The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 413

Oommone. Do what you undertake to do; bo what yon profess to be; be honest, 1incere, faithful in every sphere in which you move. II. THE DIVINE RllGARD. "The eyes of the Lord arc in every place, beholding the evil and the good;" but if they could overlook anything they would not fail to observe whether men did or did not do justice to their fellows. If we suppose that there are some things respecting which God is indifferent, among these, assuredly, is not the question whether we do or leave undone what we have promised to do. From the formal compact, carefully drawn and solemnly ratified between the sovereign and the nation, down to the word of promise made by the tradesman or the sempstress, all our human dealings and undertakings a.re the object of the Divine regard. "I have seen" is a sentence we should do well to hear at all times and in every place when we covenant with men. III. THE DIVINE RECOMPENSE. 1. .Approval or displeasure. We may make quite sure that, when we are acting unfairly or unfaithfully in any relationship whatever, however we may be gathering money or reaping honour, we are laying up a large measure of Divine disapproval; the "auger of the Lord is kindled against us." But when we are acting conscientiously and equitably, however we may be disregarded and passed by on the part of our fellows, we are enjoying the favour of our Lord. 2. Reward or penalty. Faithfulness will bring (1) our own self-respect; (2) the esteem of those whom we serve; (3) the consolidation of our Christian character; (4) com- mendation and promotion in the day of Divine recompense (Luke xix. 17). U nfaith- fulness will have to bear a penalty corresponding to this-the loss of self-respect, public reprobation, degradation of character, Divine condemnation in the future.-C. Ver. 20.-The erring and the simple. The sacrifices under the Law of Moses were not intended for presumptuous, high-handed sins of the worst kind (see Numb. xv. 30; Deut. xvii. 12). They were designed for the less grave offences, more especially for transgressions of the ceremonial law. Here we have an injunction requiring a general, and not individual, offering to be rendered on behalf of those who had been inad- vertently led into error, or who, by reason of mental simplicity, had failed to recognize their duty, and had therefore left it undone. It was valuable as recognizing the responsibility of the nation for those of its members who were less well 11ble to take care of themselves, and it suggests to us our Christian duty to seek, for their sake as much as for our own, to guide or to restore them. I. THE PRESENCE OF THE SIMPLE. We not only come into this world very variously endowed, some having inclinations and faculties of which others are not conscious at all, but our minds are of very different gradations in general capacity. Between that of the man just above imbecility and that of the greatest poet, or statesman, or organizer, how immeasurable the distance I There is quite a considerable company of the imbecile; these have been, in same countries, singularly regarded as in close connection with the supernal powers, and treated with peculiar regard on that account. Otherwise and elsewhere they are usually the objects of a good-natured tolerance. But above these and below the men and women of average intelligence are "the simple "-those who can acquire but very little learning, study how they may; who soon lose their way in reasoning, and are easily worsted in dispute; who cannot look far ahead, and may be readily taken advantage of by tho unscrupulous; who cannot discern dangers ahead, and are specially open to the attacks of the enemy. II. THE PRESENCE OF THE ERRING. It is, no doubt, "the simple" who become "the erring," whoso error is due to their simplicity. But it is not all the simple who err, nor are all the erring to be found among the simple. There are those who leave the strait path without that excuse-men and womon who are possessed of the ordi- nary intelligence and Lave received a very fair measure of instruction and Christian influence, wh~ are found in paths of folly. Some temptation has proved too strong for them. And 1f they are not among the flagrantly immoral, yet is there, in their case, a deviation from the straight line of truthfulness, or of purity, or of sobriety, or of reverence, or of the becoming and the consistent-a deviation which detracts seriously from the worth and beauty of their character, and which makes their beat friends concerned or even alarmed about them. III. Oun BAORED DUTY, WHICH IB OUR PRIVILEGE, CON0ERNING THESE, 1. To guida  428 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [cH. xLv. 1-?.5.