_Certain of the elders. .. sat before me._ THE ELDERS BEFORE EZEKIEL 1. True religion is emphatically a walking with God, not a mere occasional coming to Him. The precise manner in which the date is given may possibly be taken as conveying a reproof to those who, instead of making it their constan... [ Continue Reading ]
_A land. .. which is the glory of all lands._ THE GLORY OF ALL LANDS Palestine, as it appears to the modern traveller, is so totally different from the land as it is described in the Bible, that anticipations are disappointed on seeing it. One never sees the brooks, or the fountains, or the milk an... [ Continue Reading ]
_I wrought for My name’s sake._ THE GLORY OF GOD, HIS PRINCIPLE OF ACTION It is an admitted axiom of all enlightened legislation, that with man as a moral agent human lawmakers have nothing to do; that they must overlook many considerations of natural infirmity and educational bias, to which due w... [ Continue Reading ]
_I gave them My Sabbaths._ THE PRACTICAL DUTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH Let two remarks be premised. We enforce not the duties of the Jewish but of the Christian Sabbath. Everything in the Christian Sabbath is tender and considerate on the one hand, everything is spiritual and elevated on the oth... [ Continue Reading ]
_I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live._ THE JUDGMENT OF INVINCIBLE IGNORANCE These words have often formed the ground of infidel cavils, and therefore require perhaps to be explained; also they open up to us a very important subject, namely, that... [ Continue Reading ]
_We will be as the heathen._ THE PAGANISM OF THE HEART I. As an evil to which the godly are liable. 1. The force of early habits. The spirit of self-indulgence and sensualism was the first spirit that animated us all. Its death requires time. Hence in unguarded moods it comes up again. 2. The fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face._ THE SPIRITUAL WILDERNESS Many awful threatenings and delightful promises are scattered up and down in the Word of God. Our text seems to be of a mixed nature: the threatening and the promise are ble... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will bring you into the bond of the covenant._ THE BOND OF THE COVENANT This striking utterance was given forth by Ezekiel when Israel, scattered in every country, had begun to forget their nationality. They judged it prudent to disguise their distinctive character, and become like the heathen.... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will accept you with your sweet savour._ ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD I. What is implied in our being accepted with God. 1. It supposes a drawing near to Him on our part. Acceptance on one part implies application on the other. Our whole life should be a continual coming unto God by Christ. Duties shou... [ Continue Reading ]
_And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight._ GOD’S METHOD OF MERCY USED OR ABUSED BY MAN I. The method of mercy was very remarkable in the case of Israel. The loving kindness of God is infinite. Christ... [ Continue Reading ]
_All flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it._ A VISION OF DIVINE JUDGMENT I. Divine judgment is a terrific fact. God has His ideas about conduct; has a care about His moral universe. His ideas, when uttered in what we solemnly call judgments, are appropriately uttered. The flood, the fire... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ah Lord God! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables._ MYSTERY AND DOGMA IN RELIGION There is a tone of remonstrance and expostulation in these words of the prophet. He is evidently conscious that because of something in the nature of his message, that message will be unpopular with his hearers... [ Continue Reading ]