oomblnntion reminds us of the "wars and that it was actually reproduced. A solemn rumours of wnrs" of Matt. xxiv. 6. The litany procession like that of Joel i. 13, 14 and floe.ting uncerte.in reports of' a time of ii. 15-17 would have been quite in keeping iuvasion aggravate the actual misery (comp. with his character. The prince shall clothe Isa.. xxxvii. 7; Jer. li. 46; Oba.d. ver. 1). himself, etc. The noun is specially charac- They she.11 seek a vision of the prophet, etc. teristic of Ezekiel, who uses it thirty-four The words paint e. picture of political chaos times. In eh. xii. 12 the "prince" seems e.nd confusion. The people turn in their identified with the "king." Here it may distress to the three representatives of mean either the heir to the throne, or the wisdom-the prophet e.s the bearer of e.n chief ruler under the king. The people of the immediate message from Jehovah, the priest land, etc. The phrase is perhaps used, as as the interpreter of his Law (Me.I. ii. 7), the Jewish rabbis afterwards used it, with the "ancients" or "elders" a.a those who e. certain touch of acorn, for the labouring bad learnt the lessons of experience,-and class. All the upper class had been carried all alike in vain. (For illustrative facts, see away captive with Jehoiachin (2 Kings Jer. v. 31; vi. 13; xxi. 2; xxiii. 21--40; xxiv. 14). Compare Ezekiel'a use of it in xxvii. 9-18; xxviii. 1-9, e.nd generally eh. xxxiii. 2; xlvi. 3, 9. I will do unto Micah iii. 6 ; Amos viii. 11 ; 1 Sa.m. xxviii. them, etc. The chapter, or rather the 6; Lam. ii. 9.) whole section from eh. i. 1 onwards, ends Ver. 27.-The king shall mourn, etc. The with an iterated assertion of the equity of picture reminds us of Jehomm in 2 Kings the Divine judgments. Then also they vi. 30. The action of Zedekiah in Jer. shall know that I am the Lord, Almighty xxi. land xx.x.iv. 8 makes it probable enough and all-righteous.
HOMILETICS. Ver. 2.-" The end is come." I. THE END THAT SURELY COMEB. Time is broken into periods ; and every period, long or short, has its certain end. The tale of life is written in me.ny chapters, each with its own appropriate conclusion ; in some cases the conclusion is violent, abrupt, and startling. We are surprised out of an old settled course. The mill stops suddenly, and then the silence is alarming. There are the greater epochs of life, when a whole volume of experience is closed, and another must be opened, till at length we reach Finis. But every day has its sunset. Every year runs out to December and dies its wintry death, in spite of all the festivities of Christmas. Youth is fleeting; its sweet spring-time fast melts, its blossoms fade and fall. Life itself runs out and reaches an end. As each period goes it vanishes, never to return. Thus Christina Rossetti writes- " Come, gone,-gone for ever ; Gone as an unreturning river; Gone as to death, the merriest liver; Gone as the yenr nt the dying fall, To-morrow, to-dny, yesterday, never: Gone once for all." 1. There is an end to the day of work. "The night cometh, wherein no man can work." The opportunity will pass. Let us make the most of our strength and time while wo have them. 2. There is an end to the freedom of sin. 'rhe orgies of marl self-indul- gence will not last for ever. They burn themselves out in folly and shame. Then comes the end, and after that the reckoning, 3. There is an end to the discipline of sorrow. The po.in will not last for ever. The doubt and mystery and darkness a.re not eternal. 'rhe Christian pilgrimage is long and weary, but it is not an infinite, endless course. The wilderness is wide, and the goal far off. But the way will end at last in the heavenly city, the home of the soul. II. THE END THAT SHOULD COME. There are some things which we should do well to end, yet still they are with us. 1. An end should come to our life of sin. The old sin has been our companion for years, a bad companion, corrupt and corrupting. It is time we and it parted. It is time we turned over a new leaf and began a better way. The old 8elf has lived too long. Let it die and be buried. 2. An end should come to our indecision. "How long halt ye between two opinions?" 'l'his hesitation has lasted too long. "Choose you this day whom ye will serve." 3. An end should come to the gloom of doubt, the coldness of half-hearted service, the lethatgy and paralysis o/ 122 TIIE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [err. VII. 1-27.
am unspiritual i·eligion. "The night is far spent; the day is at hand;" " A wake, thou that sleepest I" III. THE END THAT MAY COME, We contemplate possible endings which we would fain avert, but which seem to be approaching. 1. Some of these endings are within our power, and should be kept off. We should guard against an end to our early faith and zeal. . Ephraim's ~oodness, which ,vas like t~e morning clou?, was soon dissipated. Of some 1t must be said the end has come to therr fervent devotion and self-sacrificincr service. Once they were bright lights of the Church, but they have waned and ar: approaching spiritual night. 2. Some of these endings are beyond our cont;ol. The home circle may be broken, the dear countenances of the loved may smile upon us no more. For the old fulness of friendship we may have left only blankness and vacancy, and a bitter sense of loss. The very freshness of our soul may be lost too, and then we look back to the old sweet years, and wonder how we could have taken them so quietly. IV. THE END THAT WILL NEVER COME. 1. There will never be an end to the righteous Law of (kid. Right and truth are eternal. We can never outlive their claims. If we continu: for ever in opposition to them, their pains and penalties must be always ours. 2. Tne love of God will never end. Modes of Divine operations may change as circumstances alter, and new dispensations may succeed to old dispensa- tions-new covenants taking the place of old covenants. But God does not change. There is no end to him. He abideth faithful. In the wreck of the universe the Rock of Ages remains unshaken. Love in his essence, God never wearies in helping and blessing. There is no end to his grace. "The mercy of the Lord endureth for ever." "WneI!ever the helpless, penitent prodigal returns, he will find his Father waiting to welcome him. 3. The eternal life can have no end. 'l'he body dies. Happily there will be an end to that. But the life in God abides for ever. In that life many things thought to be ended here on earth will be recovered and will revive. Thus our past experience is not utterly lost. It lives in memory and in what it has made us. A German poet writes- "Yest.erday I loved; To-day I suffer ; To-morrow I die. But I shall gladly, To-day e.nd to-morrow Think on yesterday."