Part 1
# A Lent in earnest : $b or, Sober thoughts for solemn days ### By Guernsey, Lucy Ellen
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Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.
A LENT IN EARNEST
OR,
SOBER THOUGHTS FOR SOLEMN DAYS.
BY
LUCY ELLEN GUERNSEY.
New York: THOMAS WHITTAKER 2 & 3 BIBLE HOUSE.
1889.
Copyright, 1889,
By THOMAS WHITTAKER.
PRESS OF Jenkins & McCowan. 224-228 Centre St.
_I dedicate these pages specially to those who, by reason of infirmity or other reasons, are shut out from the services of the Church at this season. I hope, however, that they may be found useful and acceptable to others as well. They are the outcome of many days of seclusion. May they be blessed by Him whose dews and rain cause the herbs to spring._
_L. E. G._
CONTENTS.
—————
Ash Wednesday—Repentance
First Thursday in Lent—Confession
First Friday in Lent—Forgiveness
First Saturday in Lent—Consecration
First Sunday in Lent—Fasting
First Monday in Lent—Fasting
First Tuesday in Lent—How Shall We Keep Lent?
Second Wednesday in Lent—Abstinence
Second Thursday in Lent—In the Sick-Room
Second Friday in Lent—The Use of Fasting
Second Saturday in Lent—Dangers and Mistakes
Second Sunday in Lent—Helplessness and Help
Second Monday in Lent—Evil Thoughts and Their Remedy
Second Tuesday in Lent—Meditation
Third Wednesday in Lent—Meditation (Con.)
Third Thursday in Lent—Prayer
Third Friday in Lent—Prayer
Third Saturday in Lent—Intercession
Third Sunday in Lent—Our Enemies
Third Monday in Lent—Our Enemies
Third Tuesday in Lent—The World
Fourth Wednesday in Lent—The Flesh
Fourth Thursday in Lent—Our Ghostly Enemy
Fourth Friday in Lent—The Great Tempter
Fourth Saturday in Lent—Heartiness
Fourth Sunday in Lent—Refreshment
Fourth Monday in Lent—Refreshment Sunday (Con.)
Fourth Tuesday in Lent—Refreshment Sunday (Con.)
Fifth Wednesday in Lent—Comfort
Fifth Thursday in Lent—The Sources of Comfort
Fifth Friday in Lent—The Great Consoler
Fifth Saturday in Lent—The Use of Comfort
Fifth Sunday in Lent—The Government of God
Fifth Monday in Lent—Cæsar's Household
Fifth Tuesday in Lent—The Household of God
Sixth Wednesday in Lent—The Household of God (Con.)
Sixth Thursday in Lent—The Household of God (Con.)
Sixth Friday in Lent—The Household of God (Con.)
Saturday Before Palm Sunday—The Alabaster Box
Palm Sunday—Children in the Temple
Monday Before Easter—The Fig-Tree Having Leaves
Tuesday Before Easter—The House Left Desolate
Wednesday Before Easter—The Lost Opportunities
Thursday Before Easter—The Traitor
Good Friday—The Cross
Easter Even—The Last Sabbath
Easter—The Day of the Lord
Conclusion—Looking Back
A LENT IN EARNEST
_ASH WEDNESDAY._
_REPENTANCE._
THE keynotes of the services for Ash Wednesday are repentance and confession. Theirs is the spirit of the first collect, of the prayers which, in the American service for the day, follow the Litany, of the portion appointed for the Epistle, and of the Lessons, "That we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness;" "Turn Thine anger from us who meekly acknowledge our vileness." "Be favorable to thy people who turn to Thee in weeping, fasting, and praying."
We often use words, even very common words, without any clear or exact idea of their meaning. "I know, but I cannot tell," is an expression familiar to every teacher. Now the truth is, we cannot be quite sure whether we know or not, unless we try to put our knowledge into words. Let us, then, examine a little our ideas on this very important matter.
We find these two duties of repentance and confession constantly conjoined in both the Old and New Testaments. The Psalms are full of them. "I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me." (Ps. li. 3:) "Heal my soul; for I have sinned against Thee." (Ps. xli. 4.) "Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin." (Ezek. xviii. 30.)
Our Lord's own preaching began with repentance, as did that of His forerunner, John the Baptist. (S. Matt. iii. 2; S. Mark i. 15.) It was the first commission of the Apostles (S. Mark vi. 12), as it was the burden of their preaching after the day of Pentecost. (Acts ii. 38.)
So with confession. We read in Lev. xxvi. 40, after the most terrible denunciations of woe against the chosen people in case of unfaithfulness, these reassuring words: "If they will confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, ... if, then, their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they ... accept of the punishment of their iniquity: then will I remember my covenant with Jacob!" So in Psalm xxxii. 5, Joel ii. 12, 1 John i. 9, and many other places.
Our Church, too, in all her services, constantly presses these things on our attention. Since, then, they are so important, is it not very needful that our ideas about them should be clear and definite, free from mistake or haziness? What, then, are repentance and confession?
Repentance, as the word is used in the service for Ash Wednesday, and generally in the Bible and the Prayer-book, means turning "from" sin, and "to" God. It has another meaning in some places—that of sorrow or regret, as in Gen. vi. 6. "And it repented the Lord that He had made man." But in general, it means such sorrow for sin as leads to the forsaking of it. A man may be sorry for some transgression because it has led him into trouble; as when a drunkard has destroyed his health, or a thief has brought himself into the grasp of the law; but such sorrow cannot properly be called repentance. The sinner does not hate the sin. On the contrary, he loves it, and is only sorry that he has put it out of his power to commit it again.
But true repentance means sorrow for sin, because that sin has broken God's law, and grieved and offended Him. It means a steadfast determination to give up everything which our own conscience or the law of God shows us to be wrong. "Repent, and turn yourselves from 'all' your transgressions." (Ezek. xviii. 30.) Observe the word ALL. It will not do to keep anything back, to have any little secret shrine, in which is hidden an idol. God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Rom. vi. 12.) The darkness of its most secret inner chamber is no darkness to Him, and He will endure no willful deceit in this matter.
I say "willful" deceit, because we may unconsciously deceive ourselves, especially in the beginning of our religious lives. As we advance in holiness, we shall no doubt see many things to be wrong which did not seem so at first. But true repentance does require that we give up everything that we know, or even suspect, to be wrong.
Nor can this work of repentance be finished up in one day, or one Lenten season. It will have to be renewed again and again, so long as we inhabit these mortal bodies; as often as we are made conscious that we have offended by thought, word, or deed against the Divine Majesty. We must remember that our Heavenly Father's precious promises of remission and forgiveness are made only to penitent sinners. "Repent, and be baptized," said St. Peter to the inquirers on the day of Pentecost, and again, in his second sermon, "Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." (Acts ii. 38, and iii. 19.)
The prodigal son, in the midst of his wandering and wickedness, was no doubt an object of love and care to his father, but it was not till he returned to his father's house, and submitted to his authority, that he was restored to favor. Not that there is any merit in repentance, as if we thereby earned a title to forgiveness: we must not entertain for a moment any such idea as that. Salvation is, in its very nature, a deliverance from sin. That is what it means. But unless we see the evil of sin we shall not wish to be delivered from it. Therefore, in every case, the first direction to the inquirer is "Repent."
But of what are we to repent?
Of all our wrong doing and thinking and feeling—of our neglect of God and His service—of our carelessness in this most important concern of life—of all our evil deeds and thoughts and tempers. The more closely we examine ourselves by the light of God's Word, the more we shall see to deplore, till we come at last to know practically what we have perhaps always believed as a doctrine—that in us, that is, in our flesh, dwelleth no good thing, and that not only man in general, but we ourselves, are prone to evil as the sparks fly upward.
Let us not, therefore, be discouraged, or faint in our minds! For all this evil the remedy is provided. Hear what comfortable words the Scripture hath for our encouragement. "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." (1 Tim. i. 15.) "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (S. Matt. ix. 13.) Take your reference Bible and look up the passages relating to this subject, and you will see that there is no room for discouragement, much less for despair.
Ps. li. S. Luke xv. 1—10.
_FIRST THURSDAY IN LENT._
_CONFESSION._
IN many places of Scripture, we find coupled with repentance another condition of repentance—that is, confession. "I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my sins unto the Lord; and so Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." (Ps. xxxii. 5.) "Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord." (Jer. iii. 13.) "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John i. 9.)
To whom are we to confess?
First of all, to ourselves. We are frankly to acknowledge our iniquity, and that not in general terms alone, but we are to come down to
## particulars. It is easy to own ourselves sinners in a general way,
while all the time we are cherishing a very good opinion of ourselves. "Oh, yes, we are all miserable sinners!" said a shrewd old lady. "But we are just as good as the rest of the miserable sinners, and a good deal better than some of them." I fancy we all have this feeling at times, though we may not put it to ourselves quite so plainly.
In order to make our confession to ourselves of any use, it must be frank and open. It will not do to accompany every confession with an excuse. "I spoke hastily and unkindly, but then I had great provocation." "I ought not to have repeated that scandalous story, but then I had it on good authority." "I ought perhaps to have abstained from that amusement, but A and B went, and I do not pretend to be better than they." Have we not all excused ourselves in this style again and again? But what is this but saying that we should never do wrong if we were never tempted? Let us consider whether we dare offer these excuses to God before we venture to comfort and quiet our own consciences with them!
Secondly, we must confess our sins unto the LORD. "I said, I will confess my sin unto the Lord." (Ps. xxxii. 5.) "Take with you words, and turn to the Lord." (Hos. xiv. 2.)
"But," you say, "does He not already know my sins? Why, then, should I confess them?" In the first place, because He has seen fit to command it. He also knows all our wants and wishes far better than we ourselves; yet He has commanded us in everything to make known our requests to Him. "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." (Phil. iv. 6.) Surely His will should be enough for us, since He commands nothing without good cause.
But, secondly, we should confess our sins to God, because in that way alone can we be made thoroughly aware of their sinfulness. A fit of causeless anger, or a bit of malicious gossip, looks very different to us when we lay it bare before God in our closets. The excuse which seemed very plausible when the act was committed, will not appear so in the light of His presence before whom we stand, and who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. If we are honest in our confession, the Spirit, which searcheth all things, will show us aggravations of our fault which we never suspected.
Finally, we should confess our sin unto the Lord for the sake of the peace which the action brings to our own hearts and minds. There is no time when our conscience torments us so sorely as when we are trying to persuade ourselves that it is not hurting us at all; when we are making all sorts of excuses to ourselves for our faults.
A wise and witty man once said that all the riches and pleasures which life has to offer would be embittered and made useless to a man who was compelled always to wear a sharp nail in his shoe. No doubt, he was right. Now, an unconfessed, and, therefore, unforgiven, sin is just such a nail. It is true that by a long course of neglect the conscience may be silenced for a time. But it is only for a time, and how awful will be the awaking!
Let us, then, come boldly but humbly to the Throne of Grace—to the Mercy seat, where our God is always to be found by those who honestly seek Him! Let us confess all those sins which, by our frailty, we have committed, and ask for forgiveness and cleansing for His sake by whose stripes we are healed, who bore our sins in His own body on the tree, and who now sits at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us. Let us do so, not trusting in ourselves as if there were any merit in the act, but trusting alone in His gracious promises, and we shall find peace to our souls.
Psalm xxxii. 1 John i.
_FIRST FRIDAY IN LENT._
_FORGIVENESS._
HAVING, then, come to the Throne of Grace with true repentance and humble confession, let us not fail to accept the promises of God in all their fullness. Too many do this, and even value themselves on what they term humility, but which is in reality faithlessness. "I should never dare to believe that my sins were really forgiven," said a certain person; "I should think it presumption." Now which is the greater presumption, to believe what God says, or to disbelieve it? See how full and explicit are His words of promise to all who turn to Him! "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John i. 9.) Observe the fullness and force of the promise: He is faithful and just. Faithful, because He has promised; just, because our Lord has borne our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Pet. ii. 24), and has suffered, the just for the unjust. (1 Pet. iii. 18.)
Nor is this all. He not only forgives our sin, but he washes it away, and makes it as if it had never been. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Is. i. 18.) "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John i. 7.)
We must never suffer ourselves to doubt, much less to despair of God's mercy. Such doubts are amongst Satan's favorite weapons. "How many times have you asked forgiveness for this very sin already," he whispers. "How many times have you professed repentance, and promised never to commit it more? Is it not presumption, yea, mockery, to ask God to forgive you again?" Do not for a moment listen to him. What are you going to do if you do not ask? You will certainly never be rid of your sin in any other way than by God's help, and how are you to obtain that help but by coming to Him? He who bade us forgive an erring brother, not seven times, but seventy times seven, is not likely to be less merciful Himself.
"There is more grace in God than there is sin in all the sinners that ever lived," said an aged saint of God when this matter was under discussion; and he was right. But are we not in danger of presumption in thus believing that God is ready to forgive, however many times we sin against Him? Not if we are sincere and honest in our repentance, and in our hatred of sin. It would, indeed, be the greatest of presumption to go on willfully indulging in sin on such grounds. The person who did so would be a hypocrite. His repentance would be no more than a pretence, and his profession a mockery and a lie.
But to the honest penitent, I believe nothing can be more calculated to humble him in the very dust with a sense of his own unworthiness than the conviction that, after all his vileness and ingratitude, his Heavenly Father has pardoned him, and taken him again into favor. "And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord," says God to the rebellious and polluted daughter of Jerusalem, after enumerating all her horrible offenses; and He adds these significant words: "That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more ... when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord." (Ezek. xvi. 63.)
Shall we, in the face of such gracious and glorious promises as these, dare to doubt the goodness and mercy of our Father? Shall we bring the burden of our sins to Him who has covenanted by His justice, as well as by His mercy and love, to blot out our transgressions for His own sake, and not remember our sins, and then take up that burden and carry it away again? Shall our doubts make Him a liar? Surely, this is presumption, and not the humble faith which trusts in Him, and takes Him at His word.
Let us then rejoice in the belief that our Heavenly Father has pardoned and cleansed us according to His immutable word—that our unrighteousness is forgiven and our sin is covered, and that to us the Lord does not impute sin. (Ps. xxxii. 1, 2.) So shall we find that peace which the world knows not, and can never know, and that joy in which it has no part. So shall we have all our wounds healed, and find strength to fight the good fight of faith in the time to come. "For the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Neh. viii. 10.)
Psalm xxxii. 1 John.
_FIRST SATURDAY IN LENT._
_CONSECRATION._
WHAT is consecration?
It is setting apart. When a building, as a church, is consecrated to the worship of God, we understand that it is set apart for His worship, and is not to be put to any other use. When a bishop is consecrated, he is set apart from worldly business for his sacred office, and he is expected to give up all his time and talents to the duties of that office.
In the same way, a truly consecrated Christian is one who has given himself up wholly to the service of God, his Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier—who aims to please not himself, but God, in all he says, does, and thinks. His time, his talents, his worldly goods, his position and influence, his very amusements, are used for the service of God, and he is ready to give up his most cherished pursuit as soon as he is made aware that it is not pleasing to his Heavenly Master.
We find in Holy Scripture abundant warrant for such consecration. "What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God? And ye are not, your own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your bodies, and in your spirits, which are God's." (1 Cor. vi. 19, 20.) "For no man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." (Rom. xiv. 7, 8.) In this chapter, be it observed, the Apostle is speaking of so common a matter as eating and drinking, and he says, again, "Whether ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. x. 31.) Again, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." (Rom. xii. 1.)
The Church teaches us the same lesson in her most solemn act of worship. "And here we offer and present unto Thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies," is the language of the prayer of consecration in the office of the Holy Communion. The same thought is found repeated again and again in the Prayer-book, notably in the collects for the fourth and fifth Sundays after Easter. Every Communion Sunday, if we are worthy communicants, we make, or rather renew, this consecration of ourselves to our Lord.
But in order to make this consecration acceptable to God, or useful to ourselves, it must be entire and perfect. We must not follow the example of Ananias and Sapphira, in professing to give all, and then keeping back a part. So long as we "keep back part of the price," so long as we hold fast to anything we know we ought to give up, or hold ourselves back from any duty we know we ought to perform, so long is our offering imperfect—unpleasing to God, and unprofitable to ourselves. "Cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing," said the prophet to the Jews after the captivity. (Mal. i. 14.) Their God had redeemed them from captivity worse than death, had brought them to their own land once more, and restored to them their old religious privileges, yet they reckoned His service weariness, and grudged to give of their best for His offering. Our Lord has redeemed us from a worse bondage than theirs, and has bought us with a great price, even with the suffering and death of His dear Son, and shall we grudge to give Him that which is His own?
The want of this perfect consecration is the reason why so many Christian people have no comfort in their devotion. Old-fashioned Methodist people used to employ a significant phrase in this connection. They would ask,—
"Do you enjoy religion?"
Too many, it is to be feared, do not enjoy it at all. They seem to have just enough to make them uncomfortable.
"I feel as if it were of no use for me to pray," said one; "my prayers never seem to get out of the room, and my heart is cold and heavy. I have no sense of the Lord's presence at all."
"Are you sure," asked her friend, "that you are indulging no sin, or neglecting no known duty?"
After a moment's pause came the question, "Do you think such a thing is wrong?"