CHAPTER XIV
☙ The stripping naked, the binding to the pillar,
and the scourging of the Lord Jesus
BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee,
O Lord Jesus Christ, most kind Protector of all who hope in Thee, for the
shame Thou didst endure in being
stripped naked, in the sight of those who mocked
Thee, when, by the cruel order of the wicked
Governor, Thou wast ordered to be stripped by
the Roman soldiers of Thy clothing, and to be
hung upon the Cross quite naked, to be bound
with hard cords, to be beaten with sharp-cutting
rods, and to be scourged as if Thou hadst been a
wicked seducer of the people, and the vilest of
malefactors — all which was done to conciliate the
wrath of the priests, who sought to glut themselves with Thy Blood, and to bring Thee down
with sorrow to the grave.
I laud and magnify, and humbly praise Thee, especially for the fast binding to the stony pillar, which Thou didst endure, that so Thou mightest loose us from the bonds of our sins, and mightest restore to us that freedom which knows no end.
I praise and glorify Thee with thanksgivings which shall never cease, for Thy most cruel scourging; and for each of the hard stripes, and most sharply cutting wounds, inflicted on Thy most sacred and tender Body by those fierce soldiers who mercilessly struck Thy virgin Flesh, and rent it deeply, adding blow to blow, bruise upon bruise, that so there might remain no sound part in Thee, and that at each stroke numberless
