are to one man what the lusts of the flesh are to another; intellectual questioning assailed Thomas as covetousness assailed Judas. The noblest and purest spirits are often thus tempted in the region of thought, and they are called to the very same fight under Christ's banner against recurring doubts or blasphemous questionings or irreverent suggestions, as the incipient murderer is against the passion of hatred or revenge. Their safety is in flight, not into the strongholds of prejudice or self-confidence, but a flight into the bosom of Him, Who knowing their thoughts said, 'What question ye among yourselves?' and Who yielded to the honest doubts of Thomas an evidence that brought the joyful confession, 'My Lord and my God!'

We sometimes excuse the existence of evil thoughts by the plea, 'We cannot hinder them, they come of themselves; we have not time or power to resist their entrance;' but this helplessness is the very reason why we ought to fly for help to the Saviour; and it is because we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves, that we must ask Him to subdue and control and direct the thoughts of our hearts and the thoughts of our intellect, by the inbreathed influence of the Holy Spirit.

THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT.

We beseech Thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of Thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of Thy Majesty, to be our defence against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE expression "The right hand of Thy Majesty' directs our thoughts to the connection in which the words occur in Holy Scripture: 'When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.' It suggests the idea of His Royal Priesthood; there we behold both the Victim and the sacrificer; 'the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sin of the world,' Who 'by the sacrifice of Himself put away sin,' and ever liveth to make intercession for us; our Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous,' exalted, not to forget but to succour those whom He is not ashamed, even now when He has passed into the Heavens, to call His brethren. At the right hand of the Eternal Majesty, that is, as the acting power of God, is He Whose hands were pierced for our iniquities; and surely that power will be stretched forth in answer to the hearty desires of His humble servants, to defend them from their enemies and His; their real enemies, the world,

the flesh, and the devil, are His enemies as well; for the carnal mind is enmity against God, the friendship of the world is enmity against God; the devil is alike the accuser of the brethren and the enemy of God; we are sure of the victory if these are the foes we desire to conquer; for then He says to us, 'The battle is not yours but God's; stand still, and see the salvation of God.'

But is it so that these are the enemies we dread? What or whom do we in truth account as our enemies from whom we need deliverance? Let us answer this question before we offer this prayer for defence against them.

FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT.

Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of Thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Do we really believe that we do for our evil deeds worthily deserve to be punished? Why then such amazement, 'as though some strange thing happened to us, 'when He with rebukes doth correct men for iniquity? Why do we account peace and plenty our normal condition, which calls for no gratitude, and feel injured whenever it is disturbed? Why do we take all our temporal

blessings as if they were ours by right, and when pain or bereavement is our portion, talk of a mysterious providence?

And if we do in general terms acknowledge that we deserve to be punished, let us inquire what are those evil deeds of ours. Many join in the general Confession who would point by point deny any one proof that they had done the things they ought not to have done, or neglected any one thing they ought to have done; but it is necessary to be specific in our self-examination, that we may be specific in our confessions and our prayers; that we may seek the application of the blood of sprinkling not in vague and general terms, but in its cleansing power according to our requirements. In the consecration of the Jewish priests it was directed, 'Thou shalt take of the blood and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot." It might have been said, 'Sprinkle the men,' and all the parts would have been included; but God specifies part by part, to teach us that the cleansing must be not only for inherent guilt, but for actual misdoings.

Let us

What are these evil deeds of ours? bring them before God, that He may pardon each fault, positive or negative. In the great fact of our fallen and sinful nature we must not merge the individual acts of sin, as though they added

1 Exodus, xxix. 20.

nothing; neither must we overlook the fact that our evil deeds are but the fruit of a corrupt tree.

'I have sinned of a verity, O Lord, and I am made of sins, for even my life maketh it manifest.'1

FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT.

We beseech Thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon Thy people; that by Thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

'THY people,'-yes; the confession of guilt, the conviction that we deserve punishment, should never cloud the humble confidence that we are His people; it is truly in the embrace of the Father that the returning son can best pour forth the cry, 'Father, I have sinned;' and it is the fact that we are His chosen people, that, while it stamps our sin with the deepest dye, encourages us to look to Him for pardon and renewing; for pardon through the blood of atonement, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. God hath separated the Christian Church to Himself, as He separated Israel of old; and we are His people upon earth, whether through our rebellious disobedience the relationship aggravates 'Bishop Andrewes.