These devotions can he used during other days
of the Holy Week; and also in connection
with communion occasions.

Read Is. liii.; St. Matt, xxvi., xxvii.; St. Mark xiv., xv.;
St. Luke xxii., xxiii.; St. John xviii., xix.

O Lord Jesus Christ, there was never sor-
row like unto Thy sorrow, wherewith Thou
wast afflicted in the day of the fierce anger
of Almighty God. Thy soul was exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death. Thy sweat was
as great drops of blood falling upon the
ground. But our sins were the cause of Thy
sorrow, and our guilt weighed Thee down
and filled Thy soul with fear and agony.
From all eternity Thou was most blessed,
abiding with the Father, in the unity of the
Holy Ghost, in glory unspeakable. For our
sakes Thou didst become man; and in all
things Thou wast made like unto us; that
in Thy pure and unspotted heart Thou
mightest have sympathy with us in our ex-
ceeding misery; that Thou mightest taste
the bitterness of sin, endure its burden in
Thy most holy spirit, and yield up Thyself
to be overshadowed as with an horror of
great darkness.

Grant us, Lord, we beseech Thee, to have
such abhorrence of all evil, that we also may
have sympathy with Thee in Thy sorrow;
make us watchful, that we may be kept
through the hour of temptation; and give
to us such willingness of spirit, strength of
heart, and patient quietness, that we may
not shrink from drinking of Thy cup, nor
from being baptized with Thy baptism. For
in Thee is our hope, O Christ our God; and
to Thee with the Father, and the Holy
Ghost, we ascribe glory forever. Amen.

O Thou whose delights were in the sons
of men from their creation. Thou Captain
and Guide of Thy chosen ones, who didst
lead Joseph like a flock; Thou camest unto
Thine own, and Thine own received Thee
not. Thou didst separate Thy disciples to
be Thy companions and Thy friends, and
didst open unto them the mysteries of Thy
kingdom: yet by Thine own disciple Thou
wast given up; Thou wast betrayed with a
kiss: Thy beloved ones forsook Thee and
fled; and he who followed Thee denied Thee
with an oath.

We also, O Lord, have been guilty after
the like example; we have not watched, we
have not followed Thee; we have dealt un-
truly, and betrayed Thy trust; we have for-
saken Thy covenant of mercy and peace;
we have sought to be hidden in the world,
and have not sought to be distinguished
among men as Thy disciples. Yet have
mercy upon Thy people. Gather us again,
O Lord, and bring us back unto Thyself;
and enable us to confess Thee before men,
that, abiding steadfast unto the end, we may
be confessed of Thee in the presence of Thy
holy angels, in the day of Thine appearing.
Amen.

Thou didst endure, O Holy One of God,
Eternal Truth, Thou didst patiently endure
to hearken to the false witness of wicked
men given against Thyself. Thou didst for-
bear to answer again or to threaten. Thou
didst receive from the judgment of Thine
enemies the sentence of death, and Thou
didst hear it in silence, committing Thy
cause to Him that judgeth righteously, that
after death Thou mightest obtain Thy re-
ward from Him.

Grant unto us, most merciful Saviour, to
be partakers of the same spirit and grace;
that we may not seek the honor that cometh
from man, nor count ourselves justified by
the judgment of men; and when they shall
unjustly condemn us for Thy sake, may
we endure with patience: And, O Thou
merciful God and Judge Eternal, before
whose judgment-seat we must all appear,
do Thou save us in that day; reckon not
against us our iniquities, but blot out all
our transgressions: for in Thy mercy is all
our hope, and through Thy sacrifice for us,
and in Thy righteousness, we can alone be
justified. Amen.

O Lord, Eternal Word, who didst speak
the word, and all things were created; who
didst command, and all things stood fast; in
whom all things consist and abide in being;
of Thine own will Thou wast given up unto
the will of others. The rude and brutal sol-
diers scourged Thee; they smote, they spat
upon Thy sacred face; over Thy limbs in
derision they threw the purple robe; in
mockery they placed the reed within Thy
hands, and forced the crown of thorns upon
Thy head, Thou King and Lord of all.
Thou wast reviled, but Thou answeredst
not again; Thou didst suffer, but didst not
threaten.

Give unto us, we beseech Thee, the like
spirit of meekness and patience; let us never
be turned from Thy ways through any mock-
ery or cruelty of men; but persevere, as
seeing Him who is invisible, who giveth
unto those that endure unto the end a crown
of glory which fadeth not away. Amen.

Condemned as a malefactor, Lord Jesus
Lamb of God, Thou didst go forth to the
place of death, bearing Thy Cross; until,
fainting through pain and anguish, they
took it from Thee, and laid it on Thy disci-
ple to bear, not in pity for Thy suffering,
but that Thou mightest be ready to endure
fresh torment. They pierced Thy hands and
Thy feet, they nailed Thee to the Cross.
Thou wast lifted up between heaven and
earth, as utterly unworthy, and abhorred
and rejected of all. Yea, the transgressors
with whom Thou wast numbered, who were
crucified with Thee, they mocked and re-
viled Thee. All but Thy mother and Thy
beloved disciple, and the faithful women
with them, looked upon Thee with hatred
and derision. None gave Thee love nor pity,
who wast full of love and pity for all.

Lord, we behold Thy sufferings, and we
mourn; our eyes, our eyes run down with
tears; we weep in the bitterness of our
souls: for Thou wast wounded for our trans-
gressions, Thou wast bruised for our iniqui-
ties. And above all we mourn, that although
we have been made partakers of Thy grace,
our sins have pierced Thee anew; we have
seemed to count Thy sacrifice a vain thing;
we have forgotten that we were cleansed
from our old sins. They who nailed Thee
to Thy Cross knew not that they crucified
the Lord of Glory; but we have known
Thee, and yet have crucified Thee afresh,
and put Thee to open shame. We have
made void Thy mercy, and have kept back
from Thee Thy reward. Yet, Lord Jesus,
let not Thy mercy fail; and, as in Thine
hour of agony Thou didst pray for them that
put Thee to death, so for us also do Thou in-
tercede. Behold, we wait before Thy Cross;
we adore Thee, O Thou that wast crucified.
Draw us unto Thee, conform us to Thine
example, and now and henceforth let us take
up our cross, and follow Thee in this world,
looking for our reward in the regeneration,
in the kingdom of Thy glory. Amen.

From the earth rose up the blackness of
darkness, which at mid-day overshadowed
the person of Immanuel, fit emblem of that
heaviness which oppressed Thy Spirit, O
Jesu, beloved of the Father. This was the
hardest trial of Thy love, that Thou shouldst
lose, though but for a moment, the abiding
of His joy, which had been Thy strength, in
every former trial. This was the suffering
above all suffering, which filled up the cup
of sorrow, and set the seal of perfectness on
all Thou hadst endured. For, when Thou
hadst endured this, Thy faith did straight-
way scatter the oppression, which passed
from Thy soul as the darkness from the
earth; and then with steadfast confidence
Thou gavest up the ghost, committing Thy
Spirit unto the Father. Of a truth Thou art
the Son of God. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, who of
Thy tender mercy towards mankind hast
sent Thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to
take upon him our flesh and to suffer death
upon the Cross, that all mankind should fol-
low the example of His great humility;
mercifully grant that we may both follow
the example of His patience, and also be
made partakers of His Resurrection; through
the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.