The Privilege and Power of the Godly, Their Nature and Limitation
W. Jones Ezekiel 14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, said the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter… Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, etc. Three very distinguished men are here mentioned, two of whom had long passed away from this world and all its scenes, the other was yet amongst men upon earth. Yet Noah and Job are spoken of as still in being. Absent from this world, they were yet living and present in the great universe of God. These undesigned testimonies to man's immortality, to be met with frequently in the Scriptures, afford the basin for a strong argument in support of that fact. "The dead are like the stars by day, Withdrawn from mortal eye; But not extinct, they hold their way In glory through the sky. Spirits from bondage thus set free Vanish amidst immensity, Where human thought, like human sight, Fails to pursue their trackless flight." Daniel at this time, like Ezekiel, was an exile in Babylon, and was eminent both for his piety and his position. Noah, Daniel, and Job were all good men and great men; they are enrolled amongst the most illustrious of our race. The prophet in this paragraph predicts "four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence," by reason of their idolatry and other sins. And in the text he declares that, when the hour of judgment arrives, even the presence of such men as Noah, Daniel, and Job in the doomed city would not avail to save any but their own souls. I. THE PRIVILEGES OF GOOD MEN. Our text announces the safety of good men even in the extremest dangers and the most irresistible judgments. "They shall... deliver their own souls by their righteousness." History affords remarkable examples of the deliverance of the good in times of sore peril (cf. Genesis 7:23; Genesis 18:32; Genesis 19:15-25). But it is not often that the godly are exempted from the calamities and judgments which befall the wicked. Thus Daniel, Ezekiel, and other holy men were carried into Chaldea with those to whom the exile was the punishment of idolatry, and were now suffering that exile with them. But invariably "they deliver their own souls by their righteousness." "If their bodies be not delivered, yet their souls are." Amid the overthrow of cities, the ruin of countries, or even the wreck of the world, their spiritual interests are secure. Moreover, though they are not exempt from general calamities, yet to them the calamities wear a different aspect from that which they present to the wicked. They are sustained under them, and enabled to hear them with heroic patience. The suffering which comes to the wicked as the judgment of a stern Ruler comes to the righteous as the chastisement of a loving Father. And, by his grace, out of the scars of suffering, God will evolve the beauties of holiness. The darkness and anguish which embitter and harden the heart of the wicked will increase the trust and tenderness and refine the graces of the righteous. II. THE POWER OF GOOD MEN. Our text implies that Noah, Daniel, and Job had power to do much for their fellow men; that they could do much in averting destruction and saving man. The warning that these three saints would not be able to screen them from this judgment implies the belief on the part of the people of Jerusalem that the good men amongst them, by their lives and prayers, would turn aside the threatening storm. If any can turn away the judgments of Heaven from a nation of evil doers, good men can do it. God may spare the wicked because of the righteous. The power of good men to avert Divine wrath from a people has at least two branches. 1. The power of moral influence with men. They are "the salt of the earth." Were it not for their influence society would become hopelessly corrupt, and the storm of God's judgment would sweep the guilty race from the earth. 2. The power of intercession with God. We have illustrious examples of this (cf. Genesis 18:23-32; Exodus 32:11-14, 30-34; Numbers 11:1-3; Numbers 14:13-20; Numbers 16:44-50). Who can estimate the power of the intercession of good men? III. THE LIMITATION OF THE POWER OF GOOD MEN. "Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter." "When the sin of a people has come to its height, and the decree has gone forth for their ruin, the piety and prayers of the best men shall not prevail to finish the controversy. This is here asserted again and again, that, though these three men were in Jerusalem at this time, yet they should deliver neither son nor daughter, not so much as the little ones should be spared for their sakes." This shows how dark and terrible the guilt of the inhabitants of Jerusalem must have been (cf. Jeremiah 15:1; Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah 11:14). When the forbearance of God is exhausted, any number of the holiest of men cannot ward off the stroke of doom. Character may become so utterly depraved that reformation is impossible, and then nothing but judgment remains. Moral disease may become so deeply rooted and strong that no influence can overcome it, no power eradicate it, and then destruction is inevitable. When the Divine means of reformation have all been tiled, and all have failed, what remains but utter ruin? "Abused patience will turn at last into inexorable wrath." CONCLUSION. 1. Our subject speaks earnestly to parents concerning the salvation of their children. If you would save your children you must begin to work early and wisely. While the chains of evil habits are unforged, and the heart is susceptible of sacred impressions, and the conscience sensitive, and the sympathies tender, we must seek the salvation of our children if we would secure it. Oh, the time may come when the holiest of men "shall deliver neither son nor daughter" from the storms of God's judgment! 2. Our text reminds us all that salvation is a personal concern. Our kinsfolk and friends may be pious in life and powerful in prayer; but their piety will not avail for them and for us. No man possesses superfluous grace. Continuance in sin may lead, nay, must lead, to a moral condition in which the prayers of the most loving and sainted parents may avail nothing for their own son or daughter. You must believe on Jesus Christ for yourself, repent of your sins yourself. You must "work out your own salvation." There is no working by proxy here. "Each man shall bear his own burden." "Each one of us shall give account of himself to God." Therefore "strive to enter in by the narrow door," etc. "Give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure." - W.J. Parallel Verses KJV: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. WEB: though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, says the Lord Yahweh, they should deliver neither son nor daughter; they should but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.