The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 4

not only the vulgar dishonesty that steals by direct robbery. Wo have our civilized and refinl'<l dishonesty-a dishonesty which contrives to keep on tho near side of tho law, and yet is not the Jess real theft. The" sweater" is a thief. The promoter or bubble c0mpanies is a robber on a colossal scale. The breadth of tho area embraced, the number of the dupes victimized, and the amount of the gain realized, do not destroy the guilt or the robbery; they heighten it. There was a certain frank daring about the old highwaymen which entitled them to the respect of those who condemned their lawlessness, in comparison with which the sneaking dishonesty of those who steal with- out rishng their lives or liberties is a despicable cowardice. II. DISHO!-:EST GAIN IS GOT BY MURDEROUS CRUELTY. In our text Ezekiel associates dishonest gain with blood-guiltiness. The thief is near to becoming a murderer; tho burglar carries fire-arms. The immense growth of the custom of insuring the lives of young babies, together with the frightful extent of infant mortality, forces us to the conclusion that, either by neglect-the cruellest kind of murder-or by the more merciful means of direct suffocation, numbers of children are yearly slaughtered by their parents for the sake of the paltry gain obtained fr<>m the insurance, We cannot say much of the old pagan habit of exposing children while this more vile, because mor~ cunning and mercenary, crime is commonly committed in Christian England. It is the duty of all good citizens to be on the watch for cases of cruelty to children among their neighbours-often practised in the decent homes of thrifty folk. In other ways theft may mean murder-slow murder of the most painful kind. The customer helps to murder the shopkeeper when he takes an unjust advantage of competition. He who steals a man's livelihood virtually steals his life, for it is no credit to the thief that his victim may be saved from starvation by the charity of others. III. DISHONEST GAIN CALLS DOWN THE VENGEANCE OF HEAVEN. God ho.s smitten hie hand at it. Dishonesty can only appear the best policy for a season. In the long run the old proverb is certain to justify itself. 1. National dishonesty will bring vengeance on a nation. The English cotton-trade has suffered materially through the cheating custom of adding weight to goods shipped to the East by sizing the fabric. If trade with lower rac-es is corrupt, nnjust, and cruel, the wrong will be avenged either by the loss of the trade or in the hatred earned by the traders. The oppression of the poor in our mid.,;t by those who make dishonest gains in grinding down their employea will be assuredly avenged by some awful social revolution, unless the injustice is speedily atoned for by more fair treatment. 2. Private dishonesty will "bring vengeance on the sinner. God sees and judges the man who enjoys dishonest gain. If he does not suffer on earth from the enmity he has stirred, this Dives will certainly not be carried with :he Lazarus he oppressed to Abraham's bosom. His gold will scorch him like fire in some dread hell. Ver. 14.-.A total collapse. L DELUSIVE HOPE. Consider what it rests on. 1. ..4 stout heart. The sinner believes in himself. He feels brave and confident. No doubt this temper of mind will help him over a number of difficulties. But will it stand in the awful day of Divine judgment? 2. Strong hands. 'fhe sinner is conscious of strength in himself and in his possessions, in his body and mind, and in the resources of his ill-gotten gain. The wicked king owns his army; the bad millionaire holds his money; the sinful man of humbler pretensions relics on his wits, his energy, or at worst on his l~ck. 3. Present prosperity. The text refers to future days, when God will deal with the sinner. '!'hose days have not yet dawned, and all is fair at present. 'l'he natural tendency is to believe that the world will continue as it is now. "For as in the days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark" (Matt. xxiv. 38). II. CERTADI' FAILURE. The text is in the form of a question, but it plainly suggests only one dismal answer. The delusive hope must fail. Note the grounds of the certain failure. 1. Humun feebleness. It iB a case of the strength of man matched against the mi 6ht of God. Who can doubt the issue? In such a contest the stoutest heart must fail and the strongest arm go down. Man is the lord of creation; but he is a feeble insect befortJ Omnipotence. 2. Divine constancy. "I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it." God is true to his word. He does not mock his children with idle threata, He is too sure to fail, a. Changed circumatancea, " In the days that I shall deal with  on. XXII, 1-81.] 'I'HE DOOK OF TH~ PROPHET EZEKIEL. I