The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 388

ministered in his sanctuary; he was their Inheritance. This declaration is suggestive of a wider truth, viz. that God is the Portion and Inheritance of all his people. I. THE LORD PROVIDES FOB ALL THE NEED1 BOTH TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL, o-, Tll0SE WHO TRUST IN Hllll. II. THE Loso lS THE Joy AND ColllFOBT OF THE HEARTS OF ALL WHO LOVE Hill. III. THE LoBD IS THE EVERLASTING PORTION OF ALL WHO BEEK AND SERVE HIM: HERE. .A.PPLIOATION. Such a declaration as this should assist those who profess themselves to be God's people to overcome the natural tendency to be anxious and careful con- cerning their temporal state and prospects. It should encourage them to set their affection upon things above-upon the true riches, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be a\so."-T. Ver. 29.-The devoted thing. There were objects, both animate and inanimate, in connection with the worship and the sacrifices of the temple, which were in an especial sense dedicated and devoted to the Lord. By~this provision, spiritual instruc- tion was afforded, and religious reverence was encouraged. As in the Christian dispensation nothing is common or unclean, we are taught to regard everything that belongs to and is associated with the Christian as consecrated to the Lord. I. ALL THAT THE CHRISTIAN RAJ! IS DEVOTED TO THE LORD lN VIRTUE OF WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE FOB BIJII, 1. Everything is the Lord's gift. V{hat have we that we did not receive? 2. Everything is redeemed by Christ, who, in giving himself a ransom for us, redeemed our possessions and our powers unto himseU: II. ALL THAT THE CHRISTIAN HAS IB DEVOTED TO THE LORD IN vmTUE OF ms CONSCIOUS SUBBENDEB AND DELIBERATE CONSEOBATlON OF HIMSELF TO HIS REDEEMING Goo. The dedication which the tr1,1e Christian has made of himself to his Saviour is unreserved. " Yet if I might make some reserve, And duty did not call, .; I love my Lord with zeal so great That I would give thee all I" As it was foretold that upon the bells of the horses should be inscribed, "Holiness unto the Lord," so, as a matter of fact, should the sincere Christian devote to his Redeemer all the common possessions, all the daily opportunities, with which Providence enriches him. ill. THIS PRINCIPLE LENDS A b"EW BEAUTY AND DIGNITY TO ALL THAT TIIE CHRISTIAN OWNS AND DOES. Every Christian's life is dedicated, and all his property and all his talents and influence are devoted. He is not his own. Thus the light of heaven is shed upon the darkness of earth, and common things are not without a glory, because they are sanctified and ennobled as used for the service and the praise ofGod.-T. Vers. 4-9.-(Jhwrch-worship vital to tke soul. As the heart is vital to the body, and sends its tide of life to every organ in the system, so the sanctuary is the central source of spiritual life to the human commonwealth. What the Church is, the home will be, the town will be, the nation will be. The guilt contracted by Israel in the temple was a fount of iniquity whence defilement spread to every part of the body politic. The sin of the sanctuary was the sin of sins. Ou the other hand, the sanctuary may be a well-spring of salvation. The loftiest expectations cherished here God will satisfy. "This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell." Here," he that asks, receives." "I looked, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house." I. CauBcH-WOllbHIP 18 SUPREMELY IlllPOllTANT. "Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house." Of such moment to human interests are these laws 1.nd ordinances, that the prophet must give ooncentrated attention to the matter. Every faculty of soul must be engaged to learn the will of God, and to do it. Th~re ire subtle bonds of vital connection between the human soul and temple-worship, which easily escape the notice of the eye. 'l'o gain the good which God intends W8 must prepa.ro the heart and mind beforehand. "Mark well the entering in of the cm. XLIV. 1-31.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 403