Ver. 14.-Noah, Daniel, and Job. I. TlIE SPLENDID PRE·EMINENOl!I OF NoAH, DA1'-.:EL, AND JoB. These three men are selected from ages far apart, and from the greatest diversity of circumstances. In temperament and external history there is little resemblance between them. Noah the patriarch looms on the horizon of history in epic grandeur; Daniel is the brave hero in a tyrant's court, and the man of skill and science in a civilized society; Job belongs to the region of pastoral life, and his tragic story carries us out among the Bedouin. So wide is the range of excellence! Good men are not confined to one age, nor to one set of circumstances, nor to one school of thought, nor to one style of life. They are not found exclusively in antiquity, in modern times, in town, in the country, among the great, among the simple. There is a breadth and a variety in the possibilities of saintliness. We need not all copy one type. He who cannot emulate the knowledge of Daniel may follow the patience of Job. Nevertheless, in spite of these diversities, there are certain great common features that belong to the three Old Testament saints, and account for the present association of their names. 1. All three were holy men, true to God and upright in life. His goodness is the greatest fact in a. good man's character, and it constitutes' a. bond of union between all the true people of God. 2. All three were faithful in circumstances of isolation. They all had to break from prevalent habits, and dare to stand alone- Noah against the world's sin and impenitence, Daniel against heathenism, Job against a false orthodoxy. 3. All three were sorely tried. The faith of each was assailed in a severe and most exceptional manner. 4. All three were victorious by means of firm fidelity. They conquered, and they conquered in quiet ways-by obedience, patience, faith, and steadfastness. II. THE USELESSNESS OF THE INTERCESSION OF THESE THREE GREAT SAINTS. Though Noah, Daniel,and Job united to plead for Jerusalem, their intercession would be all in vain. 1. This was contrary to err;pectation. There is power in intercession ; there is an especial power in the intercession of a" righteous man" (Jas. v. 16); there is a. still greater power in united prayer (Matt. xviii. 20). Yet here the union of three of the very best men, selected from all ages, could not secure the safety of Jerusalem. 2. The cause of the predicted failure of such an intercession was hardened impenitence, God is not inexorable. He is ready to listen to prayer; nay, he is more anxious to save than we are to plead for salvation. He sent his Son to save the world, an infinitely greater act than the most impassioned pleading of the best men. Therefore the failure cannot be attributed to his hardness. But it would be unjust and injurious to spare the impenitent on any plea. 3. The intercession of <Jhrist succeeds where that of the best men fails. His prayers are worth those of ten thousand Noahs and Daniels and Jobs. "He ever livetb to make intercession for us;" and he alone, bearing the weight of the whole world's guilt, makes atonement for the sins of all men with ample suffi- ciency. We could not trust to the interces8ion of the saints, even if we were sure of obtaining it; and the words of Ezekiel are only hypothetical, merely by way of illus- tration. Christ is our one Advocate with the Father. Nevertheless, for the impenitent even his mighty intercession, which shakes t~e very gates of hell, is ineffectual. Christ shed tears over J eruaalem, yet Jerusalem perished.
Ver. 23.-Purpose in providence. I. Gon MAY APPEAR TO AOT WITHOUT OAUBE. We cannot discover design in all the movements of nature so easily as we may detect this in its structure. Though we may be startled at times by the aptness of the provi- dential overruling of history, too often we are perplexed, dismayed, confounded. The wicked man flourishes like a green bay tree, and the good man is persecuted or perishes in a vain conflict with adverse circumstances. Psalmists of old noticed this familiar fact, and grieved over it (e.g. Ps. xvii. 10). We must be prepared to expect mystery in nature and providence, since the experience of the past pointR to the very same difficulties which puzzle and perplex us when they suddenly confront us. "Lo, these are Lut the outskirts of his ways : and bow small a whisper do we hear of him I But the thunder of his power who can understand?" (Job ::uvi. 14). OH, uv. 1-23] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 253
II. Goo DOES NOT ACT WITHOUT OAUBE. 1. The failure to discover a cause is no proof that it does not exist. We cannot limit the range of existence to the scope of our knowledge. There are hidden physical causes which the most searching scientific analysis has failed to trace: why may there not be also hidden final causes, deep purposes of God, which no mind of man can reach? 2. The proved purpose of God in lcnown regions suggests the existence of a like purpose in unknown regions. We can trace more purpose in creation than in providence; but since the same God rules over both, it is to be presumed that the spirit of design which pervades the one runs through the other. We know that God has mind, and that he exercises what with us would be called forethought. Moreover, it is impossible to suppose that his principal dealings with his own children will be aimless when his less momentous works are instinct with purpose. 3. The righteousness and love of God make it certain that he does not act without a cause. Reckless action is morally defective. Ethics bears directly on motive and purpose. A just God must have a righteous object with which to act. The love of God emphasizes the assurance of purpose in providence, for no one would treat those dear to him with heedless indifference. This is especially applicable to the infliction of chastisement. A just and merciful God cannot send chastisement without adequate cause. III. THE CAUSE OF Goo's ACTION Wil.L BE ULTIMATELY DECLARED. It is impos- sible for us to see it yet, for we cannot look beyond the grave, nor can we scale the heights of Divine thought in the infancy of our spiritual experience. The schoolboy cannot see the utility of all his lessons. But if he has been well taught in boyhood, when he is a man he will look back on the hard training with appreciative satisfacLion, and will therefore order a similar process for his children. It would not be well for us to see the end yet, for we must be trained by faith. But earthly experience often throws back light on dark passages of life, and they then flash into a new meanini!; which calls forth p;ratitude as well as wonder. Beyond this world the fuller explana- tion will come. With the discovery of the hidden cause there will be ample consola- tion. The revelation of a good purpose in chastisement is its appropriate consolation (2 Cor. iv. 17).