giveness and salvation, and can recompense their blasphemies with thanksgivings. What sin is there, LORD, whereof I can despair of remission? or what offence can I be unwilling to remit, when Thou prayest for the forgiveness of Thy murderers and blasphemers ?

Prayer.

All praise, honour, and glory be to Thee, O compassionate Saviour, Who, in the very height of Thine inexpressible Sufferings, didst show forth Thy boundless love and pity, to those wicked men who crucified and mocked Thee, by praying for them, saying, FATHER

FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.

of

Grant me, I pray Thee, O merciful LORD, the grace true meekness and patience, that after Thy precept and Example, I may love my enemies, do good to those who hate me, and pour forth humble and fervent supplication for those who injure and persecute me; and may I, for love of Thee, pity and forgive them from my inmost heart. Amen.

IV. THE TITLE ON THE CROSS.

Gospel Narrative.

S. John xix. 19-22.

Then Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the Cross. And the

writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

This title then read many of the Jews; for the place where JESUS was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Then said the Chief Priests of

the Jews to Pilate, Write not, the King of the Jews; but that He said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.

Reflections.1

It was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, that men of different tongues, met together at that feast, might read and understand the cause of His Death; and that every tongue should confess, that JESUS CHRIST is King of kings, and LORD of lords, to the Glory of GoD the FATHER, and that every tongue should recount the treachery of the Jews; and also to show that He was suffering for people of every tongue, and was their everlasting LORD. Pilate would not change the Title, though the Jews petitioned for it, for they saw that it redounded to their shame; it told them that they had crucified their King.

These three tongues proclaimed, this is the King of all religions, of all wisdom, and of all power. These three nations claim pre-eminence in the Cross of CHRIST, by which, devout and religious, wise and powerful men should be subjugated, and converted. Whether the Jews will or not, diverse languages, every kingdom of the world, all worldly wisdom, all the sacrifices of the Divine Law testify, that JESUS is the King of the Jews, the LORD of believers, of all who confess GOD. When He had conquered the

1 See also Williams, page 294.

devil, it was written over His Head, This is the King of the Jews, viz., of such as are crucified in heart and spirit; and by this it is shown that even in death, He is King of the Jews; even in death He did not lose His Kingdom, but gained over true Jews, such, that is, as confess Him in heart, in mouth, and in deed.

Meditation.

O LORD, we would read the title on Thy Cross as true Jews; that is, confess Thee to be the King of kings, the LORD CHRIST. We read it not with scorning, but with devout meditation, impressing it upon our hearts, and always bearing it as a shield against all temptations! for this is the triumphal title of Victory, appointed by Thee, O LORD, to break by the virtue of Thy Cross, all the power of the enemy. O LORD JESUS, we confess Thee to be the true Saviour and Redeemer of the world; and we humbly implore Thee to heal our souls, and purge out every spot of sin. Thou art the Nazarene, i. e., flourishing; O make us to flourish in all virtue. We also confess Thee as our true King, to Whom all power in heaven and earth is given; receive us as children of faithful Abraham, and reign in us as our King and Saviour, look upon us in mercy, and exalt us at last to Thy eternal kingdom, and make us co-heirs with Thee in the kingdom of Thy FATHER.

Prayer.

All praise and glory be to Thee, O LORD JESUS, King of kings, LORD of lords, Who didst vouchsafe to have a title affixed to Thy Cross as a trophy of victory, that beholding it we might strenuously fight against our spiritual enemies. Protect me, O LORD, against all the snares and wiles of the devil; teach me, by that title, to vanquish every temptation, and to subdue all my sins, that having overcome them by Thy grace, I may give all the praise and glory to Thee, through Whom alone all victory is obtained. Amen.

V. THE LORD REVILED ON THE CROSS.

Prophecy.

I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All that see Me laugh Me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted in the LORD that He would deliver Him: let Him deliver Him, if He delight in Him. Ps. xxii. 6-8.

Gospel Harmony.

S. Matt. xxvii. 39-43; S. Mark xv. 28-32; S. Luke xxiii. 33-37.

And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save Thyself. If

Thou be the SON of GOD, come down from the Cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking Him, with the Scribes and Elders, said, He saved others, Himself He cannot save. If He

be the King of Israel, let Him come down from the Cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusted in GOD; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him; for He said, I am the Son of GOD. And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him, and offering Him vinegar, and saying, If Thou be the King of the Jews, save Thyself.

Reflections.1

If Thou be the SON of GOD, come down from the Cross. Had He yielded to their insults, and come down, He would not have shown us the virtue of patience. He waited a little, He endured reproaches, He bore mockery, He preserved His patience. Though He would not come down from the Cross, He rose from the grave, which was more. It was more to destroy death by rising again, than to preserve His Life by coming down. See, too, in those words of the sons of Belial, how they imitate their father's voice. He said, If Thou be the SON of GOD, cast Thyself down; and they said, in like manner, If Thou be the Son of GOD,

See also Williams, p. 307.