After this, he is brought to the high-priefts, the folemn affembly of the then vifible church of the Jews, in the perfons of the greatest reverence and esteem among them, the high-priefts, fcribes and elders, and before them accufed, and convicted of those crimes that might render him odious to the Jews, Romans, and all good men, blafphemy; and by them pronounced worthy of death; and after this, expofed to the bafeft ufage of the bafeft of their retinue; the fervants fpit on him, buffet him, expose him to fcorn, faying, Prophefy unto us thou Chrift, who is he that fmote thee?' Injuries lefs tolerable than death to an ingenuous nature: and, to add to all the reft, Peter, instead of reproving the infolence of the abjects 3, and bearing a part with his mafter in his injuries, thrice denying his master, and that with an oath and curfing: fo far was he from owning his mafter in his adverfity, that he denied he knew him; and this in the very presence of our Saviour. And the 'Lord turned and looked upon Peter 4.' Certainly that look of our Saviour, as it carried a fecret meffage of a gentle reprehenfion, fo alfo of much forrow, and grief in our Lord, as if he fhould have faid; "Ah, Peter, canft thou fee thy Saviour thus ufed, and wilt 'thou needs deny me? Or if thou wilt not, yet muft thou 'needs deny me, deny me thrice, deny me with oaths, and with execrations? The unkindness of a difciple, and fuch a difciple, that haft been privy to my glory ' in my transfiguration, and to my agony in the garden, cuts me deeper than the fcorns and derifions of these abjects. But that's not all; this apoftacy of thine, 'thefe denials, thefe oaths, thefe execrations will lie 'heavy upon me anon, and add to that unfupport'able burthen that I am under; the thorns, and the whips, and the nails that I muft anon fuffer, will be the more envenomed by these fins of thine; and 'thou cafteth more gall into that bitter cup that I

' am drinking, than all the malice of mine enemies could do. In fum, though thou goeft out, and weepest bitterly, yet thefe fins of thine would ftick unto hy foul unto eternity, if I fhould not bear them for thee; they coft thee fome tears, but they 'must cost me my blood.'

The next morning the high-priefts and elders hold a fecond confultation, as foon as it was day 1. Their malice was fo folicitous, that they prevent the morning fun; and after they had again examined him, and in that council charged him with blafphemy, the council and the whole multitude lead him bound to Pilate; and there they accufe him; and, to make their accufation the more gracious, charge him with fedition against the Romans; and though he had no other advocate but filence and innocence, for he anfwered them nothing; yet the Judge acquits him. 'I find no fault in him ; and yet to fhift his hands of the employment: and to gratify an adverfary, he fends him to Herod, and his accufers follow him thither alfo 4. The chief priefts and fcribes vehemently accufe him: Herod, when he had fatisfied his curiofity in the fight of Jefus, to add to the fcorn of our Saviour, expoftth him to the derifion of his rude foldiers, and clothes him with a gorgeous robe, and remands him to Pilate. Thus in triumph and fcorn he is fent from place to place: first to Annas; then Caiaphas; then convened before the council of the priefs; then fent into the high priests hall; then reconvened before the council; then fent bound to Pilate; and from thence to Herod; and from him back again to Filate and in all thofe tranflations f om place to place expofed unto, and entertained with new fcorns, and derifions, and contempts.

At his return to Pilate, he again the fecond time declares his innocence; that neither he nor Herod found any thing worthy of death 5. And yet to gratify Met together before. Luke xxiii. 15.

Luke xxii. 66.

Luke xxiii. 10.

Luke xxiii. 22.

the

the Jews, he offers to have him fcourged, whom he pronounceth innocent; yet to avoid the grofs injuftice of a sentence of death, offers to release him, to obferve their cuftem; but this could not fatisfy. To preferve their cuftom, and yet to fulfil their malice, they chose the reprieve of Barabbas a murderer, and importune the crucifying of the innocent Jefus; and now the third time Pilate pronounceth him innocent 1, and yet delivers him over to be crucified. The executioners did it to the uttermoft, and to add pain and fcorn to his fcourging, put upon him a crown of thorns; and in this difguife of blood and contempt he brings him forth, fhews him to his perfecutors. Be'hold the man 2;' as if he fhould have faid, You "Jews that have accused this man, must know I find 'no fault in him; yet to fatisfy your importunity, I 'have delivered him over to the fevereft and vilest 'punishment next unto death, fcourging and fcorn; here he is, fee what a fpectacle it is, let this fatisfy 'your envy.' But all this will not ferve; there is nothing below the vileft of deaths can fatisfy; all cry out, Crucify him: and when yet the Judge profeffeth he finds nothing worthy of death, they impofe a law of their own; We have a law, and by our law he 'ought to die, because he made himself the Son of 'God 3.' But when this rather made the Judge the more cautious, they engage him upon his fidelity to Cæfar, his matter: he that maketh himself a king fpeaketh against Cæfar: but all this was not enough; but at length the importunity of the priests and people prevailed; and Pilate, who had been before warned by the monition of his wife; and had three feveral times pronounced him innocent, yet against the conviction of his own confcience, to fatisfy and content the Jews, adds this farther cruelty and inj ftice to what he had before done, gave fentence that it fhould be as they required 4, delivered him over to that curfed and 'Luke xxiii. 22. John x'x. 5. John xix. 7. F 2

2

+ Luke xxiii. 24.

fervile

fervile death of crncifixion, and yet his perfecutors' malice and envy not fatisfied; but, after his judgment, pursue the execution of it with as great malice, scorn, and cruelty, as they had before used in obtaining it: his crown of thorns upon his head; a purple robe upon his body; the blood of his fcourging, and thorns all covering his fage; a reed in his right hand; the bafe and infolent multitude with fpittings and firokes, and reproaches, abufing him, till his cross be ready; and then the purple robe is taken off, and he conducted to the place of his execution; and, to add torment to his fhame, our bleffed Lord, wearied with an agony, and long watching the night before; and from the time of his apprehension hurried from place to place; and his blood and fpirits fpent with the fcourgings and thorns, and blows; and, which is more than all this, a foul within laden with the weight of forrow, and the burden of the wrath of God, which did drink up and confume his fpirits; yet, in this condition, he is fain to bear his burthenfome cross towards the place of his execution, till he was able to carry it no longer, but even fainted under it, and then Simon of Cyrene is compelled to bear it to the place 2.

When he comes to the place of execution, he is ftripped stark naked, and his clothes afterwards divided by lot among the foldiers 3, and his naked body ftretched upon the cross to the uttermost extenfion of it. I may tell all my bones, they look and ftare upon me 4; and at the uttermoft extenfion, which the cruel executioners could make of our Saviour's body, his hands and his feet nailed to that cross, with great nails, through thofe tender parts full of nerves and arteries, and moft exquifitely fenfible of pain. And in this condition the crofs with our Saviour's body is raised up in view of all; and that even in this his execution, that the fhame and ignominy of the 1 John xix. 17. Psal. xxii. 17.

2 Matth. xxvii. 82.

S Matth. xxvii. 35.

manner

manner of his death might have a farther acceffion of fcorn and reproach, he is placed between two thieves that were crucified with him, with an infcription of derifion upon his crofs, in all the most universal languages of all the world, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; and the people and priefts ftanding by with geftures and words of derifion, and even to a letter, affuming those very geftures and words which were fo many hundred of years predicted in the paflion. He

trufted in God, let him deliver him, if he will have 'him 2;' and one of thofe very thieves, that was even dying as a malefactor, yet was filled with fuch a devilifh fpirit, that he upbraids and derides him.

And now our Saviour is under the torments and fhame of this curfed execution; but, though these his fufferings of his body and outward man, were very grievous, infomuch that they could not but extremely afflict him; yet it is ftrange to fee how little he was transported under them, in all his contumelies, reproaches, and accufations, fcarce a word answered: he answered them nothing to all his abufings, ftrokes, ridiculous garments, crown of thorns, tearing of his body with fcourging; yet not a word; but as a fheep 'before the fhearers is dumb, fo he opened not his 'mouth 3.' In all his rackings upon the crofs, and nailing of his limbs to it, and all the anguish, that, for the space of fix hours from the third hour, wherein he was crucified 4, until the ninth hour, wherein he gave up the ghost 5, not a word of complaint; but he refufed thofe very fupplies which were ufually given to fupprefs the violence of the pain, vinegar and gall 6. But when we come to the afflictions of his foul, they were of a higher dimenfion in the garden, when no other ftorm was upon him, but what was within him, he falls down upon his face and prays; and again; and a third time; and is amazed, and forrowful unto death; and fweats drops of blood: and doubtless