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BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for Thy victory and triumph upon the Cross over death, and for Thy glorious and joyful Resurrection from the Tomb, in which, after being buried amid many tears, Thou didst, for our sakes, lie for three days and nights, actually a corpse, hidden from every human eye, and closed up with a great stone, so that Thou couldst neither be touched nor seen by Thy disciples or Thy friends. Thou wast, moreover, watched by a strong guard of heathen soldiers as a precaution against Thy rising from the dead, and making Thy escape ; and to prevent Thy disciples from carrying Thee away, secretly taking Thee to some other place, worshipping Thee as God, and saying to the people: " The Crucified is risen from the dead."

But in this case surely the wickedness of evil men recoiled upon themselves; and all the crafti-