Christ, and how it grieves them to see any of the little ones of their flock irreverent, careless, or disobedient. Very likely you often feel impatient during a sermon, thinking it long and wearisome, and never consider what trouble and thought it has cost the preacher, or how he has prayed that you might understand and profit by it. Is not this often the case ?"

The children were silent, looking confused and conscious, till one found courage to say: "Yes, sir, I am afraid we often feel cross and impatient during the sermon, and wish for it to be over, I never thought of its being so wrong before, I will try and remember what you have told us about it."

"I trust you will, my dear child," said Mr. Wilson, "I hope you will all try in future to listen more attentively to what your clergymen teach you, and look upon them with the reverence and respect due to those of whom St. Paul says, 'Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.' 1 Cor. iv. 1."

0

WORK FOR LENT, 1853.

L. R. P.

We cannot do better than commend this truthful teaching to the Christian attention of our readers, big and little.-EDS.

THE Church teaches us much with respect to this work by setting part the forty days of Lent, in which we may follow it up with prayer and fasting, and self-denial. She teaches us that, in her judgment, that "worthy lamenting of our sins" which is the means of obtaining perfect remission and forgiveness," requires that we should withdraw from the pleasures and works of this world, and detach ourselves from its entanglements. And in the Gospel for Ash Wednesday, and the portion of Scripture appointed for the

Epistle, and in the Scripture appointed for Lent-she shews that we have our Lord's approval of fasting, and during Lent, the command of it by one of His inspired Prophets, which all lead us to the same kind of thoughts, and shews us that withdrawing from things that please the flesh is one of the needful steps in drawing near to God.

Now the business of this Holy Season is not only to examine whether there be any such thing as sin within us, but also to put out of the way such things as are hindrances to our finding it out, and to make actual trial of ourselves, for the sake of exercise, in some points in which sin is not unlikely to have a hold of us, besides humbling ourselves before God for all our past short-comings and misdoings. And in the earlier part of the season it is well to keep in view the search after our own faults, because a fault is not cured in a day, and because if there are any great faults lying by us neglected, there will be a handerance to all our work.

Let us think then of some of the ways in which sin hangs about us when we think we have forsaken it. One of these ways is by its still keeping a hold of our thoughts, so that we remember with pleasure, or in some way take pleasure in thinking of wrong things that we have done, or such as are like them. This is not hard to find out if we have the will, and must be wholly given up if we would have our repentance complete and our pardon entire. Watchfulness over our thoughts at this season will help much toward curing us of this evil. What do we commonly imagine as what we should like? Do we carefully check ourselves if it is a covetous or other wrong thought?

But there are some more subtle ways in which sin lurks:

about its old haunts, and requires to be well looked for before it is found out. One of these is a certain weakness of will, that is apt to arise from often letting the wrong bent of our nature have it way. This is very likely to remain with us if we have been cured of a sinful habit not by any vigorous effort to master the temptation, but rather by the help of some change of circumstances that puts us under control, or makes the temptation less. When that is the case, we are apt to remain just as weak and self-indulgent in something else, as in the sin we think we have forsaken; it may be in some lesser matter, that we hardly think of as amounting to a sin, but still it is an evil that we ought to find out and cure, if we wish to have our sin wholly cleared away. Eating and drinking for mere pleasure, not taking trouble to do things well, or in due time, and the like may come from our old sins.

Another way in which sin hangs about us is in our attachment to things of this world, and likings for this and that indulgence; or again what is nearly allied to such likings, attachment to the praise of men. If we have been in any respect given to taking our own way, and not minding to keep the path of duty, such inclinations are apt to have a very strong hold on us, so that we find it very hard to withstand them when duty calls for it. Self-will does not shew itself openly, but it has plenty of room to hide itself in these things, and lies there for a length of time in quiet possession and in strength enough to master our own better mind when any trial comes.

It is not serving God, we know, without an especial call, to do harm to our bodies, which are his own work; but the body will

best serve its highest purposes, waiting on the soul in worship or meditation, when it is somewhat subdued; and even for works of mercy that require strength it is not so fit when proud and over-fail. And what stays by us from sins of the body will be best found out by putting the body to some trial. So much ought to be done as to be a really painful exercise to the natural man, that a real trial may be made and a real change wrought.

Self-denial, then, in Lent, will serve in the first place for chastisement, laid by our own will upon our known past sins, that, judging ourselves, we may not be judged of the Lord. This is to be not as though we could make up for them, but because we hate them, and wish to take from ourselves the ungodly pleasure we thought to gain by them.

If we cannot do this without pain to ourselves, it is only a sign that we have much to amend, and that the labour is well worth our while. If the thing is strange and new to us, and we hardly see how to set about it, the more reason is there for doing what we can. No one expects to be able to do any thing useful and effective in the works of this world till after several trials. If we can do but little, the more reason for not losing that little; for he who can do but little in Lent, can most likely do but little at any time, and so very little will be done while he lives, if the best time is lost.Adapted from Tracts for Christian Seasons.

GOOD works ought to be fortified by prayer, and prayer sustained by good works.-St. Jerome.

FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT.

And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterwards an hungered.-St. Matt. iv. 2.

Ir is a time for prayer and penitence,

When men stand still, and think upon their sin,
And ask of God with tears and abstinence,
To wash away the stain that lies within.

Mindful of Him, Who, in the wilderness,
Long forty days in fast and sorrow spent,
Dwelling alone in peril and distress,

Showing how sin demandeth punishment.

And even young children, fresh as is the flower
Just opening in the early morning dew,
O'er their unfolding hearts bath sin had power,
And they have need to ask forgivness too.

They have not kept the vows their Sureties said,
Proud, angry, words upon their lips have dwelt,
They have not followed where their Captain led,
Bad thoughts and wrong desires their hearts have felt.

Therefore these days of Lent are set apart

That we may think on sins that we have done,

And telling them to God, with contrite heart,
Ask pardon in The Name of His Dear Son.

Verses for Holy Seasons.

THERE is no man but knows more evil of himself than

he does of his neighbour.-Bp. Wilson.