Who, knowing his own heart,

Finds not deep cause to hide his face and weep;
And e'er the more as conscience less may sleep,
And false deceitful art

Has less the power to blind him to the truth,
And frame excuse from age, or thoughtless youth.

Not actual sin alone,

Not gross and heavy crimes against us writ,
Which spectre-like in our remembrance flit,

Must cause the heavy groan;

There is an inward, an inherent taint,

Which wrings less holy breasts, and shames the saint.

The heart itself is foul;

Sin hath so twined its fibres o'er each fold,
That its best energies are faint and cold,
Unworthy of a soul

Immortal made, and by a God redeemed,
Made capable of bliss when lost he seemed.

Yet none doth truly know,

Save we ourselves, the torment of our breast;
Too often when by partial friends caressed,
And praises warmly flow,

An inward hand such characters will write,

We turn aside, and sicken at the sight.

For fair we oft are seen,

And fair the reputation that we hold,

Yet oh! what agony may lurk untold,
Beneath that false serene,

For God delights the perfect heart to see,
And we have cause to loathe our leprosy.

Saviour! whose simple word,

The sick man's body healed from legal taint,
A greater cure perform on our weak souls and faint,
And let the prayer be heard,

Which lowly at thy feet with anguish keen,
We offer to thy love and say-" Be clean.”

No deeds of ours are pure,—

All stained with pride, or else in motive weak,
And each such imperfection doth bespeak,

That when we seem secure

In other eyes of pardon and a crown,

Doubts in ourselves such fond confidings drown.

Yet sweet it is to think,

Mourn as we may unworthiness so great,

Not man's decree but Thine decides our fate:
He cannot see the link

That leads us oft astray against our will,

And

prone himself to wrong, condemns us still.

Mercy and love are thine!

Thou knowest our weakness, knowest each guilty stain,

Knowest too how earnest, though how oft in vain,

We seek thy will divine

To make the rule of our poor erring heart,—

Thou injured most, most comfort dost impart.

Make us thine own indeed,

Spotted with leprous stain as we confess;
Open the fountain of thy blood and bless
Our spirits in their need:

Thy blood alone can cleanse our sinful soul,

Thou, Lord, alone canst make each leper whole.

O GOD, who knowest us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright; Grant to us such strength and protection, as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

That man is by nature weak and corrupt, and that all help in time of need cometh from God, no one, in the least acquainted with himself, will deny. The Church, in full acknowledgment of the humiliating truth, teaches us to implore in the Collect for this Sunday, that strength and protection which can alone enable us to rise above temptation, and thus to conquer him who is our mortal enemy, the Prince of Darkness. It was to destroy the power of Satan and to rescue us from his bondage, that our blessed Lord was manifested. As his disciples, therefore, we must walk in the path which he has shewn us, and avoid those sins especially by which our adversary himself fell, and which he

uses to work our ruin. Pride,-the sin of hell,—and distrust of God's word, by spreading rebellion, introduced disorder and misery into the world, and will continue to do so wherever this root of bitterness exists. The Epistle, therefore, earnestly, enforces subjection to every rightful power, making the ground of obedience and lawful authority, obedience to the command of God himself, that so fulfilling the allotted duties of our station with submission, patience and diligence, we may lead a peaceable and godly life.

The Gospel, by bringing to our consideration the power of our Lord exhibited in calming the tempest at sea, and afterwards subduing the fury of the possessed on land, shews us that He is omnipotent, and, therefore, able to assist us in our direst necessity, if with faith and humility we apply to Him, to still the madness of our own passions, or check the violence of others.

The Proper Lessons are in union with the rest of the service of the day. They declare that there is no peace for the wicked, who, by a bold and beautiful figure, are said to be "like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt."