we still need the bidding, 'Make you a new heart and a new spirit,' so do we still need the assurance, 'A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.'

The subject is opened up with an attack upon the wicked kings and nobles of the past. The figure of the shepherd is familiar in Greek as well as in Hebrew literature. In the future the true Good Shepherd will be God.

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel that did feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the sheep? Ye drank the milk, and ye clothed you with the wool, ye killed the fatlings; but ye fed not the sheep. The diseased ye did not strengthen, neither did ye heal that which was sick, neither did ye bind up that which was broken, neither did ye bring again that which was driven away, neither did ye seek that which was lost; but with force and with rigour did ye rule over them. And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and there was none that did search or seek after them.

Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my sheep became a prey, and my flock became meat to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day of the thunderstorm, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the day of cloud and darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring

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them into their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I myself will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and will bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick and the fat and the strong I will preserve; I will feed them rightly.

And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the he-goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my sheep, they have to eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they have to drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and the lean cattle. Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye scattered them abroad; therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.

And

And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the pasture-country, and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beast of the earth

devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up unto them a plantation of peace, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the mockery of the nations any more. And they shall know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. And ye are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.

Ezekiel's conception of the shepherds and their duty may be combined with his description of his own office as a watchman. He teaches the grave moral responsibility which falls on every man or woman who fills any post of trust and influence. The greater the post, the greater the responsibility and the more imperious the call. And as we all fill some post and place in the world, this moral responsibility falls upon us all. With this sense of responsibility we should also work to develop the moral courage to do and to endure. Even as it was said to Ezekiel, 'Son of man, be not afraid of them,' so may it be necessary for us all now and again to seek such divine encouragement. There is a time for silence, but there is also a time for speech. And occasionally open speech and open deed may be right and useful, although to ourselves unpleasant.

The following vision is very famous. It is directed against the despair of the exiles as to their own future. It must be noticed that in Hebrew, 'wrath,' spirit,' 'wind,' and what I have rendered 'spirit of life,' are all represented by one and the same word, Ruach.

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones; and he caused me to pass by them round about: and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy to these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause the spirit of life to enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

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So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold an earthquake, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And as I looked, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O spirit of life, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the spirit of life came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are quite cut off. Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, and brought you up out of your graves, O my people. And I will put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their doings. Wherefore I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. And when they entered unto the nations, whither they went, they profaned my holy name; in that men said of them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land.

But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations, whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God: I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the nations, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the nations, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know

that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes.

For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgements, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.