ss over the whole land until the ninth
hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying,
_Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?_ which is, being interpreted, My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood
by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran
and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave
him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come
to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the
ghost. And the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to
the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him,
saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this
man was the Son of God.

WEDNESDAY BEFORE EASTER

THE EPISTLE. Hebr. ix. 16.

Where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of
the testator: for a testament is of force after men are dead; other
wise it is of no strength at all whilst the testator liveth.
Whereupon, neither the first testament was dedicated without
blood: for when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people,
according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats,
with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book
and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament,
which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover, he sprinkled with
blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And
almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without
shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that
the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with
these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made
with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor yet that
he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into
the holy place every year with blood of others: for then must he
often have suffered since the foundation of the world; but now once
in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die,
but after this the judgement: so Christ was once offered to bear
the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear
the second time without sin unto salvation.

THE GOSPEL. St Luke xxii. 1.

Now the feast of unleavened br