that of Cain and Abel. Cain fretted himself, even in God's very presence, because Abel's offering was accepted, and his own was not; and we know what the end of this story was. And the children of Israel fretted themselves that the land of Canaan was too strong ever to be conquered by them; that the giants and walled cities and the seven nations would keep them for ever out of the country that flows with milk and honey. What sentence did they provoke GOD to pronounce upon them at last? Listen; and then see what their fretting ended in: "Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their forefathers, neither shall any of them that provoked Me see it."

And see now, "Fret not thyself, else shalt thou be moved to do evil." We begin the sin for ourselves; Satan works it out to the full. Just as it is in the opposite way. We try after some good thing, we do our best, we set ourselves to the work, and then our dear LORD works with us and helps us. Thus in an evil thing; we begin it, often, for ourselves, and Satan takes it out of our hands and finishes it for us. Yes, indeed, and we should over and over again be apt to cry out, as Hazael did, "Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing?" if we could see the evil into which, starting from some very little sin, or what seems to us very little, we should be led.

And now notice one thing more. What kind of

fretting is that which David here speaks of? Why, when there is really cause for us to be moved, then it really is a heavy trial. When we see the wicked seeming to prosper, and we ourselves, though we may be trying to serve GOD, vexed and persecuted and afflicted, even then "fret not thyself." Nevertheless, this was so hard a trial to Asaph, him that wrote so many of the Psalms, that he says, "Then thought I to understand these things, but it was too hard for me, yea, and I had almost said even as they,” that is, as the wicked, "but, lo: then should I have condemned the generation of Thy children." Now, my children, you do not know as yet what this means, but probably you will know it some day; and then you will find it a very hard trouble to bear; a trouble that you only can bear, by looking as S. Paul says, “Not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen;" by looking past the present to the future; by casting your eyes past the middle to the end. And this is the verse that, above all others, I would then have you remember: "Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear GOD, which fear before Him: but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God."

I took this text because it came in the Psalm

which you have just been saying, not for any other reason. But remember this, health has some especial temptations, and sickness some: and one of those of sickness is to be fretful. Any of you who do not feel strong, who are used to pain, who are accustomed to feel ill, must be all the more on your guard against this; against feeling discontented and peevish, and fretful about little things. And remember that country in which there can be no ill-temper; remember Him Who "endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be weary and faint in your minds," "Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself unto Him that judgeth righteously." That is the country of which the inhabitants will no more say, "I am sick; the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquities."

READING XXV.1

"Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet." Ps. xci. 13.

EVERY day we are saying the Psalms and the Antiphons that belong to your own Saint, S. Margaret. So it is but fair that, as is the service, so should be the sermon; and that is why I took this text. You know how it is said, whether truly, or by way of parable, that this Saint, who lived in Pisidia, (the same of which we read in the Acts,) conquered a terrible dragon that ravaged that whole country. It might really be so; or the story may only mean, that in a land which lay in darkness and the shadow of death, she fought the good fight of faith against that old serpent, as S. John speaks, called the Devil and Satan, that deceiveth the world. And this she did indeed; and so at last went home by a glorious Martyrdom.

Now this text has to do with all of you, my children, as much as with S. Margaret. "Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder: " you know who is that roaring lion that goeth about seeking whom he may devour; and whom, as S. Peter says, we are to resist, steadfast in the faith. You know who is that poisonous serpent, who first deceived Eve, so

Preached in the Octave of the Feast of S. Margaret.

that she ate of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, and who tries to deceive us all every day of our lives, still. So see what the Psalm promises you; that you shall have strength to conquer temptation, when it comes like a great fierce roaring lion, and not less when it comes like a crafty, creeping, wily, poisonous serpent.

Now what kind of temptations come upon us like a lion? Why, all such as would stir us up to disobedience, or to anger, or hatred; all such as seem to assault us first of all from without. Some one is unkind, or we think so; some one speaks harshly, or we think so; and then, instead of remembering by Whose Name we are called-by the Name of Him "Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not;" of Him Who when He was accused of many things, answered never a word, insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly-we work ourselves up into a passion, call hard names, try to hurt those that have hurt us, sometimes are quite carried away by the violence of our passion; so that we scarcely know what we are doing any more than if we were really and truly mad. That is the temptation coming upon us like a lion. And I will tell you another way in which it comes like a lion; when we have done something wrong, or have had some unfortunate accident, and a great terrible fear falls upon us, and so we are tempted to deny it; and so we tell one lie to begin with, and almost always