Well, let us turn once again
to this portion we were just reading, and I want this evening
for a while before we come again to the Lord in prayer, I want
to direct you to the words that we have at the beginning of the
second chapter here in the book of the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel
chapter 2, and I'll read verses 1 and 2. And he said unto me, Son of man,
stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the Spirit
entered into me when He spake unto me, and set me upon my feet,
that I heard Him that spake unto me. These two verses end at the
beginning of the second chapter, and He said unto me, Son of man,
stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the Spirit
entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet,
and I heard him that spake unto me. We have then here in the
opening verses of the book of course the account of the calling
of Ezekiel, the calling of the prophets, God's words to his
servants. And I want to think about that
word for a while, what sort of a word it is. It's a personal
word we'll observe. It's a word of promise. It's
also a powerful word. What is it that we read concerning
this man as God begins to have these solemn dealings with him?
Well, he sees something of the glory of God as he is there favored
to see a remarkable vision of God's throne. We read those words
at the end of chapter 1. And there in verse 26, the likeness
of a throne, we're told, as the appearance of a sapphire stone.
And upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the
appearance of a man upon it. It's a vision then of God and
of the glories of God that this prophet actually sees. We didn't read all of that chapter. It's not an easy chapter to read,
let alone to interpret. But we do have a description
of God's throne and those living creatures about His throne. And
of course God had established His throne there in the midst
of Israel. In Jerusalem was the Temple of
the Lord, and there was the Oracle, the Holy of Holies, where was
housed the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat, and that
was the place where God said He would come and commune with
His people. The Mercy Seat was His throne. And the nation, as we saw in
Chapter 2, are such a wicked nation. impudent children, stiff-hearted,
God says. And God speaks very much of judgment. In fact, the judgment had began
because Ezekiel is prophesying at the time of the captivity,
had been removed into exile into Babylon, and he is taken there
But what we have in the opening chapters is quite striking, really,
because we see, in a sense, how God is departing. God is departing
from the midst of his people. We have this throne, and the
throne is removed, as it were, from Jerusalem. And, in a sense,
it moves in an easterly direction. It's really God, as it were,
is going to be with those who are taken into exile. He will
preserve them there for 70 years and in the appointed time He
will restore them. But it's interesting to see what
follows concerning this vision of the throne of God that we
have in the opening chapter. We turn to chapter 10 and there
at verses 18 and 19 it says, Then the glory of the Lord departed
from off the threshold of the house, that is the temple, and
stood over the cherubims, and the cherubims lifted up their
wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they
went out, the wheels also were beside them, and everyone stood
at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house, and the
glory of the God of Israel was over them above." So, they're
moving now, you see, away from the temple, out at the east gate
of the Lord's house. And then, in the following chapter,
chapter 11, and there at verses 22 and 23, we read these words,
Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside
them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the Lord went
up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which
is on the east side of the city. The imagery is of God, as it
were, departing, removing himself from the midst of Jerusalem,
moving to the east of the temple, and then moving out of the city
to the mountain on the east. And the people, of course, have
been taken in that eastern direction, they're being taken into exile. And so, what we have in the opening
chapter is significant, because it describes to us something
of that throne and the wheels, and so forth. But I want us really
to consider the effect that this particular site, as upon Ezekiel
himself, when he sees God as it were seated upon his throne,
we read there at the end of verse 28 in chapter 1, this was the
appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when
I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that
spake. And he said unto me, Son of man,
stand upon my feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the Spirit
entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet,
that I heard him that spake unto me. What is this word that God
is speaking unto the Prophet? Well, as I said, I want to consider
three aspects, really, with regards to the word. First of all, the
significant thing, really, is that it is a personal word. As
he says here, in the opening clause of the second chapter,
He said unto me, He said unto me, How real religion is that personal. It's God and the individual.
And we see it really repeatedly. How He addresses him, very personally,
as the Son of Man. He said unto me, Son of Man,
there in verse 1. And then again in verse 3, He
said unto me, Son of Man. verse 6 and thou the personal
pronoun and thou son of man verse 8 but thou son of man hear me
or hear what I say unto thee now he's dealing with this man
in a very intimate way he's addressing him personally and it's interesting
that he uses this term son of man It's really a term of affection. It is, of course, a title that's
actually given to the Lord Jesus Christ in Daniel's prophecy. And there in the seventh chapter
of that book, in verse 13, Daniel says, I saw in the night visions,
and behold, one like the Son of Man. came with the clouds
of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him
near before Him. And there was given Him, that
is, the Son of Man, glory in the kingdom, that all people,
nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom,
that which shall not be destroyed." It's a prophecy, of course, of
the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Son of Man.
He is God's. manifest in the flesh. And the
Puritan commentator, Greenhill, commenting on this book of Ezekiel,
says that this title, Son of Man, is given 40 times and upward
to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's used repeatedly, as I'm
sure you're aware, in the Gospels. He's often there referred to
as the Son of Man. But also, says the old Puritan,
that it's used above 80 times in reference to this prophet
Ezekiel. Now, the only other person who
is referred to as Son of Man is Daniel in Daniel 8.17 that
prophet is also referred to as the son of man but it's a name
that is found time and time again here in this prophecy and as
I said it's very much a term of affection how this man is
God's man and he's God's prophet and is a faithful servant of
his master. But as the term son of man indicates
something of the Lord's affection for Ezekiel, so it's a name that
also tends to humble a man. Does it not in a sense remind
Ezekiel of his base origin? Literally, the expression son
of man here is son of Adam. Adam is a Hebrew word for man. There are two words used in the
Old Testament which can be translated as man and Adam is one of them. The name Adam is of course the name that's
given to the first man. But now it reminds man of his
origin. It literally means red earth.
And the Lord God, we're told, formed man of the earth. There in Genesis 2, he breathes
into his nostril the breath of life, he becomes a living soul,
but his body is formed of the earth. And Remember those words
that we have in Jeremiah's book, Jeremiah 22-29, how he addresses
the nation of Israel. And how does he address them?
He says, O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. He reminds them of their base
origin. When we think of the name Son
of Man, it not only reminds us of man's
origin. It also reminds us of man's sad
end. When Adam and Eve disobey and
the curse comes, what does the Lord God say unto the man? Dost thou art? And unto dust
shalt thou return? Or the dust returns to the earth
as it was and the spirit to God who gave it, we read at the end
of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 12, 7. The dust returns to the
earth, the body returns to the earth as it was and the spirit
goes to God who gave it, man's end. Now the body of course is
laid in the earth and decays. This term then doesn't only indicate
God's affection for the Prophet, it also is a reminder of his
base origin, his sad end, his frailty. How frail we are, how
we live to prove, of course, our mortality. The Prophet says,
or rather the Psalmist says, Put them in fear, O Lord, that
the nations may know themselves to be but men. All we have to
know that we are but men and women. We are creatures of the
day, feeble, frail creatures. And of course, as the years pass,
so we increasingly learn to feel that we are but mortal after
all. We have to prove the devil's
terrible lie when he says to Eve, you shall be as gods. feeble,
frail creatures is what we are, and we're unworthy. We're unworthy. The psalmist asked that question,
what is man? That thou art mindful of him,
and the son of man that thou visitest him. Why does God take
account of men? Oh, there is here then in this
word, this personal word, an indication of God's affection
for this man, but also It reminds him, doesn't it, of what he is. It's a humbling. And of course
that should be the effect where there is a revelation of God. And this is what we have here.
This is the consequence of what this man is favoured to witness. This was the appearance of the
likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell
upon my face. And I heard a voice of one that
spake, and he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon my feet, and
I will speak unto thee. And the Spirit entered into me
when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, and I heard
him that spake unto me. How he is humbled before God!
It was the same in the experience of Daniel. In Daniel chapter
10, and there at verse 8 following, He has seen a remarkable vision
of God, similar to what had been experienced by Ezekiel. And he
says there at verse 8, Therefore I was left alone, and saw this
great vision, and there remained no strength in me, for my comeliness
was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet
heard I the voice of the words, and when I heard the voice of
his words, then I was in a deep sleep, on my face, and my face
toward the ground. And behold, a hand touched me,
which set me upon my knees, and upon the palms of my hands. And
he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the
words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright. For unto thee
am I no saint. And when he had spoken this word
unto me, I stood trembling. As Ezekiel is there upon his
face, bowed down to the earth, so too
was Daniel. And so too, of course, was John
the Apostle. There in Revelation, when I saw
him, he says, I fell at his feet as dead. He saw the vision of
the glorified Christ. I fell at his feet as dead, he
said. He laid his right hand upon me
and said, Fear not, I am the first and I am the last. I am
he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore,
amen. And have the keys of hell and
of death. Oh, if we know anything of the
Lord, if we have any experience, of His greatness and His glory,
it will be a humbling experience. But God must deal with us in
that way, in that personal way. This is how the Lord is dealing
then with the Prophet, as He is calling and commissioning
him to be His servant. It is a personal word that comes
to the man, and the effect of that word. But then also, When
God comes, He always comes with a word of promise. What we have
in verse 1 is not just bare commandment. There is that. He says, Son of
Man, stand upon my feet. But there's not just command,
is there? There's also promise. I will speak unto thee. What a promise is that? That
the Lord will speak unto a man that God is pleased to condescend
to speak to the sons of men it's a promise you know when we consider
God's promise we have God's promise in his word what is the gospel
it is the promise of God oh God when he comes and deals with
us as sinners he doesn't just drive us he doesn't just come
in the law now he comes by his grace in the gospel he draws
he encourages and what does he do with men he first humbles
them to the dust and then he exalts them there is a ministry
of the law it's that ministry of condemnation it's that ministry
of death but now the law is meant to serve the gospel God turns man to destruction,
yes makes man see what he is before that holy law but then
having turned man to destruction he says to the man, return all
return ye children of men here is the divine order, God's word,
his promise is one that speaks comfort to those souls who are
troubled those who are cast down, here is a man cast down I fell
upon my face he says and again here we see him upon his face but
God comes with a gracious word God calls him to stand upon his
feet and says I will speak unto thee. And what does God speak
unto him? Well, if we go over to the next chapter, chapter
3, we read of the little book. Verse 1 of chapter 3, he says
unto the prophets, Son of man, find us, take this scroll, And go, speak unto the house
of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he
caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man,
cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that
I give thee. Then did I eat it, and it was in my mouth as honey
for sweetness." All the sweetness when God comes in His Word. When
God gives such a promise to a man, I will speak unto the man whom
He had humbled to the dust. it's a word of promise but then
thirdly what we have here in these verses is also surely a
powerful word stand upon thy feet and I will
speak unto thee and then we read verse 2 the spirit entered into
me when he spake unto me and set me upon my feet that I heard
him that spake unto me What do we have here? Well, we have that
gracious ministry of God, the Holy Spirit. Look at what it says there at
the beginning of that second verse. The Spirit entered into
me when he spake unto me. The Spirit is here. And we can think of what we have
later in chapter 37, that remarkable vision of the valley full of
dry bones. And of course, it's a picture, an image of the nation of Israel now, God's ancient
covenant people, they're in exile. They're like an army that's been
overcome in the battle and we see this remarkable vision of
the valley full of dry bones and what is the Prophet to do
is to is to speak is to prophesy unto the dry bones and the bones
come together bone to bone the flesh covers them but there's
still no life in them there at the end of verse 8 in
chapter 37, But there was no breath in them. Then said he
unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say
to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds,
O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live. So
I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into
them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding
great army." And of course the wind, the breath, is the Spirit
of God. The word that's used there is
also the same word that elsewhere is rendered as the Spirit. Context
indicates whether it's to be rendered by words, or breath,
or spirit, but it's the Spirit of God, it's the ministry of
the Holy Spirit that's being spoken of. And so we have it
here at the beginning. The Spirit entered into me, when
he spake upon me, and set me upon my feet. It's interesting,
isn't it? God commands, and then God empowers. We have the command there in
verse 1. Son of man, stand upon thy feet. But he can't stand upon his feet
until the Spirit enters into him. The Spirit entered into
me when he spake unto me and set me upon my feet. This is
the way of God, isn't it? Was it not that great church
father Augustine of Hippo? who says to God give me what
thou commandest and command what thou wilt. Give me what thou
commandest and command what thou wilt. Oh God must empower us
if we're going to do those things that he bids us to do. Where
the word of a king is there is power. This is a powerful word.
We have it on other occasions in scripture. We have it in Psalm
27 and verse 8. The psalmist says, When thou
sayest, Seek in my face, my heart said, Thy face, O Lord,
will I seek. When God says it, He's able to
do it. Because the Spirit is in the
word of the Lord. When thou sayest, Seek in my
face, My heart, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. We have that commandment
that God gives later here in chapter 18 and verse 31, Make
you a new heart and a new spirit. That's the commandment of God.
Make you a new heart and a new spirit. But then, of course,
later we read of the New Covenant. And what is the language of that
New Covenant? Remember chapter 36, verse 26,
"...a new heart also will I give you." and a new spirit will I
put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your
flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will put My Spirit
within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you
shall keep My judgments and do them." That's the New Covenant.
Oh, it's what God does. And how does God do it? He does
it by His Spirit. I will put My Spirit within you. And so the Prophet says, the
Spirit entered into me. when he spake on tomb. What is the promise of the New
Covenant? Well the promise of the New Covenant
is really the Holy Spirit. That's the wonder of it. When we come to the end of the
Gospel, Luke 24 In verse 49, what does the Lord
Jesus say to his disciples there? Behold, I send the promise of
my Father upon you. What is the promise of the Father?
Well, the Lord says, Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until
ye be endued with power from on high. The promise of the New
Covenant is the Holy Spirit and so there they are and when the
day of Pentecost was fully come or when that day was fully come
the fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost the outpouring of
the Spirit of God the Lord Jesus says it is expedient for you
that I go away if I go not away the Comforter will not come but
if I depart I will send him unto you." It is the Spirit, you see,
who is here to raise this man up. God says, stand upon my feet. But the Spirit hands it in to
me. He says, and set me upon my feet. It must be so. Christianity is a spiritual religion.
Where would we be without the Holy Spirit? We need, continually need, that
gracious working of the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit that
quickeneth, says Christ, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you
are Spirit. And life, when we come under
the Word of God, we don't just want the Word of God here before
us in the page of Holy Scripture, we want the Spirit to apply that
Word, to make it real in our souls. It's interesting what
the Lord is saying there in John 6, 63. The Spirit quickeneth. Now the word that we have, the
verb there, to quicken, means to produce life, to make alive,
to cause to live. Where are we? What would we be
without the Spirit? And I fear sometimes we fail
to recognize the significance of this ministry. God, the Holy
Ghost, except a man be born of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the Kingdom of God. Oh, let us recognize in that
remarkable gift that God has given. at best of all donations
that the exalted Christ has shed abroad His Spirit. We're living
in the day of the Holy Spirit. May let us not grieve the Spirit
of God, but rather cherish His ministry
and address our prayers to Him. It's not wrong to pray to the
Spirit. Come thou North wind, blow thou South. The language
of the the bride there in the Song of Solomon. Is she not praying
to the Spirit? The North Wind, the South Wind,
it's the various ministries of the Spirit when He comes to effect
His gracious work in the soul of the sinner. And what does
He do? He doesn't just raise up the
Spirit. He comes, of course, as the Spirit
of Christ. He comes to reveal the Lord Jesus
Christ. here in verse 2 he set me upon
my feet that I heard him that spake unto me he set me upon my feet that's
the spirit that I heard him that spake unto me and who is it through whom God speaks. God
speaks through His Son. We see it so clearly in the New
Testament, when Christ is transfigured there in the mount, and those
favored disciples are there, they hear the words of the Father,
this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. Hear ye Him. Oh, the Father directs us to
the Son. That's where we will hear the
voice of God. The Spirit does the same. The Lord Jesus tells
us concerning the Spirit's ministry when He has come. He says, Christ
ye shall glorify Me. He shall not speak of Himself,
He shall take of Mine and show it unto you. The Spirit comes
as the Spirit of Christ directing us to the Lord Jesus Christ and
so it is here He sent me upon my feet that I heard Him that
spake. What is His name? He is the Word
of God. In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. And the Word was made flesh,
says John, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. The law was given by Moses, yes,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. We need the Spirit then
to come and make known the things of Christ. It's remarkable, isn't
it? Christ is here, of course, in
the call of these prophets. Christ is in the Old Testament,
we know that. The Lord himself tells us, search
the scriptures, they testify of many things, that's the Old
Testament scriptures. But hey, we need the Spirit to
show us these things. We cannot, by dint of our own
studies, come to realize and experience these things. It's
good of course to to read the Word of God, to study the Word
of God, to meditate in the Word of God. Today we need the Spirit.
The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.
They are foolishness to him, neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned. But God hath revealed them unto
us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. What man knoweth the
things of a man? say the spirit of a man which
is in him, even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the
Spirit of God." Indeed the Spirit, no man, can say that Jesus Christ
is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Or we can utter the words, Jesus
Christ is Lord, but what do words mean except they be inscribed
upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit himself I referred to what he goes on
to say in chapter 3 when he's shown that scroll it's spread before him and what's written therein we're
told at the end of chapter 2 Lamentations, mourning, woe Moreover, he said
unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest, eat this roll,
and go, speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth,
and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son
of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this
roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it, and it was
in my mouth as honey for sweetness." It's a strange, strange mixture
here. It's written therein in lamentations
and mourning and woe. But when he eats it, it was in
my mouth, he says, as honey for sweetness. A strange mix, it's
bitter and sweet. It's bitter and sweet. But how
true it is, we have to know something of the bitterness of sin if we're
going to feel the sweetness of salvation. How did the Hebrews
eat the paschal lamb with bitter herbs? They had to eat it with
bitter herbs. We can only appreciate what salvation
is if we know the bitter thing that sin is. And so that's the
ministry of the Spirit again. He reproves. He convinces of
sin, of righteousness, of judgment. Yes, but he also comes to take
of the things of Christ and to reveal them. There's bitterness,
the bitter thing that sin is. But oh, you see, even with the
hungry soul, bitter things are sweet when the Lord has dealings
with us. And this is what the Lord is
doing here with this man. How he humbles him, but he comes
with this very personal word to him. It's a word of affection
as well as a humbling word. And there's attached to it the
gracious promise of God, the promise that the Lord will speak,
I will speak unto thee, he says. But there must be that gracious
ministry, that powerful operation of the Spirit of God to set him
upon his feet, that he might hear the one who is speaking
unto him. Oh, the Lord then grant that
we might in some measure be enabled to enter into Ezekiel's experience
as he sets it before us here in the Word tonight. The Lord
bless the Word to us. We're going to sing our second
praise before we pray. We're going to sing 194, hymn
194, the tune Lydia, 177. Hail mighty Jesus, how divine
is thy victorious Swords, the stoutest rebel must
resign at thy commanding word, Deep are the wounds thy arrows
give, they pierce the hardest heart, Thy smiles of grace the
slain revive, and joy succeeds to smart. 194, TUNE 177.