of temper, or severity of judgment: therefore it is not such abstinence;' but where there is most of this spontaneous lightness of heart, this natural playfulness, there will be least necessity or craving for stimulants; 'a merry heart doeth good like a medicine;' and if our boys and girls carry it forth with them into life, instead of leaving it behind in the nursery, every common object will be full of vitality and interest, every common thing will be fresh and bright, and the dissipation, falsely called gaiety, will have no attractions.

Recreation, in its true sense, is what the mind does require; that which refreshes after labour and prepares for its renewal; but whatever exhausts mind or body fails of this purpose, and is in fact spending labour on an unworthy object of pursuit.

The object of that personal self-denial which, always necessary in whatever form suits the constitution, the Church especially recommends at this season, is twofold-first for self-discipline, and secondly for the benefit of others. We are ever ready to set up one of these objects in rivalry of the other, but in God's Providence we find them combined. The discipline of each individual will be most truly found in 'seeking not his own;' in 'pleasing not himself;' in esteeming, and permitting his friends to 'esteem, others better than himself;' and in 'going about doing good,' where this is a reality and not the mere indulgence of a benevolent impulse.

It is impossible to fulfil our duties by all connected with us and by all who cross our path for one day without much denial of our own gratification. It may be said, 'You find your pleasure in that of others, therefore it is no selfdenial.' Be it so; the martyr truly finds his joy in laying down his life, but that does not lessen the reality of the sacrifice.

The necessities of our fellow-creatures, and the duty of alms-giving, put a sharp check to luxury in food, decoration, and every indulgence exclusively personal; while the wants of our brethren, the sick, the ignorant, the ungrateful, the perverse, the vulgar, the unclean, give abundant opportunities for the mortification of the flesh without the self-inflictions which would separate us from our kind, or exalt us in our own sight.

'Such abstinence' is the duty especially set before us in the present season. 'Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, and to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked that thou cover him? and that thou hide not thyself from thy own flesh?"1

Fasting is a means to an end; towards God, to set the spirit more free to seek Him in selfabasement and in supplication; towards man, to crush our selfishness and to send us forth in deeds

'Isaiah, lviii.

of mercy; towards both, the abnegation of self in every form, so that we may live not unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us and rose again.

SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT.

Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THERE are two aspects of our state before God; one, the fact that we are sinful and helpless; the other, our own consciousness of that fact. In another Collect we plead with Him, that He sees that we put not our trust in anything that we do, that He sees our sense of dependence; here we go deeper, and found our plea on the fact itself, that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves,' whether we feel it so or not; that 'we have no power to help ourselves' is a fact, whether it sets us struggling 'like a wild bull in a net,' or whether it leads us to a sweet and loving surrender of ourselves to His guidance. It is a fact, whether we like it or not; a fact belonging to our state as creatures, though stained and darkened by our state as sinners. The created spirits of the

blessed above have no power of themselves to help themselves, but theirs is a conscious and joyous dependence; they would not, if they could, be their own rulers and guides; they would not be lords of themselves. To become holy, as they are, we must acquiesce in this fact, and ask God in merciful consideration of it, to take us out of our own keeping; to save us from ourselves, to be our Helper, and to keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls. Closely are they united in our spiritual life; the adversities which happen to the body, the adverse circumstances, whether of luxury or want, of society or solitude, of depressing sickness, or the robust pride of health, may tend to the 'evil thoughts which do assault and hurt the soul.' The soul is not like a bird in a cage; it is closely and intimately connected with its dwelling-place; the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, and God's protection is needed alike for both; to defend the one either from or in adversity, and the other from the fiery darts of the wicked, which find entrance through the infirmities of 'this fretful flesh.'

These thoughts which seem to rise spontaneously, are the whispers of the good or the evil spirits which are contending for the mastery; our own evil hearts often reject the good and admit the bad or worthless; an evil thought cherished is in God's sight the same as if it were developed in action. To control even the unruly tongue is an

easier task than to control the thoughts, and even of that it is said, 'the tongue can no man tame;' but God can; and we are just as guilty if we fail to ask His help as if the power of control were directly our own. There are many classes of evil thoughts; those which take their colour from the passions, and those which are of the intellect; hard, unjust, cruel, suspicious thoughts of our fellow-creatures, or bold, daring, presumptuous, blasphemous thoughts about God. How are we to escape from them? It is not well to fight hand to hand with every evil suggestion that crosses the mind; to do so may give them substance, and a home in the memory and imagination; it is often better to pass them by, to refuse to listen, to suppress their utterance, and to dismiss them with contempt rather than argue with them; and against such as we know to be evil, a simple ejaculation, 'Good Lord, deliver me from this bad thought,' is the safest and surest weapon. But where they pretend to be good, and the falsehood requires detection, the case is different; God then calls us in dependence on His help to exercise the reason He has given us; yet even in these subtle sins of thought perhaps there was a moment when the first link of the now lengthening chain would have been broken at the cry, 'Cleanse the thoughts of my heart by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit.' Speculative thought is to some natures the field of trial which passion is to others; sceptical doubts or difficulties