Mount Lebanon, remembering that there her Beloved waits for her. He had told her, and all his betrothed, In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." -John, 16: 33.

The lions in their dens, are the common wicked in the world; but the leopards are false brethren, who would appear as sheep, but in God's sight they are covered with spots. It is said, that the lions are in their dens, but the leopards are on the mountains. "The mountains of leopards." The dens signify the world at large. But the leopards are in the church, typified by the mountains. It was on the mountains where the spouse "" Heard the voice of her Beloved. Behold! he cometh," (says she,) "leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills."-Cant. 2: 8.

O, ye spouses of the Beloved, whose light shines in the world only as a candle shut up in a lantern; against whom the lions roar with malice, and the leopards prowl to catch you by surprise; and "Who cry unto the Lord because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked, saying, O, that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest,"-Pslm. 55: 3-8, and who, perhaps, are of that number who can say, "It was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it. But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide and

my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company,"Ib. 12-14, let one, who has passed through the same trials with yourselves, and who has escaped from the gripe of the leopard, say unto you, encouragingly, Look beyond the mountains of danger, which are in your way, to “Mount Lebanon;" and, with the eye of faith, prospectively embrace your Beloved who there stands ready to receive you; to embrace you; not, however, before your garments have been made pure and white, washed in his own pure blood, and in the waters of tribulation; not, till you have fought the good fight of faith, and have vanquished the lions and the leopards; and have proved yourselves valiant soldiers of the Captain of your salvation.

SELF-DECEPTION.

"IF the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"-Matt. 6: 23.

When a man is traveling in a dark night, he steps with caution, and frequently looks around to see if there is danger near. If he strike his foot against something in his way, his body, as a faithful sentinel, admonishes him of the danger by the sensation of pain. He then steps more cautiously,

"Whose eye is evil." In that case, "His whole body is full of darkness."-Matt. 6: 23. When he stumbles, there is no monitor to admonish him, for the "Light that was in him" he has extinguished. And his "Conscience, by degrees, becoming seared, as with a hot iron,"-1 Tim. 4: 2, does not admonish him of his danger; or, if it whisper in his ear, he does not listen to it. As the prophet Isaiah saith, "He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he can not deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?"Isa. 44: 20.

"How great is that darkness!" These words were spoken by our blessed Lord, in his sermon on the Mount, and evidently allude to those who make a high profession in religion, such as was made by the scribes and Pharisees. "Take heed," (says he,) "that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them, otherwise you have no reward of your Father who is in heaven. Therefore, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, that they may be seen of men. Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, that they may appear unto men to fast. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there will your heart

the light that is in you, be darkness, how great is that darkness !"

The light that was in them was the light of truth; the light that prompted to the giving of alms to the poor; the light that moved them to prayer; and the light that urged them to fast. But the darkness was the motive that governed their actions. was done "To be seen of men."

It

How great is that darkness! It spreads its deadly shade over the whole horizon of the daily walk of the mere nominal Christian. All that he does is deceptive. He not only deceives the world, but deceives himself. Truly, indeed, "He feedeth upon ashes." And well may it be said of him, what the angel said to the Church in Sardis, "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead."-Rev. 3: 1.

There is more hope for the open profligate and the notorious sinner than for a character such as this. Their conscience reproves them. They sin, and know it. But the self-deceived never think of asking, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

You see them strict in all the outward observances of religion, just as were the Pharisees. And, strange to tell, they can weep, and sob, and sigh, just as if their hearts were made of flesh. In reading the Sacred Scriptures, which they profess to take as their guide, they carefully shun certain portions of them where their favorite sins are too

me which

with more facility. There are certain chapters in the epistles of Paul, which they shun as carefully as they would a viper. This, surely, is "To love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." The man, however, who is sincerely desirous of walking in the "Strait and narrow way that leadeth unto life," searches, when he has a doubt, every part of Scripture, to find the truth. He asks not whether it condemns him, since he wants to be condemned, if he is wrong. O, give me that servant who is willing to do his heavenly Master's will, be it what it may! "Not my will but thine be done!" And surely, if his heart be right, he may always know his Father's will by asking him. For, as the apostle assures us, speaking of the light of God's Spirit on the heart, "We have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth into a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts; knowing this, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation."-2 Pet. 1: 19, 20. Ask that Father for bread, and he will not give you a stone; and for fish, and he will not give you a serpent. You may read the Holy Scriptures all the days of your life, as many do, and not be the better for it. On the contrary, as the apostle declares, "The unlearned and the unstable wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction."--2 Pet. 3: 16. Not the unlearned in the knowledge of this world, but the unlearned in the school of Christ.

For as our blessed Lord has said "0 Father Lord