THE LION. 87 



triumphant conqueror over all the powers of darkness. He is cloth- 

 ed with glorious majesty, and girt about with invincible might. No 

 enemy can disturb the tranquillity of his fearless heart, nor interrupt 

 the progress of his operations; no movement of providence, but he 

 is qualified to guide; no work of judgment or mercy, but he is able 

 to perform. * He speaks, and it is done ; he commands, and it stands 

 fast none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What dost thou ?' In 

 the rapid diffusion of the gospel and the conversion of many nations 

 to the Christian faith, which commenced in a few days after his as- 

 cension, were fulfilled the words of Joel : 'The Lord also shall roar 

 out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens 

 and the earth shall shake, and the Lord will be the hope of his peo- 

 ple, and the strength of the children of Israel,' Joel iii. 16. Nor is 

 the preaching of the gospel improperly compared to the roaring of 

 a lion, for it has been heard in every part of the world, and has not 

 only struck the ear, but by its energy has opened a way for itself 

 into the heart, and produced a concern about salvation which nei- 

 ther length of time nor change of circumstances could subdue. 



The lion symbolizes also the strength, generosity, and terrible 

 presence of an angel; for, in the prophecies of Ezekiel, the living 

 creatures, or cherubim, the ministers of divine providence, had each 

 of them four faces; the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on. 

 the right side ; and the face of an ox and the face of an eagle, on 

 the left side, Ezekiel i. 10. The apostle John was favored with a 

 vision of the same kind in Patrnos : * In the midst of the throne, and 

 round about the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes be- 

 fore and behind. And the first living creature was like a lion, and 

 the second like a calf, and the third had a face as a man, and the 

 fourth was like a flying eagle.' In both visions, the terrible majesty 

 of God, in the ministration of angels toward the enemies of his glory, 

 is symbolized by the lion ; their constancy, patience, firmness, and 

 assiduity in performing the commands of their Maker, by the ox' 

 their humanity, gentleness, and philanthropy, by the face of a man; 

 and by the face of an eagle, the vigor, the agility, and the sublime 

 tendencies of their celestial nature. Every one of them exhibits a 

 high degree of excellence ; the lion holds the first place among 

 wild beasts, the eagle among the birds, an ox among the cattle, and 

 all submit to the supreme authority of man. Of these, observes 

 Bochart, two are wild, the lion and the eagle ; two are tame, man 

 and the ox: those to strike terror into rebels; these to impart con- 

 solation to the pious. The lion pursues his prey upon the earth, the 

 eagle among the clouds of heaven ; to show that these angelic min- 

 isters of providence equally control the proceedings of men that 

 crawl upon the ground, and the more powerful and rapid move- 

 ments of apostate spirits in the regions of the air. 



The strength and power of the Jewish nation are often described 

 in the sacred volume by the same symbol. * Behold,' cried Balaam, 

 when from the top of Pisgah he looked down on the innumerable 

 tents of Israel, * the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up 



