redeeming, in His Life, mysterious, after Death. 123

very Wounds, and those "But one of the soldiers alone, which some would with a spear pierced His now forbid us to love, or to Side, and forthwith came speak of, or to reverence, or thereout blood and water: to plead, one by one, to and he that saw it bare reHim or to His Father. cord, and his record is true;

"The Precious Blood of and he knoweth that he Christ," of which Holy saith true, that ye might beScripture speaks, on which lieve," says also of the same, God Himself, from the very "There are three who bear fall, fixed the eyes and the record "-not who bore refaith of our fallen race, is cord, but who bear record not a mere metaphor, (as (oi paprupouvres) “ on earth, the Socinians would have the Spirit, and the Water, it). But since there was a and the Blood; and these special value in that precious three agree in one"; and Bloodshedding, must not by which He still" cometh," those Wounds, opened for viz. by Water and Blood, us, out of which it was shed, the two sacraments through be precious in our sight? the Spirit5.

It is to be said, too, that It has been by an instincsince that meritorious Blood- tive reverence and love, shedding must, in order to that moderns have been be meritorious, have been drawn most to the Wound during His life, it was from in His Sacred Side, because, His Sacred Hands and Feet if it pierced not, it was and Head alone. When the nighest to, His Heart. Blood flowed mysteriously, That Sacred Side, as Holy and as a hidden mystery, Scripture has pointed out, from His Side, "it was had its own mystery. Its finished." "Finished" was mystery was, (as the Ancient the atonement for sin. And Church saw,) that those yet then too, that flowing of streams, which gushed forth His Blood with the water thence, were the earnest of was a deep mystery, as Holy the mysteries through which Scripture itself has so so- our redemption is conveyed lemnly pointed out. It was to us, in that we are, through a mystery not for that time those mysteries, the two only, but to abide. The great Sacraments, united to Beloved Disciple, who says, our Lord. From Himself

5 See further, Scriptural Doctrine of Holy Baptism, p. 293 sqq.

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Depth of this Devotion.

went forth "the Water the Blood of God,' knowwhereby we are regenerated, ing also that in our Lord the Blood whereby we are Christ the Godhead and nourished "." But the Manhood were united in Blood, through which, Holy One Person, so that in each Scripture speaks, "we have act He was 'God Who made redemption, even the remis- us, and Man Who sought us; sion of our sins," had been God with the Father ever, poured out before, when He Man with us in time; yet so Himself willingly shed it for Man as not to cease to be us in His Life. God,'-let any one, with this This is the principle of Article of our Faith deeply the devotions, which have impressed, use meditatively been animadverted upon. these devotions to our Lord, This is their object, to dwell, seeing Him with the eyes of one by one, on those wide- his soul, enlightened by His open Wounds, out of which, Spirit, on the very Cross, for our Redemption, He and he will find in them an poured out His Blood; to intensity of melting yet halmeditate on each shedding lowing devotion, bringing of His Blood, from "His him to touch, handle, hide Holy Circumcision," to the himself in those openings of Blood and Water, which His love, admitting him very mysteriously flowed forth reverently to touch His very from His Side when He had Sacred Person, the prints of given up the Ghost. To His nails, and His pierced use again words which I Side, and in them to find said, in some explanation of unutterable peace and healthem" It may be said, ing." also, that the forms of de"Not a sparrow," our votion, with reference to the Lord saith, "falleth to the several precious Wounds of ground without your Faour Lord, or the sheddings ther." Since, then, of His Atoning Blood, al-matter of faith, nothing though hitherto unwonted happens, even to us, without among us, will, in this way the Will and Eternal knowof meditation, sink deeply ledge of God, how must we into our hearts. Let any not think of all which was one bear in mind those done in and towards that words of Holy Scripture, Body, which God the Son

6 St. Chrys. ad loc.

as

Scripture records of special sheddings of His Blood. 125 inseparably united with Blood must have streamed Himself, at that awful hour from His Sacred Head when of our Redemption, as un- they plaited the Crown of speakably full of meaning! thorns and put it on His It was, then, part of the Head, and struck Him with Eternal Counsel of God, a reed. And when His according to which "the garments, which had again Lamb was slain from the been "put upon Him," that foundation of the world," they might "lead Him away that He, in the form of a to crucify Him,” and which Servant, should there receive were matted to His Sacred those five Wounds for us. Body by the weight of the Can it be wrong for Chris- Cross, were now rudely torn tians, "bone of His bone, off from Him, there could and flesh of His flesh," to not but follow the Blood dwell reverently, one by from the re-opened Wounds. one, on each act or suffering Then was the Crucifixion, of that Redeeming love? for which he was thus anew Again, it has been observed bared: and the piercing of by thoughtful persons, that His Side. there were especially seven If any are more drawn to occasions upon which He contemplate our Blessed shed that Precious Blood. Lord in His Infancy, as at "The Circumcision of our this season, or where He Lord" our Church keeps sits in glory at the Right holy, that first early prelude Hand of God, it does not of a life of woe for us. hinder them that others Then Holy Scripture spe- behold Him in His Passion. cially records how in His But since these special shedAgony there burst from His dings of His Blood are conSacred Body great drops of tained in Holy Scripture, Blood, falling to the ground. and since the number seven Again, Holy Scripture, in is used, as a mystery, not fact, speaks of the Blood- only throughout the ritual shedding in His scourging, appointed by God Himself when it says, "He was in the Old Testament, but wounded for our transgres- in the Revelations also, why sions, He was bruised for may not those who find our iniquities: the chastise- nourishment for their devoment of our peace was upon tion in it, reverently dwell Him, and with His stripes on those seven effusions of we are healed." Again, the their Redeemer's Blood,

126 Look to our Lord's Passion, and speak, as seeing It.

from the Body, which is wherewith "He went about and was the Body of God, doing good, and healing all and in which "He bare our who were oppressed by the sins upon the Tree?" devil," should, in like way,

My Lord, let us quit for be bored through. And so a little space all this tumult He is fastened, in the sight of these latter times, and of men, and devils, and turn aside to a scene, per- angels, to die the sinner's haps of scarcely more tumult death, and by dying to and more sin, but where bruise him by whom His there is One Form in Whom heel was bruised, to redeem to find rest. He, Who in sinful man to endless life, that mangled Form, rent by and set him, cleansed with the Bloody Stripes through His own Blood, with the which we are healed, is Holy Angels in His own stretched out upon the everlasting joy. These Holy Cross, "in Whom there is actions of His Atoning now no form or comeliness," Death surely, one by one, SO "marred is He more concern us. We would not than man, and His Form be of those of whom it is more than the sons of men," said, "Is it nothing to you, is our God," for us and for all ye that pass by? We our salvation" become Man. would not speak of the He was offered, because Death of Christ, as an event he willed." That Hand, so only, by which our salvaoften stretched forth in tion was accomplished. We Mercy to heal, or to bless, would behold it, as Psalmist, or to feed, He now willingly Prophet7, or Evangelists stretches out to be riven by have set it forth to us; we the iron Nail. The stream would gaze on, adore, and, of Blood shews that it is by His Grace, love Him, in done. He puts forth that each particular Suffering other Hand, which could which he underwent for us. have "destroyed those mur- Every pang of that Suffering derers," patiently and meek-must be of priceless value. ly, to be nailed on that other Each has its own special Arm of the Cross, as One, mystery of love. We should embracing in His tender kiss the hand of a human Mercy the whole world. He friend which had been torn willed that His Two Feet, in rescuing us. We should

66

7 Ps. xxii.; Is. liii.

Behold Jesus, suffering for thee.

127

cherish human wounds It is, I believe, my Lord, borne for us. How much the cold abstract way of more must we reverence His speaking and thinking of Wounds, Who is God, and the Redemption, only as Who by them healed us an act consummated, an everlastingly! Atonement made, instead

People could not speak, of beholding Jesus Himself, as some do, of devotions, then looking on, pitying, pleading to Him, or to His loving, praying for, us sinFather, the Saviour's five ners; Himself paying the Blessed Wounds, if they price of our Redemption, would go to Calvary. De- Himself "bearing our sins vout minds, of every school, in His own Body on the who meditate on the Pas- Tree," Himself healing us sion, meet at least in this. by His stripes-it is, I beLet any one gaze for a lieve, this tacit substitution few minutes on that wide- of the Redemption for the opened Hand, trickling (in Redeemer, which makes this Scripture-words) with "the language appear to some Blood of God!" let him so strange. They cannot think of the agonizing pain have contemplated His livid which it sent back to his Hands, the thorns pressed Saviour's heart, and this into His Brow, and His borne for him! let him calm Eye resting in love think how each several pain upon His own: they cannot added to the pain of all have beheld closely, and besides, and was itself ag- looked upon that torn Frame, gravated by all the pains, and watched the Blood endured for him! let his whereby we are cleansed, eyes but rest upon each distil, drop by drop, from Suffering of that Divine each several Wound, until Form, yet now scarce hu- the last gushed forth from man, through suffering for His pierced Heart; and us; and will he not, must think it strange to beseech he not, feel a fresh tide of Him, in those Wounds to love poured out from every hide us, by that Blood to part of that Frame, which is cleanse us. well-nigh one wound, and bruise, and sore, as he was himself, from head to foot, through sin?

Let me turn for a time from "the Paradise" to one, ever loved in the Church for |his tender, fervent devotion