difficulties oppose the attempt to renounce them ; that when the heart has been long estranged from God, it becomes callous and daily more hardened against religious impressions. This, however, is a most powerful argument for remembering our Creator betimes, in the days of youth and pliability, but not for renouncing our salvation in despair: still heaven must be strove after, even at the expense of a right hand or a right eye; for any temporal pain and loss is infinitely more tolerable than to dwell with everlasting burnings.

With such powerful motives for chusing God to be our portion, how strange and sad is it, that "the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light!" There is a spiritual as well as a bodily genealogy. There are those who are born again of God; these are the children of light, which flows from God, the glorious emblem of the numberless blessings which he is ever bestowing: there is another class, the children of this world, who serve the “ god of this world 1. His emblem is darkness, and “ the blackness of darkness for ever awaiteth him and his seed. Each of these divisions leads the life and performs the functions of his generation. Only the man who has placed this world and its prosperity before him, and chosen it as the chief good which he will pursue, is more thoughtful, more active, more persevering in his endeavours to obtain

1 2 Cor. iv. 4.

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2 Jude 13.

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it, than he who has made the wiser choice. Many inordinate desires, many half conquered sins weigh down his soul and retard his progress. Besides, the most holy of men are not removed from intercourse with the world; they have necessary duties as well as others; and the daily recurrence of them daily persuade their love, their fear, their hopes, to return into the accustomed channel, and to float along the stream of corrupt nature. Still we must not misinterpret our Lord's declaration, as if such feeble, wavering dedication of ourselves to God's service would satisfy his requirements. No; the danger is pointed out, and the arguments which I have feebly elucidated are urged, in order that we may rise superior to difficulty and temptation. Scriptures are full of examples of saints who have fought the good fight and triumphed. The prize is incalculably great; the terrible consequence of "drawing back '," when fully believed, arouses a fear which swallows up all lesser fears; an almighty Helper stands ever at our side to succour and encourage. Have faith and patience. A few short years will roll on; this earth and all its agitating concerns will roll away along with them. Nought of all our talents and possessions will endure the searching and consuming fire of "that day," save those good deeds, which we have laid up with the Lord, the faithful Judge. Such provision for eternity

1 Heb. x. 38, 39.

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will then be found the true, the only wisdom; for he who has not been weary of well-doing will have conciliated friends, who, when the slaves of mammon can find no shelter from the wrath of God, shall welcome him into everlasting habitations.

SERMON XXI.

THE PENITENT THIEF.

PASSION WEEK.

LUKE Xxiii. 39-43.

"And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise."

It was fitting that the most wonderful and most important event, which took place on earth since God created it, should be signalized by accompanying wonders. When the Son of God hung dying on the cross, the sun withdrew his light in miraculous eclipse-for the moon was at the full, and therefore the eclipse must have been miraculous-an unseen hand rent the veil of the temple asunder from the

top to the bottom, the earth quaked, the rocks were rent, the graves opened their stony jaws, and the bodies of many saints arose and were afterwards seen of men. These were miracles sensible alike to believers and unbelievers. There was one however which to the eye of faith is a mightier wonder than all these fearful signs, I mean the conversion of the Thief on the cross, the authoritative forgiveness and acceptance of him. “Who” indeed "can forgive sins," and who can open the kingdom of heaven as he pleases, "but God only 1?" Surely then "he that was crucified through weakness, liveth by the power of God 2." He "hath life in himself." And as "he had power to lay it down, he had also power to take it again," and to impart it to all who come unto him3.

1

It is not my purpose to weaken the narrative of this glorious act by palliating the crimes or excusing the ignorance of the repentant malefactor. If this had been necessary, in order to guard us from a wrong judgment of the depth of God's mercy, St. Luke Iwould have done it. I believe that whenever or wherever an heart is softened to true repentance, forgiveness is never withheld. The truth must not be frittered away, because evil men are ever on the watch to make a bad use of it to their own destruction; on their wilfulness alone must rest the folly and the guilt of it.

1 Mark ii. 7.

22 Cor. xiii. 4.

3 John v. 26, 40, and ch. x. 18.