cup away after having exhausted the
last drop, He cried, "It is finished," the echo came back from heaven
from those who saw with wonder and adoration the perfect round of His
completed character, "It is finished."

Though these two sides of the life of Christ are separable in thought,
it is evident that they constitute together but one life.[2] The work
He did involved the suffering which He bore and lent to it meaning and
dignity. On the other hand, the suffering perfected the Worker and
thus conferred greatness on His work. In His crowning task of atoning
for the sin of the world it was as a sufferer that He accomplished the
will of God. And now both are finished; and henceforward the world has
a new possession: it has had other perfect things; but never before and
never since has it had a perfect life.

[1] "It is finished."

[2] Sometimes they are expressed by saying that life is both a Mission
and a Discipline.

CHAPTER XX.

THE SEVENTH WORD FROM THE CROSS[1]

While all the words of dying persons are full of interest, there is
special importance attached to the last of them. This is the Last Word
of Jesus; and both for this reason and for others it claims particular
attention.

A noted Englishman is recorded to have said, when on his deathbed, to a
nephew, "Come near and see how a Christian can die." Whether or not
that was a wise saying, certainly to learn how to die is one of the
most indispensable acquirements of mortals; and nowhere can it be
learnt so well as by studying the death of Christ. This Last Word
especially teaches us how to die. It will, however, teach us far more,
if we have the wit to learn: it contains not only the art of dying but
also the art of living.

I.

The final word of the dying Saviour was a prayer. Not all the words
from the cross were prayers. One was addressed to the penitent thief,
another to His mother and His favourite disciple, and a third to the
soldiers who were crucifying Him; but prayer was distinctly the
language of His dying hours. It was not by chance that His very last
word was a prayer; for the currents within Him were all flowing
Godwards.

While prayer is appropriate for all times and seasons, there are
occasions when it is singularly appropriate. At the close of the day,
when we are about to enter into the state of sleep, which is an image
of death, the most natural of all states of mind is surely prayer. In
moments of mortal