our Saviour exercised the peculiar prerogatives belonging to His three great offices of prophet, priest, and king. As a prophet He addressed the daughters of Jerusalem, saying, “Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, blessed are the barren." As a priest He interceded for His executioners, saying, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." And as a king He heard the prayer of the penitent thief, pardoned the multitude of his transgressions, and opened to him the gates of heaven, saying, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise."

The first thing that strikes us in reading the text, is the great contrast between this and the other thief who was crucified with our Lord. They were both placed in the very same circumstances, and yet their behaviour was altogether different. It frequently happens that the same cause does not produce the same effect, owing to some essential difference in the objects on which it operates. This may be abundantly illustrated by reference to the material world. The genial rays of the sun, for instance, which convert wax into a fluid, at the same time give clay a rocky hardness. The same thing may be observed in the various effects of the same dispensations of Providence. When overwhelmed by adverse circumstances, when he had

lost his possessions, lost his children, lost his all, Job could say, "The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." But Job's wife, in the same circumstances, only hardened her heart, cherished bitter thoughts against Heaven, and reproached her husband for his very submission, saying, "Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die." And here again the two thieves were placed in the same position, were condemned to the same ignominious death, and had the same opportunity of witnessing all that transpired in connection with the Divine Sufferer placed between them. But how different their conduct ! One of them, with an effrontery that has scarcely ever been equalled, joined in the cruel railings of the crowd, and as if insensible of his own awful position, indulged in blasphemy. Endeavouring to inflict upon our Lord sorer wounds than did the nails which pierced His hands and feet, he addressed Him in derision, saying, "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us." But the other is impressed with the solemnity of his own position; he knows that his present sufferings must end in death; and as the eternal world draws near his soul is filled with the greatest concern. Yet in our Lord he recognizes the promised Messiah; he is fully convinced that He is the heir of an everlasting kingdom; and he believes more

over, that He would be able to confer substantial favours upon himself, if He were so disposed, in the world to come; and hence with the earnestness of one ready to perish he prays, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into [in] thy kingdom." Great, then, was the contrast between these two thieves; but not a whit greater than the contrast which still exists between the believing and the unbelieving hearers of the Gospel. They were in this respect representative men; the one representing those who turn to God and live, and the other representing those who follow their own way to destruction; to the one class the Gospel is still the savour of life unto life, and to the other class it is the savour of death unto death.

It is worthy of notice that there were two distinct classes who witnessed the crucifixion, upon whom the scene left no impression whatever for good; these were the Roman soldiers, who may be regarded as the representatives of indifferentism, and the chief priests and the elders, who may be regarded as the representatives of self-righteousness, The soldiers were heathen; they were probably the worshippers of false gods, or possibly the worshippers of no gods. The religious questions so earnestly discussed among the Jews they considered of no importance; hence they treated them with cold indifference. All they seemed thoroughly to under

stand was, that Jesus was accused of treason against Cæsar by making Himself King of the Jews; as to His claiming to be the Son of God, why, that was too trivial a matter for their serious consideration, it was a subject in which they took no special interest, it concerned the superstitious Jews alone. The chief priest and the elders, on the other hand, were well acquainted with the religious aspects of our Lord's claims. They knew that He professed to be the long-expected Messiah, that He professed to deliver men from spiritual bondage, that He professed to give His followers inward rest. But they felt no need of such deliverance, they were well satisfied with their present condition, they even gloried in the blamelessness of their conduct. idea of being reconciled to God was simply intolerable to them, the offer of pardon they treated as the greatest insult; with their immaculate moral purity, their strict observance of the ceremonial law, their grand display of religious zeal, they had every reason to rest and be thankful. And we may say that these two classes have ever since contemplated the sufferings of Christ in the same spirit; the worldly have regarded them with indifference, and the self-righteous have treated them with contempt. But the penitent thief may be regarded as a representative of the reprobate and profane, the worst and most disreputable portion of mankind.

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theless the majesty of the dying Saviour has for him an irresistible attraction, he clings to Him for dear life, he commits his future to His merciful consideration. Thus the very lowest have frequently been saved, whilst those who prided themselves upon their superior wisdom and respectability have been lost; verifying the words of our Lord to the Jews, "Verily, I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you." Give me the thief, the outcast, the vilest of the vile, before the proud worldling or the selfrighteous Pharisee; for in many instances the former hail the Gospel as the good news of God, whilst the latter treat it with unconcern and even with contempt.

Let us now consider the story of the dying thief, as illustrating the mighty power of Christ and his salvation. Perhaps there is no instance on record in which this power is more strikingly set forth. This is evident when we think of the character saved, the change effected, and the inheritance bestowed. The character of the thief was the worst imaginable, the change effected in his character was most complete, and the inheritance bestowed upon him was of priceless value. "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."

I. THE CHARACTER SAVED.

Surely he was the most unlikely character, and was also placed in the most unlikely circumstances.