The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 1 — Section 368

tion of the people, when they should he scattered among all the nations. A desert is the outward emblem of man's desolation through sin. Iniquity has made a desert in his heHrt, in his home, in the nation-a desert in all his surroundings. Thel'e under a ~pnse of his folly and misfortune, God condescends to plead with men. ' Ill. A WTh'NO'IVING PROCESS IS TO BE :UP.SUED. "I will pur_ge out fro1;11 among you 1he , ebels, and them that transgress agamst me." If the nathJn, follow mg its lower pnssions and following foolish kings, refuse God'11 salvation, God will deal with them indiddually. As a nation they shall be destroyed; but an election shall be saved. G,.d "·ill appear as a Thresher, and will purge his floor, and separate the chaff from the wheat. \\1onld that the entire nation had yielded to his righteous rule! Yet if the majority reject his grace, a minority will accept it. Not a single penitent shall be sw,-,,t away with the rebellious. Divine wisdom can and will discriminate. lV. THE 0BDUR1'.TE SHALL BE ABANDONED. "Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, nnd herealter also, 1f ye will not hearken unto me." Lightly as men may esteem the ~evcrity of such a sentence, it is the most crushing doom that can befall them-to be ,:i,·cn over to the indulgence of their vices. For God to withdraw the restraints of his grace, and allow them the liberty they crave, would be the heaviest scourge, the brgi11niag of perdition. Said God of Ephraim, "He is joined to his idols: let him alone!" Of some it is declared by Jesus the Christ, "He is guilty of eternal sin." 1. THE PE1''"ITENT SHALL RISE TO EMINENT PIETY. (See vers. 40 and 41.) They shall worship again in the consecrated mount. Their offerings shall be spontaneous and abundant. Their gifts and sacrifices shall send a sweet savour Godward. Best of all, they shall find acceptance with God. The Most High will be honoured in their midst. His presence will be felt as a purifying power. "I will be sanctified in you." The remembrance of their past ways and past experiences shall open their eyes to the foulness and loathsomeness of sin. Their inmost tastes and affections shall be refined. Self-condemnation is an essential element in repentance. VI. THE nEsULT WILL BE LARGER ACQUAINTANCE WITH GoD. "Ye shall know that I am the Lord.." The manifestation of God's patience, condescension, and tender love will enlarge their conception of God. He will gain a larger place in their esteem and confidence. His true glory will come forth. In this way even human sin will con- tribute to hnma.n elevation; man's guilt will promote God's glory. In the widest sense, "all things shall work together for good." The darkest disaster will serve as a setting for the jewels of God's goodness.-D. Vers. 4f>-49.-Theforest in flame. In a 'nation, men's minds are in every stage of development; a hundred phases of feeling prevail. Hence God, in his kindness, sent his instructions in every possible form, and adapted his reproofs to every state of mind -to children as well as to men of riper years. l. 'fHE PARABLE IMPLIES A IlESEMBL.ANOE BETWEEN MEN AND FOREST TREES. Amid many differences, there are some resemblances, and it is on one of these resemblances that this admonition fastens. In the earlier stages of their life, trees grow better in clusters. They serve as a support to each other, and also as a protection against storms. But i::oon the roots rob nourishment, each from the other. The boughs shut out the lii(ht and air. They prevent the growth and hardening of the wood. '.i'hey become mutually injurious. Sap diminishes. The branches dry and decay. So it is with men in society. Casting off the fear of God, they corrupt each other. They become one another's tempters. Healthy growth ceases. Shutting out, each from the other, the li~ht and sunshine from heaven, their proper life shrivels, dries up, and decays. They become combustible-fit for burning. II. RESEMDLAKCE BET'l'iEEN Gon's RIGHTEOUS ANGE& AND MATERIAL FIBE. On these two resemblances the parable depends. As fire naturally lays hold of aod destroys forest trees, so does God's anger naturally lay hold of and destroy wicked men. There iR a fixed and unalterable correspondence. "Be sure your sin will find you out I" You may as well swallow poison, and hope to live; you may as well set fire to gunpowder, and expect it not to explode; you may as well touch a galvanic current, and thick to avoid any nervous sensation,-as to sin, and not suffer penalty. Each is alike an eternal decree of the living God. A,;, ea.eh plant has in it the potency to produce another plant, so every sin has io it the germ of destruction. uu. xx. 1-40.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 371