The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 198

Vers. 17-19.-_Symptoms of mo-ral, madness. "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, hanng the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all unclean- ness mth greediness." In these verses the Christians at Ephesus are warned against the course of life pursued by the Gentiles, whom he describes as the prey of mental delusion, benighted in intellect, unbridled in licentiousneHs. Our subject is-Symptoms qf mo-ral madness. What is" vanity of mind" in a scriptural sense? Not mere mental fatuity. Ma-ra.r.&T'l]s, vanity, includes moral worthlessness and corruption. Sin is folly, and sinners are justly represented as fools. It is said of the prodigal son, that "when he came to himself" he began to inquire. .A sinner is riot himself. "We learn for the tirst time," says Dr. Arnot, "that the man has been mad by learning that his reason is restored. It is a characteristic of the insane that they never know or confess their insanity until it has passed away: it is when he has • come to himself' that he first discovers he has been beside himself. The two beings to whom a. man living in .,in is most a stranger are himself and God ; when the right mind returns he becomes acqnainted with both a,,,aain. The first act of the prodigal, when light dawned on his darkness, was t-0 con,en;e mth himself, and the second to return to his father." ·we learn from these ¥erses that this moral madness is associated with several things. L Wrm .A1' Th"TELLECT WITHOUT TRUE LIGHT. There a.re two expressions here indi- cating the state of a sinner's intellect. "Understanding darkened" and "ignorance that is in them." When we say that the sinner's intellect is in the dark, we mean, of course, in respect to the spiritual realities and interests of his being. He may have tho light of poetic fancy and of secular intelligence-the stars of general science may beam on his horizon ; but so far as moral light is concerned, he is in the dark. His eyes a.re blinded. Three things show this. 1. His adoption of the partial to the rejection of the complete in enjoyment. He has sensual pleasures, but these pleasures even in their highest measure constitute but an infinitesimal portion of those enjoyments for which human nature craves and for which it is organized-the pleasures of holy loves, devout meditations, sublime fellowships, and uplifting hopes and aims. Is not the man mad who chooses the partial and rejects the complete? 2. His adoption of the fleeting to the rejection of the enduring in enjoyment. 'l'he pleasures and dignities he strives afu,r are all connected with this life, which in its longest periods is brief and it~ ~urei;t conditions uncertain. ,vhat is our life? "A vapour." All is flowing as a stream, all is transient as a dream. The joys and honours of immortality he practically ;~::,,Jrc;; and rejC:ct,;. ls not this 01adneso? 3. His adoption of the ruinous to tu<; CH, IV, 1-32,] THE EPISTLE TO THE :EPHESIANS. 197