was scarcely allowed any such help from Church-fellowship. Like Nehemiah, he had to stand alone and face the current of rebellion. 'l'hen, beyond the unconscious temptation to go with the multitude to do evil, there was a very visible danger in the case of Ezekiel. He was called to testify against his brethren with such a message that they would turn against him like so many scorpions. He was to find himself in a border of thorns as the penalty of his fidelity (see ver. 6). Althouo-h 0 this visible persecution is now rare, the spirit of it is not dead, and there are places still where the faithful must stand alone and be made to smart severely for their integrity. How often this is the case with one high-principled Christian young man in a house of business where the methods of conducting trade and amusement both assail his fidelity I It is hard to be faithful under such circumstances. Yet the duty does not ceaije, The rebellion of others is no excuse for us also to rebel. IT. A LOFTY DUTY. 1. Exti-a,ordinary fidelity. Ezekiel was not only warned not to rebel in the exact manner of his fellow-countrymen. He had a higher command laid upon him than any that was imposed upon them. 'l'bey were only required to keep tbe general Law of God; he was commissioned to a special task of difficulty and danger in a prophet's career, and bis faithfulness was to consist in his not rebelling against this great task. The most honoured servants of God are those who are set in the posts of greatest danger and required to discharge the most arduous service. Brave men leap to such service and danger in human pursuits, eagerly volllllteering to join expeditions into the heart of Africa or in search for the north pole. Some, too, are as eager in God's service. These are God's heroes. 2. Superhuman aid. Ezekiel was a man of God, a man of faith and prayer. Hence his power to be faithful. To stand faithful we must feel the influence of God's grace. It is possible to be " True e.s the needle to the pole, Or as the dial to the sun," because needle and dial-shadow follow great commanding influences. III. A SPLENDID EXAMPLE. One faithful man among a host of traitors is a mighty encouragement to the weak. He can be a nucleus about which they can cluster, although they would never have had strength to stand without his great personality. Like a lighthouse in a wild and wintry night, the solitary example of fidelity sheds its encouraging rays far out to the darkness round about. Joseph in immoral Egypt, Daniel in unprincipled Babylon, Paul at wicked Rome, Luther at Worms, Latimer at O:xford,-tbese men are beacon-lights shining down the ages. It is worth the cost of all the hardship of exceptional trials of fidelity to become such magnificent inspiring influences for ell time.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-" Son of man." This expression is so constantly used with reference to Ezekiel that it cannot be considered a mere Oriental idiom with no peculiar significance. There were special reasons why Ezekiel, as the prophet chosen to communicate God's will to Israel, should be thus designated. I. TRUE HUMA~'ITY IN THE PROPHET ENABLED HIM TO HOLD COMMUNION WITH THE FATHER OF SPIRITS. Man is God's chosen vehicle for communicating with man. The ministry of angels is a reality, but such ministry is subordinate to that which is strictly human. Man is made in the likeness of God, and shares in the Divine reason. His highest thinking, it was grandly said by Kepler, is thinking over again the thoughts of God. It is in virtue of this prerogative that human beings are able to enter into the counsels of the Eternal Wisdom. The inferior inhabitants of this globe may indeed express in their struct.ure the designs of the Creator. But man is more than the creature; he is the child of the heavenly Father, who calls his children to share in the revelation or his own character and will. And certain selected individuals, notably those designated "prophets," are admitted into special relations with the Infinite Spirit, that ihey may be made the medium of carrying out his purposes of wisdom and of love. 11. THE PROPHET'S TRUE HUMANITY ENADLED HIM TO ENTER INTO THE CIR0UMSTAN0EB AND NEEDS OF THOSE TO WHOM HE MINISTERED. The prophets sprang from the people, and knew them from familiar intercourse and intimacy; they knew their sins and oil. n. 1-10.] THll: BOOK OF THE PROPHET ~ZEKlEL. 87