l in himself a spiritual
condition which is the very opposite of that which he discovers in God
his Creator, Preserver and bountiful Benefactor.

The Bible tells us that "in the beginning God made man upright," that
he created him in his own image, after his own likeness, and pronounced
him, with all else that he had made, "_very good_." But how is man
now? What is his moral and spiritual condition? I appeal to the heart
experience of every one in this house for an answer. Brother, there is
no charge on the part of the church against you. The church has never
at any time preferred a charge against you. You are loved and held in
high esteem by all the brethren and sisters. The laws of your land
have never brought an accusation against you. You have, in the most
minute particulars, been "a law-abiding citizen." More than all this,
you labor to do all the good you can, by feeding and clothing the
poor; by helping to keep up the church, and by aiding in the spread of
the Gospel. You also help your neighborhood, county and State by
paying all your dues and by voluntary contributions of money or labor
to public improvements, education and whatever else may be for the
general good, as necessity may demand.

But, with all these excellencies in your character and life in full
view, I ask you, as in the presence of God: Do you feel in your
_heart_ that you are a _good_ man? Would you be willing for the world
and the church to know every thought and imagination and desire that
enters your heart and passes through your mind in the short space of
one day of your life? Do you feel that all within is fit for the eye
of God? I know, or _think_ I know, just what is in your mind, and your
answer is in words like these: "I do not feel that I am good. It is
only by constant watchfulness, by looking to Jesus in his Word, and by
reading his Word with prayer, in connection with my attendance upon
the ordinances of his house, that I am enabled to walk in the path I
go, and lead the life I do.

"'He LEADETH me: HE leadeth me:
By his own hand he leadeth me.'

"His promise, 'Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world,' sustains my hope and assures me that 'he will never leave me,
nor forsake me.' Thus, God being my helper, I do all the good I can,
and shun the evil. In this way 'I labor, whether at home or absent, to
be well-pleasing to him; and work out my own salvation with fear and
trembling;' feeling, however, at the sam