Ezekiel 34:17-18. And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
Oh, how many there are, even of God’s sheep, that foul the waters very much! They come up to God’s house, where, perhaps, they get some sweet morsel in the sermon; but there are some things in it with which they do not quite agree. They are walking home with some young Christian, and he is thinking how blessedly he felt under the sermon; while, perhaps, that old professor is grumbling all the time, and stirring up the waters with his feet. If the pasture is not good enough for you, you should let the lambs eat of it, without treading it down; others like it, though you may not; and if you do not like it, you can always leave it! But what is the use of finding fault with it, and treading it under your feet, and not letting others eat of it? It is a great crime, saith God: "Seemeth it a small thing" to tread it down under your feet, to spoil the spiritual enjoyment of your brethren? It seems, to some, of very little consequence what harm they do to God’s weak ones; but it is not so, it is a great sin to tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures, so you cavillers and critics had better beware.
Ezekiel 34:17-18. And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
Oh, how many there are, even of God’s sheep, that foul the waters very much! They come up to God’s house, where, perhaps, they get some sweet morsel in the sermon; but there are some things in it with which they do not quite agree. They are walking home with some young Christian, and he is thinking how blessedly he felt under the sermon; while, perhaps, that old professor is grumbling all the time, and stirring up the waters with his feet. If the pasture is not good enough for you, you should let the lambs eat of it, without treading it down; others like it, though you may not; and if you do not like it, you can always leave it! But what is the use of finding fault with it, and treading it under your feet, and not letting others eat of it? It is a great crime, saith God: "Seemeth it a small thing" to tread it down under your feet, to spoil the spiritual enjoyment of your brethren? It seems, to some, of very little consequence what harm they do to God’s weak ones; but it is not so, it is a great sin to tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures, so you cavillers and critics had better beware.