SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. Morning Lesson, Gen. xxvii. Evening Lesson, Gen. xxxiv. Epistle, 1 Thess. iv. 1. COLLECT. 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. Purity is the very life of a Christian soul, for without it Scripture expressly declares-"No man shall see God;" but for the acquirement of this great virtue and for the perfect subjection of our appetites and passions, the grace of God alone is sufficient. Wisely, therefore, does the Church teach us in the Collect for this day to pray for His all powerful aid, while in deep humility we confess our own weakness and helplessness. The Epistle accordingly inculcates upon us, as the special command of our Lord, the necessity of abstaining from all uncleanness, in order to our 66 sanctification; while in the Gospel we are taught to whom, and with what qualifications, we are to apply for aid to cast out the evil spirit that may possess us. Perseverance, faith and humility won the deliverance of the Syrophenician's daughter, and He, that was mighty to save," delayed the performance of the miracle only that the issue of the trial to which He subjected the unhappy mother, might be the more conspicuous. The same qualities will still be attended with the same blessed result, for that merciful ear is not grown weary, nor that powerful arm shortened, that He should refuse the prayer of them who call upon Him faithfully, or be unable to succour them to the utmost. The Morning Lesson, which is replete with instruction in many other respects, expressly conveys an awful warning against the indulgence of selfish gratification at the cost of any religious principle, whereby, we, like Esau, sell our heavenly birthright for a mess of pottage. At the same time it displays to us the misery resulting from our folly, namely, the rejection of our prayer for the restoration of that inheritance from which we wantonly parted. In the Evening Lesson, which relates the sad history of Dinah, we are taught to shun temptation, and to avoid exposing ourselves to situations perilous to virtue; they, in fact, who would preserve innocence must be careful not only in the choice of their associates, but in the places they frequent. GENESIS XXvii. 12. And I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me and not a blessing. RIGHTLY the Patriarch feared When prompted to deceive The sire by age endeared, And now about to leave A world of toil for one of bliss, But prove deep cause to grieve. Thou hat'st the deed: beware,- Alas! there's many a snare To tempt thy nature weak; And thou must ever take good heed, Lest thou, too, rue the fatal deed Which thence may bid thy bosom bleed, And stain with tears thy cheek. Not by unlawful means May any good be sought; Nor think the motive screens Thy guilefulness in ought; Good must be gained by good, All other ways must be withstood: The man who wears deception's hood Has sinful folly wrought. Would'st thou an offering bring? Ask first thine own intent: Its holy impulse lent? Or is it but a vain pretence Some benefit to gain from thence ? Forbear! such mockery's an offence, Do doubts assail thy soul? Ere thou hast made thy choice Has He a promise given? But ne'er can He be driven, Who all has understood. Thou canst not change what he has said, Although for joy that should have fed Thy soul with bliss, thou reap instead Woe that shall chill thy blood. The Patriarch used deceit Deceit was thence his bane, And turned his joys to pain; Made sharp the pangs that thenceforth lay Within his long and toilsome way, And to his last and dying day Bound round his heart a chain. Avoid then crooked ways For truth's all searching eye And brands hypocrisy ; Of falsehood's devious paths beware, And though the tempter's fruit be fair, |