+II. The light of the Lord.+ "In the light of the Lord." The soul of man was not constituted to walk in darkness. It was created with keen moral vision; but, alas! its eye is dimmed by sin, and is but seldom open to the light of heaven. 1. _This light is Divine in its origin._ It does not come from the orb in the heavens. It comes from beyond the clouds--from the Sun of Righteousness, whose rays are never lost in night. It is not the light of the finite, but of the Infinite. It is perennial and pure. It is unparalleled in beauty. It is unique in lustre. It is life-giving in its influence. The soul can walk in no better radiance. 2. _This light is clear in its revelation._ But for the sun we should know nothing of this world. And but for the light of the Lord we should be entirely ignorant of the moral world, in which the soul lives and has its being. This light which shines for the Spirit of God from the Bible, and from the enlightened conscience, reveals the existence of God, the spirituality of His nature, the purity of His character, and the devotion of which He is worthy. It reveals the soul to itself, and bends it in humility, but in joy, as it unfolds the forgiving mercy of the Cross. But for this light of the Lord we should be ignorant of the things of the moral universe. It illuminates the soul in its walk to the great and unknown future. 3. _This light is cheering in its influence._ The light of the sun is cheering to man, and is ever welcome to him. So the light of the Lord is cheering to the pure soul; it enlivens its energies, and lends new beauty to its visions. 4. _This light is abiding in its duration._ The light of the Lord will never go down from the pure soul, but will only brighten through death into the perfect day.--By what light do we walk? "Come ye," now, gladly, devoutly, "and let us walk in the light of the Lord."--_J. S. Exell._ A TERRIBLE PICTURE. ii. 6-22.