Evil hath he done Matt. XXVII 23. Mar. XV. 14. Luk. XXIII 22. Then hearing no Answer but a confused Noise he declared to them as he had done before I have found no Cause of Death in him I will therefore Chastise him and let him go Luk. XXIII 22. And having said this he returned with his Prisoner to the Judgement-Hall Mar. XV. 16. What the Chastisement was that our Saviour received there we are told briefly in the two first Gospels Matt. XXVII 27 30. Mar. XV. 16 19. for which reason St. Luke quite omitts it But St. Iohn gives a fuller Account of this matter and of all that followed it in Order till Pilate's giving the Sentence of Death on our Saviour Ioh. XIX 1 16. That Evangelist shews how Pilate strove as much as such an Obnoxious man could to have avoided the giving of that Sentence Especially since his Wife had sent him an Account of her Dream and thereupon warned him to have nothing to do against that just Man Matt. XXVII 19. This Message came to him When he was set down on the Iudgment-Seat Ibid. And that might probably be at the time when he gave Sentence for that which he called Chastising him whom a little before he had owned to be an Innocent Person In all our blessed Lord's accusation the only thing that stuck with Pilate was his taking upon him to be a King For tho he had explained himself by saying his Kingdom was not of this World yet in Pilate's Opinion that did not clear him from being guilty of an innocent folly in affecting a Greatness that did not belong to him He might think it necessary he should be Corrected for this And therefore he condemned him to be Scourged which among the Romans was properly the punishment of Slaves For the executing of the Governor's Sentence that being the Soldier 's business the whole Band of Pilate's Guards were called together and our blessed Lord was delivered into their merciless Hands No doubt they were acquainted with that which they were to Correct him for which could not but seem extremely Ridiculous to them in one of so despicable a Figure as he then made It seems to have moved their Indignation and Scorn to the utmost Degree Which they shewed not only in Scourging him according to his Sentence but also in Handling him afterwards in a most cruel and Insolent manner First they platted a Crown of Thorns and put it on his Head Then they stripped off his Clothes and put on him a Robe of Scarlett Matt. XXVII 28. of Purple Mar. XV. 20. Iohn XIX 2. probably it was patched up of both these together And to make the Mock Royalty complete they put a Reed in his right Hand and made him hold that for a Scepter Matt XXVII 29. Then as it were doing Homage they bowed the knee before him saying Hail King of the Iews Matt. XXVII 29. Mar. XV. 19. Iohn XIX 3. And to finish their Sport they spit on him and taking the Reed out of his Hand they †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iohn XIX 3. gave him several blows with it on his Head Matt. XXVII 30. Pilate seeing our blessed Lord in this cruel Mockery of Royall Attire having his Face all besmear'd with their Spittle and his own Blood had Reason to hope such a Spectacle as this might have moved the Compassion of the People especially since he that suffered all this for ought that appeared to Them was an Innocent Person And therefore he brought him forth to them saying behold the Man into what a miserable Condition you have brought him and this for Nothing It seems not unlikely that this might have moved the People but the Chief Priests no sooner Saw him but they and their Officers cryed out saying Crucifie him Crucifie him Ioh. XIX 6. Then the People also following their Example were Instant with loud voices requiring that he might be Crucified Luke XXIII 23. But Pilats knowing these were set on by the Chief Priests applied himself to Them in particular and told them if they would have this Man Crucified they must do it themselves For his part he found no fault in him Ioh. XIX 6. They Answer'd him we have a Law and by our Law he ought to dye because he made himself the Son of God vers 7. By the Son of God they meant the Christ as appears Matt. XXVI 63. And it was true that by their Law he that falsely made himself to be the Christ ought to dye Deut. XVIII 20. But Pilate understood not the Language of their Scriptures And therefore hearing that this Man made himself the Son of God he understood by it that he pretended to be of Divine Extraction and Linage And having likely heard of his Miracles especially of his raising of Lazarus and of his last Publick Entring into Ierusalem having seen also his unmovable firmness of mind in all this Trial and having heard from his Wife what Dreams she had of him this very day and hearing this at last which the Chief Priests said of him he was afraid as Grotius thinks he might be indeed of such a Birth as some of those whom he worship't were said to have been And therefore taking him again into the Iudgement-Hall he asked him Whence art thou Inquiring into his Birth and Family Iesus gave him no Answer Ioh. XIX 8 9. for he saw as to himself that there needed none to this last charge because it came without any Proof and he could do Pilate no good by any thing he could say at this time to his Question Therefore our blessed Lord gave him no Answer Then Pilate asked him in some kind of Anger Speakest thou not to Mee Knowest thou not that I have Power to Crucifie thee and Power to Release thee vers 10. It was true he had the Power of Life and Death in his Hands but he could Act by it no farther than God would give him leave And our blessed Lord had often shewn that when He pleased no Humane Power could touch him But it was the Will of God that the Messias should be cut off and Now the Time appointed for it was come which things the Iews might have known by their Prophecies and it was their Fault that they did not This is what Grotius takes to be the effect of his Answer Ioh. XIX 11. Thou couldest have no Power at all against Me but that it is given thee FROM ABOVE Therefore He that Deliver'd me to Thee has the greater Sin It was chiefly Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin that deliver'd him to Pilate and They were the Men that chiefly ought to have known who he was as if they had been so disposed they might have known by their Scriptures Therefore though it was a great Sin in Pilate to do what he was now going to do against Law and against his own Conscience yet it was a far Greater Sin in Them that went against a far Greater Light even that of Divine Revelation This
AN EXPOSITION Of the PROPHECY OF SEVENTY WEEKS WHICH GOD SENT TO DANIEL By the Angel GABRIEL Dan. IX 24 27. CHAP. I. A short View of the Historical things that are in the foregoing part of this Chapter BEFORE we come to the Prophecy it self it will be of use to consider those historical things that are deliver'd together with it in the same Chapter particularly what the Prophet tells us concerning Himself and the Time when he had this Revelation from God and the Occasion on which it was given him These things we shall see are communicated to us with great exactness and care which we have reason to believe was done not only to stir up our Attention in reading but also in order to our better Understanding of this Prophecy 1. First of the Prophet himself it will be our business elsewhere in our first DISSERTATION to shew what a bright shining Saint he was in his Generation and that even from his Childhood throughout the whole course of his Life But here we are to speak only of those instances of it that occur in the Historical part of this Chapter Such were his diligent studying of the Holy Scriptures his pious zeal and concernedness for the Church of God his deep sense of the Sins of his People his sad apprehension and fear of their obstructing the promised Deliverance for which he applied himself to God with fasting and fervent Prayer How highly acceptable these things were to God we cannot but see by his sending such a Person and much more by the several gracious Messages that he sent by him 2. The Favour appear'd very signal in God's sending to him by the Angel Gabriel the only Angel of his rank whom God has made known to us by name And that we had not known but on the account of God's sending him with such extraordinary Messages first to the Prophet Daniel and afterwards to the Virgin Mary Those to Daniel were of a very different nature The two first were only Discoveries of the meaning of those dark figures that he had seen They were frightful Sights of Beasts that appear'd to him in a prodigious manner the first in a Dream of the Night in the first Year of King Belshazzar as we read in the seventh Chapter of this Book the other in a Vision which he had two Years after as we read in the eighth Chapter But now at the Angel's third coming to Daniel which was fifteen Years after his second coming in the first Year of King Darius He was sent to him not as before to interpret a Dream or a Vision but to deliver him a Message from God in plain words containing a Prediction of several of the most wonderful Events that were to happen in this world and that of such great and lasting Consequence that God would have him put it in writing to be left upon Record for the use of his Church in after times 3. Why God was pleased to make choice of Daniel for this service before any other person the Angel tells him in these words I am sent to shew thee these things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because thou art GREATLY BELOVED It might as well have been translated in the same words as that is which the same Angel said to the blessed Virgin Luke I. 28. Thou art 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HIGHLY FAVOURED OF GOD. The same Angel uses the same Expression again to Daniel twice after this calling him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a man GREATLY BELOVED which being not used to any other of the Prophets nor perhaps to any other person but only the blessed Virgin there must be something extraordinary in it And it seems to be plain what that is by the Angel's never speaking these words to Daniel before till he came to deliver this Prophecy to him from God 4. It is plain why he used these words to the blessed Virgin by his telling her the Effect of his Message that she should be the Mother of Christ. For certainly there could be no greater Instance of the singular favour of God to any Human creature than that which God vouchsafed to the blessed Virgin that Christ should be born of her body But the Chief end of Christ's birth being to Dye for our Salvation therefore the Prophecies of That are of the Weightiest concern to mankind above all other Prophecies of Scripture It was that SALVATION by THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST which Moses and all the Prophets had foretold Luke XXIV 26 27. Acts XXVI 22 23. and yet they knew not when it would be But for that they enquired and searched diligently as St. Peter tells us desiring to know 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what Time or what manner of Time it should be that the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when he testifyed before-hand of the sufferings of Christ and of the Glory that should follow Nay not only Men but even the Angels desired to look into these things as St. Peter there tells us For even they were not in this Secret at St. Paul plainly shews calling it THE MYSTERY of our Redemption by the Death of Christ and telling us that from the beginning of the World it was hid in God Ephes. III. 9 10. to the intent that unto the Principalities and Powers in Heavenly places that is to the blessed Angels themselves might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God According to both these Apostles the Discovery of the Determinate time of Christ's death which God was pleased to send to Daniel by the Angel Gabriel was not more surprising News to the Prophet than it was to the Angel himself But when the Angel consider'd withall that he should not have known it now but for the Prophet's sake and knowing no doubt how well he was Qualified for it by those eminent Graces that had so much endear'd him to God the Angel could not find how to deliver his message with a fitter Preamble than that before mention'd telling him how much he was beloved of God from whom he brought him this sure Token of it in giving him the first Revelation of the precise time of Christ's death the knowledge of which had been so earnestly desired and sought after by Angels as well as Men but could never be attain'd by any of them 5. For the TIME when Daniel had this Revealed to him we are told in the beginning of the Chapter that it was in the first year of DARIUS the Son of AHASUERUS of the Seed of the MEDES who was now made King of the Realm of the CHALDEANS Dan. IX 1 2. 6. That AHASUERUS the Father of this King DARIUS was King of the MEDES and the same that in Alliance with King NEBUCHADNEZZAR took the great City of Ninive and utterly destroyed it thereby putting an End to the Assyrian Empire this the Reader may see proved
Daniel now did the same he sought the Lord by prayer with a Dan. IX 1 2 3. Fasting and Sackcloth and Ashes out of a holy fear lest his people by their Sins should obstruct their approaching Deliverance 44. In the next place as to Daniel's Prayer here are several things Of DANIEL'S PRAYER to be observed in it As namely First The Time This as we shall shew in it's proper b Tract IV. place was at one of the Hours of Prayer and particularly at the Ninth Hour which was the time of the c Dan. IX 21. Evening Sacrifice Secondly The Ceremonies that he used in his Devotions of these here is nothing expressed but only this which Daniel saies of himself v. 3. d Dan. IX 3. I set my face unto the Lord God meaning thereby towards the Ruins of the Temple of God at Ierusalem as he shews e Dan. VI. 10. v. Grotium in â—…oc elsewhere Dan. VI. 10. Thirdly The Substance of his Prayer This he f IX 20. divides in two parts the Confession of his Sins and his People's and his Supplication to God IX 20. Before all he begins with an g vers 4. Address to God the same that was afterwards used by h Neh. I. 5. Nehemiah in his Prayer on a like occasion His Confession of Sins we shall i Tract V. shew he also begins with a k Dan. IX 5. set Form composed by King l Ps. CVI. 6. David and prescribed by his Son m 〈◊〉 Kin. VIII 47. Solomon to the used by God's People when they should be in Captivity as 〈◊〉 were now in Daniel's time 45. But for these Circumstantial things the use of set forms of Circumstantial things are only toucht at Prayer the Houâ—… of Prayer that Daniel observed and the Ceremony abovâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they do all deserve a longer consideration than we caâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 them in this place so our enlarging upon them here is not â—…ry for the understanding of this Prophecy And therefore a farther discourse upon these is reserved for some of the n Tract IV. V. Tracts that are to follow in the end of this work As to our present business it will be sufficient to observe those things in Daniel's Prayer to which the Angel plainly refers in any part of his Answer but especially in the words of this Prophecy 46. In the first place whosoever reads Daniel's Prayer and well In the Main it shews us his excellent Spirit considers it cannot but admire his excellent temper of Spirit made up wholely of Humility and Self-denial and of ardent Zeal for God's Glory and the good of his Church There is a wonderfull mixture oâ—… 〈◊〉 these together that shines forth throughout his whole Prayer for which as it was intimated o see 〈◊〉 1 2 3. before the Angel that brought him this Prophecy told him in his Preface to it that he was GREATLY Bâ—…LOVED OF GOD. 47. First to speak of his Humility Throughout the first part of his Humility 〈◊〉 Prayer which is chiefly a Confession of Sin he every were joins his own Sins with those of his People as if He had been one of the Number of them that had drawn down those heavy Judgements of God upon themselves and their Nation of whom a great part were destroyed and the rest were now as he was in Captivity in a forreign Land But he does more than this he calls that whole part of his Prayer a Dan. IX 4. MY CONFESSION v. 4. And so at last all the matters of his Confession he summs up in these words I was confessing MY SIN and the Sin of my people Israel He speaks as if he had been the Chief Sinner of Israel He b Ezek. XIV 14 20. see Dissert I. whom * See Usser Ann. 594. before Christ and remember this Prayer was Iâ—…o Dâ—…ll that is in the year before Christ 537 near threescore years after that Prophecy above fifty years before all they that were then in Captivity with him at Babylon looked upon as so great a Saint that they hoped to be delivered on the account of his Holiness 48. In the second part of his Prayer which he calls his Supplication his Self Denial to God first as to the Matters he had to ask in it this holy man was so intent on the concernments of his People that he quite left out himself as if he were not worth thinking of It may indeed seem as if he had not any thing to ask for himself being then as great as the greatest King in the World could make him in his worldly condition But besides he could have no concernment himself in that which he was chiefly to ask for his People His great suit for them was that God would put an end to their Captivity that they might return to their own Land But that was above c Ezra VII 9. four months Journey too much for a Man of his Age being then above d See Dissert I. Ninety years old Yet now at this age being first Minister of State in that great Empire he underwent perhaps a greater toil for his People's sake than that Journey would have been And he continued in it e Dan. VI. 28. even till King Cyrus's time It was four years at least till the third year of Cyrus after which God was pleased to give him his dismission f Dan. XII 12 13. Dan. XII 12 13. His Zeal for God's Glory will appear in the Arguments that he uses in his Prayer which we shall presently come to consider 49. But first something more must be said of the Persons and his Concern for God's People especially for the City of Ierusalem things that he prayed for He asked only in general for his People that God would bring them back into the Land of their Fathers But there he seems to have thought of nothing but the City of Ierusalem It is that which he insists upon more than any thing else in his Prayer It appears by his mentioning this five or six times at least whereas he does not mention the Temple more than once though that was surely the most valuable thing in that City Both these Daniel g Dissert I. had seen in their Glory in the end of King Iosiah's Reign though he was very young at that time But Ierusalem he could never forget nor no Captive at Babylon could that had read those passionate words in h Ps CXXXVII 5 6. King David's beloved City Ps. CXXXVII 50. The Royal Psalmist himself could not but have a vehement affection i See Ps. CXXII for that City on many accounts It was that which he having taken it from the Iebusites first made the Royal Seat of his Kingdom afterwards having brought the Ark of God thither he made it the Mother-Church of all Israel and to perpetuate that Privilege to it he would have built a Temple there for
Nothing At which Pilate marvelled believing there was something Extraordinary in it Mar. XV. 3 5. To find the bottom of this Pilate thought fit to ask our blessed Lord by Himself what the meaning might be of that which they insisted upon and he himself did not deny namely of his taking upon him to be a King For this purpose he took our Saviour with him into the Iudgement-Hall and there he asked him a Second time Ioh. XVIII 33 38 saying Art thou the King of the Iews Our blessed Lord desired to know his Meaning in Asking him this whether it was for his own Information to know the truth of his Doctrine or whether it was to know what he had to say to that Accusation Pilate told him in the first place vers 35. he would know what he had done to give Occasion for this Accusation Our Saviour told him plainly My Kingdom is not of this World And as to his doing any thing that might give Occasion for this charge the contrary had sufficiently appear'd in his Suffering himself to be delivered to the Iews and forbidding any resistance Pilate asked him vers 37. Art thou a King then in any sense He would know what our Saviour meant by it The explaining of that matter so as to make Pilate understand it was not to be done in few Words and there was not time now for many But as to the matters of the Accusation Pilate was now satisfied that there was nothing in Them and therefore he went out again to the Iews and told them I find in him no fault at all Ioh. XVIII 38. Luke XXIII 4. What followed on Pilates clearing our Saviour we are to learn from St. Luke who goes on with the Account of it XXIII 5 16. He tells us the chief Priests having heard what Pilate said for the clearing of our Lord were therefore the more fierce in Accusing him They said he stirrs up the People teaching throughout all Iewry beginning from Galilee to this place No doubt by their mention of Galilee they would have it to be understood that he was one of that Sect which was very prevalent in that Countrey ever since the Time of the Taxing Acts V. 37. when Iudas of Galilee †See Dr. Hammond on Acts V. Not h. took up Arms to oppose the paying of Tribute to Caesar. It seems very likely that those Galileans whose Blood Pilate mingled with their Sacrifices were of that Sect. Luke XIII 1. If they were then the destroying of them was doing of Service to Caesar and therefore Herod being Caesar's Tetrarch of Galilee had so much the more reason to take it ill of Pilate that he should take this Office out of his hands This might very well be the occasion of the Enmity that was between Pilate and Herod at this time Luke XXIII 12. Pilate knowing that Herod was now at Ierusalem on the Account of the Passeover did gladly take this Occasion both to get rid of this troublesome matter by putting it over to Herod and also to let him see by this Instance how unwilling he was without a present necessity for it to meddle with any that belonged to Herod's Iurisdiction And therefore as soon as he heard that our blessed Saviour was of Galilee he presently sent him to Herod that he might be Judge of this matter Herod could not but be glad at our Saviour's first coming to him because he had been so long desirous to see him in hope of seeing some Miracle done by him But he soon found how much he was mistaken in his expectation Our blessed Lord had something else to do than to satisfy men's Curiosities And therefore though Herod asked him many Questions he Answered him nothing Luk. XXIII 9. Much lesse would he Answer the chief Priests and Rulers who having followed him thither vers 10. Stood and vehemently accused him before Herod and all his Court It could not but be a sad Spectacle to see our blessed Lord as he stood there before them so disfigur'd with the Barbarous Usage he had newly received from those very men that were now his Accusers And now to hear them charge him with such Ambitious and turbulent Practices and Designs to make himself King of the Iews it was a meer Jest to these Courtiers And to carry it on a little farther they arrayed him in a Gorgeous Robe and so sent him back to Pilate in that Ludicrous Dresse without any other Censure Hereupon Pilate called together the chief Priests and the Rulers and the People to give them an Account of this matter Luke XXIII 13. It seems that the People were now coming to Pilate with their Demand for the Release of a Prisoner which was a Favor the Governors had usually granted them against that good Time of the Passeover vers 17. Matt XXVII 15. Mar. XV. 6. Pilate having them and the chief Priests there together told them he had sent the Prisoner to Herod and found Herod was of His Opinion touching the Prisoner's Innocence as to any matter that could reach his Life He therefore proposed it to the People that this might be the Man they would chuse to have him Release to them now at the Passeover Ioh. XVIII 39. But withall for the Satisfying of the Priests that they might not seem to have made all this Stirr about nothing he offer'd that he would Chastise him first before he Released him Luke XXIII 14 17. The chief Priests were not at all pleased with this And Pilate did not wonder at it for he knew they had deliver'd him for Envy Matth. XXVII 18. But the People being the Body whom he most studyed to oblige were by this time ingaged for the saving of another Prisoner One Barabbas that had been taken in an Insurrection wherein he had also committed a Murder Mar. XV. 7. for all this had found Friends among the chief Priests And they had secretly moved the People to shew Him this Favor Mar. XV. 11. Pilate seem'd not to have so ill an Opinion of the People as to think a Majority of them would be so wickedly partial as to preferr so great a Criminal before an Innocent Person And therefore he ventured to join them both together in his Question He asked the People Whom will you that I release unto you Barabbas or Jesus which is called Christ Matt. XXVII 17. Now the Chief Priests and Elders with all their might perswaded the Multitude that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus vers 20. Whereupon as St. Matthew goes on when the Governor asked them again whether of the Twain will you that I Release unto you Matt. XXVII 21. They cryed out all at once saying Away with this man and Release to us Barabbas Luk. XXIII 18 19. Ioh. XVIII 40. Thereupon Pilate asked them what shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ They all cryed saying Crucify him Crucify him Matt. XXVII 22. Luke XXIII 20 21. He said to them the third time Why what
touched Pilate so far that as the Text saith from thenceforth Pilate sought more than ever to Release him But the Iews seeing that cryed out If thou let This Man go thou art not Caesar's Friend Whosoever makes himself a King he takes so much from Caesar vers 12. This amounted to a Threatning of Pilate with that which of all things in the World he most feared He had been guilty of so many Acts of Misgovernment which would have been brought in open View upon any Complaint that should have been made to Caesar against him that he dreaded nothing more than This. And it appeard he was in the right for by such a Complaint he was Ruin'd within few years after Therefore as it followeth in the Text When Pilate heard that Saying he brought Jesus forth and sat down on the Iudgement-Seat vers 13. And from thence having shewn that miserable Spectacle to the People now as he had done before to the Priests he said to them Behold your King vers 14. They no sooner heard it but they cryed out Away with him Crucifie him Then Pilate asked them shall I Crucifie your King The chief Priests Answer'd him We have no King but Caesar. Ioh. XIX 15. God has taken them at their Word they have had no King but Caesar's Successors ever since But here St. Iohn leaves us to the two first Gospels They tell us that Pilate when he saw he could prevail Nothing but that rather a Tumult was made he took Water and washed his Hands before the Multitude saying I am Innocent of the Blood of this just Person See you to it Then Answer'd all the People and said his Blood be upon Us and our Children Matt. XXVII 24 25. And so it is to this Day and will be till their Conversion Ioel. III. 21. Then Pilate hearing this and being willing to content the People Mar. XV. 15. he gave Sentence that it should be as they required Luke XXIII 24. And so he Released Barabbas unto them and delivered Jesus to be Crucified Matt. XXVII 26. Mar. XV. 15. Luk. XXIII 25. Ioh. XIX 16. It was the Preparation of the Passeover and about the sixth Hour Iob. XIX 14. when Pilate sat down on the Iudgement-Seat as was before mention'd St. Iohn reckons his Hours the Roman way as has been shewn by my learned Friend †Short View of his Harmony Prop. V. p. 116. Mr. Whiston And therefore as to the Point of Time his sixth Hour was the same as ours is at Six in the Morning But then the Romans dividing their natural Day from Sun-set to Sun-set into four Watches whereof each was of three Hours according to * cap. XXIIX Censorinus they called each of these Watches by the Name of that Hour at which it begun The Iews also reckoned their Watches in the same manner as Dr. Hammond shews on this Text. Onely with this difference that whereas the Romans called every Watch by the name of that Hour at which it began The Iews called it by the name of that Hour at which it ended So that the Space from six to nine which the Iews called the Third Hour was the sixth Hour in the Roman Account But this was common to them both that the name of the Hour at which the Trumpet sounded was continued the whole Space of 3 Hours till the Trumpet sounded again As for St. Iohn's Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 about which as Mr. Whiston saith may be taken any where within that Latitude it seems most likely in this place to be intended of the middle between six and nine in the morning For there was a considerable part of this Watch already spent since Pilate enter'd upon this Business and yet as it will presently appear in this Discourse there remained Business enough to fill up the rest of the Time till Nine in the morning which was in the Jew's Account the third Hour and yet That as St. Mark tells us was the very Time of our Saviour's being Crucified Mar. XV. 25. It is also to be observed that this whole Forenoon was as St. Iohn calls it the Preparation of the Passeover the Paschal Lamb being to be Killed about 3 this Afternoon and to be Eaten after it was dark the same Evening It seems to have been toward Eight in the morning when the blessed Iesus was condemned by Pilate to that cruel and Ignominious Death Luke XXIII 24. After which our Saviour was immediatly by him delivered to his Soldiers whose Office it was to put his Sentence in Execution The Suddenness of this was against the Roman Law in all Ordinary cases for by that Law some days of Respite were Generally allowed the condemned Persons to prepare themselves for their Suffering But here was Order given for present Execution The Chief Priests could admit no Delay because the Passeover was to be within a few Hours And Pilate having yielded to them in the main Point would not break with them about any less matter especially since there was an Exception in that Law for any one that was to suffer on the Account of Sedition which was our blessed Saviour's case Therefore as soon as the Sentence was pass'd the Soldiers were presently for hurrying him away And so putting an end to their mockery they took off the Purple Robe from our Saviour and put on his own clothes Then having provided a Cross on which he was to suffer they layd that on his Shoulders to make him carry it Himself as all those used to do that were to be Crucified according to the manner of the Romans And thus our blessed Lord bearing his Cross went forth toward the place of Execution Ioh. XIX 17. But it appears he could carry it no great part of the Way being so spent and disabled that he was ready to sink under the Burthen Therefore one Simon of Cyrene who was then coming out of the Countrey happening to come in their way the Soldiers layd the Cross upon Him and compelled him to bear it after Him Matth. XXVII 32. Mark XV. 21. Luke XXIII 26. St. Luke shews that at that time there were many of the Iewish Nation who differ'd very much in their Opinion of our Saviour from those of their Brethren that had been all this morning crying out Crucifie him Crucifie him For as he there tells us vers 27. even Now when he was going to suffer there followed him a great Company of People and of Women which also bewailed and lamented him Our blessed Lord could not but have a just Sense of their Compassion toward him in his present Condition But he had a much greater Compassion for Them considering what They were to suffer within a few Years and especially the Inhabitants of the City of Ierusalem of whom there were many in that Company For as the blessed Iesus himself was now going to be cut off and so to fulfill His part of Daniel's Prophecy so he Knew the next thing there foretold was to be fulfilled upon