Ezekiel 18:9

The man who acts thus (Ezekiel 18:5) hath walked in God's statutes and he shall live. For "to deal truly," LXX. reads: to do them, by transposition of two letters, which is more natural.

With the ideal of a righteous man here given may be compared these others: Job's, ch. 31, perhaps the most inward in the Old Testament, Psalms 15; Isaiah 58:5-7. Such ideals differ from ours principally in that they seem to consist of conduct exclusively external, while we express our ideal in terms of the thought and feelings. But first, when these external actions are enumerated it is always assumed that they proceed from a right condition of mind, of which they are the natural fruit. Hence the prophet says, "Make you a new heart, and a new spirit" (Ezekiel 18:31). The same assumption is made when God is spoken of as making men righteous by forgiveness, or by bestowing on them prosperity, the sign of righteousness. The mental state corresponding to this right relation to God is always regarded as present. And in point of fact the righteousness of God himself consists in righteous acts, just as the righteousness of man. The ancient mind fastened on the outward acts as revealing the inward state, while the modern mind goes directly to the internal condition. And secondly, moral conduct was never thought of as the result of a happy or pure disposition, or as the fruit of prevalent social custom, or obedience to laws called moral or natural; it was always regarded as obedience to divine commandment. Morals was part of religion. Every moral law was fulfilled in obedience to God; hence Jehovah says of this moral man, "he hath walked in my statutes, he shall live" (Ezekiel 18:9).