"See! he is deserted, and punished by the Almighty!"
We ourselves were amazed and appalled. Our rising hopes were blasted by the livid lightnings, which seemed to blast him! Heaven, as well as man, seemed to war against him! His mother gave utterance to a groan of agony, and sank upon the ground, satisfied that her son was truly accursed of God. At this moment, as if to confirm all our fears, he cried, in the Hebrew tongue:
"Eloi! Eloi! My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Upon this, some, pitying his sufferings, ran to give him wine and hyssop, to deaden them.
"Nay, let him live—let us see if Elias will save him!" answered Abner. "He calleth for Elisha the prophet!"
Suddenly the darkness, which had filled all the air, seemed now to concentrate and gather about the cross, so that he who hanged thereon, became invisible. From the midst of it his thrilling voice was once more heard, as clear and strong as it rang over the waters of Galilee when he preached from a boat to the thousands thronging the shore:
"It is finished! Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit!"
As he uttered these words, a supernatural glory shone around him, and, with a deep sigh, he bowed his head upon his breast and gave up the ghost!
The general exclamation of surprise that followed these clear trumpet-tones, was suddenly checked by a terrible trembling of the earth beneath our feet, so that vast numbers of people were cast down; the rocks of Calvary were rent, and thrown upwards, while the whole city shook with the convulsive throes of an earthquake. The Temple seemed on fire, and above its pinnacle appeared a flaming sword, which seemed to us to cleave the walls to their foundations; and while we looked, the sword changed into the shape of a cross of dazzling light, standing high in the air, over the altar; and from its golden beams poured rays so bright, that all Jerusalem, and the hill country for a wide extent, became as light as noon-day. The ground still continued to rock, and the sepulchres of the kings, with the tombs of ancient prophets, were riven by vast chasms, and the green earth was strewn with the bones and bodies of the dead. The dark cloud, which had begun to form first with the smoke of the sacrifices of the Temple, was now dissipated by the light of the fiery cross, and the sun reappeared. Before it the glorious vision over the Temple gradually faded out and disappeared. The natural order of things gradually returned; and men, smiting their breasts, began to move towards the city, filled with awe and dread at what they had witnessed. The centurion, who stood watching these fearful things, said, aloud, to Æmilius:
"This man spake the truth. He was a god!"