them at any rate, he confented to the death of Jefus. But how fhall his own confcience be pacified? As a wretched expedient for the removal of his fcruples, he washed his hands in the presence of the multitude, declaring in a folemn manner, that they, and not he, muft answer for the blood of this innocent perfon, whom they forced him to condemn. Unhappy Pilate! how much better would it have been for thee to have maintained a firm and inviolable regard to righteousness and justice, and confulted thy own convictions, rather than the clamours of a mob! What availed thy temporizing schemes! They betrayed the bafenefs of thy character, increafed thy guilt, and haftened thy deftruction*.

The cafe of the Jews was ftill more deplorable. Determined to hazard every confequence, if only their refentment might be gratified by the death of Jesus, they replied, "His blood be on us, and on our children." Thus they entailed the divine curfe upon themselves and their pofterity, for the murder of the Son of God. Accordingly the vengeance of heaven has fallen in a remarkable manner upon that miferable people, and continues to pursue them to this day, for the part they took in that horrid tranfaction.

At length the unrighteous judge pronounced the awful fentence, that the holy Jefus, whom he had repeatedly declared to be a blameless character, thould be delivered to the will of the enraged multitude, to expire under the very fevere tortures of crucifixion..

Here let us paufe, that we may indulge our serious meditations on the whole of this amazing tranfaction. "Confider Him, that endured fuch contradiction of finners against himself t." Recollect the high dignity

*Pilate was foon afterwards depofed from his government, through the accufations of the Jews, whom he had fo ftudied to please: and it is faid, that he perished miferably, by his own hands.

of the fufferer, and the cause of his voluntary humiliation; and then every circumftance, here related,. will excite your devout astonishment. While you view with terror the obftinate and malignant rage of his enemies, you will admire and praife the condefcen-fions of his love. Fix your regard upon him in this state of deep abasement. "Behold the man!" He

is indeed " a man of forrows and acquainted with grief;" yet he is no other than "the man, who is the fellow of the Lord of hosts t." He fubmitted to be an object of sport and derision to thofe, who were the creatures of his hands. He endured the vileft indignities from them, when he might have configned them to deftruction. He stood with filence and forbearance before his accufers, and refifted not the violence of fuch as buffeted and scourged him. We are ready to wonder, that he did not ftrike dumb the tongue of the flanderer and bufy mocker, and that he did not unnerve the injurious arm, that was lifted up against him. But we learn from him" to take it patiently," whenever" for conscience toward God we endure grief, fuffering wrongfully;"" because Chrift alfo fuffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow his fteps: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to Him, that judgeth rightcouЛly +."

In all these various circumstances, likewife, we mark the exact completion of ancient prophecies. Thus Meffiah fpeaks," The mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compaffed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a caufe §." "But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man,

Ifa. liii. 3.

+ Zech. xiii. 7.
§ Pfal. cxix. 2, 3. ·

Pet. ii. 19-231

that

that openeth not his mouth *." "I gave my back to the fmiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from fhame and fpit. ting t." We are, therefore, to regard the divine pură: pofe in these minute events. The Jews and Romans, while they were left to the influence of their own paffions, became the inftruments of accomplishing the fcriptures and the decrees of God. Thus the Apoftles interpreted the matter, when they faid, "Of a truth against thy holy child Jefus, whom thou haft anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Ifrael, were gathered together, for to do whatfoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done ‡." Such a view of the government of God, as overruling even the designs of his enemies for his own glory, may tend to give us compofure, confidence, and joy, under the darkeft difpenfations.

The promoters of this malicious prosecution carried their point, and triumphed in the victory. The very fentence was paffed, which they had fo eagerly defired: and immediately, after fome fresh infults offered: to the prifoner, they proceeded to the execution §. A cross, the inftrument of torture and death, was prepared, and part of the cumbrous load laid upon him,, which he was compelled to bear, fo long as his fainting body could fupport the burden. Thus oppreffed, he was led forth through the streets of the city towards Golgotha, that, according to the typical representations. of the Jewish facrifices, he might fuffer without the. gate ."

What an awful proceffion was this! Jefus, whofe whole life had been spent in works of mercy, conducted, amidst the general execrations of the people, as

an atrocious criminal," appointed to die!" Did not his oppofers relent at the fight of his inifery? The moft notorious offenders in our country, when cut off from fociety by the fevereft fentence of the law, are pitied and prayed for by the furrounding multitudes. There are few fpectators, on fuch an occafion, whofe cheeks are not bedewed with tears of compaffion. But Jefus was treated with infult and difdain, even in this laft tremendous scene.

At length he was relieved from the preffure of his burden, probably because he fainted. His attendants, not from kindness, but to preferve his life for public execution, compelled Simon a Cyrenian, whom they. met by the way, and perhaps fufpected of being a dif-. ciple, to bear the crols in his ftead.

Immenfe crowds of people joined the proceffion, and among the reft were fome females, who, being deeply affected by the view of his fufferings, dared to express their tender commiferation. To them the loving Saviour looked with kind regard, and, declaring his own readiness to endure the utmoft extremity, ex-.. horted them to referve their tears for other purposes, and bewail the miseries, which were then about to fall upon themselves, their families, and their devoted country. He predicted, that fuch would be the general defolation of the land, fuch the diftreffes of mothers for their children, that barrennefs would be accounted a peculiar happiness, and that his exulting enemies would fhortly be fo oppreffed by terror and despair, as to long for an immediate diffolution, even by the most violent means. He added, that, confidering the difference of their character from his, they had far lefs reafon to expect fupport and deliverance, and that they were as fuel prepared for the burning. How folemn the admonition! And how needful is it ftill to weep for the multitudes, who remain in avowed oppofition to Chrift! Miferies, inconceivably more dreadful than any temporal calamities, are coming upon them; fo

that,

that, in the horror of their fouls, they will wish for utter annihilation, and fay to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that fitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to ftand * ?"

Having arrived at the appointed place, they offered him a cup to drink, not to alleviate but increase his diftrefs. It was a bitter potion; and he refused it. Yet this fresh infult fulfilled that prophetical declaration, "They gave me gall for my meat, and in my thirft they gave me vinegar to drink +." It fhouldfeem, that a different draught of a pleasant and generous cordial was prepared by his friends; but not choofing to accept any mitigation of his pain, he didnot avail himself of their kindness.

The execution immediately followed. His hands being stretched out upon the transverse beam, and his feet fixed to the upright part of the cross, those tender and fenfible members of the body were pierced through and nailed to the wood. The cross was then erected and faftened in the ground; and the holy fufferer remained fufpended in extreme anguish. Such was the fituation of Jefus, when he made his foul an offering for fin.'