ng and hard for the mastery, make
their first entrance into the soul so easily, because they find it swept
and garnished for their reception, and its doors wide open. With
reference to this you have only to reflect on some chapter of your own
experience. Has it never happened that, when some wrong or sinful act or
thought or speech was first presented to you, it stirred a feeling of
shrinking, or strong dislike, or fear, or uneasiness, or, it may be,
disgust; but instead of listening to that warning voice, and spurning the
temptation utterly, as your feeling bade you do, you were attracted
somehow to turn and gaze upon it. You knew it to be sin, but you felt no
repulsion. Your soul was not garrisoned and defended by any strong sense
of the hatefulness and deadly influence of all sin as such; so if you
fled from it it was with a backward look; and then you allowed yourself
to think of it in others, or you lived on friendly and familiar terms
with those who were stained by it; possibly you even jested about it; you
let your thoughts feed upon it; you expressed no stern disapproval of it;
you allowed the atmosphere of your life to be tainted by it; and at last
your adversary the devil, having rejoiced to see his wiles thus gathering
round you, saw you slip or plunge into the sin, and go one great step
nearer to becoming his bondslave--just as some foolish bird, fluttering
this way and that instead of spreading its wings for a heavenward flight
into the pure and safe upper air, might plunge into the snares of the
fowler. And yet all the while, although you were living this weak and
vacillating life, which is the seed-field of sin, you were praying to God
every day--"Lead us not into temptation."

If we remember any such experience we may at least gather from it some
lessons of safety and strength for the time to come. It reminds us first
of all how vitally important is our general attitude towards every form
of sin and its allurements. On this attitude it very often depends
whether your life is to be comparatively free from pitfalls, or whether
it is to be beset with dangers at every turning. If by your attitude and
behaviour you cause it to be felt that sin is hateful to you, and that
you are sincere when you pray that God may keep you from all evil, a
great many of the temptations that would otherwise make your life
difficult and dangerous will shrink away abashed; or if the tempter
ventures to assail you, he will