"And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land." I must state now what has been quoted by some sceptics as a sort of contradiction. Mark says, in the 25th verse"And it was the third hour, and they crucified him." John says "It was the sixth hour." Now, some have supposed that there is a mistake here in the original manuscript; and singular enough, this very text-namely, the 25th verse of this 15th chapter-occurs in an ancient writer, "It was the sixth hour," the very same as John. I will explain how this is because, while the Bible is God's word, and its maintenance is a special miracle, yet still, by the carelessness of a transcriber, or of a printer, a slight error might creep in, but which would be detected by subsequent and minute investigation.

The numbers in the ancient Greek manuscripts are given by letters. The gamma, the third letter, denotes three: alpha, one; beta, two; gamma, three: then the number six is denoted by the letter sigma tau, very slightly differing in its shape from the letter gamma : the two letters, gamma, that means three, and sigma-tau, that means six, are so nearly the same in shape, that the slightest twist in the tail of the one, will make it exactly the same as the other; and it has been supposed, that owing to a transcriber, the supposed deviation has taken place. I have stated this in candour and in justice; but I do not think it is necessary to suppose this. When John mentions the hour, he does not say it was the sixth hour, but he says about the sixth hour. Mark specifies absolutely that it was the third hour. The third hour was nine o'clock, the sixth hour was twelve o'clock, the ninth hour was three

o'clock. Now, it is plain to me that Mark describes all that preceded the crucifixion of Christ, in the Prætorium. He says, after he describes these things, in the 25th verse, that it was about the third hour when these things were done; and then, after these things, they crucified him.

Now, John says it was the sixth hour; and therefore, the way to reconcile the two would be, that Mark describes the commencement of the treatment that ended in the crucifixion, and that John describes the precise moment when Jesus was nailed to the cross. Thus, the two slight differences show this, that the evangelists were independent witnesses, each giving his own independent statement, and each stating what was precisely, and can be demonstrated to be true. And what shows that this must have been the idea of Mark is the expression in the 33d verse— -"And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour." Now John also states this. The three hours during which Jesus hung upon the cross were from the sixth hour, or twelve o'clock, till the ninth hour, or three o'clock in the afternoon. Now, the evangelists both stating that the supernatural darkness was then, shows that John meant, by saying the sixth hour, the precise moment when Jesus was nailed to the cross; and that Mark, by saying the third hour, alluded to the commencement of the preparations for Jesus being led away and nailed to the cross. And thus, without the supposition of an error having crept into the manuscript, which one would not be disposed to admit, if possible, the two statements can be reconciled with very great ease.

The darkness that was from the sixth to the ninth

hour is admitted by heathen writers, as well as by the Christian evangelists. It has been remarked by more than one heathen writer, that about that very time there was a supernatural darkness, so dense that the stars, for a considerable time, were seen at noonday. It was meet that the sun should be hid when the Son of God underwent so awful and terrible a death; it was meet concomitant of so dreadful a tragedy, that all nature should seem to be smitten with horror at man's heart untouched, and man's hands perpetrating so awful and unprecedented a crime.

We read then the cry of Jesus on the cross; which is in language that is not Hebrew, and it is not, I believe, pure Syriac-though I am not acquainted with the Syriac-but a mixture of Syriac and Chaldaic, commonly called Syro-Chaldaic, bearing about the same relation to pure Syriac that Scottish phraseology would bear to pure English. And when he called, in the one evangelist, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? which means, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" or, as it is here, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ?" those that heard him supposed that he meant the proper name Elijah, or, as it should be pronounced, Eliyah, for Elijah is our Anglicising of the word Eliyah,— they supposed that he called upon Eliyah or Elias, or as we call it, Elijah; and then, knowing that Elijah was to precede the coming of the Saviour, they thought that, in his helplessness, he was calling upon Elijah to deliver him; and therefore they said "Let us see whether Elias will come to take him down." "And one ran and filled a sponge with vinegar, and gave him to drink" -that was a sour wine, called here vinegar, which was used by the Roman soldiers, and given to criminals.

"And Jesus cried with a loud voice "—we know what the words are that he uttered, they are given in the 19th chapter of John-"It is finished;" and when he had uttered these words, so magnificent in their meaning, "he gave up the ghost"—that is, he died.

The women that followed Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, remained at a little distance during the crucifixion; and after his death we read, from the very last verse, that "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Joses, beheld where he was laid.” Amid all the voices lifted up against Jesus during his lifetime, there is not one female voice expressing itself in recrimination, insult, or reproach. While men forsook the unparalleled sufferer, women, with a love that did not falter at the worst of times, as it had never wavered in the best, stood near the cross and sympathised, if they could

not succour.

Joseph of Arimathea had hesitated to avow himself before, because he was ashamed to be regarded as the disciple of the Nazarene; but a great crisis brings forth shrinking courage, where otherwise it would be hid. He had hesitated to avow himself before; he was one that was secretly, we are told, a disciple, for fear of the Jews; but on this occasion he felt that now he must be true to his conscience, and not shrink; and therefore he came forward boldly, it is said, and craved the body of Jesus.

CHAPTER XV. 39.

GENTURION'S TESTIMONY IMPARTIAL-WHAT IMPLIED IN IT-EVANGELISTS SKETCHED FROM A LIVING ORIGINAL.

WE find that Matthew gives reasons,-not all the reasons, but some of the most striking ones,-based upon which the centurion came to the solemn conclusion to which he gave unhesitating and noble utterance, "Truly this was the Son of God." Matthew says, "When the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done,”-indicating plainly, that there were other supernatural occurrences which came before the eyes of the centurion, and made him come to this conclusion," they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God." We have facts additional to this with which the centurion was connected, which constitute, in our judgment, irresistible evidence that Jesus was, what he assumed to be, the Son of God. But the centurion's testimony was a very valuable one; he had no ecclesiastical prejudices, he was no member of the Sanhedrim, he had no private or personal spite; he was, in this respect, the representative of human nature, and he was— -what some think, very foolishly in my opinion, to be incompatible with the Christian character-a soldier; and yet this soldier said, "Truly this was the Son of God."

VOL. II.