his guilt in folitude, earnestly supplicating, with tears and lamentations, pardon from his offended Maker-a pardon never refused to the real penitent; and which, we have unquestionable proof, was granted to Peter: who, not long afterwards, was honored with the gift of the holy Ghost; and, for the rest of his life, remained unfhaken in his faith to his Mafter, which he had the glory to feal by martyrdom.

As St. Mark relates the particulars of the examination and treatment of our bleffed Lord before the high prieft, much more fully than the other evangelifts, I fhall beg leave in this place, for the purpose of rendering the account more complete, to introduce eleven verfes from the fourteenth chapter of his gospel, (from 55. to 65. inclufive): "And the chief priests, and all "the council, fought for witness against Jefus to put him to death; and found none: for many bare falfe witness against but their witness agreed not togeIther. And there arofe certain, and bare falle witness against him, faying, We

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him;

"heard

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" heard him fay, I will deftroy this temple "that is made with hands, and within three "days I will build another made without "hands. But neither fo did their wit"nefs agree together. And the high priest "ftood up in the midft, and asked Jefus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? What " is it which these witness against thee? "But he held his peace, and answered "nothing. Again the high priest afked "him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Bleffed? And Jefus faid, I am: and ye fhall fee the "Son of man fitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of "Heaven. Then the high-prieft rent his

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clothes, and faith, What need we any "further witneffes? Ye have heard the blafphemy: what think ye? And they "all condemned him to be guilty of "death. And fome began to spit on him, " and to cover his face, and to buffet him, "and to fay unto him, Prophefy: and the "fervants did strike him with the palms of "their hands,"

Our Saviour, knowing that he was prejudged and his condemnation refolved upon, did not think it neceffary to reply to all the questions put to him by the high priest on the subject of the false evidence which had been produced against him, and preferved a majestic filence; but

when publicly called upon and adjured by Caiaphas (who was offended at his filence and wifhed to enfnare him by his answers,) to declare Whether or not he was the Christ, the Son of the Bleffed, he no longer refused an answer, but plainly and explicitly declared himself to be The Chrift, the Son of God; and that they should hereafter see him coming in the clouds of Heaven, crowned with power and glory, to judge the world. Such was the folemn declaration of our Lord-a declaration fo explicit as (one would have thought), left no room to cavil at its meaning; and fo it was confidered at the time: it was referved for modern unbelievers to put a forced conftruction upon words fo plain, by affert ing That as Adam and all his pofterity were

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by adoption and grace the fons of God, the reply of our Lord meant nothing more than that he was in that sense the fon of God. That this could not have been the case, is evident from the whole conduct of the high priest; who, having no doubt of his human nature and confequently of his participating in the advantages attached to it, would never have afked fo frivolous and unneceffary a queftion: his defign, clearly, was to entrap our Lord into a solemn declaration of his divinity; which when he had effected, he rent his clothes, and, giving up all the former pretended accufations against him, fixes upon this one charge; namely, that he had been guilty of blafphemy, in having made himfelf equal with God: and upon that they all, without further trial, condemn him to have incurred the punishment of death. No fooner was this declaration made, than the multitude rush forward, and inflict upon his facred perfon every species of infult and abuse which their bafe and grovelling minds could incite them to. Dreadful thought!

that

that the Redeemer of mankind should, by man, be reviled—loaded with injuriesdragged from one iniquitous tribunal to another, and fubjected to every fpecies of wanton cruelty: yet fuch was his fituation during the whole of this night; nor did his fufferings end but with his life.

Before we proceed further in this af fecting ftory, it will be neceffary, in order to obtain a complete knowledge of the fcandalous and wicked conduct of the high priest and elders, to turn to the twenty-feventh chapter of St. Matthew, (ver. 3. 4.5.): "Then Judas which had betrayed

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him, when he faw that he was condemn"ed, repented himself, and brought again "the thirty pieces of filver to the chief

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priests and elders, saying, I have finned, "in that I have betrayed the innocent "blood. And they faid, What is that to "us? fee thou to that. And he caft "down the pieces of filver in the Temple, "and departed, and went and hanged " himself."

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