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HEBREWS X. 10.

By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

WAS it for me that thou didst watch and pray?

For me didst utter that most doleful cry?

For me like lamb to slaughter led away?
Didst bow for me thy sacred head and die?

Was it for me the thorny crown was twined
Around thy sacred brows, thy visage marred ?
For me denied the voice of friendship kind?
For me wert thou thy Father's face debarred?

Was it for me those limbs were racked and torn?
For me didst thou endure that cruel thirst?
For me were all those direful sufferings borne?
For me wert thou content to be accurst?

Did the mysterious tide for me then flow,
In mingled current from thy piercèd side?
For me, a guilty wretch debased so low,
As from myself the loathsome view to hide.

Stupendous love! beyond what angels know,
Oh! what could move thee to such costly love!
Shame, death endure for a rebellious foe,

And leave thy Father's breast-thy throne above.

I

Break stubborn heart, in contrite woe dissolve,
Too gentle are these tears for thee to shed;
Oh! show thy penitence in firm resolve
To quit thy sins, and to the world be dead.

Wash thee from every stain, and freely give
The only sacrifice that he will prize-

A grateful heart;-he died that thou mayst live;
He lives that thou mayst join him in the skies!

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EASTER EVE.

Morning Lessons, Zechariah ix. Evening Lessons, Exodus xiii.

St. Luke xxiii. 50.

Hebrews iv.

Epistle, 1 St. Peter iii. 17.

Gospel, St. Matt. xxvii. 57.

COLLECT.

GRANT, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of Thy blessed Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, so by continual mortifying our corrupt affections, we may be buried with Him; and that through the grave and gate of death we may pass to our joyful resurrection; for His merits, who died and was buried, and rose again for us, Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This eve was formerly celebrated in a variety of ways expressive of reverence and joyful expectation of the great event it preceded. * Our Church, laying aside all vain or unprofitable ceremonies, simply calls her children together to meditate upon

* It was observed in the primitive Church with singular devotion; the vigil continued till midnight, and with some till cock crowing; the time was spent in reading the law and the prophets, in expounding the Scriptures, and in baptising the catechumens.

our Saviour's death and burial; and surely no one whose heart and mind have been properly prepared by the exercises of the foregoing solemn days, will experience any reluctance in obeying her voice.

The Collect, reminding us that we have been baptized into the death of Christ, points out the necessity of our being conformed alike to it and to his resurrection, by mortifying our sinful appetites, (thereby showing that while faith in Christ must have its perfect work, our own exertions to lead a holy life are indispensable,) in order that through the grave and gate of death, we may pass to our joyful resurrection through His merits.

The Epistle, in harmony with the Collect, taking for its consideration the sacrament of baptism, shews us that we must be conformed to the sufferings of Christ as we would be partakers of the glory which his resurrection has purchased for us. The Gospel relates the particulars of his burial, in which respect each of the Evangelists is very circumstantial, and with good cause. The death and resurrection of our Lord are the fundamental points of the Christian religion; and to be assured of the last we must be certain of the first. As His death made atonement for the sins of mankind, it was necessary that the important fact should be established beyond controversy, and no better pledge of this can be given than that His enemies killed Him and His friends buried Him. In like manner, as His resurrection alone

could prove that the atonement was accepted, it was of the utmost consequence that no room should be left for suspicion, that the same body which had been deposited in the grave was not actually restored to life again. Our Church marks the importance she attaches to the fact of Christ's burial, by making it an article of faith in all her creeds. The whole service invites us to reflect upon our own awful change, as well as prepares us for the joyful event which is approaching.

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The Proper Lessons are selected with the Church's wonted wisdom. The first Morning Lesson, which is full of promise of God's returning favor, and expressive of the universal blessing of Christ's appearance, and the extent and duration of His kingdom, contains the well known prophetic and rapturous command, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, for thy King cometh unto thee," a command to which the devout Christian heart will eagerly respond. The Second Lesson repeats the history of Christ's burial. In the first Evening Lesson the memorial of the Passover, which was a type of Christ's death, is commanded; and the second warns us of the danger of losing, through unbelief, the rest promised to the children of God.

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