The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 340

Il. IN THE LIFE OF OUR LoRD, He was the living Temple when he was with us; for was not God mani_fes~, i~ him far l!1ore truly and importantly than he was present "between the cherubim m the lummous cloud? There were three places which in the experience of Jesus Christ, may be said to be" most holy "-the upper room' in Jerusalem, where he "sat down with the twelve" to that sacred meal, and delivered that discourse of priceless value to mankind (John xiv.); the garden of Gethsemane, where he passed th~ough the great agony; and the "place which is called Calvary," where the great sacnfice was offered for the sins of the world. III. IN OUR OWN BUU.DI~Gs NOW. We find such in those sanctuaries or in those chambers which are closely associated with our converse with the Most High. Apart from and independent of any act of formal "consecration," the place where we gather together to worship God, the place where we hold holy and happy fellowship with Christ, the place where we listen with eager mind and fervent spirit to his Divine truth,-this is hallowed ground to us; these are sacred spots which we tread reverently, where we feel near to God, which will always be peculiarly dear to our hearts. IV. IN OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. There are certain very solemn and sacred experiences through which the God of our life "makes us to pass," of which we may truly say that they are "most holy." Of these we have instances in: 1. The time of separation, of loneliness, when we first find ourselves cast upon God for guidance and for fellowship. 2. The day of desperate grief, of overwhelming sorrow, when men can do nothing for us, but God everything. 3. 'l'he hour of very special privilege, when we feel the nearness of Christ, the excellency of his salvation, the power of the world to come, the influence of the Holy Spirit; when we feel that we stand before the open gate of the kingdom of God. 4. The occasion of great opportunity, when it is in our power to make some great sacrifice for others or to render some valuable service to them or to speak faithfully and elfeotively for Jesus Christ.-C. Vers. 18-20, 25.-The significa= of the cherubim. Among the difficulties that attend this question, it seems clear that these composite forms were intended either to represent the human or the angelic, not the Divine. The idea of any artistic repre- sentation of the Divine Being in a Hebrew temple is surely quite inadmissible (see Dent. iv. 15-17). Making our choice, then, between the human and the angelic, w11 distinctly prefer the former, and think that the general idea is that man, when raiseci. to the highest conceivable condition, when possessed of the greatest variety of powers, should bring everything he has and is to the worship and service of God. The fact that, in Ezekiel's vision, the cherubim had so large a share in the ornamentation, " made throogh all the house round about," suggests the very close connection there should be between the finest and highest powers of man and the worship of God. In other places (see eh. i.) we have a far fuller description of these "living ones," and there we have the idea not only of " peerlees strength and majesty" suggested by the "face of a young lion" (ver. 19), but also of patient, productive labour (the ox), and of penetrating vision (the eagle); while the thought of swift motion is conveyed both by the wings and the wheels of the prophet's former vision. Conceive man at his very best, endowed generally with such powers as he is never or rarely possessed of now ; add to those capacities which he does enjoy those which are borrowed from other non- human spheres; and as be would then be, thus invested, thus enlarged and crowned, the fitting thing would be for him to be found in the temple, blessing and praising God. 'l'his is so, in several aspects and for many reasons. I. IT IS HIS MOST SACRED .AND BOUNDEN DUTY. For however high in dignity man may rise, and to whatever commanding faculty he may attain, it is certain that: 1. He will always owe everything he may be or may possess to the creative power of God, and that: 2. He will be dependent on the providentie.l goodness of God for their con- tinuance. Thus gratitude and hope should bring him to the sanctuary, to bless God for bestowing them upon him, and to ask him to sustain and to enlarge them. II. IT IB HIS TRUEST AND HIGHEST HONOUR. There are many engagements by which man does some honour to his human nature; e.g. conversing, reading, discussing, m~ditating, planning, learning, executing works of art, composing works of litera,ure, etc. But never does he confer such honour on himself as when he is worshipping God; then the life of the "living one" reaches its very pig~est point, 'l'o come cou, OH, XLI, 1-26.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 353