bitter, and sharp: He is stripped, Crucified with robbers, mocked by His countrymen, His garments allotted. See, O man, how the LORD loved thee; to teach thee to follow His steps. He was bound for thee, to loose thee from the bands of sin. He was scourged for thee, to rescue thee from the scourges of eternal wrath. He was judged for thee, to set thee free from the judgment of everlasting condemnation. He was crowned with thorns for thee, that thou mightest be crowned in heaven. He, the Physician, was wounded for thee, to heal all thy sicknesses. He was crucified for thee, to crucify thy lusts. He died for thee, to raise thee from the dead. He was buried for thee, to bury thy sins in thee. Revolve well in thy soul all that the LORD JESUS endured for thee: weigh it diligently, and arm thyself manfully by patience and meekness in all adversities, which thou mayest endure, and say to thyself, "The servant is not greater than his LORD." (S. John xiii. 16 ; xv. 20.)

Prayer.

O LORD JESUS CHRIST, Who for the redemption of the world, didst patiently bear misery and troubles, reproaches and revilings, scandals and injuries, pains and affliction, passion and death; by all this that Thou hast endured for my sins, deliver me from all sins and transgressions, from all the dangers of this world, from sudden and everlasting death, and from the pains of hell. Grant me, I beseech Thee, not to shun nor forget all that Thou didst suffer for me, but ever to have it before my eyes, and ardently embrace it, that

Thou mayest make me a partaker of Thy sufferings, and so a sharer in Thy rest, consolation, and glory. Amen.

Thou Who didst submit Thy glorious Head to be wounded, pardon thereby whatever by the wilfulness of my head I have done amiss.

Thou Who didst suffer Thy Hands to be perforated, pardon thereby whatsoever I have done amiss by unlawful touch, by unlawful execution.

Thou Who didst allow Thy precious Side to be pierced, pardon thereby whatsoever I have done amiss in the heat of passion, by unlawful imaginations.

Thou Who didst permit Thy blessed Feet to be nailed down, pardon thereby whatsoever I have done amiss in the progress of my footsteps, ever swift to evil.

Thou Who didst give Thy whole Body to be stretched upon the Cross, pardon thereby whatsoever sins I have committed by the co-operation of all my members. Amen.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen.

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SATURDAY IN HOLY WEEK.

CHRIST IN THE TOMB.

Prophecy.

AND He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His Death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit found in His Mouth. Isa. liii. 9.

Gospel Harmony.

S. Matt. xxvii. 57-66; S. Mark xv. 42-47; S. Luke xxiii. 50-56; S. John xix. 38-42.

And now when the even was come, there came a rich man named Joseph, of Arimathæa, a city of the Jews: a counsellor, and he was a good man, and a just who also himself waited for the Kingdom of GOD; (the same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them ;) Joseph being a disciple of JESUS, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, came and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the Body of JESUS. And Pilate marvelled if He were already dead; and calling unto him the centurion,

he gave the Body to Joseph. He came therefore, and took the Body of JESUS. And there came also Nicodemus, which at first came to JESUS by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred weight. Then took they the Body of JESUS, and wound it in linen clothes, with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified, there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, hewn out of a rock, wherein was never man

yet laid. There laid they JESUS, therefore, because of the Jews' preparation day. And Joseph rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And the women also, which came with Him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how His Body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day, according to the commandment. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the Chief Priests and Pharisees came unto Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that

that deceiver said, while He was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command, therefore, that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead; so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch; go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, had brought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him.

Reflections.1

And now the Body of the LORD is laid in the tomb, and they rested on the Sabbath, according to the LORD's commandment; then it was not lawful for them to buy or sell, nor to do any such work. The FATHER rested on that day from His Work of Creation and Power: the SON from His Work of Redemption, and Infinite Wisdom. As Jonah was three days in the whale's belly, His Body remained three days in the heart of the earth, but His Soul descended into Hades, to the souls of the departed. How great 1 For Meditations, see Williams.

was His mercy, humility, and charity in descending thither! He would thus undergo the law of death, and the conditions of a dead man, as He had done of a living, and so He descended Himself, and remained there till the LORD's Day. What was the joy of the spirits of the holy Fathers at His coming! How would they fall down and worship Him, and sing, with great and reverend delight, hymns of praise and triumph. O Thou, Who didst draw all to Thyself, having been lifted up from the earth; Who didst stretch out Thy Hands to embrace all, leave me not, O LORD, in the mire of my lusts, but draw me unto Thee, that being crucified and dead to the world, I may live to Thee, or rather, Thou mayest live in me.

Then, when the gates of hell had been broken, and the great Serpent bound, the Conqueror led the way upwards, taking with Him the army of the saints. Then did the true Sampson lay low the hostile band. Then did the Immaculate Lamb, in the Blood of His Covenant, lead the prisoners from the pit. (Zech. ix. 11.) Then, though the strong man armed guarded his palace, CHRIST the stronger came upon him, entered his palace, overcame him by His Cross, bound and took from him all his armour, wherein he trusted, and divided his spoils. Then did Benaiah, the son of the valiant, go down and slay the lion in the pit. Chron. xi. 22.) But what is the unutterable bitterness, and inconsolable grief, nay, extreme damnation of them, who remain unrescued in the fire that never can be quenched, in the worm that never dieth, the death that never endeth! What shall it be for them to experience it, who would not believe nor fear it!

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