HOMILETICS. Vers. 2, 3.-The lion in a net, Pharaoh is compared both to a young lion and to a whale. The young lion has left his mark at the watering-place of the cattle, There- fore a net is spread for him, and he is entrapped. I. THE GREATEST ARE UNDER THE POWER OF GoD. • The lion is the king of beasts; the whnlc is the greatest sea-monster. Yet both are under the power of their Creator, Kings are subject to God. Successful rich men have not grown out of his reach. Men of great iutellect are not able to outwit Heaven. The raging of the wicked will not s,lVe them. They may roar like lions; they may plunge like whales; but they cannot escape God's net and hook. We are all entirely in the hands of God. It is a miserable thi11g that this thought should inspire terror, a happy thing when it only encournges confidence. 'fhe lions, fierce and strong as they are, cannot save themselves from the net; but the most helpless lambs of the flock a.re safe under their shepherd's care. It is better to be God's feeblest sheep than as the mightiest lions of the forest in opposition to God. II. GOD 0ANNOT ENDURE TBE BPIBIT OF DESTRUCTION. The lion ravages the .flock; even when he is not doing this deadly work, he is represented as fouling the rivers. Ils is in all respects a mischief-mnker. Then his lordly mien will not protect him. 'l'he great heathen empires incurred the wrath of Heaven for their rapacious destructivenes~. If a mo.n is injuring his fellow-men in body or soul, he will be treated by God as a beast of prey, hunted and netted and destroyed. III. Sm uusT BE RESTRAINED. The lion is caught in a net. There he may rage and roar to his heart's content, but he can do no more mischief. The best treatment of evil is to change the lion into the lamb. This is Christ's method. The wild demoniac sits at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. But men will not alwo.ys yiclu to the influence of Christ, They cannot then be left at large for ever. There are two ucts-n. gospel net (Matt. xiii. 47) and a net of judgment. 'l'he latter is for those who hn.ve escaped the meshes of the former. IV. SINNERS MAY DE ENTRAPPED UNAWAREB. The lion would not enter the net knowingly, "Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of nny birll" (Prov. i. 17). Ilnt the net is hidden, and it ensnares its victim before he is aware of his danger. Souls are entro.pped by their own:sins. They fall into danger before they observo it. We cannot say that sin will go on unchecked and unpunished simply because we do not perceive any immedinle signs of Divine interference. God has his hidden nets, fine as gossamer thread, strong as steel. V. THE WORLD CONCURS IN THE OVERTHROW Oil' EVIL-DOERS. All the peoples help to ensnare the lion. The nations assist at the down-casting of Egypt. The selfish, cruel man may be thronged with flatterers in his prosperity. In his adversity he will be equally thronged with revengeful victims, It is a terrible thing to prepare hatred for the day of calamity. No fate excites less commiseration than that of a proud, selfish, heartless soul.
Ver. 8.-Lights darkened. I. MAN 0ANNOT DISPENSE WITH LIGHTS OF BEAVEN. He may never look up. Yet he cannot live without the light that comes from over his head, In spiritunl experience there are men who ignore the light above and the very existence of the heavenly world. Yet they are not the less largely dependent on those 170 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [cH. xxxn. 1-32.