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X.

DELIVER US FROM EVIL."

"THE eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and He shall thrust out the enemy before thee.”—Deut. xxxiii. 27.

"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest."—Joshua i. 9.

"Because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge, even the most High thy habitation; there shall no evil happen unto thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under

feet. Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him, I will set him on high because he hath known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him and shew him My salvation."Psalm xci. 9-16.

"Fear thou not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God, I will strengthen thee, yea I will help thee, yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness." -Isaiah xli. 10.

"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understandings. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint."-Isaiah xl. 28-31.

"Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist, steadfast in the faith."-1 St. Peter v. 8, 9.

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Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."-St. James iv. 7.

"Fear not, for I am with thee."

"I will fear no evil, for Thou art with

me."

In these two beautiful

verses lie the key-note to the last petition of the Lord's Prayer.

When we feel cast down at the thought of the evil within us, and around us, when we know that the Devil, and all the powers of evil are against us, when we feel powerless to overcome our enemies, let us pray in the beautiful words of the Liturgy,

"From all evil and mischief, from sin, from the crafts and assaults of the Devil,

Good Lord, deliver us.”

And then in the midst of all our dangers, necessities, and temptations, in the midst of the fierce storm of evil passions which rage

around us, we shall hear that voice which stilleth the tempest, saying in calm clear accents, "Fear not, for I am with thee."

With Christ for our guardian and our guide, with Him beside us to interpose His Presence between us and all the fiery darts of the Evil One, surely we need not fear. Safely under the covering of His wings we may rest, feeling that He that is for us, is stronger than all that are against us. "He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee," so that we may boldly say, "the Lord is my helper." "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me."

We must never think or speak lightly of evil or the Evil One; but ever be watchful and prayerful, keeping guard against his attacks; remembering that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the ruler of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

There's a wicked spirit
Watching round you still,
And he tries to tempt you
To all harm and ill.

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Let us never make light of our great Enemy.

We are in constant danger of the "crafts and assaults of the Devil," and who are we that we can withstand them?

In our own strength we should fail. We should "be led captive at his will." We must acknowledge our weakness, we must be ever aware of our danger, and while we strive earnestly to resist him, let us depend upon God's strength alone for power to conquer.

I knew a man once who was in constant danger of falling into his besetting sin, but he struggled manfully against it, and finally overcame it altogether.

Speaking to me one day he said, "I never could have believed till I tried it that God's

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