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It would be difficult to find a similar instance of savage barbarity. They do not think of insulting the two malefactors, who have been justly condemned; but against Him who was, and ever will be, "worthy of all blessing and honour and glory and power," every mouth was open, and every tongue was ready with revilings, with mockings, and wicked blasphemies. Oh, after this can we think lightly of sin, which cost the Son of God, the Lord of glory, such a depth of humiliation to atone for it?

But who would have thought, in seeing the cross of Christ thus shamefully despised and insulted, that one day it would be considered as the glory of the world; and that the superstitious would go so far as to hold even the wood of the cross in the highest honour; that it would be placed in the diadems of emperors; that the Jews themselves would be constrained to respect the outward symbol of it, if not on its own account, yet because it was upon the heads of those sovereigns to whom they were subject!

H

XXVII.

THE CONVERTED THIEF.

Few things are so wonderful to us, as the con

version of the thief upon the cross.

This man,

who till that period had been plunged in crime, passes at once from darkness to light; and at a time when we should think he would have been occupied with his own agonies, he becomes a confessor of Christ, and beholds in him what the eyes of others could not discover. He is not contented with seeing and believing, he declares his faith publicly, and becomes an apostle, when the other apostles had forsaken their Lord.

Such an example of the power of grace, as opposed to the weakness of our Lord's disciples, is a striking lesson to all presumptuous persons,

and a most convincing proof that our strength is not of ourselves.

Let us meditate with serious attention upon the dispositions of this man, converted in so wonderful a manner. He acknowledges, in the midst of the humiliation and the agony of Christ, that absolute authority and unlimited power belonged to him. He looks upon his sufferings with the same eye of faith as did the prophets, as a voluntary oblation, as an expaitory sacrifice, and as the only way of approach for us to the kingdom of heaven; and the prayer, which he offers up to Jesus Christ, to remember him when he was come into his kingdom, distinctly proves this. He believes Christ to be the only fountain of truth and grace, which flows down upon all men, as much upon the worst of sinners as upon others. He is not kept back from coming to Christ by the number or the enormity of his sins, though deeply grieved on account of them. And though he can only offer to his Saviour the last moments of a life full of guilt; though in his confidence, every motive of a personal character is wanting; though he knows of no similar instance to guide him;

though neither comforted nor exhorted by any one; still he applies to Jesus, hoping all from his mercy and from his infinite merits. He doubts not for an instant that Jesus Christ bestows his

gifts with a Master's hand, and has mercy upon whom he will. He seems to say, "Lord, with respect to thy justifying righteousness, I am as all other men are, even the most imperfect among them. I have nothing of my own; all my righteousness is of thee. I have done nothing but evil; but thou art suffering at this moment to wash away my sins in thy most precious blood. My whole life is laden with iniquity; but thine has from its beginning been a continual sacrifice, and a continued obedience to the will of thy Father. I draw all my supplies from thee. Thou art fulness itself, and I am emptiness. My trust in thee is boundless, even as thy love is towards us. I am a witness to what an extent thou dost carry that love. With my own eyes I behold thy sufferings, and thy matchless endurance. I give myself up to thy most incomprehensible love. I know I shall obtain life through it, if thou wilt but open the door of thy mercy to me. Nor can I doubt but

that thou wilt do so, since it was to bear our griefs and heal our infirmities that thou hast consented to be thus stricken and wounded. Therefore do I turn away my eyes from the deep abyss of my own transgressions, to keep them steadily fixed upon thee, who art the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. O Lord! vouchsafe to remember my misery, and my trust in thee, when thou comest into thy kingdom."

The faith of this man, so suddenly converted, is indeed a miracle; but the mercy of Jesus Christ towards him, is a still greater miracle. He reproaches him with nothing of his past life; he removes the burden of his sins from him at once; he puts no interval between his death and eternal happiness; he adds a solemn asseveration to his promise-" Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise," Luke xxiii. 43.

Certainly, he loved much, to whom so much was forgiven. But it was not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. Such faith and such love will always be looked upon by our Saviour in the same gracious manner, and will be blessed with the rich mercies of free grace.

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