The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 1 — Section 337

a manner that the whole world shall perceive you to suffer the punishment you your- Belv,'s deserve, and you shall not be able, as you have been hitherto endeavourinµ:, to cast the burden on }Our fathers." 2. Because of the relationship which God bears to all souls in common. " Bf'hold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the i:oul of the son is mine." He is "the God of the spirits of all flesh." He is "the Father of spirits." In this relationship we have a guarantee that he will not deal unjustly with any one. All souls are his; and therefore he will not manifest partiality in his dealings with any. "The soul of one man was as much regarded by him as that of another. He bad the soul of the father as absolutely at his disposal as that of the son; and he could have no motive for letting the one escape with impunity in order to punish the other in his stead" (Scott). 3. Because the real punishment of sin can only befall the actual sinner. " The soul that sinneth, it shall die." This death is "the enci of a process, the separation of the soul from its life-source, the Spirit of God" (Dent. xxx. 15; Prov. :xi. 19; Jer. :xxi. 8). Only in union with God can the soul live. When through Christ the soul reposes its utmost confidence in God, sets its supreme affection upon him, and renders its loyal obedience to him, it lives. Sin is the very opposite of this; it is disobedience, disaffection, distrust. It sunders the soul from God, and that is death to the soul. "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid· his face from you." That separation is death, and that is the real punishment of sin. And it can come only upon the actual sinner, because it grows out of the sin. Sin and punishment are related as seed and fruit. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap;"" Sin when it is full-grown, bringeth forth der,tb." Men may and do suffer by reason of the sins of others, but that suffering is not their punishment, but their misfortune. Spiritual death, which is the true penalty of sin, can only come upon the sinner himself. "The wages of sin is death ; " " The soul that sinnetb, it shall <lie." CONCLUSION. Our subject shows: 1. The fallacy of the notion that sin is an injury only to the sinner himself. The essential penalty falls upon him alone. But others are ill-affected by his pernicious example, and feel some of the sad consequences of his evil character and conduct. "For none of us liveth to himself." 2. The solemn obliga,- tions of parents to live upright and worthy lives. All men are under such obligations. But parents are specially so bound by reason of their relation to their children. They ought so to live that their lives shall entail nothing but good to their offspring, in every resr:ect-pbysically, etc. 3. The temerity and sin of challenging the justice of the Divine dealings with man. " The Lord is righteous in all his works ; " "Clouds and darkness are round abont him: righteousness and judgment are the foundation of his throne." If we cannot always discern the righteousness of bis ways and acts, it is not because that righteousness does not exist, but because of the imperfection of our perceptions. These a.re not wide or clear enough to survey the vast extent or penetrate the profound depth of his designs and doings. Or our perceptions may be dulled or perverted by our sins. But his ways and works are ever not only just, but infinitely holy. "Righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the nations."-W. J. Vers. 5-9.-111,e just man delineated. "But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right," etc. I. THE CHARACTER MENTIONED. "If a man be just," or righteous. This justness or righteousness is not merely a state of correct opinion; or of becoming .feeling on moral questions; or of religious profession (Matt. vii. 21). It is e. condition of character. The just man "is marked by this, that his settled principles, his customary desire, is to do, not what is pleasant, not what is advantageous to self, but ~hat is right:" "Little children, let no man lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness 11 ri"hteous" ~IL T~ CONDUCT EXHIBITED. The just man "does that which is lawful and right.' Certain features of hie conduct are here plainly set forth. 1. Complete abstinence from idolatrous practices. "Hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither bath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel." The eating upon the mountains refers to the sacrificial feasts in connection with the worship of idols (cf. 1 Cor. viii. 4-10; x. 7). Idolatry had become so prevalent and popular that certain idols were regarded as Lelonging to the people of Israel. the chosen people of the Lord Jehovah. But to these en. xvm, 1-32.J 'l'HE BOOK OF 'fHE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 339