The tremendous concussion caused by the fall of the cross into the
hole prepared for it drove the sharp points of the crown of thorns,
which was still upon the head of our dear Saviour, still deeper into
his sacred flesh, and blood ran down again in streams, both from it and
from his hands and feet. The archers then placed ladders against the
sides of the cross, mounted them and unfastened the ropes with which
they had bound our Lord to the cross, previous to lifting it up,
fearing that the shock might tear open the wounds in his hands and
feet, and that then the nails would no longer support his body. His
blood had become, in a certain degree, stagnated by his horizontal
position and the pressure of the cords, but when these were withdrawn,
it resumed its usual course, and caused such agonising sensations
throughout his countless wounds, that he bowed his head, and remained
as if dead for more than seven minutes. A pause ensued; the
executioners were occupied with the division of his garments; the
trumpets in the Temple no longer resounded; and all the actors in this
fearful tragedy appeared to be exhausted, some by grief, and others by
the efforts they had made to compass their wicked ends, and by the joy
which they felt now at having at last succeeded in bringing about the
death of him whom they had so long envied. With mixed feelings of fear
and compassion I cast my eyes upon Jesus,--Jesus my Redeemer,--the Redeemer
of the world. I beheld him motionless, and almost lifeless. I felt as
if I myself must expire; my heart was overwhelmed between grief, love,
and horror; my mind was half wandering, my hands and feet burning with
a feverish heat; each vein, nerve, and limb was racked with
inexpressible pain; I saw nothing distinctly, excepting my beloved
Spouse hanging on the cross. I contemplated his disfigured countenance,
his head encircled with that terrible crown of thorns, which prevented
his raising it even for a moment without the most intense suffering,
his mouth parched and half open from exhaustion, and his hair and beard