For ever blessed and praised be Thou, O my Hope and my Salvation! After praying Thy FATHER to take from Thee this bitter Cup, obedience was so dear to Thee, that Thou willest only what He wills. Thou art ready to suffer the severest torments; and Thou still concealest Thy Majesty that nothing may arrest the fury of Thy enemies.

O my God, Who seest my misery, I entreat Thee, by Thy Bonds, to deliver me from those which keep me from Thee. I think myself free, when no one contradicts me, when the world loves, esteems, and praises me, when I see, when I say, and hear, what I wish, when I have all my possessions, and when I do only that which pleases me. I deceive myself, for I am never more a slave; but I feel not my slavery; for if in the midst of this licence, and the pleasures which I have followed, Thou comest to touch my hurt by some secret inspiration; if I desire to hold communion with Thee, O my GOD! it is then I feel the weight of my chains, that I find myself entangled in an infinity of carnal ties, which hinder me raising myself to Thee; then I begin to know how blind I am, and to feel that which appeared to me liberty was true slavery. O my Saviour! deliver me from this false liberty, that may follow Thee, for Thou art a sure haven, where, wearied with the storms of this life, I may find a safe

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retreat. Thou art true in Thy promises, rich in Thy mercies, liberal in Thy grace, constant in Thy love. Take me, Saviour! bind me, and elevate my hope; and may I continually flee to Thee, desire Thee only, and find my repose in Thee alone, O my Life! and the only Hope of my soul!

Prayer.

O LORD JESUS CHRIST! LAMB of GOD! Who didst suffer Thy cruel enemies to lay their sacrilegious hands on Thee; and didst not revenge, but meekly bear from them, the cruel bonds, reproaches, and injuries, which they maliciously heaped upon Thee. Break my bonds, I beseech Thee, O Gracious LORD! even the bonds of my sins, and bind me on every side with the cords of Thy love. O grant me true patience that I may cheerfully bear with my enemies, and suffer all kinds of adversity without rebellion or resistance to Thy holy will. Amen.

IV. THE DISCIPLES FLEE.

Prophecy.

Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man that is My Fellow, saith the LORD of Hosts. Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. Zech. xiii. 7.

Gospel Harmony.

S. Matt. xxvi. 56; S. Mark xiv. 50-52.

Then all the disciples forsook Him, and fled. And there followed Him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast

about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him; and he left the linen cloth, and fled from them.

Reflections.

From the flight of the disciples, let us learn to beware lest we flee from CHRIST, by forsaking justice and truth, either through fear of man, the temptations of the devil, or the indulgence of evil affections. But if, through human infirmity we forsake CHRIST for a season, let us not despair, but rise up and return by penitence and prayer. 2ndly. If our friends and neighbours seem to forsake us in time of adversity or necessity, we must bear it patiently, remembering that the Apostles fled from their loving LORD and Master. If our consciences accuse us of having often forsaken GOD, let us ponder the words of the Psalmist, "They that forsake Thee shall perish; Thou hast destroyed all them that commit fornication against Thee. But it is good for me to hold me fast by GOD, to put my trust in the LORD GOD. Ps. lxxiii. 26, 27.

See Williams, p. 79.

Meditation.

What is this extreme dejection in which I see Thee, O my Saviour? Why permittest Thou Thy friends to abandon Thee, and Thy Miracles and Virtues to be causes of humiliation to Thee, and triumph to Thine enemies? In all that Thou hast done, suffered, or taught, Thy only aim was the salvation of souls. Thou wouldst try the faith and love of Thy disciples by Thy opprobriums, to draw them from the number of those who love only for interest's sake; and to raise their

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thoughts to Thy Divine Majesty. When shall I love Thee entirely, O my Saviour and my GOD? Alas! I am full of thoughts of myself, and there is much self-love in me, and I desire to be known and loved of men. If my friends are dissatisfied with my conduct, and lose their esteem for me, I am troubled; for I wish them to praise my actions, and to approve them.

Let all my friends forsake me, O my Saviour, rather than Thou abandon me. Let them treat me as they will, provided I live and die in Thee. Open to me, LORD, all Thy treasures, shed them upon me, and show in Thy poor creature the riches of Thy grace. Take from me all that is alien to Thyself, and fill me with Thy love.

Prayer.

All praise, honour, and glory be to Thee, O LORD JESUS, Who, when Thy disciples and friends forsook Thee and fled, didst remain alone in the hands of wicked men, like a gentle lamb in the fangs of a furious wolf. Receive me, Thy fugitive servant; strengthen my weakness, and hold me by Thy omnipotent power, and suffer me not, by any act of selfwill, to wander from Thee; but may I give thanks to Thee with my whole heart, and daily increase in Thy love more and more, until I come to Thine everlasting kingdom. Amen.

PART III.-THE CONDEMNATION.

I. JESUS IS TAKEN BOUND TO ANNAS.

Prophecy.

They that hate Me without a cause are more than the hairs of My head; they that are Mine enemies, and would destroy Me guiltless, are mighty. Psalm lxix. 4.

Gospel Narrative.

S. John xviii. 12, 13.

Then the band, and the captain, and the officers of the Jews took JESUS, and bound Him, and led Him away to An

nas first, for he was father-inlaw to Caiaphas, which was the High Priest that year.

Reflections.

If, for the cause of GOD, we are led to punishment, let us bear it patiently, after the Example of Him Who for love of us was led as an innocent Lamb to the slaughter. We may sometimes be led to the evil of suffering, but we must never suffer ourselves to be led to the evil of sin and if we are ever brought into temptation, let us not be led into it by consenting to sin.

See Williams, pp. 88 to 93.