Awake, O my soul! Arise from the lethargy in which thou art! Consider thy Saviour, the steps He has taken for thee: Behold Him wearied from want of rest, with His Face disfigured, His Hands bound. Follow Him in Spirit; unite thyself to Him, and learn what thy sins have cost Him. They lead Him to Caiaphas and Pilate as a disturber of the people; from Pilate to Herod as a rebel, who wished to make Himself a King; from Herod back to Pilate, mocked as a foolish person; and at last from Pilate to the Cross as a Malefactor. See, O sinful soul, this Innocent Lamb in the midst of wolves! see the blows they inflict on Him, the outrages they commit on Him. Listen to the blasphemies of the Soldiers, the taunts of the Priests, the raillery of the Pharisees, the cries and maledictions of the populace. Picture to thyself those streets consecrated by His miracles, and by His charity; they were, a few days since, the way of His triumph, and they are now the theatre of His ignominies. Admire His Silence in the tumult, His meekness in the midst of outrage, His tranquillity in agitation. He neither murmurs, nor complains, and He has more patience to endure, than His enemies have malice to ill-treat Him.

What thinkest thou, O my soul, of this spectacle ? What sayest thou, O dust and ashes, who art yet so proud? Behold what the SON of GOD did, the opprobrium He endured, and the motives which animated Him! O Holy Lamb of GOD! Who takest away the sins of the world! My Judge, my eternal Refuge! Open my eyes, enlighten my mind, that I may know Thy ways, and may see the misery of those who

walk in any other. O Divine Light! O Eternal Truth! have pity on my blindness, show me Thy ways, and lead me in Thy truth, for I would ever have mine eyes fixed on Thee, Who art my GOD, my Saviour, my Guide, my Way, my Truth, and Life. How wonderful are Thy ways, O SON of GOD! how deep are Thy counsels, O Eternal Wisdom! how certain are Thy promises, O Immutable Truth! where then do I go, when I do not follow Thee? when shall I disregard the contempt of the world, as much as I have loved its esteem and its vanities ?

Prayer.

I adore Thee, I praise and magnify Thee, O LORD JESU CHRIST, Who for love of me didst not refuse to be spurned, clothed in a garment of shame, and mocked by impious Herod, and his soldiers. O pour into my heart the spirit of profound humility, and extinguish all desire of ostentation and vain-glory, that I may choose to be despised with Thee, rather than to glory with the world; and esteem it more glorious and honourable to bear reproaches for Thy Name's sake, than to glitter in the vain honours of this life. Teach me to know myself, that, seeing how vile I am, I may despise myself, and bitterly lament my sins, before Thee. Give me grace, O my Saviour, to sit loose to the riches and honours of this life; and ever to meditate on Thee, and to love Thee above all things, that Thou mayest be my Honour, my Delight, my Joy, and my Glory. Amen.

XI. CHRIST REJECTED FOR BARABBAS.

Gospel Harmony.

S. Matt. xxvii. 15-28; S. Mark xv. 6—11; S. Luke xxiii. 13-19; S. John xviii. 39, 40.

And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, and the rulers, and the people, said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and behold, I, having examined Him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse Him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto Him. I will therefore chastise Him, and release Him. For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast. And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas. Now at that Feast the Governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whomsoever they desired. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas, who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was

cast into prison.

Therefore

when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or JESUS which is called CHRIST? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered Him for envy. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just Man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him. Pilate therefore, willing to release JEsus, spake again to them, saying, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy JESUS. Then cried they all again, saying, Not this Man, but Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with

JESUS which is called CHRIST?
But they cried, saying, Crucify
Him, crucify Him. And he
said unto them the third time,
Why, what evil hath He done?

I find no cause of death in Him: I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go. And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify Him.

Reflections.

O the prodigious blindness, and insatiable malice of these wicked and unhappy Jews! They choose a wicked and hateful villain, before the just and innocent Saviour. To procure the death of CHRIST, they desire the liberation of a public criminal, contrary to justice and the public good; thus foolishly and wickedly preferring death to Life, darkness to Light, a child of the Devil to the holy SON of the Living GOD. O the insane fury of these frantic Jews, crying out, Not this man, but Barabbas. From this we may learn that we should patiently endure, if sometimes unworthy and mean persons are preferred before us, since a murderer was preferred to CHRIST. We must also take heed lest we prefer Barabbas to CHRIST, which we do whenever we commit sin, or prefer the pleasures of sin, and trample under foot the Blood of the Cove

nant.

See also Williams, p. 211.

Meditation.

How shall I express, O JESUS, SON of the Living GOD! the greatness of Thy love? Thou wert not

satisfied with having taken the nature of sinners, to dwell with them, to receive them with kindness, to expiate their sins; but since Thou couldst not be a sinner, Thou hast chosen to be among the number of public malefactors, such as murderers and robbers, and to be judged more wicked than they, and more worthy to die; then to be crucified in the midst of them, as if more guilty than they. What shall I render to Thee, O LORD, for all Thy benefits to me? Receive my soul, O my GOD, in spite of its unworthiness; for whatever shame I suffer, it will bear no comparison with that which Thou hast suffered for me.

Pardon me, LORD, the time I have spent in the service of the world which so hated and persecuted Thee. What! Barabbas, a robber, a seditious person, and murderer, is judged more worthy to live than Thou, O Life of my soul! Why have I loved this unjust world so much? But what can such a world do, but condemn Thee, O Infinite Purity? These ungrateful sinners have soon lost the remembrance of Thy blessings, Thy miracles, Thy example, Thy virtues; they had forgotten the wisdom Thou didst teach, the power with which Thou didst heal them, and the patience with which Thou didst bear with them. Thou gavest offence to none, no one ever came near Thee without help and consolation; Thou didst not seek either the riches, honours, or pleasures of this world, nevertheless, when they could have rescued Thee from death, they liberated a robber, and crucified Thee. Such is the world which I have loved, and served, and for which I have forsaken Thee. Give me the victory over it, that I may subject it under my