we may be offered unusual facilities for coming before God, but there is no day and there is no hour when we may not draw nigh unto him, when he is not willing and even desirous that we should pour onr prayers or our praises into his ear. II. FnoM ALL DmEOTIONB. These gates looked in all directior.s-north, south, east, and west. From a.11 the four quarters of the land the children of Israel were to draw near to the sacred city and to the more sacred sanctuary of the Lord. From all possible directions a.re we now to approach God. 1. All geographival directions. There is no sort of favouritism anywhere. As well be born in a.ny onQ place under heaven as iu any other. There is no Jerusa.lem, no Gerizim, no Meccay no Benares, no Rome, in the kingdom of Christ. "Where'er we seek thee, thou a.rt fonnd, And every place is hallowed gronnd." 2. All moral directions. We may approach God from a. great variety of spiritual standpoints. (1) From that of the burdened sinner seeking forgiveness and release. (2) From that of the son who has been painfully conscious of a long estrangement or a growing coldness, and who is anxious for full reconciliation and for close and happy, perhaps renewed, intercourse with his Father. (3) From that of a rejoicing spirit longing to bring his gladness in holy and happy gratitude to the altar of the Lord. ( 4) From that of the troubled and sorrowful soul seeking comfort of him who "raiseth up them that are bowed down." (5) From that of the seeker after righteousness, who is longin" for more complete deliverance from evil and greater likeness to his Divine Leader, ~king for the cleansing and renewing influences of the Spirit of God. (6) From that of the earnest worker in the vineyard, pleading for the effectuating power which alone will make his efforts to be crowned with a true success. But from whatsoever direction a man draws near to God he will fir.d an open gate, a welcome, a response. But there is now one Name only that is inscribed. All entrance is- 111. THROUGH JEsus CHRIST. He is "the Door," and "no man cometh unto the Father but by him." By him both Jew and Gentile "have access unto the Father" (John x. 7; xiv. 6; Eph. ii. 18). Jesus Christ is our Mediator (1 Tim. ii. 5); he is the one Propitiation for our sins, having offered the one sacrifice for sins for ever (1 John ii. 2; Heb. ix. 26; x. 12). It is through him we come, and it is his Na.me we plead (John xvi. 23). He is the open Door, and whether we approach as sinners seeking reconciliation, or as children or friends seeking communion and blessing, we ha.ve con- stant admission to the ever-accessible Father of our epirits.-C. Ver. 35.-Thepresence of Ohrist in his Church. Far more valua.ble to the Church of Jesus Christ is that Divine presence here promised than was the sacred Shechinah to the ancient people. The latter was only a mere symbol, once a year beheld by one man; but the former is a gracious power, to be appreciated and felt by every true Christian hea.rt. "God is in the midst of her;" "'l'he Lord is there," or (as Fairbairn would tra.nslate it) "The Lord is thither or thereupon;" the Lord from hie temple looks towards (or upon) the city, and through the city to the whole land. It is the presence of its Divine Lord in the midst of the Church that is here indicated, and it may well be the concluding, as it is the crowning, thought which gives completeness to the prophet's vision. I. His OBSERVANT PRESENCE. Jesus Christ is "with us always" (Matt. xxviii. 20); not in the body, but in the spirit; and his spiritual presence means Ma observatio1i of us, his perfect knowledge of us all, his observation of our inner life and of our outward conduct, in the homes in which we live and in the different spheres in which we move, as well as when we are gathered together in his house or around his table. The near presence of our Lord is a thought which should preserve us from folly and from sin, which should urge us to duty and to kindness, whioh should sustain us in trouble and in loss. IL His SYMPATHETIC PBEBEN0E. We have need of his presence at all times, but we realize our need more especially and more profoundly in the time of our a.fllicUon. It is then we want a Divine Friend and an all-powerful Deliverer. Man fails us then; he ma.y be something or even much to us, but he leaves much to be desired. And to feel that "the Lord is there," in the tria.le of the household, in the anxieties of d,,ily 490 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [au. nvin. 1-86.
duty, in the pressing problems and sacred struggles of the Church, is much to the mind of the devout. In Jesus Christ we have a present, sympathizing Friend, who enters into our sorrows, who goes down with us into the deepest waters through which we have to pa!IS. III. His ACTIVE PRESENCE. Our Lord is with us, not only observing us and feeling for us, but also <Jeting gr<Ui=ly upon us and through w. 1. Illuminating our minds by the inspiration of his Holy Spirit. 2. Sustainin~ our spiritual life by Divine com- munications of power (see Eph. i. 19). 3, Responaing to our devotion, accepting our praise and our adoration, hearing and answering our prayers. 4. Energizing and effectuating our work, enabling us to speak for him, and making our words to be "mighty to pull down" and to build up. The near presence of Christ should be the most powerful incentive to the pursuit of spiritual worth and to the execution of Christian enterprise. PRACTICAL OONCLUSIONS, 1. Do ,zot indulge in a vain regret. It would have been very pleasant to "see the Lord " as his apostles saw him, to look into his face, to hear his voice; and very honourable it would have been to minister to his necessities as they were permitted to do; but we can be, in fact and in truth, as near to him now as they were then; and still we listen to bis word, and still we serve him most acceptably for inasmuch as we show kindness or render help to "one of these little ones of his," we do the same thing "unto him." 2. Do not cherish an unfounded hope. Many are the souls that lived long and died disappointed, expecting to have a present visible Saviour amongst them. We need not add to their number; the words of promise find another fulfilment than this. 3. Realize the valuable truth, the invaluable truth, that our Lord is with us now, loving us, caring for us, strengthening and comforting us, governing and using us, blessing us with all priceless blessings. 4. Make the present heritage a foretaste of the future. Live in such happy and holy consciousness of the presence of the Lord that it will only be a change of ·scene and sphere, not of spiritual condition, when we are citizens of that country where" God himself shall be with them," where "he who sits on the throne shall dwell among them," of that city which may well be called " J ehovah-Shamml\h," for " the Lord is there." -C. HOMILETICAL INDEX TO
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL.