people of tb11t le.nd h11ve committed, and which an omniscient and righteous Ruler cannot possibly pass unnoticed and unrebuked, .According to bis metaphorical habit, Ezekiel pictures F.gypt as a young and ravening lion, seizing and devouring prey; as a dragon or crocodile, troubling the waters with its feet, and fouling the rivers. Such creatures are regarded by men as noxious, and as fit to be seized and destroyed. I. 'l'HE CAUSE OF A NATION'S MORAL NOXIOUSNESS. The ultimate cause, recognized by inquirers who penetrate beneath the surface, is estrangement from God, a spirit of rebelliousness against God, leading to the violation of Divine Law and defiance of Divine authority. II. THE MANIFESTATIONS OF A NATION'S MORAL NOXIOUBll'ESS. 1. .An ungodly people is its own enemy. Its irreligiousness reacts upon itself, and saps the springs of national life. 2. Its example is injurious to surrounding peoples, who are in danger of being corrupted thereby; for "evil communications corrupt good manners." 3. Mischief is done by unprincipled states by fostering discord, suspicion, and war. The weak are oppressed, and powerful rivals are provoked to hostilities. The peace of the worlcl is ever threatened by ambitious, aggressive, and quarrelsome nations. III. THE PUNISHMENT OF A NATION'S NOXIOUSNESS. In the figurative language of Ezekiel, the dragon is captured, dragged to the shore, and suffered to die, so that its flesh is left to be consumed by birds and beasts, and its blood is mingled with the waters of the rivers. By this it is intimated that Egypt, as a punishment for the evil and mischief it has wrought, shall be brought low, its power crippled, and its glory dimmed.-T. Vers. 7-10.-The sympathy of nature and of man with a fallen people. The great- ness of the catastrophe by which Egypt is to be overwhelmed is depicted by the prophet in a striking and poetical manner. It is represented that an impression is made thereby upon the.heavenly bodies by which the earth is illumined, and upon the nations and kings who are astonished witnesses of the overthrow of one of the greatest monarchies of the world. J. THE LUMINARIES OF THE DAY AND OF THE NI<lHT VEIL THEIR SPLENDOUR AND WITilDR.AW THEm SHINING. The Scriptures teach us that all nature is o. vehicle for the manifestation of Divine attributes, and that creation, in o. very real sense, is one. Hence the sympathy appointed between nature and humanity. When men's sins are grievous, the floods cover the earth and sweep its guilty inbo.bitants into destruction. When the children of light strive in battle with the children of darkness, the sun stands still to prolong the hours of victory o.nd pursuit. When the Saviour expires upon the cross, it is amidst thick d1ukness. When the Holy Spirit is given, it is with the rush of wind and with lambent flames. These are but some instances of the po.rt which nature plays in humo.n history. No wonder, then, that when the .Almighty, by the hand of bis servant Nebuchadnezzar, smites Egypt to its fall, the sun, the moon, and the st11rs should be represented as withholding their light, o.s weeping over the calamities of one of the greatest of human powers. II. 'l'HE PEOPLES AND THEIR KINGS ARE AMAZED AND TREMBLE AS FOB THEIR OWN SAFETY. 1. They experience a natural compassion for fallen greatness; it is a spectacle fitted to melt every heart. Envy and hatred vanish in the presence of misfortune so appalling. 2. They feel themselves in the presence of a supernatural power, which is righteousness taking the form of judicial interposition. The consciousness of the near- ness ancl action of such o. power is enough to rouse any nation from insensibility, secularity, and unspirituality. The hand of God is seen and the voice of God is heard. Tho Lord himself is near. 3. They mingle with the general o.pprehensiou of the activity of supernatural justice a certain apprehension and fear with regard to them- selves. Have they not shared in some measure Egypt's sin? Have they not reason to dread Egypt's punishment? Who are they that they should be exempt from the retributive justice of the Eternal? The sword is brandished before them: may it not smite them? They tremble every man for bis own life.-T.
Vers. 11, 12.-Th, sword the implement of Divine Judgment. The sword bas been a mi"hty factor in human history. However peace and harmony may be the ideal state "or human society, the chronicles of the past and the observation of the present l,G 'l'HE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL, [oH, x.u:n. 1-32.