A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK

The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2

Edward Hayes Plumptre [1821-1891] · 422,810 words · 476 reading sections

SECTION 421

The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 421

prevent the eliene.tion of land from the families to which it orginally belonged. The son might inherit permanently; but the servant could only receive a gift of land for a time, which would cease at the year of jubilee. Here was a marked distinction between the privileges of sonship and those of service. Now St. Pa…

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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 3.- Worship. The prophet, having described by anticipation the sacred city and temple, having represented the several duties of prince, priest, and people, having given regulations for sacrifices and festivals, now proceeds to depict the sacred services for which all this preparati…

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V, THE EXPilESSION AND FORM OF WORSHIP MUST VARY WITH THE INDIVIDUAL WORSHIPPER AND HIS OIROUMBTANCES. It is narrow bigotry to insist upon one form of spiritual service or of uttered adoration and prayer. ,There are occasions upon which worship may be spontaneous and ejaculatory; and other occasions upon which it may b…

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SECTION 424

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Ver. 12.-Afree-wul oiferi'fl!J, There were certain sacrifices and offerings which the pious .Tew was bound to present. To_ omit compliance with certain regulations upon these observances would have been d1sloye.lty. But there were other offerinas which were optional, which were left to tbe feelings e.nd to the circumst…

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SECTION 425

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through securely and beneficially through the direction which God's Holy Spirit alone can vouchsafe. If this is so, how reasonable is the provision for daily communion with God I Thus only can we be assured of that grace which will enable us so to pass through the discipline of earth that it may be the means of meeteni…

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SECTION 426

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Ver. 9.-The soul's growth in goodness. The wisdom of God has been clearly evinced in the spiritual training of the human family. The forbidden fruit was the wisest test that G-on could impoRe on Adam. The simple sacrifice of a lamb was the fittest training of men's souls during the patriarchal age. And as the race d…

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SECTION 427

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of dew, so may our souls be refreshed by new communion with God. Each day God wisely requires fresh service; we cannot withhold it. Each day will bring new cares, new toils, new opportunities for making God known; tbereforo we require new strength. Each day God has some new blessing to convoy: we should be ever read…

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SECTION 428

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extract from the ancestral estates more than a life-enjoyment, nor encumber his estates for successors. He must learn to identify himself with his children, to treat them as part and parcel of himself. Checks on selfishness God everywhere imposes. In the household of God sonship carries with it complete heirship. III.…

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SECTION 429

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Vers. 4-12.-The optional and tM obligatory in the kingdom of God. 1. Here are minute and positive prescriptions, requiring exact conformity and allowing no devi- ation. The burnt offering was to be six la.mbs a.nd one ram-no more and no less (ver. 4). In the day of the new moon-at tha.t particular time-the offering …

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SECTION 430

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EXPOSITION. observe.nee by them of the holy ordinances CHAPTER XLVII. of Jehovnh's religion. Viewed as a prefaoe As the first part of Ezekiel's V1Blon to what follows, it exhibits the transforma- (eh. xl.-xliii.) dee.It with the temple, or tion which the iuetitution of such o. cultus "house," and the second (oh. xli…

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SECTION 431

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Israel in the Messianio era when Jehovah east inner gate, whiob was shut on the six ahould perm11,nently dwell in his holy mount working de.ye (oh. xlvi, I), or through the of Zion; to Ezekiel, accordingly, the so.me east outer gate, which we.a e.1 ways shut figure nalurally occurs as a means of ex• (eh. xliv. 1), h…

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SECTION 432

The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 432

Isa. xuvi. 12 (Keri)-not a likely explana- adheres to the tre.nsiti ve sense of the verb, tion. Havemiok describes it simply as an and translates," when I had turned myself," instance of bold emphasis. Schroder breaks and Hitzig takes the suffi:x '? as a genitivs it up into two clauses, thus: " waters, to the of posses…

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SECTION 433

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to encompass the world. Hengstenberg, default of better, the last is best. Ewald Kliefoth Keil, and Currey, who adopt the changes the duo.I into c~r;,~, a singular latter c~nstruction, borrow '19 from the with a suffix, while Hitzig me.kcs of it 11 antecedent clause, and translate, "To the plural; but neither of these …

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SECTION 434

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These, e.coording to the prophet, should not remarks of Thomson, in 'The Land and the be healed (better than, "cmd that which Book' (pp. 660-663), are worthy of being shall not be healed," as in the margin of the consulted. Authorized Text), obviously because the Vere. 13--23.-The boundaries of the waters of the temple…

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SECTION 435

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been possible to give the tribes equal por• was probably the ea.me as Berothe.i (2 Sam. tions, A,S some tribes would certainly have e. vii~. 8), _1;-fterwo.~ called Ohun (1 Ohren. IR.rg-er number of families than others. XVlll. 8), 1f Chun 1s not a textual corruption. N c'°ertb eless, the division was to be equal The t…

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SECTION 436

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euch thought ae " ye see" (Hengstenberg), is matter of dispute; Rowland and Keil or "ye shall measure" (Keil), which ver. find it in the spring '.A.in Eades, at the 18 shows was in the prophet's mind. Com- north-west comer of the mountain-land of pared with the ancient north boundary of Aze.zirneh, which stretches on t…

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SECTION 437

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(Exod. xxii. 21 ; xxiii. 9; Lev. xix. 84; wards was intended as o. oompeneo.tion fop Dent. i. 16; xxiv. 14), admitt.ed to offer the withdrawment of the territory e&st of eaorifioe (Lev. xvii. 8, 10, 13), and even the Jordan; and (4) that in dividing among allowed to partake of the Passover on sub- mitting t.o circumcis…

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SECTION 438

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before us an imaginative picture of the glorious future. He passes from the regulations of the priesthood and the government to a description of a fountain of water issuing from the temple in the most natural way, as though all these things were equalJy snre to happen in the course of time. But the prophet can scarcely…

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SECTION 439

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Ver. 12.-Tre.es of life. I. THE SITE ON WHICH THEY GROW. "By the river upon the bank, on this side and on that side." All the blessings of Christianity are drawn from its central stream in the grace of Christ. But that stream fertilizes its banks, like the Nile, and many trees overshadow its waters. As the dry wady is…

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SECTION 440

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Ver. 13.-Joseph's double pwti(J'fl,. When the land was divided the tribes did not all share alike. Some bad larger territories than others, and the descendants of Joseph had two tribal portions, being divided into two tribes-Ephraim and Manasseh. L THE BLESSINGS OF THE FATHEB DESCEND TO THE CHILDREN. Joseph had proved…

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SECTION 441

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of Christ, but still each taking his own particular part in the common life of the whole. II. THE DIVISION wAS CLEAR AND DEFINITE. There were exact confines, and it was a criminal offence for any one to remove his neighbour's landmark (Deut. xix. 14). We ought to have no doubt as to our portiou in life. Occasionally w…

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SECTION 442

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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vera. 1-12.-The holy waters. The beauty and even sublimity of this portion of Ezekiel's prophecies must impress every reader of imagination and taste. Upon the suggestion of the waters of Siloam taking their rise from the temple rock, and the watercourse of the Kedron threading its way amo…

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SECTION 443

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growth of true and spiritual religion. Beginning with Judaism, the stream of truth and blessing widened and deepened into Christianity; and Christianity itself, com- mencing its course in the bosom of Israel, soon came to include in its ever-widenin"' flood, its ever-deepening volume of blessing, all the nations com…

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SECTION 444

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is afforded as God's gift to innumerable applicants of every variety of character and from every land. 2. Salvation is provided for successive generations. There was a marvellous largeness of view in the Prophet Ezekiel; he contemplated not only the many nations of men, but the successive inhabitants of the earth, as b…

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SECTION 445

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Ill. THE EQUAL Ils'"HERITAN0E ENTITLES ALL THE :MEMBERS OF CHRIST'S CHURCH TO EQUAL PRIVILEGES. Ai•rLICATION. 1. All distinctions of an hereditary, secular, and educational character are of little import.ance in the Christian community, Boasting is excluded where all is of grace, and where none has any claim of right.…

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SECTION 446

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the days of Abraham the rill of experienced mercy reached only to the ankles. But it steadily grew in depth and fulness. It would be a waste of blessing if God should disclose his grace faster than man has capacity to receive. In Panl's day the stream bad swelled in volume, so that, having tried his sounding-line, be s…

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allegory that the prophet should speak only of fish as the kind of life generated by this stream. Yet as the result of this human life was sustained. Population increased, for men found useful occupation. The whole circun1ference of the Dead Sea. became a scene of activity-the home of industry and plenty. Ago.in we hav…

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SECTION 448

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"Joseph shall have two portions." It would be a serious mistake to suppose that heaven contained equal measures of honour and of joy for all. In all likelihood there is greater diversity in eminence and in joy than on earth. From the lips of the unerr- ing Judge the verdicts fall, "Be thou ruler over ten cities.... Be …

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possibilities in the present and in the future ; and also the truth we most want to know concerriing God-his character and disposition, his purpose of mercy, his supreme act of self-denying love, his overtures of grace, his summons to eternal life. III. lTs Two SOVEREIGN VIRTUES. 1. That of renewal. All kinds of fis…

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SECTION 450

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may be maintained. Shall we not find the nourishment where we found the healing? The gospel of Christ meets this our need by providing: 1. Divine truth. .All that truth concerning the nature, character, will, purpose, of God our Father and our Saviour which we have revealed to us in the Word of God, and more particular…

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"stranger; " there the anci11nt " people of God" should find their inheritance ; and thither those who had been his wandering and distant children should resort, 'rhue we gain the idea of- I. THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE KINGDOM, As the Gentiles are here imagined as crossing the Jordan to sojourn within th~ borders of…

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SECTION 452

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Damasous. (4) In that the portions were one." "The presupposition thai one tribe eoo.roely ever parallel: in this they always should receive exactly as much a.s another o.re. (5) In that the portions of ,Judah led to the individual tribe's portion being und Reuben lay south, and thot of De.n considered e.s a monaa" (Kl…

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SECTION 453

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Ewald and Hitzig propose; (4) ilB charQ,(J• should be four thousand five hundred reeds ter, most holy; and (5) it.a position, by the on the four sides; in other words, it should border of the Levites, i.e. with the Levites' form a square (comp. Lev, :ui. 16). The portion adjoining it, but whether on the elon, left u…

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SECTION 454

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priests, the Levites, and the city. Adde<l jamin (in the thir<l place); but to read together, they should form a square of 11.ve thus the text must be changed. and twenty thousand reeds. Hence it is Vc,rs. 23-29.-As for the rest of the udded in the second clnuse, Ye shall offer tribes, these should follow on the sou…

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SECTION 455

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Ver. 30.-The goings ont of the oity. i.e. for all time to come (Ew11ld), or "from These were not, e.s Hitzig, Gesenius, Ewald, henceforth," i.e. from thnt dny on, i.e. from Schroder, e.nd Currey he.ve supposed, the the day of the city's building (Hengsten- oitv erits, or gates, which are afterwards berg), which seem…

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SECTION 456

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Two strips of equal area on either side of reaching the see. should render its watera the teramah, one extending westw11rd to salubrious, so that living creatures and the Mediterranean and another ee.etwe.rd fishes of every kind should swarm therein. to the Jordan, should be handed over ae a The quetJtion, therefore…

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that Ezekiel's temple was not so much opunon, the 'interpreters nnd critics just modelled after Solomon's as freely imagtned mentioned, from Ville.lpo.ndue downwards, end presented to the ex;lcs as an ideal are unanimous in regarding the " vision" ae sketch of the new religious and civil order having been at once e.…

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SECTION 458

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nee.rly twice ns large as the whole of when it will recei'Ue an e:zact and complete Jud1B& (see Conder's • Handbook to the fulfilment, when the soil of Palestine will Bible,' p. 273); or divided the territory be divided, the temple erected at Jerusalem, (which they did not possess) from the and the worship of Jehovah…

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SECTION 459

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will not only Rdmit of all tbP.se thinge intended to serve as II shadow of good. being, but show tilem o.ctua.lly to be, rea.• things to come, and designed to be set aside lized. The pa.sse.ges of Scripture, however, for ever when the higher and more spiritual which are supposed to promise the future system of the g…

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SECTION 460

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me11t prophets still fast bound in shadow Another la eh. xx. 40-41, concerning which work." it mny suffice to quote Plumptre's words in II. VIEWS WDICH GROUND THEMSELVES this Commentary : "The fact that Israel ON A SYMBOLIC INTERPRETATION OJI' THE itself is said to be the • sweet savour' VISION. A literal interpreto.t…

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SECTION 461

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the ccnsummaticn, i.e. to the perfect service Jesus Christ ; and certainly thero nre few of God iu the heavenly world.. particulars in which the import of the 1. It seems impossible to doubt that the symbol (looked at in this light) ce.nnot be at " nsion " had e. reference to the times once and clearly traced. Witho…

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SECTION 462

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the spiritually healthful Bnd vivifying offered to the exiles, after the V1s1on of influences of the gospel. The equal di vision their moral and spiritual resuscitation and of the !Bud Bmong the tribes, Bnd the intro- establishment in their own land, with David, duction of the sons of the stranger to equBI Jehovah's Se…

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SECTION 463

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theory, begun by Graf and Reuss, but per- originally taught Moses; but inasmuoh 611 fcct-0d by Kuenen and Wellhaueen, it ie well it has not been and cannot be made out known, is tllat, while the book of the cove- beyond reasonable doubt-rather, inasmuoh nan t (Exod. xxi.-xxiii.) originated in the 1\8 strong grounds exi…

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and to show that we desire to speak to him individually, e.nd we write his name on a letter in order that it may be sent to him and accepted by him as intended for himself. Christ calls his sheep by name (John x. 3), He knows each member of his flock separately, e.nd has direct, separate, personal dealings with every o…

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on the love of Christ in his most tremendous self-sacrifice. If he has died to make the inheritance ours, the least we can do is to prize it above all things. 2. It is still ,·ightly owned by God. The priests enjoyed God's portion of the produce, It was still God's while they had it. Christ has called us into his kingd…

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SECTION 466

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o.nd fruitful when ministries of o.ctive benevolence are most vigorously maintained. Jesus was the Son of man, who" went about doing goo<l." II. ALL CLASSES SHOULD TAKE PART JN THE SERVICE 01!' MAN. The one tribe of Levi was told off for the service of the temple ; but every tribe was to be represented in the city …

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SECTION 467

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After work in the fields comes rest in the home. We cannot be always engaged in Christian enterprises. It would not be healthy for a Church to be wholly absorbed in mission work. It must also have its own loving fellowship and refreshing worship. III. THE CITY GATES ARE FOR PROTECTION. They are gates, not gaps. The we…

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The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 468

HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 11.-Fidelity. It was highly creditable to these sons of Zadok that, when the children of Israel generally and the Levites in particular went astray, they resisted the influence of e. very general example, and remained faithful to the worship and service of Jehovah. "Faithful among the…

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SECTION 469

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,md of the Jewish Churcl1. Accordingly, it was regarded as the charge of tho wholo nation. All Israelites had an interest in its peace and prosperity, and all recognized the honourable obligation of providing for its welfare. ln his ideal reconstitution of the _nation Ezekiel provided that ~he city lands should be c…

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mulgates ordinances, he inspires a cheerful obedience, he maintains that order which is the expression of loyalty and contentment. III. To PROTECT THE CITY. The Lord has taken his Zion under his own guardian care. The foes of the city may be mighty, but her Friend and Protector is mightier 11till, "The Lord of hosts i…

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SECTION 471

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God the less distance there was between each other. Among the citizens in Christ's kingdom diversities in minor things will continue. Diversity adds t-0 beauty and to usefulness. Diversity of function and office, diversity in opinion and in taste, is lawful; yet amid all lawful diversity there runs a bond-a vital ti…

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SECTION 472

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of a king. To have the presence of a monarch in their midst, to enjoy ever and anon his smile, is a privilege which all citizens prize. But how superior the renown of a city in which the King of heaven specially dwells I That he should stoop to sojourn among feeble mortals is an act of condescension peculiarly God-like…

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SECTION 473

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we may be offered unusual facilities for coming before God, but there is no day and there is no hour when we may not draw nigh unto him, when he is not willing and even desirous that we should pour onr prayers or our praises into his ear. II. FnoM ALL DmEOTIONB. These gates looked in all directior.s-north, south, east…

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SECTION 474

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VOLUME II. THEHB PA.09 CH.APTER XXII. Sinners left to themselves and to their TlllDlB PA.GB Sins ... 28 Socia.I Bins 3 A Severe Judgment cmd its So.tis- Dishonest Ge.in 8 foctory Consequences 29 A Tote.I Colle.pse •.. 4 The Exclusiveness of the Worship of Drol!S 5 the Lord God ... 31 Holy e.nd Profane ... 6 A Me.n to…

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l'RRVB l'AGR 'l'RBVB PAGB The Divine Shepherd of the Flook 216 God's Name 1md ours .,, 260 A Pastor nnd a Prinoe 216 The Three Elementa of Piety 261 Tho Promise of Blessing ,,. 216 The Period of Spiritual Prosperity 262 The Panoo A.nd Welfare of the Ohurch 217 God's Vcrdict upon Self-serving Rulers 217 CHAPTER XXX…

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TRlnrE PAOB THBIIB PAotl Substantial Wee.Ith 405 The Optional and the Obligatory in Divine Discrimination 407 the Kingdom of God 444 Fidelity and ils Reward 408 Losing and keeping the Inherite.noo 444 "A Good Minister of Jesus Obrist " , , , 409 CHAPTER XLVIL CHAPTER XLV. The Vision of the We.tars 452 The Prince's Po…

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Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.

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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.