ruined abbeys of England are famed for their beauty, and few may regret their present condition when admirin~ the relics of architectural splendour. But there is a. worse desolation for Churches than roofless naves and crumbling walls. A Church is indeed desolate when the Spirit of Christ bas forsaken her. She may seem to flourish in numbers, finance, and mechanical enterprise. But in the sight of Heaven she is a mouldering ruin. IV. THERE 1s A DESOLATION OF SOULS. 1. This may com.e in great sorrow. When "the desire of his eyes " is taken from a man, bow can he be other than desolate? Job was desolate indeed when his children were killed. Rizpah was desolate when she sat by the corpses of her two sons to drive off the foul birds of prey (2 Sam. xxi. 10), and Naomi when she returned to Bethlehem a childless widow. But God can comfort this desolation and fill its victim with heavenly peace. 2. The w<Yrst desolation is in sin. 'fhe soul is a wreck. Its very constitution is a ruin. God is driven from bis seat in conscience. Here is the most dire and dreadful desolation-that of the pr0tligal, who feeds swine in a far country, and who would fain fill himself with the husks that the swine eat I It reaches its climax in pitiless solitude-" and no man gave unto him" (Luke xv. 16). Ver. 9.-" The careless Ethiopians." These people who were heedless of the coming danger that threatened them in common with great Egypt may serve as a type of the careless generally. L THE PREVALENCE OF CARELESSNESS. These " careless Ethiopians" are not rare specimens of an obscure class. We have not to go to Africa, nor to antiquity, for the like of them. The genus to which they belong is far from extinct even in this age of anxiety and energy. Note the various forms which carelessness takes. 1. In regard lo danger. This was the condition or the easy-going Ethiopians. They would not consider the approaching dnnger of the Chaldean invasion. Men will not see risks to health till they suddenly break down; then they discover them, perhaps, too late. Soul- danger is ignored by thoughtless sinners. 2. In respect to guile. The pilgrim felt the weight or his burden, but most of the inhabitants of the City of Destruction seem to have had no thought or their sins. Many men sin recklessly. They add up the score of guilt without a thought. 3. In reference to duty. Multitudes live as though they were only to be expected to please themselves. The sacred word "duty " has no meaning for them. They may be very anxious about their business and what will be profitable, but they are quite careless as to what they ought to do. 4. In connection with other men. Dives is careless as to the condition of Lazarus. The Church is too negligent of the state of the heathen world. In great cities people think little of their next-door neighbours. It is possible to starve in a land of plenty, and for no one to give heed till too l11te. 6. In relation to God. Be is our Father and Master, and it is our first duty cLnd our highest interest to regard bis will. Yet many act as if he did not exist. They care neither for his love nor for his wrath. II. THE EVIL OF CARELESSNESS. The" careless Ethiopians" are to share in the grant deluge of geneml calamities that is about to sweep over the nations. 'l'heir carelessness does not protect them. Carelessness is evil on many accounts. 1. Because of its/oily. '!'his is more than childish. It is the stultification of mind. Man is made in the image of God, a thinking being. To renounce thought is to abdicate the throne of supremacy over the lower creation. 2. Because of its negligence. '!'his carelessness is wilful. It springs from an idle refusal to take the trouble of thinking, or fromJLu insane infatuation with superficial interests. It is our duty to consider our ways, to consider the poor, and to remember our Creator. Negligence is sin. 3. Because of its danger. The danger is not in any degree lessened because we decline to consider it. The recklessness of an engine-driver about red lights does not annihilate obstructions on the line. The wages of sin will be paid punctually and to the full, whether we expect the day of recom- pense or never anticipate it. Observe, in conclusion, that there is a way of being saved from care. This is not to be found in carelessness, however. We can quench worldly care with trust. Other o.nxioties may be softened and ultimately abolished when we seriously set ourselves to seeking God's favour and doing his will.
Ver. 13.-Destrpying idols. Egypt was a land of innumerable idols. In the general EZEKIEL--Il, T, 14.6 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [oH, xxx.1-26.