beginning of the twenty-second Psalm; and he is thought to have repeated them, in order to draw attention to a passage of Scripture so descriptive of his condition. He then complained of thirst, and a soldier put to his mouth a sponge soaked in vinegar. All was now over. He exclaimed, "It is finished!" and, devoutly addressing God with the words, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit!" he breathed his last.

Then occurred other prodigies to attest the dignity of the person who had suffered, and the interposition of a Divine hand. The veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom; the earth quaked; the rocks were torn asunder; the graves were opened; and some of the dead came back to life. It was impossible to mistake these signs. The centurion who presided at the execution exclaimed, “Truly this was the Son of God!" And the people who had come together, awestruck and alarmed, smote their breasts, and returned.

It was the custom with the Romans to leave the bodies of crucified criminals exposed on the cross without burial; but they made an exception in Judæa, because the law of Moses commanded that all such should be buried before night. The Jews were particularly desirous that this should be done at the present time, because at the setting of the sun the Sabbath was to begin, and a

Sabbath during the Passover was a day of more than ordinary sacredness. The soldiers were accordingly directed to hasten the death of the suf ferers by breaking the bones of their legs. But finding, to their surprise, that Jesus had already expired, they forbore to commit this violence on his body. One of the soldiers, however, from what motive we do not know, thrust a spear into his side. It was thus put beyond all doubt that he was actually dead; for the wound was followed by a mixed flowing of blood and water, which could have come only from the region about the heart. It was of great consequence to put this fact beyond question, because upon this must depend the all-important fact of the resurrection which followed.

The last hours of Jesus were not wholly unattended by the kindnesses of friends. Of the apostles, John at least, and perhaps others, were present at the crucifixion. So also were many of those devoted female friends who had accompanied him from Galilee. And now, when the last agony was past, two disciples from among persons of dignity and wealth obtained his body from the governor, that they might give it a decent and affectionate burial. These were Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. They took the body of their departed friend, and, hastily preparing it for interment, conveyed it into a garden near the

place of crucifixion, and placed it in a new tomb belonging to Joseph. The women from Galilee attended, and saw where he was laid. None of them imagined that they should ever behold his face again. And when they had placed a stone at the mouth of the cave, they felt that all they. had most honored and loved was buried there for

ever.

But his enemies remembered what his friends had forgotten, that he had spoken of rising again on the third day. Not that they expected any such event; but they feared that the disciples might remove the body, and pretend that he had risen. They therefore sealed the door of the sepulchre, and placed a guard of soldiers there to keep all secure.

And here, to all human appearance, was the close of expectations from Jesus of Nazareth. Executed as a criminal, his immediate followers dispersed, and a Roman guard watching over his tomb, the mind of man could not conjecture that he would ever again be heard of except as one of the many unsuccessful adventurers who had excited and disappointed the hopes of a credulous people. His enemies had completely triumphed. His adherents were wholly disheartened. Nothing can account for the revival of his cause and the spread of his religion, except that they were the special charge of a superintending Providence.

Most truly did Gamaliel declare, a few weeks afterward, that, if this enterprise had a human origin, it would come to naught. For all the power of man was exerted to overthrow it. That it was not overthrown proves it to have been upheld by the power of God.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION.

THE Sabbath came, with its holy hours of worship and rest. The incense and the sacrifices were offered up in the temple, and its ample courts resounded with the tread of innumerable worshippers, and the voices of those who sang praise. There were no signs to show that the glory of Israel, the object of so many prophecies, the desire of all nations, the great benefactor of the human race, had just been rudely destroyed by the people whom he had come to bless. The festival went on, and the crowded city rejoiced. The religious leaders, wrapt up in their bigotry and self-importance, exulted in an achievement which was to bring down ruin upon them from the God whom they had offended; and the mass of the people, ignorant and blind, were content to have gratified their passions and the will of their superiors, little knowing that they had risen against their truest friend. Had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But all were not thus. There were friends of