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was consistent with truth or charity. Some men indeed revile out of complaisance to others, as the people and the soldiers did, in the instance before us; and others are prompted to it by despair, as one of the malefactors, who were crucified with our blessed Saviour, was. Now who will mind the abuses of the world, or take offence at them, since the cause of them is not in the reviled servants of God, but in the revilers themselves, and the wicked dispositions of their minds? For these wretched slaves of satan are like the waves of a troubled sea, foaming up their own disgrace.

THE PRAYER.

Now we thank thee, O dear Redeemer, who hast not only suffered thy body to be crucified, but wast also wounded and vexed in thy soul, by envenomed arrows from so many abusive tongues, that thou mightest heal us in body and soul. Let this part of thy sufferings work in us a serious abhorrence of all deriding words, looks, and jestures; and grant that we may patiently suffer all the waves of undeserved abuses to pass over us with united violence; and that in all sufferings we may remain faithful, and willingly submit to be reproached with thee, that we also may be made partakers of thy glory. Amen.

CONSIDERATION VII.

THE GIFTS CONFERRED BY THE LORD JESUS, WHILE HE HUNG ON THE CROSS.

'BUT the other malefactor answering, rebuked him [who railed on Jesus] 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. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy Son! then saith he to the disciple, behold thy mother! and from that hour this disciple took her unto his own home,' (Luke xxiii. 39–43. John xix. 25-27.)

The blessed Jesus was fastened to the cross quite naked, and stripped of every thing; his very clothes, which had till then been his only property, being taken from him by the soldiers. Nevertheless we may observe, how in this state of extreme poverty and abasement he distributed such noble gifts, as none of the rich and powerful of this world can bestow. For, First, On a believing and penitent sinner he bestows the happiness of Paradise.

Secondly, To his disconsolate mother he gives a faithful Son.

Thirdly, To John, his beloved disciple, he gives a tender affectionate mother.

I. The crucified Jesus confers Paradise on a penitent and believing sinner. Here we are to consider,

1. The person who obtained this transcendent gift. 2. The gift itself.

The person who obtained this favour is described according to his former and present condition.

According to his former course of life, he was a robber and murderer. Thus he had flagrantly transgressed the sixth and eighth Commandments of the supreme Legislator. It is probable that he was born and educated in the Jewish Church; for, if he had been a Gentile, he would have known nothing of the kingdom of the Messiah, or of Paradise. But, as the Jewish Church was then extremely corrupted, and

the land of Judea was over-run with a set of seditious banditti, who were for shaking off the Roman yoke, and at the same time gave themselves up to live by rapine and plunder, so that the roads were very unsafe for travellers; this man had probably belonged to one of these profligate gangs. Whether he had followed this course of life many years, or whether, after he had been concerned only in one or two enterprizes of this nature, the Roman soldiers had taken him prisoner in the fact, is uncertain; for there is nothing further said of his former circumstances. But it is not altogether improbable, that before he fell in company with such a lawless crew, he might have mixed with the multitudes, and have heard the discourses of our blessed Lord, and seen him perform many miracles; or at least he might have heard many wonderful things of Jesus of Nazareth from others. And though his strong propensity to wickedness had, for the present, suppressed all the good motions they might have caused in him; yet afterwards, amidst the leisure and reflections of his confinement in prison, they may have worked on his heart. For a grain of the Divine Word frequently falls on a savage, uncultivated soil; so that it produces no fruit till many years after, when sufferings and afflictions cause it to spring up.

As to this malefactor's present state, while he hung on the cross, it was indeed outwardly very wretched; for he was in great tortures, and dying the most cruel ignominious death: but inwardly, his heart was under the influence of the Holy Spirit, who was producing in him repentance and faith, and made use of his tongue as the instrument to glorify the crucified Jesus, in the extremity of his sufferings and reproach.

Of this malefactor's repentance, indeed, the Evangelists give no express account; but it is sufficiently apparent from his reproof to his fellow-sufferer. For that shews,

First, An abhorrence and hatred against sin; which prompted him to check his companion for his cruel abuse of the crucified Jesus. For by his reproof, he signified that he inwardly detested sin; since no man would be thus so zealous in rebuking the sin of another, who did not seriously hate and repent of his own sins. Thus a holy zeal, and indignation against wickedness, is numbered amongst the effects of Godly sorrow by the Apostle. (2 Cor. vii. 12.)

Secondly, It shewed a devout fear of God; for he says to his companion, 'Dost not THOU fear God?' Now this man would never have upbraided another for not fearing God, if his own heart had been void of that Godly fear. Would not his own conscience have called out to him much louder than he did to his comrade, dost not thou thyself fear God? had his delight been still in wickedness, the fear of God would not have been before his eyes, (Psalm xxxvi. 1. Rom. iii. 18.) But having now a deep sense of the abomination of sin, his mind was likewise deeply impressed with the majesty, holiness, and justice of God. As he was displeased because the other sinned in reviling Christ, so he was highly displeased that he should shew so little fear and reverence for the living God, the Judge of all flesh.

Thirdly, His discourse to his comrade shews likewise a desire of reforming his neighbour, and bringing him from his error into a better way. He thinks it strange that his abandoned companion could revile Jesus, when he himself was in the same condemnation; being both sentenced by the civil power, to suffer the same ignominious death. He did not wonder that the spectators who stood beneath about the cross should revile our Lord; but he thought it very amazing and horrible, that a wretch who was nailed to the cross, and within a few hours of giving up the ghost, should think of sharpening his envenomed tongue against Jesus. He therefore rebukes this hardened railer; and would fain bring him to a better

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way of thinking, by impressing on his mind the fear of God, and of the rigour of his just judgment, which was now poured upon him. Now to endeavour to gain others, and bring them into the right way, is a sign of a penitent mind; as appears from the penitent Psalmist, who says, then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee,' (Ps. li. 13.) In these words of the malefactor appears,

Fourthly, A vindication of the Divine justice: For he adds, and we indeed justly:' that we hang betwixt heaven and earth as a curse, and abomination is no injustice done to us. Though the sentence is hard, and the death painful; yet is it no more than we by our crimes have deserved. He vindicates not only the justice of the civil magistrate, who inflicted this punishment; but likewise the justice of God, whose Minister and Avenger the Sovereign is, to execute wrath upon him that doth evil. (Rom. xiii. 4.)

Lastly, These words of the malefactor to his companion contain,

Fifthly, An open confession of the crimes he had committed: for we receive the due reward of our deeds.' Here indeed he does not particularly specify the several crimes he had been guilty of, but speaks of them in general terms, without palliating his offences, without complaining that there is no proportion betwixt his punishment and his crime, and without throwing any blame on others for seducing him; however owns himself a notorious criminal, pleads guilty, and confesses that he well deserved this punishment, which he therefore bears with patience and resignation.

These were the five unexceptionable proofs of the genuineness and sincerity of this man's repentance. But his faith, which the Holy Ghost at the same time kindled in his heart, was likewise manifested by the following signs.

1. By vindicating our blessed Lord; for he not only reproves the blasphemies of his wicked fel

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