The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 254

-irreligion, disobedience, rebellion, degradation, ruin, death. We may well pray, "Hallowed be thy Name; n for aa men speak of God, and as they think of him and know him, so will they order their lives and construct their character and choose their destiny. We ought, similarly, to be concerned about our name. Not that it is the part of a wise man to covet notoriety; that is weakness rather than wisdom. To wish to be notorious is simply selfish, and to be notorious is to stand on the same ground with many of the very worst men that ever strove and sinned. But we should be concerned so to live that our name, however far it may go, may be associated with all that is pure and good and wise; that such influence as God gives ns to exert may all go into the right scale; that whenever and wherever we do speak or strike, we may speak what is true and strike for justice and humanity; that the issue of our lives shall be a brave and faithful witness for God, for the kingdom of Jesus Christ; that no man shall find a shelter for anything that is base or immoral behind our name; that many men may walk more steadily along the path of life or work more devotedly in the fields of usefulness because our name lends some strength to virtue and to holy service.-0. Vere. 26-28.-77ie three elements of piety. The Israelites were" profaning the Namen of Jehovah in the lands through which they were dispersed. But this could not be permitted to remain. For the sake of his own Divine Name, the sacredness of which was of such vital moment to mankind (see previous homily), God would work o. gracious revolution (vers. 21-23). And what he would do is this: 1. He would work within their hearts an entire change of thought and feeling, removing their strong stubbornness and replacing it with a childlike sensibility. 2. He would thus lead them to live in purity and uprightness before the eyes of those among whom they dwelt. Thus would be magnify his holy Name. 3. Then he would restore them to the old relation which they had forfeited by their sin; they should be again his people, and he would be their God, dwelling among them and ruling over them in peace and righteousness. We have here the three constantly recurring elements of true piety. I. lNwABD RENEWAL, (Ver. 26.) Consisting of: 1. Sensibility taking the place of indifference or stubborn rebelliousness. Instead of the "stony heart" is the "heart of flesh ; " instead of an utter, brutish disregard of Divine claims or a perverse ond froward determination to reject them, is the "new heart," the "new spirit" of openness of mind, willingness which ends in eagerness to learn of God, responsiveness of feeling when he speaks, tenderness of conscience under the spoken truth of Christ. 2. Humility taking the place of pride or careless unconcern; a sense of past sin and of present unworthiness; the inward conviction that God has not been remembered, reverenced, served, trusted, as he should have been, and that life has been stained with many errors, faults, shortcomings, transgressions; a spirit of true penitence and shame; a voice, not loud but deep, says within the soul, "I have sinned," 3. Consecration instead of selfishness. The heart turns BWI\Y from selfishness and from worldliness toward God, toward the Divine Redeemer, whom it receives gladly and fully as the Saviour of tho soul, as the Sovereign of the life. II. OUTWARD RECTITUDE. "I will cause you to walk in my statutes," eto. (ver. 27). The obe?ience which springs from mere dread of penalty is of very small account; but that which proceeds from a loyal and a loving heart is worth everything. The Divine S~n, _who was also a Servant, could say, "I delight to do thy will; . , . thy Law is w1tlnn my heart." And when the new spirit or the now heart is within us, we can speak in the sam~ strain. Our piety passes, with perfect naturalness, from the reverent thought to th~ !1ght word; from the grateful feeling to the upright action, from the consecrated spmt to the devoted and useful life. We obey God's word because we honour himself; we keep the commandments of Christ because we love our Lord (John xiv. 16, 21, 23). If the Spirit of God be in us we shall bring forth the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. v. 22, 23). Of the commandments of Christ, to which, by his own words or by those of his apostles, he has attached the greatest weight, as indisponsl\ble to the Christian l~fe and 1\8 the condition of his acceptance, we must include purity, truthfulness, sobriety, honesty, reverence, love-the love which forbenrs, which pities which succours in time of need. ' IIL HEAVENLY INTERCOURSE, (Ver. 28.) While still inhabitants of el\rth, our 262 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [oa. x.xxv1. 1-3S