to ue, The genuine Christian is sincere and upright. 2. To those who Oil'e endeavouring to "serve God and mammon." It ie impossible to be at once devoted to worldly ends and to Gou, A worldly spirit is incompatible with real religion. The spirit of th6 world is opposed to the spirit of Christ. One or other must be supreme in us. We cannot yield ourselves to the pursuit of the pleasures, honours, or riches or this world, and to the service of the Lord Jesus at the same time. It is impossible to combine the two things. God promises to give us one heart-a heart undivided and thoroughly fixed upon himself, Are we willing to receive the blessing, and to receive it now? 3. To those who "halt between two opinions." Many are wavering and undecided as to personal religion. They have not resolved to try to combine the service of" God and rnammon;" but they have not elected whom they will serve. They have often been religiously impressed, but never decided. They have often felt the supreme importance of religion, but have not yielded to its claims. They are wavering and undecided. They feel without wisely acting. They have religious emotion, but not religious resolution. They procrastinate the great choice till "a more convenient season." They will not take the decisive step. They are not one-hearted. Now, they may obtain a united heart from God. The hesitation which is so injurious and perilous to them would be banished if they would accept God's promise in the text, and decide by bis help to serve him. He would "give them one heart," and sufficient strength to perform their resolution. And then they could sing, with David, "My heart is fixed, 0 God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise." Thus the text promises to us unity and thoroughness of heart. Our own weakness we know ; and how prone to unsteadi- ness, change, and division our hearts are. But " God is greater than our heart," and he proffers to us the unity and stability which we need. In the strength of his promise let us pray, "Unite my heart to fear thy Name," and let us consecrate ourselved unreservedly unto him.-W. J.
EXPOSITION.
CHAPTER XII. ing, etc.; better, equipment for a journey, with the implied thought that it is the Ver. 1.-The word of the Lord, etc. This journey of one going into C'ltile. "Bag nnd formulo., so fo.milio.r in Isaiah o.nd J eremiab, baggage,"' all the household goods which nppears for the first time in Ezekiel, but an exile could take with him (E:i;od. xii. 11, occurs repeo.tedly o.fterwo.rds, especially in 1• 34 mny supply an illustration), were to ba this cho.pter (vers. 8, 17, 21, 26, and o.gain eh. / brought out in broad daylight and piled up xiii. l; xiv. 2, et al.). 'fhe teaching by "the I opposite his door. Then in the twilight visions of God " ceases, o.nd that of direct I (Revised Version, in the dark, and so in message or symbolic acts is resumed, In 1 vers. 7, 12) be was to go forth, not by the each caso the point aimed at was the same. \ door of his house, but by breaking through The people who heard the one or saw the the wall (with such wo.lls o.s those of eh. other were to be to.ught how utterly ground- I xiii. 11 the process would not be difficult), less wns the hope that Jeruso.lem could hold ' as e. ruan might do who was escaping secretly out o.goinst its enemies. 'l'he interval be- I from e. city through the gates of which he tween tl,e two was probo.bly o. short one, do.red not pnss (ver. 5), and was to start I and the new teaching, we may conjecture, with bis travelling chattels upon his shoulder. had its starting-point in the prophecies of 11, \ Lastly (ver. 6), as the strongest fee.ture of I speedy deliverance which were current both nil, he wns to go forth with his faoe oovered, at Jerusalem and among thu exiles at as one who wished to avoid recognition, e.s Dabylon. - one also who could not see one step of the Ver. 2.-Whioh ho.ve eyes to see, etc. We way before him. This, it is intimated, would note the words in their relation both to like startle even the most careless, and in this I