overcome their calumnies by silence. Give me, O LORD, the spirit of true humility, that I may neither seek the praises of men, nor shrink from being slighted by them. Make me a partaker of Thy innocence and patience, that, living holily, I may hear evil spoken of myself without indignation, and may remain firm and tranquil in Thee; and evermore give Thee thanks in all reproaches and adversities. Amen.

Learn, O my soul! to deny thyself; for if thou desirest to be a faithful imitator of thy Saviour, it is necessary that thou shouldst relinquish all self-love

and self-will, and be subject and obedient to thy LORD and Saviour, however contrary it may be to thy inclinations or judgment. For JESUS submits to all this insult and suffering, and permits Himself to be dragged from tribunal to tribunal, but no harsh or angry feeling ruffles His holy Face, no words of complaint or murmuring pass His Blessed Lips, but He patiently awaits the bitter cup, which we have caused Him to drink.

O my Saviour, with what rage the Jews accuse Thee all repeat their cries, their falsehoods, and false witnesses. They question Thee, and Thou answerest nothing, they ask for miracles, and Thou doest them not, Thou sufferest their injustice as a criminal, Thou art silent, and concealest Thy power, Thy wisdom, Thy Majesty, and Thou permittest Herod with his courtiers to despise Thee: they regard Thee as a contemptible Person, and they lead Thee in a vesture of shame, through the streets of Jerusalem, as a deceiver of the people.

O Eternal Truth! Thy ways are concealed from the wise and proud. Grant that I may know Thee, and not wander in the ways of carnal prudence: I am wise, O humble Saviour! when I love Thee; but how foolish, when I lose Thee. I am happy when I sacrifice myself for Thee, but how miserable, even when I possess all, without Thee. O that I possessed Thy love, and were transformed into Thine Image! How can I desire life, if it be not to imitate Thee in Thy shame, O humiliated Majesty? Take me from this

world, O LORD, if Thou foreseest that I should ever esteem anything above Thy holy truth: of what use is wisdom and knowledge without Thee, O Divine Light?

My aims, O my Saviour! have been far from Thee Thy love will find in me a heart to transform, Thy Light, darkness to dispel, and Thy Wisdom, ignorance to instruct. Inflame, LORD, instruct me, humble me in the eyes of the world, and exalt me before Thee. O, may I never go from Thy Blessed Presence. Let all outward things cause disgust and horror to my soul; let all creatures forsake, forget, despise me, so that Thou, O Blessed Saviour, possess this heart which was created only for Thee. Suffer me not, LORD, to forget Thy humiliations, but may I remember Thee at all times, and in all places, in labour and in rest, in health and in sickness, in life and in death. Thou knowest that I cannot without Thy Light, comprehend the Divine truths which Thou teachest, nor practise them without Thy grace and love; give me then grace to do that which Thou commandest, and command that which shall please Thee, for without Thee I shall lose myself, and with Thee I can do all, O GOD, my defence, my strength, and my salvation!

Prayer.

O LORD JESUS, Advocate of sinners, Who didst submit to be dragged from one tribunal to another amidst the tumult and reproaches of the multitude; and when idly questioned by the curious Herod, and falsely accused by the malicious Chief Priests and

;

may

Scribes, didst humbly remain silent. O give me grace, I beseech Thee, that I neither be exasperated by any reproaches, nor foolishly ashamed at any contempt of myself, but help me to bear all things meekly, for the honour of Thy holy Name. And grant that I may restrain my tongue, and never speak evil of any one; but ever avoiding the sin of slander and detraction, may speak well and think rightly of all men, and possess my soul in patience. Amen.

X. THE LORD MOCKED BY HEROD AND HIS
SOLDIERS.

Prophecy.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him: He was despised and we esteemed Him not. Isa. liii. 3.

Gospel Narrative.

S. Luke xxiii. 11, 12.

And Herod with his men of war set Him at nought, and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him again to Pilate. And the same

day Pilate and Herod were made friends together; for before they were at enmity between themselves.

Reflections.1

From the mocking of CHRIST we may learn three lessons. That all who will live piously and innocently

1 See also Williams, page 203.

after the New Man, are mocked and treated as fools by those who live after the Old Man. But let them not be disturbed at it, but rather rejoice; since the New Man, our Saviour CHRIST, clothed in a white robe, the emblem of innocence, was mocked and derided by the sons of this world.

Meditation.

Consider, O my soul, the humiliations of Thy Saviour! Contemplate JESUS, the Joy of Heaven, the King of Glory, the Wisdom of the FATHER, thus shamefully contemned by these wretched men. Not only wert Thou, O JESUS, adjudged as wicked and guilty of death, but they impiously mocked and derided Thee, by clothing Thee in the garment of fools! O hearts harder than the rocks, if they are not softened by these things! What mind can contemplate this most profound humility and abasement of its GOD and LORD? Behold the LORD of Lords, in Whom are hidden all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge, thus treated as a weak and foolish man! Blush, and hide your faces in the dust, O ye proud and pompous sinners, for it was your sins which thus humbled the mighty LORD! After this life your bodies will turn to dust, and become the food of worms, nevertheless ye will adorn those bodies with costly garments, when the LORD of Power, for your sakes, was thus despised, and clothed in a contemptible garment.