119.哈該書2:13-14

119. Defiled and Defiling

Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. (14) Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. Haggai 2:13-14
THE prophet makes the priests witness against themselves and the people. This was a powerful means of forcing home the truth.
It is clear from verse 12 that the mere bearing of a holy thing did not enable the bearer to communicate consecration.
But the priests owned that the touch of an unclean person did communicate uncleanness.
What a picture! An unclean person making everything unclean wherever he laid his hand! He could not move without spreading defilement on all sides.
Such were the erring people of Haggai's day in the judgement of their God, and he never judges too severely.
Such are sinful men at this day.

I. THE TERRIBLE UNCLEANNESS. Here we keep to our text.

For a New Testament exposition, read Titus 1:15.

1. Common things are polluted by men of unclean nature.

Nothing is common or unclean naturally; for every creature of God is good (1 Tim. 4:4). But in diverse ways the things of ordinary life are made to be unclean—

• By making gods of them, saying, "What shall we eat?" etc.
• By excess in the use of them. By gluttony, drunkenness, etc.
• By excess in the keeping of them. A miser's goods are accursed.
• By ingratitude concerning them. Then they remain unblessed.

2. Holy things are polluted by men of unclean nature.

• They use the gospel as an excuse for sin.
• They offer prayer in solemn mockery.
• They make praise into a musical performance.
• They turn the sacraments into hypocrisy or worse.
• There is nothing so holy but that sin can defile it.

3. Good works are polluted when they come from evil men: "so is every work of their hands."

• They can be charitable for ostentation.
• They can he religious to be seen of men.
• They can be sternly righteous in order to be revenged.
• They can be humble to gain their ends.

4. Sacrifices are polluted when offered by unclean men: "and that which they offer there is unclean."

• Their public thanksgivings are a falsehood.
• Their solemn fasts are a mere comedy.

What a wretched condition is he in who even in his holiest acts is defiling everything! He may well pause and humble himself before God, for the more he does in his present state the more does he defile.
Sin has cast a serpent's trail over the whole universe, making the creation itself subject to vanity. What does man touch which he does not degrade and pollute? Here is a wide field for thought, and abundant cause for humiliation.

II. THE ALL-SUFFICIENT REMEDY. Here we go beyond our text.

In Numbers 19, we have the type of the great remedy, and a fuller account of the uncleanness which it removed.
In the rites used for purifying the unclean—

1. There was a sacrifice (Num. 19:2-4): "A red heifer without spot:" This must be slain. Without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Heb. 9:22).

2. There was a burning (verses 5 and 6). Sin is hateful, and we must see it to be such; it must be burned without the camp.

3. There was a water of separation. Having been purged with blood of sacrifice, we must be sprinkled with water of sanctification.

4. There was an application with hyssop. Faith must receive the cleansing. "Purge me with hyssop and I shall be cean."

5. This must cleanse our whole nature (see verse 19). There was a washing of the whole man and his garments.
All that this type intended may be found—

• In the water and the blood which flowed from the side of our Lord; manifesting the doubly cleansing power of his sacrifice: and
• In the efficacious work of the Holy Spirit.

See, O sinner, your need of cleansing before you attempt anything. Before this, nothing you are, or have, or do, is dean before God. After this, all things shall be holy to you.
See to this cleansing at once, and all else will follow in due course.

Vivacities

"My friends say everywhere that I am not a Christian. I have just given them the lie direct by performing my Easter devotions (mes paques) publicly, thus proving to all my lively desire to terminate my long career in the religion in which I was born, and I have fulfilled this important act after a dozen attacks of consecutive fever, which made me fear I should die before I could assure you of my respect and my devotion." — Voltaire, to Madame Du Barri (What a specimen of polluted holy things!)

Those whose devotions are plausible, but whose conversation is wicked, will find their devotions unable to sanctify their enjoyments, but their wickedness prevailing to pollute them.

When we are employed in any good work, we should be jealous over ourselves, lest we render it unclean by our corruptions and mismanagement. — Matthew Henry

Diogenes, standing beside a foul bath, was heard to exclaim, "Where shall those be washed who wash here?" When even the religious duties of men are defiled, what hope can they have of making themselves clean? Those who turn prayer into a mockery, and sacraments into a show, have turned medicine into poison; and how shall they be healed?

A child has taken an infectious disease. He comes to fondle you, and you push him away. He moves the furniture, and you command him to take his hands off. He must be shut up, and kept from contact with the household. Suppose he persists in leaving his room, and joining with the rest of the family. No matter how kind his motive, he is doing wrong, and acting mischievously. The more industriously he works about the house, and runs to and fro, the more does he spread the disorder. The household work which he does would be well enough if he were but in health: as it is, his every movement is a danger, and his best endeavors are perilous. The child must be healed before he can do real good in the family: while he is infected he pollutes all that he touches, and injures all whom he approaches. Oh, that unconverted men were wise enough to see that what they need, at first, is not so much work to do, as cleansing from pollution, in order that they may be able to do good works.

At one of the Ragged-schools in Ireland, a clergyman asked the question, "What is holiness? "After some pause, a poor Irish convert, in dirty, tattered rags, jumped up, and said, "Plaise your Riverence, it's to be clane inside." — G. S. Bowes
Charles Hadden Spurgeon

119．被玷污、也玷污人的

一、可怕的不潔淨（本段緊扣本文）

新約對此的說明，請讀提多書 1:15 (15在潔淨的人，凡物都潔淨；在污穢不信的人，甚麼都不潔淨，連心地和天良也都污穢了。)。

1．因人性不潔，日常之物被玷污

萬物本身並非不潔；因為神所造的都是好的（提前 4:4 4凡神所造的物都是好的，若感謝着領受，就沒有一樣可棄的，）。但日常生活中的事物，卻在多方面被玷污——

• 把它們當作神來倚靠，說：「我們吃什麼呢？」等等。
• 使用過度，如暴食、酗酒。
• 囤積過度；吝嗇之人的財物成了咒詛。
• 對它們不感恩；於是就得不著祝福。

2．因人性不潔，聖物也被玷污

• 把福音當作犯罪的藉口。
• 用嚴肅的禱告來作虛假的表演。
• 把讚美變成音樂演出。
• 把聖禮變成假冒為善，甚至更糟。
• 沒有任何事物聖潔到一個地步，使罪不能玷污它。

3．出於惡人的善行也是被玷污的

「他們手下的一切工作也是如此。」

• 他們施捨，是為了炫耀。
• 他們虔誠，是為了叫人看見。
• 他們嚴厲地行義，是為了報復。
• 他們謙卑，是為了達成私利。

4．不潔之人所獻的祭也是被玷污的

「他們在那裡所獻的也是不潔淨的。」

• 公開的感恩，其實是謊言。
• 嚴肅的禁食，不過是一場喜劇。

一個人在他最聖潔的行為中，仍然玷污一切，這是何等可悲的光景！他實在該停下來，在神面前自卑；因為在他現今的狀態中，他做得越多，玷污也就越多。
罪在整個宇宙中拖下蛇行的痕跡，使受造之物都伏在虛空之下。人所觸摸的，有哪一樣不是被他降低、玷污的呢？這是一片極廣的默想之地，也是極大的自卑理由。

二、完全充足的補救（本段超出本文）

在民數記 19 章中，我們看見這偉大補救的預表，也更完整地描述了它所除去的不潔。
在潔淨不潔之人的禮儀中——

1．有祭物（民 19:2–4）(2「耶和華命定律法中的一條律例乃是這樣說：你要吩咐以色列人，把一隻沒有殘疾、未曾負軛、純紅的母牛牽到你這裏來， 3交給祭司以利亞撒；他必牽到營外，人就把牛宰在他面前。 4祭司以利亞撒要用指頭蘸這牛的血，向會幕前面彈七次。)

「一隻無殘疾的紅母牛」必須被宰殺。「若不流血，罪就不得赦免」（來 9:22 22按着律法，凡物差不多都是用血潔淨的；若不流血，罪就不得赦免了。）。

2．有焚燒（5–6 節）(5人要在他眼前把這母牛焚燒；牛的皮、肉、血、糞都要焚燒。 6祭司要把香柏木、牛膝草、朱紅色線都丟在燒牛的火中。 )

罪是可憎的，我們必須看見它的可憎；它必須在營外被焚燒。

3．有除污的水

藉著祭牲的血得潔淨之後，還必須被成聖的水灑淨。

4．有牛膝草的灑用

信心必須領受這潔淨：「求你用牛膝草潔淨我，我就乾淨。」

5．必須潔淨全人（參 19 節）(19第三天和第七天，潔淨的人要灑水在不潔淨的人身上，第七天就使他成為潔淨。那人要洗衣服，用水洗澡，到晚上就潔淨了。)

不但人要洗淨，連衣服也要洗淨。這一切預表所指向的，都可以在——

• 從我們主肋旁所流出的水和血中找到，顯明祂祭的雙重潔淨能力；並
• 在聖靈大有功效的工作中找到。

罪人哪，在你嘗試做任何事之前，先看見你對潔淨的需要。在此之前，你的所是、所有、所做，在神面前都不潔淨；在此之後，萬事對你都要成為聖潔。
立刻求得這潔淨，其餘的一切都會按次序跟隨而來。

活潑的例證（Vivacities）

「我的朋友到處說我不是基督徒。我已經藉著公開履行我的復活節宗教儀式（mes pâques），當面駁斥了他們，向眾人證明我真誠地渴望以我出生時所屬的宗教，來結束我漫長的一生。我是在連續十多次發燒之後完成這件重要的事的，那些發燒使我擔心，在我能向你保證我對你的尊敬與效忠之前，就已經死去。」——伏爾泰致杜巴里夫人（這是何等玷污聖事的樣本！）

那些敬虔表面可取、言行卻邪惡的人，將發現：他們的敬虔不能使他們的享樂成聖，反而是他們的邪惡，勝過一切，來玷污它們。

當我們從事任何善工時，都當對自己保持警醒，免得因我們的敗壞與失當，使善工變為不潔。——馬太．亨利

第歐根尼站在一個骯髒的澡堂旁，聽見他喊道：「那些在這裡洗澡的人，該到哪裡去洗乾淨呢？」若人的宗教責任本身都被玷污了，他們還能有什麼盼望使自己潔淨呢？把禱告變成嘲弄，把聖禮變成表演的人，已把藥物變成毒藥；他們又怎能得醫治呢？

一個孩子染上了傳染病。他來親近你，你把他推開；他搬家具，你命令他把手拿開。他必須被隔離，避免接觸家人。假如他仍然堅持離開房間，加入家人一起活動，無論他的動機多麼善良，他仍是在做錯事、行有害之事。他在家中活動得越勤快，疾病就傳播得越廣。若他是健康的，他所做的家務原本是好的；但在染病之時，他的每一個動作都是危險，他最好的努力也成了威脅。這孩子必須先被醫好，才能在家中真正行善；在他仍被感染時，他所觸的一切都被玷污，他所親近的每一個人都受傷害。但願未重生的人有智慧明白：他們首先需要的，不是更多的工作，而是從污穢中得潔淨，好使他們能夠行出真正的善工。

在愛爾蘭一所貧民學校裡，一位牧師問道：「什麼是聖潔？」稍作停頓後，一位衣衫襤褸、滿身污穢的愛爾蘭歸主者跳起來說：「請原諒我，牧師，聖潔就是——裡面要乾淨。」——G. S. Bowes
查爾斯．哈登．司布真