his is the condemnation,
that light is come into the world, and men _loved darkness rather
than light_."

A Jewish rabbi once asked his scholars what was the best thing a man
could have in order to keep him in the straight path. One said _a
good disposition;_ another, _a good companion;_ another said
_wisdom_ was the best thing he could desire. At last a scholar
replied that he thought _a good heart_ was best of all.

"True," said the rabbi, "you have comprehended all that the others
have said. For he that hath a good heart will be of a good
disposition, and a good companion, and a wise man. Let every one,
therefore, cultivate a sincerity and uprightness of heart at all
times, and it will save him an abundance of sorrow." We need to make
the prayer of David--"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a
right spirit within me!"

God Is Not Mocked.

Bear in mind, the God of the Bible has never deceived anyone, and
never can, and never will; that is the difference between the God of
the Bible and the god of this world. He beholds the ways of men; He
looks into their hearts; He knows their secret ways; they need not
tell Him or try to conceal anything from Him.

However successfully we may deceive or be deceived by ourselves or
others, we cannot deceive Him. Adam and Eve tried it in Eden when
they hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah amongst the trees
of the garden. Saul tried it when he spared the best of the sheep
and oxen of the Amalekites under the pretence of sacrificing them to
God. Ananias and Sapphira tried it when they kept back part of the
price of the land they sold. "Why hath Satan filled thine heart to
lie unto (deceive) the Holy Ghost? * * * Thou hast not lied unto
men, but unto God."

Men try it every day. They have got it into their heads that God can
be mocked. Because they can deceive their pastor, and their
employer, and their friends, they think they can deceive God. They
put on false appearances, they use empty words, they perform unreal
service, they make idle excuses, they indulge in all kinds of
hypocrisy. But it is of no avail. God cannot be imposed upon. He
sees the corruption inside the whited sepulchre.

Warning to Christians.

It is worth noticing that this warning was given by Paul to
Christian men--converts in the Galatian church. After all, a man is
not all the time deceived about the grosser sins. The drunkard
realizes in his sober moments what must be the end of a