The Henson Journals

[372]

1st Sunday after Epiphany, January 7th, 1912.

~~Though few men will confess their sins; yet many men's sins will confess their master. To beget a precedent of vice is like the setting a man's own house on fire, it burns many of his neighbours, & he shall answer for all the ruins. Alas! while I live, I sin too much: let me not continue longer in wickedness than life.~~

'Sinne Stigmatized' p. 496. [A.D. 1639]

'Keep thy servant also from presumptuous sins, lest they get the dominion over me. So shall I be undefiled, & innocent from the great offence. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart; be alway [sic] acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength & my Redeemer.' Ps: xix.13–15

'I will run the way of Thy commandments: when Thou hast set my heart at liberty.' Ps. 119.32.

'Shew Thou me the way that I should walk in, for I lift up my soul unto Thee.' Ps. 143.8.

[373] [symbol]

Westlake sent in a note refusing on conscientious grounds to read the Banns of a divorced man! I ordered them to be read by Compston, who has a saner conscience on such matters.

Addis preached an excellent sermon in the Abbey taking as his text the words of Isaiah 'To whom then will ye liken God?' & the words of S. Paul, which – he said – answered the prophet's question., 'The Son of His Love, Who is the Image of the invisible God'. Mosse, the Vicar of St Paul's, Covent Garden, preached in St Margaret's in the interest of the S.P.G. Missionary exhibition. Both these clergymen came to lunch afterwards.

I preached in the Abbey at 3 p.m. on the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. There was a fairly large congregation, & they seemed still & attentive; but my sermon was dull and circuitous, quite incapable of doing any good. Yet I had bestowed much pains on it. My voice was not in good order, partly because I had celebrated at the 10 a.m. service, & 'entertained' by conversation, the folks at lunch!

I attended the evening service in the Abbey. Gow preached with much vigour. He gave an account of the pagan practices which survived in the Epiphany celebrations of Western Christendom, & urged a resuscitation of the Festival as an annual exaltation of Purity.

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