THE preceeding part of the chapter gives us the narration of the condemnation and crucifixion of our bleſſed Saviour.—This was a glorious event to an apoſtate world; herein an effectual foundation was laid for the recovery of apoſtate man to the image and favour of God, and the bliſs and immortality for which he was at firſt deſign'd; howbeit his crucifiers meant not ſo. I ſhall omit taking notice of the many circumſtances here made mention of, that relate to our Lord's crucifixion, ſave only what is neceſſary in order to place the words of our text in their proper point of light.

It appears then, from the Evangeliſt's account, that, agreable to what was ſpoken in propheſy by Iſaiah, chapter 53. laſt verſe—he was in his death "numbered with the tranſgreſſors": For two malefactors, who were under ſentence of death, adjudg'd to the painful and ignominious death of the croſs, the ſame death that our Saviour was adjudg'd to, were led away with him to the place of execution, and all three to be nailed to the croſs and die together. "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors; one on the right hand, and the other on the left".

What a dreadful, diſtreſs'd ſituation was our bleſſed Lord in at this time! But were there any relentings towards him in the men that ſtood about him? Any pity and compaſſion ſhewn to him? No, He was mocked and derided and inſulted in the moſt cruel and ſhameful manner, by the people and the rulers at the head of them—as you may ſee ver. 35. and onwards. Notice is taken in the 40th ver. that one of the malefactors railed on him, in like manner, as others had done. But in Matthew and Mark, it is expreſly ſaid, that both of them did ſo.—"The theives alſo which were crucified with him caſt the ſame in his teeth", ſays Matthew, chap. 27.44. referring to what the ſcribes and elders had inſolently demanded of him, that he would come down from the croſs, &c. In Mark it is, "They that were crucified with him, reviled him".

It is plain from what both theſe Evangeliſts declare, that both theſe malefactors treated our Lord in the ſame manner, at the time of his crucifixion. The reaſon why the Evangeliſt Luke mentions only one of them, railing on him, was doubtleſs becauſe one of them ceaſed railing at him, before he expired, a ſudden and extraordinary change having paſſed upon him, ſo that he had other apprehenſions of Chriſt from what he had when he came to the place and was firſt faſtned to the croſs, and was very differently affected towards him. None of the other Evangeliſts relate what Luke does reſpecting theſe things. One of the malefactors kept on railing to the laſt: But the other, who had juſt before joined with him, by a wonderful, divine influence upon his heart, ſuddenly chang'd his note, thinks and ſpeaks in a very different ſtrain.

Here were ſo many evidences given in a ſhort time of a bleſſed change wrought in him, as that more could not have been given in ſo little a compaſs. He that had juſt before railed at Jeſus, now adminiſters a ſerious and pungent reproof to his fellow—"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".— What muſt this rebuke be owing to, but the ſudden and extraordinary change that paſſed over him? It ſeems very plain from the Evangeliſt's account, that He, equally with his companion, was a ſinner when he came to the place of execution. Both of them had lived in abominable practices, particularly in a courſe of theft, ſo that they had forfeited their lives into the hands of public juſtice, and for the public ſafety were condemned to die, to be drove out of the world, as not fit to live any longer in it, ſuch peſts and nuſances had they been to the community. And the day of execution comes, and both go to it, hardned and impenitent, having no fear of God in their hearts and before their eyes, prejudic'd againſt Chriſt, who was to be crucified with them, and reviling and reproaching him. But one of them at the eleventh hour was wrought upon by the power of divine grace—as appears from what he ſaid to his companion in iniquity and in ſuffering: And ſo alſo from the prayer he addreſſed to our Saviour in our text. "And he ſaid unto Jeſus, Lord remember me", &c. And from the anſwer, that Jeſus immediately gave to him, "Verily I ſay unto thee, this day ſhalt thou be with me in paradiſe".

This (as one notes) is the prayer of a dying ſinner to a dying Saviour.—Perhaps he never prayed before, and yet now was heard and ſaved at the laſt gaſp. While there is life, there is hope; and while there is hope, there is room for prayer.

There are ſeveral things worthy our conſideration, from this dying prayer of this malefactor, and our Saviour's anſwer to it. Theſe I ſhall but briefly ſpeak to, that I may leave more room for that which is the more eſpecial deſign of our being aſſembled at this time, in this houſe of worſhip, upon ſo very melancholy and affecting an occaſion.

Here then, we may, in the firſt place, conſider, wherefore it was that this dying criminal, who came to the place of execution in a ſtate of ſin and impenitence, did, before he expired, addreſs this prayer to Chriſt, "Lord remember me", &c.

Now it muſt needs be, that by his thus praying to Chriſt, he was brought truly to believe in him, as the Son of God and the Saviour of ſinners, and as able to ſave ſuch a ſinner as he was, though he had gone on even to the laſt, impenitent and at enmity with him. How can it be otherwiſe, than that he who had juſt before been a railer, and became all at once a humble ſuppliant, paying an act of religious homage to Chriſt, and in a matter ſo intereſting to himſelf; how, I ſay, can it be otherwiſe, but that he ſhould have ſuch a faith as this, and in a lively exerciſe too? Had it not been for this, is it not likely that he would have gone on railing with his companion to the laſt, inſtead of rebuking him? It muſt needs be that he had a very different view and apprehenſion of Chriſt from what he juſt before had, and was differently affected towards him. It had been inſolently and tauntingly demanded of him, by the chief prieſts, rulers, elders and people, that if he were the Son of God, he would come down from the croſs, ſave himſelf from the death they were now putting him to, and ſave the two thieves alſo, and ſo give proof of ſuch his relation to God. They treated his claim to this relation with contempt, upbraiding him, that he was not able to come down from the croſs, to deliver himſelf, or the thieves; and ſo that it was a meer pretence that he was the Son of God, and the true Meſſiah, and "the thieves", both of them, "caſt the ſame in his teeth". But he who offered the prayer to him in our text, was at the laſt brought to believe, that though he did not come down from the croſs, as it had been demanded of him, but ſubmitted to the death of it, yet he was indeed what he had declared himſelf to be, the Son of God and the anointed Saviour; to ſee and believe the neceſſity of his dying this death, that ſo he might to all intents and purpoſes become the Saviour of ſinners.

The death of Chriſt upon the croſs is a main and principal article in the goſpel-ſcheme of redemption. This is ſpoken of, eſpecially in the writings of the new-teſtament, as a ſacrifice; a ſacrifice of atonement. Divers things ſpoken by our Saviour himſelf expreſs this, as might be particularly ſhown; and the epiſtles of the Apoſtles are abundant in expreſſing the ſame thing, eſpecially the epiſtle to the Hebrews. The blood of Chriſt is repreſented as "precious blood", incomparably more ſo, than ſuch "corruptible things as ſilver and gold", as that "through which we have redemption, even the forgiveneſs of ſins, according to the riches of God's grace". "It cleanſeth from all ſin". By the application of this blood, the moſt heinous and aggravated ſins, thoſe that have been of a ſcarlet and crimſon colour, may be waſhed away, and the guilty ſinner become as white as the ſnow and as the wool. And what is it now that renders the blood of Chriſt ſo efficacious? I anſwer, becauſe it is the blood of him, who though he took upon him the human nature, and in that nature died the death of the croſs, yet was truly the Son of God; a higher character than his being the ſon of man; denoting a ſameneſs of nature with the Father.

Jeſus, whom the Jews with wicked hands crucified and ſlew, was the "Lord of glory"; a character entirely incompatible with any finite nature whatever, though of the higheſt rank and dignity. Now the divine character of Chriſt, his being the Son of God, in a higher and more exalted ſenſe, than ſaints and angels, who are ſometimes ſo called; this is that, which derives an infinite virtue and efficacy into his blood which he ſhed upon the croſs. So that it is juſtly ſaid of him, that he is "mighty to ſave", "able to ſave to the uttermoſt", &c.

So that the faith of the dying thief, reſpected Chriſt, (as was ſaid before) as the Son of God and the anointed Saviour; and ſo that the death he was now dying, was a ſacrifice to put away ſin, to make a compleat ſatisfaction to the juſtice of God for it; that he himſelf, notwithſtanding his heinous wickedneſs, and abuſive treatment of the ſuffering Saviour, even until that time, might, through the virtue thereof, be pardoned, juſtified and ſaved; and his truſt and dependance was firmly placed in him accordingly. And now ſin, which he had been ſo deeply guilty of before God, appears to him in its vileneſs and malignity. He is not exempted from the capital puniſhment he is adjudg'd to; the ſentence of death paſſed upon him could not legally be reverſed: But this is not the main thing with him, he is more affected with his wickedneſs which had brought him to this capital puniſhment; the vileneſs of which, principally as againſt God, is what he is now led to grieve and mourn for after a godly ſort. He was doubtleſs now in the exerciſe of a true repentance towards God, as well as faith unfeigned towards the Lord Jeſus Chriſt. And ſo from a vile, hardned ſinner, he ſuddenly became a juſtified and ſanctified man; and could with a humble confidence make the prayer to Chriſt that he did, that he would "remember him, when he came into his kingdom".

This ſudden and happy change in him, juſt before he expir'd, contrary to all his inward enmity, hardneſs and prejudice againſt Chriſt, was (as was hinted before) effected in him by the gracious and powerful influences of the Spirit of Chriſt, which is the Spirit of the living God, to whom nothing is impoſſible; who has an immediate acceſs to the ſouls of men, and contrary to all improbabilities, can in his adorable ſovereignty work in them to will and to do of his own good pleaſure. This poor, dying criminal, becoming at laſt a true penitent and a ſound believer, thereupon entertains a lively hope, that he ſhould be happy in that inviſible ſtate into which he was now paſſing, and accordingly he makes the prayer of faith to Jeſus—"Lord remember me", &c.

And ſo I go on in the next place, to conſider the import of the prayer itſelf.

It is plain from this prayer, that he believ'd that though Jeſus was condemned and crucified as a malefactor, yet that he was the "Holy One of God", owned and accepted of his Father, and that when he expir'd he would aſcend to the heavenly kingdom. And he now fervently prays to him, that when he came there he would remember him, that he would admit him to be with him in that kingdom, admit him in his ſpirit thereinto, when it ſhould leave his body, as preſently it would do; much ſuch a prayer as that of the excellent martyr Stephen to the exalted Jeſus, whom he had an amiable and happy viſion of, through the opened heavens—"Lord Jeſus receive my ſpirit", Acts 7.59. He was fully convinc'd that his ſoul would live after his body was dead, and that it would at once enter upon an inviſible ſtate. And the general purport of his prayer is—Lord, may my ſoul be happy in that ſtate, may it be admitted to the glories of thy kingdom, "remember me and prepare a place for me" when thou comeſt into it. He does not go into any particulars, he ſums up all in this, "Lord remember me", ſenſible that if he did ſo, it would be enough, that he ſhould then be as happy as he could deſire. But without enlarging here, I go on,

In the next place, to conſider the gracious anſwer of Jeſus to this dying prayer of this poor criminal, "Verily I ſay unto thee, this day ſhalt thou be with me in paradiſe".

He ſpeaks here of heaven under the name of "paradiſe", and it is divers times thus ſpoken of in the new-teſtament, in alluſion to the antient garden of God, that ſeat of innocence, joy and felicity to our firſt parents.

Our Lord had himſelf an undoubted proſpect of his human ſoul's aſcending immediately to the heavenly paradiſe, ſo ſoon as it ſhould leave his body. That (as one notes) was the beginning of the joy that was ſet before him: And hence, "He endur'd the croſs, deſpiſing the ſhame of it". The malefactor believed this of him: And accordingly he prays, Lord when thou arriveſt at paradiſe, remember me.—The anſwer he gave was kind and gracious. He did not upbraid him with his paſt heinous wickedneſs, and particularly with his abuſe of himſelf in reviling him, as he had juſt before done; did not tell him, no—I will reject you, as you deſerve; you ſhall have no lot or portion in that bleſſed place, where I am going—you ſhall be a monument of my everlaſting wrath in the hell of the damned; but knowing his faith was genuine, and his repentance ſincere, though late; he gives him a moſt comfortable and reviving anſwer, "to day ſhalt thou be with me in paradiſe". He ſpeaks peremptorily in the caſe, as that which he might certainly depend upon, "Verily, I ſay unto thee", &c. "I the Amen, the faithful witneſs, ſay unto thee", &c. "I ſay Amen to this prayer, put my fiat to it". It is obſervable here, that though our Lord was now dying the death of the croſs "thro' weakneſs", yet he ſpeaks to this malefactor, as one having authority—I have power to grant your requeſt, and you may depend upon it, that I will do ſo. Your departing ſpirit ſhall immediately, even this day, be with me, where I am my ſelf going, even in the paradiſe of God above. And ſo this poor dying criminal, who had run a ſad race, ventur'd upon the very borders of eternal deſtruction, yet being at the laſt caſt, viſited with the gracious and powerful influences of the Spirit of Chriſt, as was obſerved before, had, from this anſwer to his prayer, even as his ſuffering Saviour had, "a joy ſet before him", a certain proſpect of going immediately to a ſtate of compleat bleſſedneſs in the heaven of heavens. And this we may well ſuppoſe, made him, as it were, inſenſible to the excruciating pains and tortures of his body, which was faſtned to the ignominious, accurſed tree, nor can he find it in his heart to aſk or wiſh to be taken down from it and diſcharged; but his ſoul muſt rather earneſtly aſpire after and paſſionately wiſh to go to the poſſeſſion of that glorious, exalted happineſs, his Saviour had now promiſed him, and that immediately, even that very day. This was infinitely more deſirable than to be diſcharged from the croſs, return to the world, be in a ſtate of eaſe, credit and reputation among men, yea than to be put into the poſſeſſion of all the ſplendor and magnificence it can afford. To have the promiſe of Chriſt fulfilled to him, of going to be with him in paradiſe, this was by far the beſt of all. Nothing further is recorded of him; but we may be well aſſured, that this great and precious promiſe of Chriſt was verified to him—that that very day, he had a joyful, bleſſed meeting with his Saviour in the heavenly paradiſe, that he met with a hearty welcome by him thereinto, that he was congratulated upon his arrival by all the ſhining ranks of angels and archangels, and filled with the higheſt praiſes and adorations for the rich and abundant grace of the crucified Jeſus, in ſnatching him as a brand out of the burning, and raiſing him to ſo high honour, dignity and felicity, as to receive him to be with him and to fix him in thoſe heavenly manſions, when he might have juſtly left him in his impenitence and unbelief, and to ſink irrecoverably into the regions of eternal death and deſpair, as was the caſe with his poor wicked companion, who, it is probable, kept on to the laſt gaſp, railing and reviling.

Thus I have, with all convenient brevity, conſidered the moſt material things in the dying prayer of the malefactor in our text, and our Lord's anſwer to it.—I ſhall now offer a few remarks briefly upon what has been ſaid.

Firſt, We may hence ſee, what it is that the heavenly happineſs, into which the ſouls of the faithful do immediately paſs at death, eminently conſiſts in, viz.—their going to be with Chriſt.

This we may gather from his anſwer to the dying prayer of the criminal—"This day thou ſhalt be with me", &c. You ſhall be admitted to the heavenly paradiſe, to be with me there—that ſhall be your happineſs, and that will be ſufficient. So it was in the eſtimation of that eminent ſervant of Chriſt, the apoſtle Paul, "I deſire to depart and be with Chriſt". Phil. 1.23.— Being with Chriſt is comprehenſive of every thing great and good—a total freedom from all ſin, ſorrow, temptation; a being fixed in a ſtate of undiſturbed reſt and tranquility, raiſed to a perfection of holineſs and rejoicing with joy unſpeakable and full of glory, in the clear ſhinings of his countenance, and in the divineſt tokens and manifeſtations of the love of this tranſcendantly amiable and excellent perſon: And all this to laſt through a boundleſs eternity. O what a ſublime and glorious happineſs is it for ſouls at death to go to be with the Lord Jeſus Chriſt! When they are abſent from the body, to go to be preſent with the Lord! Verily, in this caſe, the day of death, let it come in what ſhape or form it will, is better than the day of their birth, for it proves a ſure paſſage to the higheſt poſſible felicity, as that of being with the bleſſed Jeſus is.

Secondly, From the prayer of this criminal, and the anſwer of Chriſt to it, we may be led to remark, the divinity of his perſon.

The criminal had a further view of him, than the man Chriſt Jeſus, bleeding and ſuffering upon the croſs; a view of him as the glorious Son of God—accordingly addreſſes a ſervent and moſt intereſting prayer to him, pays him divine homage.— The dying Saviour does not rebuke him for this, as offering ſuch homage to a meer creature; but attends to it with ſatisfaction and pleaſure, gives a reviving anſwer, and lets him fully know and be aſſured of it, that he had full power to grant him his petition and requeſt. But this would not have been, had he not a higher and more excellent nature, than meerly the human.

Thirdly, This inſtance of the dying criminal, his believing and repenting at the laſt, and being thereupon admitted to be with Chriſt in the heavenly paradiſe, is far from affording ſufficient grounds to ſinners, to perſiſt in a courſe of wickedneſs, preſuming upon it that at laſt they ſhall truly repent, obtain an intereſt in the redemption by Chriſt, and on the whole, eternal ſalvation in heaven.

It is certain, that thoſe who go on thoughtleſs and impenitent in wickedneſs, are daily provoking the divine majeſty—treaſuring up wrath againſt the day of wrath: The wrath of God is ſwiftly purſuing them, and they are daily in danger of its overtaking them, and then they are irrecoverably loſt and miſerable. But if God ſhould continue them in life even to old age, as they are daily affronting and diſhonouring him, ſo he may be provoked wholly to take his Holy Spirit from them, to give them up to hardneſs and blindneſs, to their own heart's luſts, and to walk in their own counſels; and the event of all will be their "everlaſting deſtruction from God's preſence, and the glory of his power". For in this caſe, it is impoſſible, that they ſhould ever be brought to true repentance towards God, and faith towards the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and ſo finally obtain ſalvation. So that if any take encouragement from this example of the dying malefactor, whoſe caſe we have been conſidering, to go on impenitent in ſin, yea habitually allowing themſelves in any one known ſin, preſuming upon it, that all will be well with them at laſt, they run a deſperate venture, they are in the moſt iminent danger of periſhing eternally. Let all who have hitherto gone on impenitent in wickedneſs, ſeriouſly think of theſe things in time, and no longer harden themſelves againſt God. Let them attend to the call of God, to day while it is called to day, to repent and turn to him, that they may live and not die; let them fly to the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, that they may be cleanſed and purified, and made partakers of his purchaſed redemption.

Fourthly, From what we have heard of the caſe of the dying malefactor in our text, we may learn, that it is a thing at leaſt poſſible, that impenitent ſinners who have gone on ſuch to the laſt, may be effectually brought home to God and Chriſt, and obtain eternal ſalvation.

Upon various accounts, the thing is very improbable, and what may not be preſumed upon by any, as was juſt ſaid. However we ſee, from the example we have been conſidering, that this has in fact been the caſe: And what has been, may be again. For there is nothing impoſſible with God, that does not imply in it, a repugnancy to his nature and adorable perfections. Here we ſee a very ſignal diſplay of the riches of divine grace to a poor hardned ſinner, that had gone on in enmity againſt God and Chriſt, even to his dying hours. So that, though the circumſtances of this dying malefactor were different from thoſe of goſpel-impenitents now, as I might ſhow, would the time allow, yet, from what happened to him, thus much may be gathered, that impenitent ſinners, even at the laſt, are not wholly excluded from hope. By the powerful and gracious influences of the Spirit of Chriſt, they may be brought, even at the laſt, to look to Jeſus the Lamb of God, that takes away the ſins of the world; to look to him with an eye of faith, as the all-ſufficient Saviour, whoſe precious blood has virtue ſufficient in it to cleanſe from all ſin; to look to him and mourn, and be in bitterneſs of ſoul, and to commit the poor, periſhing and departing ſoul into his hands, perſuaded that he will keep what is committed to him. Such may be the caſe, I ſay. So that none, even in the near views of death and eternity, may totally deſpair of being ſaved. The dying thief upon the croſs (as one ſpeaks) forbids thee to deſpair utterly, though thou haſt run a terrible riſque, and ventured on the borders of deſtruction; and if thou art ſaved at laſt, it is ſo as by fire, it is like a brand pluck'd out of the burning, or as a man eſcaping naked out of the flames, and paſſing on the very brink of hell into everlaſting life.

This that I have now ſaid, is eſpecially applicable to you, poor Arthur! a priſoner of death, and this very day to be cut off by the ſword of civil juſtice! O what a gloomy, melancholy day is this, to ſee you in this unhappy ſituation! cut ſhort in the prime of life! oblig'd to flee to the pit, and no man to ſtay you! The ſentence of death paſſed upon you cannot be recall'd!—The fatal tree is erected!—The officers of juſtice ſurround you! and all things are made ready to carry the ſentence into execution! and before the ſun cloſes upon us this evening you will launch into an awful eternity, and go to appear at the tremendous bar of God, to give up an account of your conduct in the body. And your eternal ſtate will this very day be fix'd and unalterable! At theſe things doth not your heart tremble, and is it not moved out of its place? Death is an awful change at any time, and in any form, though to righteous ones a bleſſed day, their glorious birth-day into immortal life; but a dreadful day to the wicked and ungodly: For they enter at once upon a ſtate of endleſs miſeries and torments with the devil and his angels.— Methinks, it is impoſſible that you ſhould meet death, eſpecially in ſuch an ignominious form, with careleſsneſs and indifference, but that your ſoul muſt be filled with anxiety and diſtreſs at the near proſpect of it, and at what will follow. But as terrible as the death before you may ſeem to be, yet it is nothing to the ſecond, the eternal death that will follow to the wicked and ungodly.—But now, this temporal death that you muſt in a few hours die, may prove gain to you, and will do ſo, if you are, as was the poor malefactor who ſuffered with our Saviour, a true believer in him, a ſincere penitent. In this caſe your departing ſoul ſhall, as his did, immediately upon its leaving the body, go to be with Chriſt in the paradiſe above.

Since now, there is a neceſſity of your dying this day, O of what infinite importance is it to you, that you die in a ſtate of favour with God, intereſted in the merits of the all-ſufficient Redeemer, and poſſeſſed of that holineſs, without which no man ſhall ſee the Lord! And is it ſo, that you are indeed in ſuch a happy ſtate as this? If ſo, you need not be afraid of dying, though a ſhameful death. You may meet it with courage, becauſe it will prove a ſure paſſage to the glorious preſence of Chriſt in paradiſe.

What I now ſay, is not with a deſign to flatter you, as though your ſtate God-ward was certainly good, and ſo that you might be ſure of ſalvation. I only propoſe this matter to your own heart and conſcience, whether that tells you, that the caſe ſtands thus with you, or the contrary? See now, what anſwers your conſcience makes to the queſtions I ſhall propoſe to you.—

Have you been led to ſee what an infinite evil ſin is, not meerly becauſe of the puniſhment temporal or eternal that follows upon it, but principally as it is againſt God? A vile diſhonour and affront offered to his glorious majeſty, whom all reaſonable beings in all worlds ought to honour and obey? And as it is moſt baſe and ſhameful ingratitude to him who made you, who has upheld you in life, and beſtowed ſo many mercies upon you, and who has given his dearly beloved Son to redeem you by his precious blood? For in this conſiſts the great evil of ſin, viz. that it is againſt God. And have you a hearty grief and ſorrow for it, mainly on this account, penitently acknowledging to God with David, "againſt Thee, Thee only have I ſinned"? Pſal. 51.4. Does ſin appear vile and odious to you for its own ſake? And what your ſoul deſires above every thing to be freed from? Have you ſuch a thorough ſenſe of the vileneſs of it, as that if you could be ſet at liberty, and eſcape the capital puniſhment you are ſentenc'd to, you could never find it in your heart any more to indulge yourſelf in any one known ſin? Have you good reaſon to think that you ſhould no more return to fooliſhneſs; but that it would be the main buſineſs of your life to ſerve and honour God? Attend carefully to the anſwers, your own conſcience gives to theſe queſtions.—

Again, Do you juſtify man in the puniſhment you are ſentenced to? Have you no riſings of heart, no ill-will to the honourable Court or the Jury, before whom you were tried, convicted and condemned? And as to the perſon that accuſed you, that you do not harbour any malice towards her? And even ſuppoſing you think you was unfairly and injuriouſly treated in the matter, yet do you find a diſpoſition freely and heartily to forgive her?—Such a diſpoſition as this, however contrary to corrupt nature, the goſpel of Chriſt makes abſolutely neceſſary, even in caſes of the greateſt injuries, as perſons would hope to obtain forgiveneſs of God themſelves.

Again, I would aſk you, what ſenſe you have of your deſerts at the hands of God? Have you ſuch a ſenſe of your guilt, as to ſee, that you have forfeited all mercy from him, that he might juſtly caſt you off, and make you a monument of his eternal wrath, and this, though you could ſhed an ocean of tears, ſenſible, that this would make no atonement to his juſtice for the leaſt of your ſins? And are you truly ſenſible, that if you are ſaved, it will be contrary to your deſerts, that it will be owing ſolely to the free, rich, and ſovereign mercy of God through Jeſus Chriſt?—Therefore do you ſee your need of Chriſt, that mercy can't be extended to you, but only for his ſake, who by ſhedding his blood upon the croſs, has made a full ſatisfaction to the juſtice of God on the behalf of ſinners, and opened an effectual way for their obtaining an acquittal from guilt, a free and full pardon at the hands of God, a reception to his favour now, and to eternal life hereafter? Do you truly believe the record that God has given in his word, with reſpect to the blood of Chriſt, the incomparable preciouſneſs of it, that it can cleanſe from all ſin, and particularly your ſins however numerous and heinous? and do you heartily truſt in it accordingly? Is the blood of Chriſt, the main, principal ground of your hope? Are you yourſelf nothing, and is Chriſt all?

Theſe are very ſolemn and important queſtions.— O how happy muſt it be, if you can anſwer them to the ſatisfaction of your own heart, and can at the ſame time appeal, with a humble holy confidence, to that God, who is greater than the heart and knoweth all things!

But now, on the other hand, what a ſad thing is it, if you have not ſuch a ſenſe of things, and ſuch a diſpoſition as has now been ſaid! O ſad and deplorable caſe, if, now that you are brought to the very borders of the eternal world, you have not truly repented and believed in Chriſt, and made your peace with God! But a few ſands more in your glaſs, and a ſolemn account ſoon to be given up! Muſt you die impenitent and unbelieving, and ſuffer the ſecond death, which is eternal? Are you under a fatal neceſſity of all this? Bleſſed be God, no!— While there is life there is hope. And behold! even now at laſt, I bring you glad tidings of good things.—You may yet be a ſubject of the pardoning mercy of God, and be cleanſed from your guilt and defilement in the precious blood of Chriſt. Behold! a poor criminal upon the croſs with our Saviour, in his dying moments, effectually brought home!— His heart touched by the gracious and powerful hand of the Spirit of Chriſt! He believes and repents, and has a bleſſed, reviving promiſe of being with him, that very day in paradiſe, though he had been a heinous ſinner, and continued ſuch to the laſt!

This, poor dying man! is left upon record for you, that you may not totally deſpair, if you remain, even until this very hour in a ſinful guilty ſtate! The bleſſed Spirit can effectually reach your heart alſo, and bring you now at the eleventh hour, into the ſame happy circumſtances. O that it would pleaſe God to come mightily upon you, and enable you heartily to embrace the offers of mercy, that are ſtill made to you, and to fly to the blood of the all-ſufficient Redeemer, which ſtill ſtands as a fountain opened for your purification and cleanſing!— For this, we ſhall not ceaſe looking to God for you, while you are a ſubject of prayer. And do you alſo yourſelf, ſpend the few remaining moments you have, in crying mightily to God for mercy. And ſo we leave you with him, humbly and earneſtly hoping, that that bleſſed promiſe of Chriſt, which he made to the poor, penitent thief upon the croſs, will be verified to you.—"This day ſhalt thou be with me in paradiſe".

I ſhall cloſe the diſcourſe in a few words, briefly, to this numerous audience, come together upon this ſad and affecting occaſion.

My Brethren! What a ſad and ſorrowful ſpectacle have we before us! One of our fellow-creatures, whoſe ſoul is as precious as ours, to be made an example of public juſtice this day! Don't you pity, and compaſſionate his unhappy caſe? And don't you find it in your hearts, to lift up your fervent cries to God, that he would have mercy upon his immortal ſoul that will preſently be required of him? Methinks there is none of you, but what muſt find your bowels yearning towards him. That there are none here preſent, or in the great multitude aſſembled in this place, this day, that can find it in their hearts, upon ſuch a melancholy occaſion, to give into any merriment and jollity. How very unſuitable, yea, how ſhameful and ſcandalous would this be! unworthy their character as men, and eſpecially as chriſtians! Inſtead of this, every one ſhould be concerned to make a wiſe and good improvement of this diſpenſation. Every one ſhould take occaſion to thank God that he has not been left to ſuch heinous tranſgreſſions, as would have expoſed him to be cut off by the ſword of civil juſtice, as this poor priſoner is to be.

Thoſe that have habitually indulged themſelves in ſin and wickedneſs, ſhould take warning by this example, that they do not go on any longer in it; leſt they be left to ſuch high-handed commiſſions, as to expoſe themſelves in like manner. They ſhould be put upon earneſtly repenting and reforming, and devoting themſelves to God, through Chriſt, that ſo they may be in favour with God and man.

Thoſe that have the charge of youth, ſhould be put upon the greateſt care, to train them up in the ways of God—frowning upon their vices, exerciſing proper diſcipline towards them, when they give into any, reſtraining them as far as poſſible, ſetting virtuous, religious examples before them; by which means abundance of miſchief may, by the bleſſing of God, be prevented, and much good promoted.

None ſhould preſume too much upon their own ſtrength—"Let him that ſtandeth, take heed leſt he fall". All of us ſhould live a life of humble dependance upon God, looking to him daily for his grace, which alone is ſufficient for us, to keep us back from preſumptuous ſins and from ſecret faults—we ſhould "watch and pray, leſt we enter into temptation".

The ſaints and people of God ſhould praiſe him for his grace, by which they are what they are; pardoned, juſtified, ſanctified, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Chriſt to the heavenly inheritance. Let them live by faith in the Son of God, be ſtrong in the grace that is in him, abound in every good word and work—continue faithful to the death, and with joy and pleaſure and patience wait for their glorious advancement to the preſence and enjoyment of Chriſt in the heavenly paradiſe.

Laſtly, Though the death of this poor criminal this day, is a violent, unnatural death, yet it ſhould, however, put us all in mind of the great change of death that will paſs upon us all, and it may be, as to ſome, ſooner, than they may be aware of. If then we are found ready, bleſſed and happy are we, for a glorious life & immortality will ſucceed. But if this great change ſhould overtake us, in an impenitent, unpardoned, guilty, ſinful ſtate, it will be awful to us indeed, though the circumſtances of our death ſhould not be with the ignominy of this day. Perſons may deſcend into everlaſting burnings, though they ſhould expire upon a bed of down, and every thing about them, be nice and delicate. In ſhort, it is no matter where we die, or when, or after what manner, if our ſouls at death go to be with Chriſt in the heavenly paradiſe. — O let this be the main thing with us all, that when we quit this mortal life, as we muſt all do; that our ſouls, our nobler and better part, may be convoyed by the angels of God, to the preſence of our exalted Redeemer in the paradiſe above. Our vile bodies, he will take care of, where ever depoſited, and whatever changes may paſs upon them, and recompact them, and raiſe them up, beautiful and glorious, like to his own body, in the morning of the great day. And in our whole man he will invite us to the heavenly paradiſe to eat of the tree of life in the midſt of it; rendring us eternally healthful, vigorous and active. God of his infinite mercy grant, that this may be the caſe with us all, and that it may be your caſe, poor Arthur! among the reſt, for the ſake of Jeſus Chriſt to whom be glory, forever and ever. AMEN.