The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 45

virtues-his casket of jewels. Her voice is sweet music; her smile, his brightest day; her kiss, the guardian of his innocence ; her arms, the pale of his safety, the balm of his health, the balsa1:1 of ~is ~ife; her industry, his surest wealth ; her economy, his safest stewa.rd; her hps, bis faithful counsellors; her bosom, the softest pillow of hie cares; and her prayers, the ablest advocates of Heaven's blessing on hie head." The i;acred Scriptures, especially in the New Testament, represent the love which the husband should bear towards his wife as being of the closest, tenderest, holiest kind (Eph. v. 25-33). When a man has a good wife, who is to him the desire of his eyes and she is taken from him by death, great is his loss and sore his sorrow. " The death of a man's wife," says Lamartine, "is like cutting down an ancient oak that has lon(7 sladed the family ma.nsion. Henceforth the glare of the world, with its cares and vicissitudes, falls upon the old widower's heart, and there is nothing to break their force or shield him from the full weight of misfortune. It is as if bis right hand were withered; as if one wing of his angel was broken, and every movement that he made brought him to the ground. His eyes are dimmed and glassy, and when the film of death falls over him, he misses those accustomed tones which have smoothed hie pasrngc to the grave." How frequently are beloved relatives removed by death I At one time it is the true wife and tender mother, At another, it is the faithful husband and the wise and lo-.ing father. Again, it is the beloved and beautiful child. II. THE REMOVAL OF A BELOVED RELATIVE BY DEATH SUDDENLY. "I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke." The wife of Ezekiel did not suffer long from any illness, she had no antecedent affliction which tended to prepare him for her removal, but was snatched away as it were in a moment. It is not unfrequently the case that our beloved are taken from ns without any warning or without any anticipation of their removal. By virulent disease, by public calamity, by private accident, men are taken away with a stroke. This renders the suffering of the survivors more severe. If the life had slowly faded away, they would in a moment have been prepared for its departure. When there is a protracted affliction, the hearts of those who are soon to be bereaved nerve themselves for the last separating stroke when it shall come. The idea of the parting to some extent familiarizes itself to the mind. But in cares of sudden death there is no such preparation for the trial. And the stroke sometimes stuns the bereaved by its unlooked-for force, sometimes overwhelms their hearts with sorri>w, and sometimes drives them into half-madness, III. THE REMOVAL OF .A BELOVED RELATIVE BY DEATH SUDDENLY BY Goo. "The word of the Lord came Ullto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke." The agent in the removal of the prophet's wife is here said to be neither disease, nor accident, nor chance, nor fate, but the Lord himself. This is the general teaching of the Bible as to man's decease ( cf. Job i. 21 ; xiv. 5, 20; Ps. xxx.i. 15; lxviii. 20; xc. 3, 5; civ. 29; Rev. i. 18). In the fact which we are considering there is: 1. Deep mystery. Why does God take away our beloved one11 with a stroke? Why does he not grant us at least some intimation and preparation for the coming trial? We cannot tell. But he says unto us, " What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt understand hereafter." 2. Divine instruction. 'l'be fact should teach us important lessons; e.g.: (1) Not to place too much reliance on creatures, however wise and good and beloved (cf. Ps. cxlvi. 3, 4; Isa. ii, 22; 1 Cor. vii. 29). (2) To live in a state of preparedness for death. He who lives a truly Chris- tian life will not be found unprepared whenever death shall come to him (cf. Phil. i. 21;,. (3) To acknowledge God as the Sovereign of our life. Th.is is manifestly our duty and our interest. 3. Rich comfort. God is all-wise, perfectly righteo1lll, infinitely kind, and graciously interested in us. Therefore hie arrangements concerning us, and hie actions in relation tons, must be for our good. It is consoling and even inspiring to know that our times are in his hand. IV. THE REMOVAL BY GOD OF A BELOVED RELATIVE, WHO WAS NOT TO BE :MOURNED BY THE BEREAVED suavrvoB. "Yet neither shalt thou mourn or weep, neither shall thy tears run down." God does not prohibit to hie servant the feeling of sorrow, but only its outward expression. All the visible signs of mourning in use amongst hie countrymen he must abstain from (ver. 17). He may not weep, and even the relief of silent tears~is forbidden him. It has been well said by Albert Smith that tears are "the safety-valves of the heart, when too much pressure is laid on," And Leigh oa. xxrv. 1-27,] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 47