mont of moral qualities is a pregnant truth. On this ground it was that all tho rnnrtyrs' blood, from Abel clownward, accumuhitecl upon the men in our Lorrl's aPe, IV. NEaLEOT OF DIVINE ADMONITION 1s FnESH BIN. The knowledge of? past ndmonition adds to our responsibility. Warnings addressed to our ancestors are warnings addressed to us, Every item in the revelation of Gocl's will is intended for our profit; for revelations of the eternal God have an abiding force. If we are not moved or awed by judgments passed upon our ancestors, ours is the greater sin. As our light is greater than was our forefathers', so is our sin, unless we repudiate it by repentance. V. Goo's PERMIBBIONS ARF. OFTEN 0HASTISEMENTB. "Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live." The self- blind □ ess and obduracy of men is such that oftentimes God cannot give them the best laws: such would be above their comprehe □ sion-above their appreciation. Good law can never be much in advance of a people's moral condition. God allowed Lot to retire to Zoar, but the permission became a curse. God yielded to the Jews' demand for a king, but their kings led them to civic strife and idolatry. Jesus Chri~t yielded to the demand of the Gadarenes to leave their provi □ ce, but their loss was great. How much need have we to merge our wills in God's will ! VI. GoD's MEMORY OF OUR MISDEEDS NEVEB FAILS. We may forget, or regard as trivial, some deed of the past; yet it lives, in complete reality, in the memory of God. Likely enough these elders were astounded with this long reeital of their evil deeds. This, however, is a sample c,f God's treatment of all men. The reappearance of our old sins-the reappearance before the public gaze-will be one element in our punish- ment. 'l'he future publicity of our follies will form a great ingredient in our shame. 'l'he world already knows the aggravated sins of the Hebrews. VII. GoD's WILL OVERREA0HES AND OVERMASTERS MAN's WILL. "And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen I" Man resolves; God overrules. Mighty as man's will is, it is feeble iu comparison with God's will. It may be as iron, but even iron is treated as a plaything by the electric force. Even wickedness shall be restrained of God. Satan shall be bound with chains. Many men are guiltier than the measure of their deeds. There are murderers that never slew a man, felons that never stole. The intention is as guilty as the act. Man's intended wickedness shall be held in check. VIII. GoD's REGARD FOB BIS NAME IS COINCIDENT WITH lllA.N'S BEST WELFARE. "I wrought for my Name's sake." One ii;reat purpose our God has in view, in all his government among men, is to reveal himself-to unfold the qualities of his character. 'l'his is essential to the highest good of his creature man, He will be patient and tender, or judicial and severe, in order to bring into view all the excellences of his majestic character. '!'he more his saints see of his personal characteristics, the more they admire him, the more they become like him. No one will conclude that the human family has yet seen all the aspects of God's character or all the perfections of his nature. Without doubt, eternity will be spent in spelling out the meaning of that great Name.-D.
Vers. 33-44.-Judicial discrimination. As among men, when matters of serious importance have to be determined, there is the employment of a religious oath, in other words, a solemn appeal that God should witnes~ the truthfulness of the parties; so, when God discloses his intentions respecting the destiny of men, he speaks with 11 view to produce the deepest impression. He stakes his own existence upon the certai □ ty of the event. I. GoD'S RULE IS DIBE0TED SOLELY FOR MAN'S PUnITY. Such is his own holiness of nature, that he cannot tolerate impurity of any kind in his kingdom. Or, if he doos tolerato it for a season, it is only for the purpose of more effectually purifying his saints. 'l'o distribute his own happiness, he created men; but that happiness can only reach perfection when it is rooted in purity. Purity or perdition is the only alternative under the sceptre of Jehovah. II. 'l'BE PLA0E APPOINTED FOR THE TEST. "I will bring yon into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I plead with yon face to face." Already this had been <lone in the wilderness of Sinai, and now it shall be done again. '!'his wilderness is not Babylon, nor the dosert between Babylon and Judrea, lt denoteij tbe isol::iteu condi, EZEKIEL, 2B 37() THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [en. xx. 1-19.