Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, etc. This paragraph was addressed to Ezekiel's fellow exiles. "Say unto the people of the land;" i.e. of Chaldea. The design was to discourage the false expectations of the captives, who were looking forward to an early season of prosperity for their native land, in which they hoped to share. To this end the prophet shows to them that, in respect to their fellow countrymen in Jerusalem, there would be a cutting off of the physical comforts of life, great anxiety and distress of mind, and sad devastation of both cities and country, and all these things because of the sins of the people, or "for the violence of all who dwell in it." Several things call for attention.

I. SIN DEPRIVING SINNERS OF THE PHYSICAL COMFORTS OF LIFE. "Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; and say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord God of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel [or, 'in the land of Israel']; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment." These words point to the cutting off of the comforts of life, and the possession of the mere necessaries thereof. But not always does sin produce consequences such as this. Sin and secular prosperity have often gone hand in hand (cf. Genesis 13:10, 13; Psalm 73:3-12; Luke 12:16-20; Luke 16:19-26). But in these cases the prosperity was precedent to the Divine judgment or to the full development of sin. When that development had taken place, and that judgment was being exercised, there was a striking reversal of circumstances in each case. In the siege of Jerusalem, to which our text points, physical comforts and luxuries disappeared, and long before its close men deemed themselves fortunate if they could secure bread and water. And in our age the wicked may prosper in the world and increase in riches; but in the time of retribution, whenever it arrives, sin will be found injurious to all the true interests of man. Sin often strips the sinner of physical comforts, and even of the bare necessaries of life. Drunkenness, gluttony, indolence, wastefulness, bring many a person and many a family to abject poverty and want (cf. Proverbs 6:9-11; Proverbs 19:15; Proverbs 23:21; Proverbs 24:30-34).

II. SIN DEPRIVING SINNERS OF PEACE AND SERENITY OF SPIRIT. "Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness.... They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment." They would eat even the necessaries of life, not in peace and comfort, but in anxiety and alarm. Their distress may have arisen from tear lest their scanty supplies of food should fail them, and so they ate "their bread with carefulness." And to this was joined terror of their enemies who surrounded them, causing them to take of the sustenance of life "with quaking, trembling, and astonishment." It is of the nature of sin, when it is developed, to destroy peace and calmness of mind, and to produce terror and distress. "The wicked are like the troubled sea," etc. (Isaiah 57:20, 21). Without doubt we may often find the wicked in their sad career untroubled either by guilt or fear; but forevery one the time of awakening comes, and with it security departs and terror arrives. "When the pleasure has been tasted and is gone," says Mr. Froude, "and nothing is left of the crime but the ruin which it has wrought, then the furies take their seats upon the midnight pillow." "The wicked flee when no man pursueth." "The sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth."

III. SIN DESOLATING THE LAND IN WHICH IT WAS COMMITTED. "That her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate." Instead of "That her land may be desolate from all that is therein," the margin reads, "from the fulness thereof." The meaning seems to be that the land would be "stripped of all its inhabitants and of all its wealth." The land of Israel was once fair and fertile - "a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills," etc. (Deuteronomy 8:7-9). In the time of Solomon the Tyrians received large quantities of corn and wine and oil from this fruitful land (1 Kings 5:11; 2 Chronicles 2:10). But what is its condition now? And what has been its condition for ages past? "He turneth a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein." "The plain of Jordan, well watered everywhere, and as the garden of the Lord" (Genesis 13:10) is not the only example of fertility, being changed into barrenness because of the sins of the people. Other lands have had a similar fate, but by a different process. There are sins by which lands are still laid waste. Indolence, effeminacy, self-indulgence, delight in war, and social oppression, in every age produce impoverishment and desolation in any country where they prevail.

IV. DIVINE JUDGMENT BECAUSE OF SIN LEADING SINNERS TO KNOW THAT JEHOVAH IS THE ONE LIVING AND TRUE GOD. "And ye shall know that I am the Lord" (see our notes on these words in Ezekiel 6:7, 10; Ezekiel 11:10). - W.J.

The union of omniscience with sympathy, Of active cognisance of human thoughts with infinite mercy, is expressed in Hebrews 4:12-16. There are no reflections more interesting than those connected with the Divine knowledge of man. Our duty is to ponder all this fact includes. The instinct of the Divine love must be the very strongest feeling in us all; because it never occurs to anyone that God's knowledge of our thoughts can prevent the outflow of His love, or the reality of His fellowship. Yet if anyone else were acquainted with us, with everything that comes into our minds, we should certainly incur his hate and contempt. I believe, therefore, that the instinct of God's love towards us is like that of parental love, a great original attribute of humanity which sin has grievously obscured, so that in the minds of thousands it has been utterly subverted, and God has appeared as a vindictive tyrant, requiring to be appeased with human blood. But the purpose of the Gospel is to assure us that "God is love"; and the inclination to make Him the depository of every secret is grounded on that instinct, Which the fall has not been able to extinguish — that He who knows us best, loves us most. What a strong interest He must feel in people, to take active cognisance of everything that comes into their minds! God takes the deepest interest in the thoughts of the weakest the commonest, and the most selfish, when their thoughts must be repulsive, hateful, and abominable to Him; He searches into them, and sends messengers to assure us that He is not indifferent to the thoughts of His creatures. The mind of man is the greatest and most wonderful product of the Almighty. It is the nearest approach to the Divine — it is the Divine image. This is His chief work. We are warranted in concluding that, next to God our Saviour, the greatest thing in the universe is a man's mind, and that this is the reason why the Maker looks narrowly at everything that comes into it. The mind is the sphere of the Divine government, where the sovereign Ruler displays His great wisdom, holiness, and truth. Because man can obey and love, can feel responsibility, sense of duty, sense of sin, therefore he is the subject of rule. It is in ruling men that the highest qualities are always displayed. Here righteousness, the highest of all things, can be expressed. We cannot conceive of God showing His righteousness unless He had subjects like ourselves to govern. For it is through opposition, ignorance, injustice, selfishness, want, that righteousness in a ruler comes to be felt and admired. Where there is no wrong, how could we see the right? Mind in opposition to God shows us His holy mind. The mind is the sphere of Divine rule, and it is the seat of rebellion. And the righteous government of heaven is exercised to restore this chief of God's works to loyalty. In man, the metropolis of the universe is in revolt. This is the reason why He who is our Lord and God would have us assured that He "knows the things that come into our mind, every one of them." To give the history of His knowledge and purpose to conciliate the mind of His subject is to give the history of the Bible. The great crowning act of His righteous rule is She mission of His Son. This shows His purpose — to reconcile; not to vanquish, destroy, condemn, but to persuade; to carry our convictions — to constrain our minds. In sending His Son, I think we have a right to conclude that the business of reconstituting the spirit of man is the first and greatest thought of God, in which His wisdom and power are most of all put forth. Here is "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" Then let us learn to look on the operations of our minds with the aid of these truths. Nothing can be insignificant that comes into your mind, if God takes knowledge of it. Passing thoughts that come and go — love and hate — passion and regret — reverence and hope — conviction and prayer — the thought of God — the thought of your child — if they are watched and scanned by Him, can we be indifferent to them?

(B. Kent, M. A.)