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thee out of the band. Still He bare with thee. Still as His own, and as one of the twelve, so He honoured thee. Lastly; He loved thee so much, O the pollution! that taking a towel with those undefiled Hands He washed those loathsome feet of thine, and not even this restrained thee. Thou wert wont to steal the property of the poor, and lest thou shouldst advance to greater evil, He endured even this. Nothing persuaded thee. For hadst thou been a wild beast, or a stone, wouldst thou not have been changed by His kindness to thee, by His wonders, and by His instructions? But even so bestialized as thou wert He continued to call thee, and though His wonderful works kept drawing thee, more unfeeling than the stones, towards Himself. But thou wast improved by none of these things.

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Perhaps ye wonder at this so great folly of the traitor. Fear then his wound. He became such from love of money, from desire of possessions. Cut out this passion, for it produces such diseases. It makes us impious, and prepares us to be ignorant of GOD, although we shall receive ten thousand benefits. Cut it out, I exhort you. It is no ordinary disease. It can produce ten thousand evil deaths. We know his end. Let us fear lest we should fall into the same ourselves. For for this cause is it written, that we may not suffer the like. For this cause all the Evangelists narrated it to make us wise. Fly far from it. Desiring many things is not the only love of money, but desiring money at all. To seek more than is necessary is a fearful love of money. For were they talents of gold at that time which influenced the traitor? He betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver. Do you remember when I said before, that love of money is not shown in receiving many things, but far more in receiving few? See what a sin this man committed for a little gold; and rather not for gold but silver. It cannot be, it cannot be that he who loves money shall ever see the

Face of CHRIST. This is one of the things which are impossible."

THURSDAY.

S. Luke xxi. 28.

"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

There is joy in the judgment-day as well as fear. For then shall justice take the place of wrong. Then shall causes decided against equity be heard again; the oppressed relieved; truth made clear as the day; the saints delivered, and God justified. Then shall the cry arise from the oppressor, and not from the oppressed. Then shall the " Accuser of the brethren " be put to silence; the adversary defeated; the tempter shall have no power. Then shall all deceits, impostures, magic, heresies, lying wonders, be exposed and cease. The reign of truth and righteousness shall set in, and all that is evil shall be cast into the pit.

But, O just GOD, whilst I rejoice in Thy justice, let me also fear it. Let me take good heed lest there be in me any iron to attract the lightnings of Thy wrath; lest I have in my hands any accursed thing, money withheld from Thee, from Thy Church, or from Thy poor, ill-gotten gain, over-much gain, hire kept back by fraud, crying and entering into the ears of the LORD of Sabaoth. Let me take good heed that I have in me no lie, no heresy, no deceit, no hypocrisy, which shall burn at the brightness of CHRIST's coming. Try me, O GOD, and seek the ground of my heart, prove me, and examine my thoughts. Look well if there be any way of wickedness in me in the way everlasting.

1 S. Chrys. Hom. 6, in Phil.

and lead me

FRIDAY.

Numbers xxi. 7-9.

"Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that He take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”

Poisoned am I by the bite of the serpent. In the wilderness of this world I wandered, I murmured, I forgat my GoD. My very life-blood was poisoned with unbelief, and with the sins which spring from it. But I look up and see Thee upon the Cross my SAVIOUR, and fly to Thee as my sole hope.

But how can a serpent, the very type of sin, foreshadow Thee, Thee the LAMB without blemish and without spot, the Holy One, in Whom Satan had nothing, against Whom the enemy could bring no charge, the Death of sin, the LORD our Righteousness? Even thus. Thou wast made a curse for us. Thou didst hang upon the Cross in the likeness of sinful flesh, bearing its punishment. Thou the Dove wast content to be as a serpent.

To Thee then Who for me didst suffer, for me didst die, to Thee I look, JESU SAVIOUR. Strengthen my sight, that I may look, and gaze, and be fixed in sorrow and love and hope upon Thy Cross. Others may pass it by, but I will not regard them. They may shoot out their lips, but I notice it not. My soul

shall be engrossed by Thy grace with Thee; my eyes shall be intent on Thee. I will live in Thee and on Thee. The life which I live I will live by the faith of the SON of GOD, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

SATURDAY.

S. Matthew xxvi. 40; Acts xx. 9.

"And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with Me one hour ?"

"And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead."

Life is short, and we make it shorter. A third part is spent in sleep. Of the rest much is wasted in eating, resting, or recreation, and the remainder goes in working that we may eat and rest, in earning food and shelter. We rest to labour, and labour to rest. How little of our time does GOD receive, even at the best. If I take a life of sixty years, twenty are spent in sleep, and scarce three in devotion. This is our preparation for eternity!

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And into my very devotions how much coldness has always entered! How many worldly, wandering thoughts! How small a portion of them was devout! And is this all we have to offer to our GOD? this our best? Is it not one long exile from our home which we live here, whilst we work and care, rest and labour for that which is not meat, that which profits us not. We till another's land; we build another's house; our own is in a far-off country!

When shall I praise Thee, O my GoD, without weariness? worship Thee without distraction? When shall the weariness of the body cease to weigh down

mine eyes and hands? When shall I be delivered from the burthen of the flesh? Deliver me first from the love of this life, and then from its infirmity.

Bless'd Angels! while we silent lie,
You hallelujahs sing on high;
You joyful hymn the Ever-bless'd
Before the throne, and never rest.

LAST ACTS.

Live in thine old age as dying; frequent in communicating, and prayer, and works of love. When thou art nigh unto death then receive, for the last time, the Body and Blood of thy Redeemer, as thy viaticum, or provision for the great journey. Receive Him Whose Blood washes away sin; Who died before thee, and for thee, in order that thou mightest die in peace; Who for thee was buried; Who descended into hell; Who rose from the dead; Who ascended into Heaven; Who sitteth on the right hand of GoD to bring thee thither. Receive Him for thy journey, Who is the Way; Him Who is the Truth, Who fails not, when all else fails; Him who is the Life which thou seekest; Who is the Bread of angels; " whom being incorruptible the Word of GOD feeds incorruptibly."

This done seek to die to God's glory, with due fear, and due faith; with due reverence, and such joy as GOD shall give thee. Force not thyself. Die, as thou art, simply; and give up thyself in dying to Him, Who is thy hope. If thou canst benefit those around thee by holy counsel, by declaring thine own experience of the folly of the world's service, and the wisdom of making the LORD our God all the days of our life, follow in this the examples of Jacob, and Joshua, 1 S. Aug. Enarr. in Psalm lxxvii. sec. 17.

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