prophet, etc. The teaohing of modern nozzar to spare the people of Judah and tbought is to soften langunge like this into Jerusalem. The mention of this hist Dl\me "I have permitted him to be deceived." The is significant, as showing the rcputl\tion distinction was seldom, if ever, present to which even then Dl\niel ho.d o.cquired. the mind of the Old Testament, or indeed of There is no shadow of evidence for the the New Testament. writers. It is Jehovah view of some eommentntors that nn older who sends the "lying spirit" in 1 Kings Daniel is refened to. Had there been such xxii. 20-23. It is he who in the latter days a person, eminent enough to be grouped wilh shall send men" strong delusions" that they Noah and Job, there would surclv ho.ve been shall believe a lie (2 Tbcss. ii. 11). In both some mention of him in the Old.Testament. cases it is implied that the delusion is a In ver. 13, for the land, read "a land." For righteous punishment, is indeed the natural, staff' of bread, see eh. iv. 16. The phrase because tbe dinuely appointed, punishment comes from Lev. xxvi. 26. of the sin. l'opulus vult decipi et decipiatur, Ver. 15.-Noisome beasts (see note on eh. but the very deception is a means for unde- v. 17). cei viug them. At last their eyes shall Ver. 19.-Pestilence is joined with blood, be opened. The punishment of the false as in eh. v. 17 ; xxxviii. 22, as indicating its prophet and of those who trust him is at death-bearing character. once retributive, and a discipline, and, if the Ver. 22.-The words end with a gleam of discipline fails for them, at least a warning hope shining through the judgmente. For for others. Ezekiel, as for Isaiah, there is the thought Yer. 11.-The words come as a gleam of of a" remnant that shall return" (Isa. x. 20- light throug-h the darkness. A restored 22). It has been questioned whether "the nation, wall.-ing in the truth, the trne people ways and the doings" which e.re to bring of God,-this lies beyond the mystery of the comfort to men's minds a.re those of the evil evil which is allowed, or even made, to work past or of the subsequent repenta.nce. I itself out to the bitter end. incline to the view the.t they include both. Vers. 12-14.-A new section begins, im- :M:eu should see at once the severity e.nd the plying as before an interval of silence. What goodness of Jehovah. His punishments had follows presents o. striking parallelism to not been arbitrary nor excessive. They had Jer. xv. 1, 2. There also we have the" four also been as a discipline lea.ding men to re- sore judgments," the declaration that not pentance. In eo.ch of those facts there was even the presence of Moses and Samuel a ground of comfort for men who asked the would avail to save the people. They were question, which Abraham e.sked of old, obviouely selected by Jeremiah es examples " Shall not the J uclge of all the earth do of the power of intercession (Exod. mii. 11, right?" (Gen. xviii. 25). In either aspect 12; 1 So.m. vii 9; xii. 23). Ezekiel's selection men will recognize that God has not done of names proceeds on a different footing. He without cause o.ll that he has done. In this chooses exceptional instances of saintliness way the prophet seeks, as others have done that had been powerless to sarn the genera- since, to justify the ways of God to mn,n. tion in which they lived; perhaps, also, such Ezekiel's word for "remnant" is, it may be as were well known, not only in the rerords noted, not the so.me as Isaiah's, its primary of Israel, but among other nations. Noah significance being "these that escape." had not saved the evil race before the Floqd; Ezekiel does not quote the earlier prophet, Job had not saved his sons (Job i. 18) ; though hiB thoughts e.re in harmony with Daniel, though high in the king's favour, him. had not been able to influence Nebuchad-
HOMILETICS. Ver. 3.-Idols in the heart. I. 'l'nE HEART IB THE BEAT OF IDOLATRY. There may be splendid temples in a city, containing innumerable idols-horrible monsters ?r beautiful statues, works of marble, ivory, or gold. Yet if the people do not worship them no sin is committed. We have many idolH in our museums. '£he idols in a missionary society's museum do no harm to its cust?dians. On the other ~and, though no idol-temple stands in our land, and the ~ast vestige of t~e old heathenism has been Bwept away centuries ago, and the very not10n of w~rsh1pp1~g sto~ks and stones seems to us ridiculous, yet in our hearts there may be thmgs ~h1ch a!1enate us from God. The essential question is as to what is there enthroned as m the citadel of the soul. II. EVERYTHING THAT T.A.KEB THE PLACE OF Gon IN THE HEART IS AN IDOL. It is not ev~rythina loved that we are to reuard as an idol. God does not claim the only o.tfection of o~ hearts. We may love God through the love we bee.r to those earthly on. :r.1v. 1-23.J THE BOOK 01!' THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 240
friends who e.re dee.r to ue. But God claims the first place, the throne within. What- ever stands first in our estimation is our god. If some human affection, pleasure, or sin takes this pre-eminent position, and refuses to yield, when required, to the supreme will of God, that is our god, our idol. III. IDOLS IN THE HEART EXCLUDE COMMUNION WITH GoD. It is in reference to eople who cherish such idols that God asks, "Should I be inquired of at a.11 by them?" ft is not likely that such people would be disposed to seek counsel from the true spiritual God. The idols would seem to be sufficient. But if they should think to add the worship of the supreme God to that of their idols, they would find that this is impossible. There are men for whom all access to God is cut off. They who cherish evil things or any rival affections, made evil by rivalry with the true love of the soul for God, find that they cannot reach to God. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Observe, however, this only applies to idolatry in the heart. Heathen people who follow the instincts of natural religion and feel after the unseen spiritual God may find him, though they have scores of idols in their houses, because such a genuine search for God implies the expulsion of idols from the heart. IV. IDOLATRY IN THE HEART WILL NOT BE NEGLECTED BY GoD. We may disown God and substitute our idols. But he will not, cannot, give us up. He is still our Lord, and be must take note of the rebellion of bis people. But he is also still our Father, and, though we may not care for him, be has not ceased to love us. Therefore he will seek his idolatrous children and plague them with many a. trouble, until he has induced them to see their folly, cast their idols out of their hearts, and welcome back their Lord to his rightful throne.