brought under Zion's wings, and pay allegiance to her King. Stran gers shall be brought into her bosom, not only Philistia and Tyre, nations on her borders, but Egypt and Ethiopia, nations more remote shall be registered as born in Zion. Distance shall not hinder the relationship to Zion they shall suck from the same breast, the consolation of Zion; they shall drink the new wine of the kingdom, and enjoy the sincere milk of the Gospel; Rahab or Egypt. Rahab signifies pride, or fierceness. The fiercest people shall be subdued to Zion by the power of the Gospel; Egypt, the wisest and most learned nation, the most idolatrous and superstitious, shall cast their idols away, and shall come to Zion and worship the true God. Philistia, her perpetual invaders shall be reconciled to her, and contend earnestly for the same faith once delivered to the saints. Babylon, the strongest and most powerful empire, the subjects of which the Scripture often describes as luxurious, cruel, and proud; Tyre, the greatest mart of whose citizens were the greatest merchants; the Ethiopians, the posterity of cursed Cain, whose souls are blacker than their bodies, men buried in sin, benighted with ignorance, poisoned with pride, the most fierce and envenomed enemies, shall be costrained by infinite grace, and brought by the Spirit of God, through the preaching of the triumph of Christ on the cross, to Zion, shall make up one body with her, and shall be related to her by the new birth, and become her members by regeneration. These are the holy privileges the citizens of Zion enjoy : "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ." Those who come to Christ are a people who are ready to perish. The Spirit of God opens their eyes that they may see their lost and ruined state, puts a cry in their hearts, helps their infirmities with groanings which cannot be uttered, enables them to wrestle with God for mercy. Their cry is, "Lord, save, or else I perish." These are such sinners as Jesus receives. "The whole need not a physician, but the sick." It is for such that He opens his mouth, pleads for those who are appointed to destruction.

David prays that the Lord might open his eyes to behold wondrous things in the law of God. Where can we see the wonders of God but in the triumph of Christ on Calvary's cross? Here we behold the infinite wisdom of Jehovah the Father ? Here we behold the Deity and humanity of the great Redeemer of sinners. Angels stand and gaze with wonder and admiration. But man by nature cannot see it. They gaze, behold, and admire every thing but Christ crucified. How is it, what is the cause? O heavens! be

66

astonished. Is it not because man is by nature blind? the god of this world has blinded their eyes, and Christ alone by his Spirit can open the blind eyes. He gives faith to look to Him whom they have pierced." Reader, have you ever prayed like David, to have your eyes opened, to behold wondrous things in Christ crucified? I know it is a stumbling block to the Jew, and foolishness to the Greek; but 1 must tell you there is no salvation without it. No crown without the cross. No life without the death of Christ.

In this superscription the wisdom of God is further manifest in not suffering Pilate to alter it; and herein also is exhibited the triumph of Christ on the cross. "What I have written, I have written;" inasmuch as if he would say, (although unconscious) He is the Saviour and King. He was appointed from all eternity by God the Father, and I cannot alter it; although He hangs on the cross, He is the Son of God, theonly begotten of the Father, and the Creator of heaven and earth. O earth this I have written, and intend to abide by it. "God is not like man to lie, nor the son of man to repent." "There are

him to

many devices in a man's heart, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand," contrary to the devices of the Jews and Pilate. The Jews could persuade Pilate contrary to his conscience to crucify the Lord of life and glory. The reason is, it was predetermined, and for the same reason they could not prevail upon alter what he had written. This superscription is to remain as an eternal monument of the immutability of God, the glory and majesty of Christ, the comfort of the Church, and for the confusion of their enemies.

It is in vain for man to oppose the kingdom of Christ. He declares that his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; therefore it must stand in spite of man, and the malice of hell; all their opposition will be of no avail, it is founded upon the Rock Christ Jesus. "The rain may descend, the floods come, and the winds blow and beat upon that house, and it fall not; for it is founded on a Rock, and the very gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Oh, happy soul, yea, thrice happy who is a son or daughter of Zion. "And of Zion

it shall be said, this and that man was born in her, and the Highest himself shall establish her; the Lord shall count when he writeth up the people that this man was born there," Psalm lxxxvii. 5, 6. But what will become of those who are without this kingdom? Drunkard, what will become of you? remember in hell you will have to drink the cup of God's wrath. Whoremonger, thy lust will be consumed in the flames which are unquenchable. Murderer, what will become of you; no murderer shall inherit the kingdom of hea

ven. Idolater, your idols shall not deliver you from the day of God's wrath. It matters not whether it be the pope who wears the triple crown, who boasts of being Peter's successor, and of hay. ing the keys of death and hell; alas; he will find his mistake, that heaven and hell are not at his disposal, but at Christ's, who alone is the Head of the Church, whose prerogative it is to open and to shut heaven. Infidel and atheist, what will become of you? that God, whom you now deny, will be your Judge; that heaven which you mock at, you will long to be admitted into, but the door will be shut against you; you scorn at hell, and mock at calamity, living and dying in your unbelief, hell will be your eternal abode. May the Spirit of God open your eyes to see your danger, and flee to Christ for shelter. He says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden." God desireth not the death of the sinner. If He did He would not have delivered up his only-begotten Son to death. What will become of those that say the Scriptures of truth are fallible? If the writings of an Heathen could not be altered, "What I have written, I have written," how much more the writings of the divine penmen, Moses, the prophets, and the holy apostles. If the Scriptures of truth are fallible, (I speak with holy reverence) there can be no God. The Scriptures declare, "thus saith the Lord," either the Lord told them to say so, or not; if He did, then they are infallible. If He did not, would God ever suffer such a book to be in existence, which forges his name. What an awful thought! Would God defend such a book? has not the very hell itself risen up against it, to destroy it from off the face of the earth, yet has not succeeded? Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, cut to pieces the copies of the book of the law wherever he found them, and burnt them, 1 Maccabees i. 59, 60. This man died of a dreadful disorder in his bowels; his body was covered with worms, his flesh flaked off, and was attended with an intolerable stench, 2 Maccabees ix. 5, 9.

Dioclesian, the Roman emperor, by an edict ordered all the books of the New Testament to be burnt, that, if possible, he might root Christianity out of the world, and once fancied he had done it; but when he found he had not accomplished his design, through madness and despair in the height of his imperial glory, abdicated his empire, and retired to a private life, and at last poisoned himself. The one showed a despite to the books of the Old Testament; the other more especially to the New; and both were highly resented by the Divine Being, who hereby showed Himself to be the Author of both, and being the Author it must be infallible. Here is a

solemn lesson for professors. Pilate would not alter his writing, yet thousands who make a profession at this present day are changeable as the wind. To day they are for truth, to-morrow for error. One day free grace, another day free-will. One day in the church, the next in the world. One day mad for religion. the next mad through intoxicating liquor. Sunday in the pulpit like angels, Monday they will contradict all by their walk and conversation; better had it been for such that they had never known the way of truth. "These are spots in our feasts of charity, when they feast with us, feeding themselves without fear; clouds they are without water, carried about as wind, trees whose fruit withereth without fruit twice dead, Jude ver. 11, 12.

CHAPTER II.

THE CONVERSION OF THE THIEF.

THE triumph of Christ on the cross as God-man over sin and the sinner, is demonstrated in the conversion of the thief. Here the Deity of Christ shines like the sun in its meridian. If Christ were not God, how could He convert one of the malefactors? Regeneration is called in the word of God a quickening-it is "a passing from death to life." It is also called a creation-" Created anew in Christ Jesus." It is called a resurrection. All these are declarative of a divine power-" Which were born not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God." Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world." Here the Holy Ghost evidently declares that regeneration is the work of God.

The Deity of Christ is manifest in a wonderful manner in the conversion of the thief; that in my humble opinion its parallel cannot be traced in all his miracles which He previously wrought. 1st. The time. 2nd. The spot.

1st. The time. It was in the midst of his sufferings, when He had to drink the wrath of God due to our sins, when He became a curse for us, while the frowns of the Father were upon Him, with the sword of divine justice in his soul. It was the time when the power of darkness rose up against Him" But this is your hour

and the power of darkness. Father, save me from this hour! But for this cause came I unto this hour." Now at that very time to convert the thief evidently exhibits his Godhead. The Jews said, "He saved others, himself He cannot save." Had Christ saved himself from "this hour," not one individual of the human race would be saved. Our salvation is by virtue of his death on the cross. His life was a ransom for his church, for whom He willingly laid it down. This salvation was realized by the malefactor, who was converted and saved by Christ while on the cross. At this very time his Deity was manifested in plucking the prey from the roaring lion, Satan. Who but the Almighty could take the prey from the mighty, as Christ did? In the conversion of the thief He triumphed over sin and the sinner. Over sin, in making an atonement; otherwise He could not have taken the malefactor to heaven. Over the sinner, in conquering and subduing his heart to himself, infusing life into his soul, a cry in his heart to crave mercy and pardon.

2nd. The spot where the conversion took place, as well as the time, proves the Deity of Christ. Where was Christ at that time? Nailed to the accursed tree between two malefactors; reckoned by the Jews as one with them; condemned by them as such; forsaken by all his disciples; loaded with all kinds of reproaches, from men' of all sorts; suffering the ignominious death of the cross, ready to give up the ghost. The thief again was justly condemned for his crimes; suffering the just punishment of the Roman law, as he himself afterwards confessed. His heart was full of enmity to God and his Christ. He had lived in all kinds of wickedness, without a God, or hope in this world; yea, without even a thought of God, heaven, or hell. Now in this very state, with Christ on the cross suffering that ignominious death. On the other hand, the thief full of enmity and wickedness, reviled him—" And they that were crucified with Him reviled Him." In this very state the thief was converted, which gloriously displayed the Godhead of Christ. It was Christ who convinced the thief of his lost and ruined state, which caused him to cry, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom" (Luke xxiii. 42). Here he acknowledged Christ to be Lord of heaven and earth, and also the Object of worship. My dear reader, have you discovered your lost and ruined state? Have you been brought to feel your misery, and the need of Christ? Are you convinced, by the Spirit of God, that He is able to save to the uttermost? If so, you may be assured you will receive the same answer the malefactor did. Who but God can forgive sin? Who