The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 469

,md of the Jewish Churcl1. Accordingly, it was regarded as the charge of tho wholo nation. All Israelites had an interest in its peace and prosperity, and all recognized the honourable obligation of providing for its welfare. ln his ideal reconstitution of the _nation Ezekiel provided that ~he city lands should be cultivated, and the city service should be fulfilled by Israelites selected from all tribes, who also should serve as a militia for its defence. 'l'he principle is a Divine principle which applies to the Church or Christ, the true and spiritual Jerusalem, I. A. U:''IVERSAL SERVICE. As all t~~ tribes of Israel joined. in serving their country't1 metropolis, so m the Church of the D1vme Redeemer no one 1s exempt from contribu- ti_on to the _common good. No one is so _feebl~ or so _o~sc~e ~hat his a.id may be dispensed with. Every age and every land 10 which Chnstlamty 1s professed furnishes a contingent to swell the army of the Lord. 11. l1.. VOLUNTARY SERVICE, No other is acceptable to the Lord, who desires the heart, and who will accept no mechanical, unwilling labour. Cordiality is essential, even though power be slight and opportunity be limited. The professional and official element must always be regarded with anxiety and watchfulness, for the motive must be pure or else the work is marred. Ill. A VARIED SERVICE. Each has his own special gift, and none should be under- valued, far less despised. Young and old, learned and lay, those in public and those in private life, all have their work to do, their part to fulfil. None can be spared, 'l'he Church is built upon its Divine Foundation through the labours of many minds, many voices, many hands. The one Master finds work for all. "He hos his young men at the war, His little onea at home." IV. A DIGNIFIED AND HONOURABLE SERVICE. To do anything e.t the bidding of such a Master, and for the progress of such a cause, may well be esteemed a privilege. Our Lord himself, by his incarnation, ministry, and sacrifice, has done more than could have been done in any other way to teach us the true dignity of service. If it be an honour to serve a great nation, a powerful king, how much higher is the honour of serving the Lord Jesus and those for whom he died I V, A. SERVICE WHICH IS LIBERALLY RECOMPENSED. Our Lord himself saw of the travail of his soul, and was satisfied. And when the promise is given to his faithful servants aud followers, that they shall enter into the joy of their Lord, this is equivalent to an assurance that, sharing his toil, they shall also share his recompense. The safety and the growth, the prosperity and the glory, of the city is e.n abundant reward to the citizen who works with diligence and self-denial for its good. And the Christian has no greater joy than to witness the increase and the fame of the heavenly Jerusalem, and no brighter hope than to share his Master's throne,-T. Ver. 35.-" The Lord is there." A. sublime close to a glorious book of prophecy. Ezekiel has had occasion to witness against Jerusalem, to upbraid the inhabitants of the city for their unfaithfulness to their God and to their privileges, to threaten • chastisement and desolation, and to lament because his prediction has been fulfilled. But as he turns his vision away from the actual to the ideal, from the past to the future, from the Jerusalem that now is to the Jerusalem which is from above which is the mother of us all, from the Jewish state to the Church of God which that state foreshadowed, his mind i8 elevated with a sacred rapture, he beholds his brightest hopes fulfilled, God in very deed dwells with man-" the name of the city from that day shall be, Tbe Lord is there." 1. To DISPLAY HIS FAITHFULNESS TO THE OITY. The purposes and promises of God to man stand written indelibly upon the sacred page. Not one word that he has spoken shall fail; all shall be fulfilled. "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." "The mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but my faithfulness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy upon thee." II. To RULE AND GOVERN THE CITY, Not with the harshness of e. despotic tyrant, but with the wisdom and justice of a beneficent Sovereign, does Jehovah bear sway over hiti redeemed and happy Church. He represses all rebellion and disorder, he pro- (JB, xtvm. 1-35,] THt BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 485