herd is abfent from his charge; the fheep wander on without any to control their movements. The green paftures and verdant meadows afford them plenty of employment. Innocent themfelves, they fufpect no danger. But the wolf comes; he comes, too, in deep disguise, not in his true character; not as a wolf, but as a fheep, The flocks are deceived; he mingles with them; he marks his time. First one straggler, and now another, fall victims to his tooth of blood. At length, in an unguarded moment, he kills all the lambs, and tears and worries the entire flock. But think not that the ravening wolf escapes without punishment. No; the owner of the flock fees what has been done; he discovers the enemy, and kills him. He leaves his carcafs on the ground, a warning to all wolves in fheep's clothing.

In comparing small things with great, the Saviour compared the falfe prophets, or teachers, to a wolf in sheep's clothing. "Beware," faid he, "of false prophets, who come to you in fheep's clothing; but inwardly they are ravening wolves." Hypocrify confifts in acting a part or character not our own. There are hypocrites in all profeffions, and a great deal of hypocrify in the world. Men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie. Both of them together, laid in the balance of fincerity, would be found wanting.

Of all hypocrites, the falfe teacher of religion is the most dangerous. He it is that scatters

K

firebrands, arrows, and death. True Chriftians are honest themselves in their profeffions of piety, and unfufpecting of others; they do not mistrust. This exposes them to the schemes of hypocrites. Sometimes, also, the true teacher is abfent from his charge. Of this circumftance the false teacher will avail himself. Satan is never asleep or abfent. It is his bufinefs to fow tares; he felects his time, "when men fleep;" he selects his agents, his own children; he affifts them in difguifing themselves, and fends them forth to their hellish work.

Armed with the whole armour of Satan, the falfe teacher approaches the children of God. He begins by cant; he talks gofpel truth fometimes; he infinuates, wheedles, and flatters, until he has gained confidence; then he addreffes himself to his task in good earnest. Young converts are beguiled from the fimplicity of the gofpel; the weak in the faith are perplexed and turned out of the way; the reft have their confidence weakened, their peace deftroyed, and their fouls put in danger. His object is to scatter, tear, and kill, and fecure the fleece for a prey. Some are fatiffied with the fleece, and suffer the fheep to live; but this fon of Satan comes also to tear and destroy. Wolves are now abroad in fheep's clothing. Let the flock of Chrift beware. Let the falfe teachers also beware, because the Chief Shepherd will appear, and cut them in funder, and appoint them their portion with the hypocrites.

"By their fruits ye fhall know them."

Fruits

are the conduct of a man; his actions are the language of his heart. If the flock would wait

awhile before they fuffer themselves to act, they would know that " an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit."

Let the following marks be attended to in paffing judgment:

1. The false teacher goes to the fold of true Christians, and labours not to convert finners from their evil ways.

2. The falfe teacher perfuades Chriftians to leave the fold, inftead of helping them to grow in grace and in knowledge, and rejoicing in their profperity, as did Barnabas.

3. The falfe teacher fpeaks evil against the true teachers of the Gospel, instead of regarding them as co-workers with the Lord.

"For the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the ftring, that they may privily fhoot at the upright in heart."-Ps. xi. 2. their tongue a fharp fword."

-Ps. lvii. 4.

SLANDER AND BACKBITING.
Mark! where the good man unfufpecting treads,
No evil meditates, nor evil dreads;

The bafe affaffins from their covert start,
And sheath the dagger in his bleeding heart ;
Or fhoot their arrows, ftrung by hate, unflack,
With deadly aim at the defenceless back.
So fmites the flanderer, with poifon'd tongue,
The man-his neighbour-who has done no wrong;
Thief-like, he steals what gold cannot replace,
And, like a coward, dares not show his face :
A brutish cur, that fneaks along the track,
Awaits his time, then fprings upon the back.

BEHOLD the good man! He walks leifurely along towards his home; very likely he has been vifiting the house of mourning-drying the poor widow's tears, or feeding and clothing the for

faken orphan. He is probably anticipating much pleasure from the recital of what he has feen and heard, to his beloved family. He may be revolving in his mind fchemes of future benevolence, or meditating on the goodness of his heavenly Father; perhaps contemplating the vast concerns of the eternal ftate. He fees no foe, he hears no hoftile step; he feels himself suddenly wounded, his head fwims, he reels, and falls to the ground.

The base poltroons had carefully watched their time, and, with the sharp dagger and empoisoned arrow, had cruelly murdered the innocent. The deed is done in fecret; yet all the heavenly world beheld it; and under cover of darkness they escape, but not for ever. The earth refuses to cover the blood of the murdered.

This emblem fets forth the fin of flander or backbiting, which is, of all things whatsoever, the most abominable, and to be detefted. The flanderer contains within himself almost all the vices of other tranfgreffors. He is for the most part a liar of the very worst class. Whether he forges the calumny himself, or retails that of others, it matters not; he is ftill a liar in the fight of God and man. Not only fo, the flanderer is also a thief-a robber of the first magnitude, for

But he who filches from me my good name,
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.".