with thofe facrifices which they offered year by year con tinually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceafed to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged fhould have had no more confcience of fins. But in thofe facrifices there is a remembrance again made of fins every year. For it is not poffible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away fins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he faith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldeft not, but a body haft thou prepared me: In burnt-offerings and facrifices for fin thou haft had no pleasure. Then faid I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God. Above when he faid, Sacrifice, and offering, and burnt-offerings, and offering for fin thou wouldest not, neither hadft pleasure therein, which are of fered by the law; then faid he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the firft, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are fanctified through the offering of the body of Jefus Chrift once for all. And every prieft ftandeth daily miniftering, and offering oftentimes the fame facrifices, which can never take away fins: But this man, after he had offered one facrifice for fins, for ever fat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are fanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: For after that he had faid before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, faith the Lord; I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their fins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remiffion of thefe is, there is no more offering for fin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holieft by the blood of Jefus, by a new and living way, which he hath confecrated for us, through the vail, that is to fay, his flesh; and having an high-prieft over the houfe of God; let us draw near with a true heart, in full affurance of faith, having our hearts fprinkled from an evil confcience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profeffion of our faith without wa

vering; (for he is faithful that promised;) and us let confider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forfaking the affembling of ourselves together, as the manner of fome is; but exhorting one another: and fo much the more, as ye fee the day approaching.

The Gofpel. St. John xix. 1.

PILATE therefore took Jefus, and scourged him. And

the foldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, and faid, Hail, king of the Jews! and they fmote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and faith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jefus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate faith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers faw him, they cried out, faying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate faith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. The Jews anfwered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himfelf the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that faying, he was the more afraid; and went again into the judgmenthall, and faith unto Jefus, Whence art thou? But Jefus gave him no anfwer. Then faith Pilate unto him, Speakeft thou not unto me? knowest thou not, that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jefus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater fin. And from thenceforth Pilate fought to release him: but the Jews cried out, faying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cefar's friend: Whofoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Cefar. When Pilate therefore heard that faying, he brought Jefus forth, and fat down in the judgment-feat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the paffover, and about the fixth hour: and he

The Gofpel. Both the xviiith and xixth chapters were appointed for the Gofpel, till the review 1662.

faith unto the Jews, Behold your king! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate faith unto them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests anfwered, We have no king but Cefar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jefus, and led him away. And he bearing his crofs went forth into a place called the place of a fcull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha: where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either fide one, and Jefus in the midft. And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the crofs. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jefus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Then faid the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he faid, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate anfwered, What I have written, I have written. Then the foldiers, when they had crucified Jefus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every foldier a part; and alfo his coat: now the coat was without feam, woven from the top throughout. They faid therefore among themfelves, Let us not rend it, but caft lots for it, whofe it fhall be: that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which faith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vefture they did caft lots. These things therefore the foldiers did. Now there ftood by the crofs of Jefus his mother, and his mother's fifter, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jefus therefore faw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he faith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy fon! Then faith he to the difciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that difciple took her unto his own home. After this, Jefus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the fcripture might be fulfilled, faith, I thirft. Now there was fet a veffel full of vinegar; and they filled a fponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyffop, and put it to his mouth. When Jefus therefore had received the vinegar, I thir Thirst always attends on continued torture. But Jefus pro claimed his thirft, with the pious defign of fulfilling Pfalm lxix. 21.

be faid, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghoft. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the fabbath-day, (for that fabbath-day was an high day) befought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the foldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jefus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the foldiers with a fpear pierced his fide, and forthwith came thereout blood and water. And he that faw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he faith true, that ye might believe. For thefe things were done, that the fcripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him fhall not be broken. And again, another fcripture faith, They fhall look on him whom they pierced.

G

Eafter-Even.

The Collect,

RANT, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of thy bleffed Son our Saviour Jefus Chrift; fo by continual mortifying our corrupt affections, we may be buried with him; and that through the grave and gate of death, we may pafs to our joyful refurrection, for his merits, who died, and was buried, and rofe again for us, thy Son Jefus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And water] Both the water in the pericardium, and the thin ferum. It is faid that a great quantity of ferum is always found in the thorax of perfons who die of torture.

The Collect This prayer for a joyful refurrection was compofed at the laft review 1662. Before that time no collect was appointed for the day. The introitus was pfalm lxxxviii. This holy-day was kept in the early church with the utmost folemnity; watchings, prayers, and illuminations, both in the church and private houses.-Eufeb. Vit. Conftant. This display of lighted torches was emblematical of Chrift, the "Sun of righteoufnefs," who at this time was about to rife from the dead. The vigil, or watching, continued in the Eaftern churches till the cock-crowing; the night being confumed in acts of devotion, and in baptizing the novitiates,

The Epistle. 1 Peter iii. 17.

Tis better, if the will of God be so, that fuffer for ye well-doing, than for evil-doing. For Christ also hath once fuffered for fins, the juft for the unjuft, (that he might bring us to God) being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the fpirits in prifon; which fome time were difobedient, when once the long-fuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing; wherein few, that is, eight fouls, were faved by water. The like figure whereunto even Baptifm doth alfo now fave us, (not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good confcience toward God,) by the refurrection of Jefus Chrift, who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels, and authorities, and powers being made fubject unto him.

WHEN

The Gospel. St. Matt. xxvii. 57.

THEN the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Jofeph, who also himself was Jefus difciple: he went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jefus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Jofeph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great ftone to the door of the fepulchre, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, fitting over against the fepulchre. Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priefts and Pharifees came together unto Pilate, faying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver faid, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rife again. Command therefore that the fepulchre be made fure until the third day, left his difciples come by night, and steal him away, and fay unto the people, He is rifen from the dead: fo the last error fhall be worse than the first. Pilate faid unto them, Ye have a watch, go your way, make it as fure as ye can. So they went, and made the fepulchre fure, fealing the ftone, and setting a watch.