the hereditary immorality of her heathen ancestors, breaks out in a career of licentiousness in which all the advantages of her proud position are prostituted to the vilest ends. "As is the mother, so is her daughter" ( Ezekiel 16:44 ); and Jerusalem betrayed her true origin by the readiness with which she took to evil courses as soon as she had the opportunity. The "whoredom" in which the prophet sums up his indictment against his people is chiefly the sin of idolatry. The figure may have been suggested by the fact that actual lewdness of the most flagrant kind was a conspicuous element in the form of idolatry to which Israel first succumbed-the worship of the Canaanite Baals. But in the hands of the prophets it has a deeper and more spiritual import than this. It signified the violation of all the sacred moral obligations which are enshrined in human marriage, or, in other words, the abandonment of an ethical religion for one in which the powers of nature were regarded as the highest revelation of the divine. To the mind of the prophet it made no difference whether the object of worship was called by the name of Jehovah or of Baal: the character of the worship determined the quality of the religion; and in the one case, as in the other, it was idolatry, or "whoredom." Two stages in the idolatry of Israel appear to be distinguished in this part of the chapter. The first is the naive, half-conscious heathenism which crept in insensibly through contact with Phoenician and Canaanite neighbours ( Ezekiel 16:15-25 ). The tokens of Jerusalem’s implication in this sin were everywhere. The "high places" with their tents and clothed images ( Ezekiel 16:17 ), and the offerings set forth before these objects of adoration, were undoubtedly of Canaanitish origin, and their preservation to the fall of the kingdom was a standing witness to the source to which Israel owed her earliest and dearest "abominations." We learn that this phase of idolatry culminated in the atrocious rite of human sacrifice ( Ezekiel 16:20-21 ). The immolation of children to Baal or Molech was a common practice amongst the nations surrounding Israel, and when introduced there seems to have been regarded as part of the worship of Jehovah. What Ezekiel here asserts is that the practice came through Israel’s illicit commerce with the gods of Canaan, and there is no question that this is historically true. The allegory exhibits the sin in its unnatural heinousness. The idealised city is the mother of her citizens, the children are Jehovah’s children and her own, yet she has taken them and offered them up to the false lovers she so madly pursued. Such was her feverish passion for idolatry that the dearest and most sacred ties of nature were ruthlessly severed at the bidding of a perverted religious sense. The second form of idolatry in Israel was of a more deliberate and politic kind ( Ezekiel 16:23-34 ). it consisted in the introduction of the deities and religious practices of the great world-powers-Egypt, Assyria, and Chaldea. The attraction of these foreign rites did not lie in the fascination of a sensuous type of religion, but rather in the impression of power produced by the gods of the conquering peoples. The foreign gods came in mostly in consequence of a political alliance with the nations whose patrons they were; in other cases a god was worshipped simply because he had shown himself able to do great things for his servants. Jerusalem as Ezekiel knew it was full of monuments of this comparatively recent type of idolatry. In every street and at the head of every way there were erections (here called "arches" or "heights") which, from the connection in which they are mentioned, must have been shrines devoted to the strange gods from abroad. It is characteristic of the political idolatry here referred to that its monuments were found in the capital, while the more ancient and rustic worship was typified by the "high places" throughout the provinces. It is probable that the description applies mainly to the later period of the monarchy, when Israel, and especially Judah, began to lean for support on one or other of the great empires on either side of her. At the same time it must be remembered that Ezekiel elsewhere teaches distinctly that the influence of Egyptian religion had been continuous from the days of the Exodus (chapter 23). There may, however, have been a revival of Egyptian influence, due to the political exigencies which arose in the eighth century. Thus Jerusalem has "played the harlot"; nay, she has done worse-"she has been as a wife that committeth adultery, who though under her husband taketh strangers." And the result has been simply the impoverishment of the land. The heavy exactions levied on the country by Egypt and Assyria were the hire she had paid to her lovers to come to her. If false religion had resulted in an increase of wealth or material prosperity, there might have been some excuse for the eagerness with which she plunged into it. But certainly Israel’s history bore the lesson that false religion means waste and ruin. Strangers had devoured her strength from her youth, yet she never would heed the voice of her prophets when they sought to guide her into the ways of peace. Her infatuation was unnatural; it goes almost beyond the bounds of the allegory to exhibit it: "The contrary is in thee from other women, in that thou committest whoredoms, and none goeth awhoring after thee: and in that thou givest hire, and no hire is given to thee, therefore thou art contrary" ( Ezekiel 16:34 ). 3 Ezekiel 16:35-58 .-Having thus made Jerusalem to "know her abominations" ( Ezekiel 16:2 ), the prophet proceeds to announce the doom which must inevitably follow such a career of wickedness. The figures under which the judgment is set forth appear to be taken from the punishment meted out to profligate women in ancient Israel. The public exposure of the adulteress and her death by stoning in the presence of "many women" supply images terribly appropriate of the fate in store for Jerusalem. Her punishment is to be a warning to all surrounding nations, and an exhibition of the jealous wrath of Jehovah against her infidelity. These nations, some of them hereditary enemies, others old allies, are represented as assembled to witness and to execute the judgment of the city. The remorseless realism of the prophet spares no detail which could enhance the horror of the situation. Abandoned to the ruthless violence of her former lovers, Jerusalem is stripped of her royal attire, the emblems of her idolatry are destroyed, and so, left naked to her enemies, she suffers the ignominious death of a city that has been false to her religion. The root of her sin had been the forgetfulness of what she owed to the goodness of Jehovah, and the essence of her punishment lies in the withdrawal of the gifts He had lavished upon her and the protection which, amid all her apostasies, she had never ceased to expect. At this point ( Ezekiel 16:44 ff.) the allegory takes a new turn through the introduction of the sister cities of Samaria and Sodom. Samaria, although as a city much younger than Jerusalem, is considered the elder sister because she had once been the centre of a greater political power than Jerusalem, and Sodom, which was probably older than either, is treated as the youngest because of her relative insignificance. The order, however, is of no importance. The point of the comparison is that all three had manifested in different degrees the same hereditary tendency to immorality ( Ezekiel 16:45 ). All three were of heathen origin-their mother a Hittite and their father an Amorite-a description which it is even more difficult to understand in the case of Samaria than in that of Jerusalem. But Ezekiel is not concerned about history. What is prominent in his mind is the family likeness observed in their characters, which gave point to the proverb "Like mother, like daughter" when applied to Jerusalem. The prophet affirms that the wickedness of Jerusalem had so far exceeded that of Samaria and Sodom that she had "justified" her sisters- i.e. , she had made their moral condition appear pardonable by comparison with hers. He knows that he is saying a bold thing in ranking the iniquity of Jerusalem as greater than that of Sodom, and so he explains his judgment on Sodom by an analysis of the cause of her notorious corruptness. The name of Sodom lived in tradition as that of the foulest city of the old world, a ne plus ultra of wickedness. Yet Ezekiel dares to raise the question, What was the sin of Sodom? "This was the sin of Sodom thy sister, pride, superabundance of food, and careless ease was the lot of her and her daughters, but they did not succour the poor and needy. But they became proud, and committed abominations before Me: therefore I took them away as thou hast seen" ( Ezekiel 16:49-50 ). The meaning seems to be that the corruptions of Sodom were the natural outcome of the evil principle in the Canaanitish nature, favoured by easy circumstances and unchecked by the saving influences of a pure religion. Ezekiel’s judgment is like an anticipation of the more solemn sentence uttered by One who knew what was in man when He said, "If the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Sodom and Gomorrha, they would, have remained until this day." It is remarkable to observe how some of the profoundest ideas in this chapter attach themselves to the strange conception of these two vanished cities as still capable of being restored to their place in the world. In the ideal future of the prophet’s vision Sodom and Samaria shall rise from their ruins through the same power which restores Jerusalem to her ancient glory. The promise of a renewed existence to Sodom and Samaria is perhaps connected with the fact that they lay within the sacred territory of which Jerusalem is the centre. Hence Sodom and Samaria are no longer sisters, but daughters of Jerusalem, receiving through her the blessings of the true religion. And it is her relation to these her sisters that opens the eyes of Jerusalem to, the true nature of her own relation to Jehovah. Formerly she had been proud and self-sufficient, and counted her exceptional prerogatives the natural reward of some excellence to which she could lay claim. The name of Sodom, the disgraced sister of the family, was not heard in her mouth in the days of her pride, when her wickedness had not been disclosed as it is now ( Ezekiel 16:57 ). But when she realises that her conduct has justified and comforted her sister, anti when she has to take guilty Sodom to her heart as a daughter, she will understand that she owes all her greatness to the same sovereign grace of Jehovah which is manifested in the restoration of the most abandoned community known to history. And out of this new consciousness of grace will spring the chastened and penitent temper of mind which makes possible the continuance of the bond which unites her to Jehovah. 4 Ezekiel 16:59-63 -The way is thus prepared for the final promise of forgiveness with which the chapter closes. The reconciliation between Jehovah and Jerusalem will be effected by an act of recollection on both sides: "I will remember My covenant with thee Thou shalt remember thy ways" ( Ezekiel 16:60-61 ). The mind of Jehovah and the mind of Jerusalem both go back on the past; but while Jehovah thinks only of the purpose of love which he had entertained towards Jerusalem in the days of her youth and the indissoluble bond between them, Jerusalem retains the memory of her own sinful history; and finds in the remembrance the source of abiding contrition and shame. It does not fall within the scope of the prophet’s purpose to set forth in this place the blessed consequences which flow from this renewal of loving intercourse between Israel and her God. He has accomplished his object when he has shown how the electing love of Jehovah reaches its end in spite of human sin and rebellion, and how through the crushing power of divine grace the failures and transgressions of the past are made to issue in a relation of perfect harmony between Jehovah and His people. The permanence of that relation is expressed by an idea borrowed from Jeremiah-the idea of an everlasting covenant, which cannot be broken because based on the forgiveness of sin and a renewal of heart. The prophet knows that when once the power of evil has been broken by a full disclosure of redeeming love it cannot resume its old ascendency in human life. So he leaves us on the threshold of the new dispensation with the picture of Jerusalem humbled and bearing her shame, yet in the abjectness of her self-accusation realising the end towards which the love of Jehovah had guided her from the beginning: "I will establish My covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah: that thou mayest remember, and be ashamed, and not open thy mouth any more for very shame, when I expiate for thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah" ( Ezekiel 16:62-63 ). Throughout this chapter we see that the prophet moves in the region of national religious ideas which are distinctive of the Old Testament. Of the influences that formed his conceptions that of Hosea is perhaps most discernible. The fundamental thoughts embodied in the allegory are the same as those by which the older prophet learned to interpret the nature of God and the sin of Israel through the bitter experiences of this family life. These thoughts are developed by Ezekiel with a fertility of imagination and a grasp of theological principles which were adapted to the more complex situation with which he had to deal. But the conception of Israel as the unfaithful wife of Jehovah, of the false gods and the world-powers as her lovers, of her conversion through affliction, and her final restoration by a new betrothal which is eternal, are all expressed in the first three chapters of Hosea. And the freedom with which Ezekiel handles and expands these conceptions shows how thoroughly he was at home in that national view of religion which he did much to break through. In the next chapter we shall have occasion to examine his treatment of the problem of the individual’s relation to God, and we cannot fail to be struck by the contrast. The analysis of individual religion may seem meagre by the side of this most profound and suggestive chapter. This arises from the fact that the full meaning of religion could not then be expressed as an experience of the individual soul. The subject of religion being the nation of Israel, the human side of it could only be unfolded in terms of what we should call the national consciousness. The time was not yet come when the great truths which the prophets and psalmists saw embodied in the history of their people could be translated in terms of individual fellowship with God. Yet the God who spake to the fathers by the prophets is the same who has spoken to us in His Son; and when from the standpoint of a higher revelation we turn back to the Old Testament, it is to find in the form of a nation’s history the very same truths which we realise as matters of personal experience. From this point of view the chapter we have considered is one of the most evangelical passages in the writings of Ezekiel. The prophet’s conception of sin, for example, is singularly profound and true. He has been charged with a somewhat superficial conception of sin, as if he saw nothing more in it than the transgression of a law arbitrarily imposed by divine authority. There are aspects of Ezekiel’s teaching which give some plausibility to that charge, especially those which deal with the duties of the individual. But we see that to Ezekiel the real nature of sin could not possibly be manifested except as a factor in the national life. Now in this allegory it is obvious that he sees something far deeper in it than the mere transgression of positive commandments. Behind all the outward offences of which Israel had been guilty there plainly lies the spiritual fact of national selfishness, unfaithfulness to Jehovah, insensibility to His love, and ingratitude for His Benefits. Moreover, the prophet, like Jeremiah before him, has a strong sense of sin as a tendency in human life, a power which is ineradicable save by the mingled severity and goodness of God. Through the whole history of Israel it is one evil disposition which he sees asserting itself, breaking out now in one form and then in another, but continually gaining strength, until at last the spirit of repentance is created by the experience of God’s forgiveness. It is not the case, therefore, that: Ezekiel failed to comprehend the nature of sin, or that in this respect he falls below the most spiritual of the prophets who had gone before him. In order that this tendency to sin may be destroyed, Ezekiel sees that the consciousness of guilt must take its place. In the same way the apostle Paul teaches that "every mouth must be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God." Whether the subject be a nation or an individual, the dominion of sin is not broken till the sinner has taken home to himself the full responsibility for his acts and felt himself to be "without excuse." But the most striking thing in Ezekiel’s representation of the process of conversion is the thought that this saving sense of sin is produced less by judgment than by free and undeserved forgiveness. Punishment he conceives to be necessary, being demanded alike by the righteousness of God and the good of the sinful people. But the heart of Jerusalem is not changed till she finds herself restored to her former relation to God, with all the sin of her past blotted out and a new life before her. It is through the grace of forgiveness that she is overwhelmed with shame and sorrow for sin, and learns the humility which is the germ of a new hope towards God. Here the prophet strikes one of the deepest notes of evangelical doctrine. All experience confirms the lesson that true repentance is not produced by the terrors of the law, but by the view of God’s love in Christ going forth to meet the sinner and bring him back to the Father’s heart and home. Another question of great interest and difficulty is the attitude towards the heathen world assumed by Ezekiel. The prophecy of the restoration of Sodom is certainly one of the most remarkable things in the book. It is true that Ezekiel as a rule concerns himself very little with the religious state of the outlying world under the Messianic dispensation. Where he speaks of foreign nations it is only to announce the manifestation of Jehovah’s glory in the judgments He executes upon them. The effect of these judgments is that "they shall know that I am Jehovah"; but how much is included in the expression as applied to the heathen it is impossible to say. This, however, may be due to the peculiar limitation of view which leads him to concentrate his attention on the Holy Land in his visions of the perfect kingdom of God. We can hardly suppose that he conceived all the rest of the world as a blank or filled with a seething mass of humanity outside the government of the true God. It is rather to be supposed that Canaan itself appeared to his mind as an epitome of the world such as it must be-when the latter-day glory was ushered in. And in Canaan he finds room for Sodom, but Sodom turned to the knowledge of the true God and sharing in the blessings bestowed on Jerusalem. It is surely allowable to see in this the symptom of a more hopeful view of the future of the world at large than we should gather from the rest of the prophecy. If Ezekiel could think of Sodom as raised from the dead and sharing the glories of the people of God, the idea of the conversion of heathen nations could not have been altogether foreign to his miner It is at all events significant that when he meditates most profoundly on the nature of sin and God’s method of dealing with it, he is led to the thought of a divine mercy which embraces in its sweep those communities which had reached the lowest depths of moral corruption. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.