penalties, these were the men. It was useless for him to mnke mention of men of inferior piety. .Any righteous man would not suffice. To have any hope of success he must be a man of transcendent purity. This conviction was universal in the mind~ of the people. It was founded on reason, ou experience, on the records of past history. Bad not Moses gained a respite for the nation by his righteous intercession? Had not Samuel averted the stroke of Divine anger from Israel? Had not Noah's righteousness secured the safety of seven persons beside himself? Why should it not be so again? Daniel was li,ing among them-a man eminent for loyalty to Jehovah. Were not Jeremiah and Ezekiel interceding for the people? If anything could ·save the nation from ut.t.er destruction, surely it was the righteous zeal of these godly men I IV. !ET HUMAN RIGHTEOUSNESS IS INCOMPETENT TO ABATE A BINGLE PENALTY FROM OTHERS. A man's personal righteousness will always serve as a screen for him- self, ne,er as a shield for others. Far be it from God to destroy the righteous with the wicked! This would be to obliterate eternal distinctions. This would be for God to act against himself. The righteous are safe when dangers are thickest. They have an inrnlnerable panoply. And the prayers of the righteous have often gained temporary ad.antages for the unrighteous. Such intercession has obtained a brief respite for repentance-has obtained a postponement of the catastrophe. Yet as a righteous man, ho,vever zealous, has no power to transform the moral nature of another man, he cannot delil'er him when God appeareth for judgment. Eternal justice is the main pillar of the universe, and, if justice fails, the universe will be shivered. V. MucH LESS CAN BUMAN RIGHTEOUSNESS A\ERT FROM MEN ALL DIVINE PENALTIES. This is an argument ad hominem. If tbe righteousness of the best men that ever lived cannot quench one fiery dart of God's vengeance, much less can it quench all the darts in God's quiver. There was a propriety in every particular form of chastisement which God employed; it would therefore be unbecoming every attribute of his nature to suspend that chastisement, while the causal sin yet remained. Men little surmise the terrible necessity there is for retribution, because they do not perceive the magnitude of sin. It is a fearful thing to provoke the anger of the living God. VL GoD WILL ULTIMATELY MAKE HIS WISDOM AND RIGHTEOUSNESS CLEAR TO MEN, It is possible that the elders of Israel did not immediately acquiesce in the first necessity for this severe course. They did not know the full extent of Israel's sin. Ignorance is often the root of discord. But God would spare a few-most probably the best-of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.. These should in due time be conveyed to Tel-Abib, and join the older members of the Captivity. But so base and intolerable will the characters of this remnant appear, that the elders themselves will confess that God's jndgments were not a whit too severe-that a less chastisement would bo inadequate. This act of God exhibits the graciousness of his character. He deigns to explain and to justify his ways unto his trustful children. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." He takes them into his fullest confidence,-D.
Vere. 1-11.-Hypocritical inquirers of God. "Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me," etc. In the former chapter false prophets and pro- phetesses were severely rebuked by the Lord God through his true prophet. In this one certain elders who came to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord through him, while their hearts were given up to idols, are reproved, exhorted, and warned. The paragraph ,before us presents the following connected topics for consideration, which we will notice in the order in which they are presented by the prophet. L MEN HYPOCRITICALLY INQUIRING OF THE LORD GoD. "Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and ~at before me. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying," etc. (vers. 1-3). These elders who came to inquire of God through his prophet were probably of the number of his fellow-exiles. They came to consult the prophet of Jehovah, yet they were idolaters at heart. They had "set up their idols in their heart," etc. (ver. 3). Their idolatry involved practical atheism. Genuine belief in the existence of the Lord Jehovah would have effectually precluded idolatry. Men of such character could not sincerely inquire of God. There can be no real approach unto him without faith in the reality of his being. " He that cometh to God must believe that he is," etc. (Heb. xi. 7). Their seeking information or counsel of the Lord was not true; they were not whole-hearted in eo doing, but hypocritical. They are, dit. xtv. 1-23.j THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKtEt. 261