my imitation, thou didst shew under all these painabuses, and contemptuous indignities!

THE PRAYER.

ETERNAL thanks and endless praise be to thee, Lamb of God, who in obedience to thy heavenly ather, and out of thy unspeakable love to our soulsy dst enter on such a series of sufferings, which we, this distance of time, cannot contemplate without uddering. How should we have behaved had we, thy stead, been destined to endure such pains, such ockery, such insults, and abuses? How should we ve opened our mouths, and poured forth invectives d threatenings? But thou didst stand like a Lamb, at openeth not his mouth. No threatenings or rail. gs came from thy sacred lips. Every one was alved to vent his malicious rage against thee, every e was allowed to insult and to strike thee; yet all e pains, all the insults and mockeries, thou didst tiently endure as from the hands of thy righteous ather. The outrageous waves of insults and indigcies thou didst permit to pass over thy tranquil art; being certain that the Father would deliver ee from this hour, would crown thee with praise d honour, and command every knee to bow at thy cred name. Grant, O Lord, that this part of thy fferings may not only occasion a mere transitory motion in our minds, that will vanish at the first aparance of temptation; but that it may make an inliable impression on our hearts. Bless this part of y sufferings to all our souls. May it be a terror to e secure, the licentious, and impenitent, that they ay hence learn what sin is, and how severely it has

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CONSIDERATION ΧΙΙΙ.

FARTHER ATTEMPT OF PILATE TO RELEASE

CHRIST.

1

PILATE therefore went forth again, and saith nto the Jews, Behold, I bring him forth unto you, at ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then ame Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and e purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Beold the man! When the chief Priests therefore and ficers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him! ucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, ad crucify him; for I find no fault in him. The ews answered him, We have a law, and by our law e ought to die, because he made himself the Son of od,' (John xix. 4-7.)

In these words we have an account of a new at-mpt made by Pilate to release the Lord Jesus. We

hall

First, Consider the means he used to compass it.
Secondly, The effect produced by those means.
I. The means Pilate made use of were as follows.
First, He again gives testimony of the innocence

Jesus.

1"

Secondly, He presents the Lord Jesus, to the Jews ■ a very deplorable condition, in order to move their ty.

First, Pilate gave a repeated public testimony of ur blessed Saviour's innocence. For this end, Pite goes out of his hall of judgment; for it is said

should prove abortive. On the other hand, the Psalmist tells us, that whatsoever the just man doeth shall prosper,' (Psalm i. 3.)

When Pilate was gone out of the hall, and had caken the blessed Jesus with him, he addressed the Jews in these words, Behold I bring him forth unto you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him." Pilate had, indeed, before given orders that Barabbas should be released, and delivered Jesus to be cruciFied; being urged by the vehement outcries of the people. For that end, he had ordered our blessed Saviour to be cruelly scourged by the soldiers, acCording to the Roman custom, as a prelude to the execution. But his conscience still struggled against putting an innocent person to death; and he is for crying, whether Jesus might be released even after he had been scourged, without undergoing any farCher punishment. Pilate therefore pretends that he had made use of the scourge, as a kind of torture, in order to extort from the prisoner a confession of his most secret practices; but assures the people, that after a most severe scourging, he can find no manher of fault in him.

Divine Providence certainly over-ruled this remarkable circumstance, and ordered that Pilate, after such an inhuman abuse of our blessed Saviour by the hands of his soldiers, should again make a public declaration of his innocence, the knowledge of which is to be looked on as the most important article in the history of our Saviour's passion. For by this means, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world is presented by Pilate to the priests of the Jewish people, in its spotless innocence, according to the law; so that, hat God has made him to be sin for us, who know sin.' Hence Christ is likewise termed, 'the mb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.' ohn i. 29) It was for our sins therefore, that the on of the Most High was insulted and reviled, was owned with thorns, buffeted and cruelly scourged. nough the civil judge could find no fau't in him; t, as our surety, was held guilty at the divine trinal of all the crimes, which the whole race of manad had ever committed. This was the motive rich induced the supreme judge of the world to ve this delegate judge the power of thus scourging ; only Son, since all the sins of the world were now puted to him..

Secondly, Pilate made use of another expedient prevent the execution of our blessed Lord; and is was to present the blessed Jesus to the Jews in very deplorable condition, in order to move their cy and compassion. Hitherto our blessed Saviour d been scourged and abused in the hall of judgent; but now Pilate again takes him out of the hall d presents him to the Jews. After he had endeaured to gain over the people, by addressing himself their ears by a public testimony of our Saviour's nocence, he now places the blessed Jesus before eir eyesin the most deplorable condition, in hor s at such a moving spectacle might yet kindle in their ld, blood-thirsty hearts, some small spark of comssion. For this purpose, though he had before dered the old purple robe to be put on the Lord Jes, it was now probably hung over his shoulders in

2. The words which Pilate spoke on the occasion. 1. The appearance which our blessed Lord made is scribed in these words: 'Then came Jesus forth, earing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.' hus it appears, that the wreath of thorns which had en pressed on his head by the insolent soldiers, and e old purple robe which had been hung about him - the way of ridicule, were not taken off: But the ord Jesus was publicly brought forth to the peo

with these marks of contempt; and presented to em as a king, who had been sufficiently mortified d chastized, for his effectation of sovereignty.ere were indeed verified these words of Isaiah: 'He th no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see m, there is no beauty, that we should desire him.' saiah liii. 2.)

2. The words which Pilate spoke on this occasion ere as follows: 'Behold the man!' As if he had said, e what a deplorable condition this unhappy man is ! Allowing that he has been guilty of some petty imes, or has offended you; yet now has he been ficiently punished for it. I think you may very ell put up with such a bloody satisfaction, and, at ast, spare his miserable life. Thus Pilate was for moving the people to compassion, though he himIf had acted an unjust and unmerciful part, by orering an innocent person to be treated with such arbarity. We shall here make the following obrvations:

1. That the Saviour of the world was exhibited as spectacle to his people, ought also to be considred a part of his meritorious sufferings.