played. Does a prince, when about to ascend the throne, seize that moment, which can occur but once, to open the prison doors, and let the captive free? How natural for our Lord, who was on the point of entering the kingdom, to seize the favourable moment, wherein to display an act of peculiar grace, to answer the trembling supplicant, to rescue a poor penitent from misery, and to plant him in celestial glory! But where is the precedent? I hope I am understood; it is a subject on which much has been said, and much written; and it is still open to erroneous application. Let us beware of the consequences of such notions.

And now, my friends, what are the reflections which this affecting narrative suggests?

The first remark I shall offer is one, in which you will not all agree with me; but I think it right to avow my sentiments, feeling, at the same time, perfect candour towards those who differ from me. The reply of our Lord to the penitent thief strongly favours the opinion, that consciousness will be continued between the period of death and the resurrection. I have nothing to do with the materialist; those who suppose we are nothing more than a mass of organized matter; but there are others who take up the argument

upon different ground, and who strenuously deny any consciousness to exist when the body is consigned to the grave. I confess, I can never imagine, the nobler part of our nature to be so dependant on its frail companion, or that the decay and dissolution of the body should render all the powers of the mind torpid and insensible.

I shall not now bring forward all the arguments which might be adduced. I shall not dwell on the interesting and affecting parable of Dives and Lazarus, though fully to the point; for the message sent by the rich man to his brethren proves that this world was supposed to be still in existence, and that he felt a consciousness of what had passed during his abode in it.

I shall not advert to Moses and Elias appearing on the Mount of Transfiguration. I shall not dwell on the various expressions used by the Apostle Paul, which support the doctrine; "absent from the body, present with the Lord;"-" to die, and be with Christ, which is far better;"-" followers of them, who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises," not shall inherit. I shall not draw my argument from the awful and affecting account given in the sixth chapter of the Revelations, of the souls of the martyrs appearing before God, and crying, Lord, how

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long! Wilt thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" plainly intimating their knowledge that the earth was then in existence :-leaving all these fair and forcible deductions, I shall confine myself to the words of the text, as conveying a clear and striking evidence of the opinion I am supporting; "Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with me in paradise."

Some critics and commentators, in order to render the passage conformable to their sentiments on this head, have taken the liberty to alter the punctuation, and have thus occasioned a very material difference in the meaning. They read it thus: " Verily, I say unto thee to-day, Thou shalt be with me in paradise."

My friends, let us endeavour to ascertain the meaning of the reply, by carefully examining the question. This is surely a very fair method of criticism. Let us suppose the dying malefactor had thus addressed our Saviour; Lord, if, at this moment of peril and dismay, thou canst relieve a supplicating offender; if thou hast, indeed, any power to pardon, or grace to save, remember me!' then might such a reply have been perfectly natural; Verily, I say unto thee to-day, at even this time, though the sun be darkened,

and the earth be convulsed, though all nature be wrapt in gloom, thou shalt be with me in paradise; at some future period thou shalt be happy.' But what was the real petition of the trembling supplicant? "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom!" Jesus was on the very point of entering that kingdom, and he said unto him, " Verily, I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with me in paradise."

The popular argument in support of the opposite opinion is this;-that the happiness of a future state is always mentioned in Scripture in connexion with the resurrection of the body; that saints are represented as waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, and not in a state of actual enjoyment.

That there are various degrees of happiness, few will deny; undoubtedly, the full and gracious reward assigned to the righteous, will not be granted till the day of judgment, when we are assured our Lord will again visit our earth, to pass sentence upon all mankind; when he will say to his sincere servants;

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Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." But, is it unnatural, is it inconsistent, to suppose, that a lower degree of felicity may be enjoyed during the period when the body is mouldering in the

tomb? Let it be remembered, that paradise is never mentioned in Scripture as heaven itself, but rather as a state where knowledge may be perfected, faith strengthened, hope indulged, happiness enlarged; where it will be our delight and our privilege to trace the scenes through which we have been led, to view the workings of Providence, to contemplate the grand and interesting subject of redeeming grace. This will be private felicity; but, at the resurrection, God will have a public triumph. He will own and honour his saints before an assembled multitude. Angels will quit their seats of glory to behold and add a lustre to the scene. He will convene a universe, and then pronounce their sentence.

I wish not to bias your opinion, but to leave the subject to your own reflection.. I may be mistaken in the sentiments I have adopted; but of this I feel a full assurance, that St. Paul cordially embraced this doctrine; he might be mistaken; it might not be one of those things in which he was inspired; but that he did firmly believe in it, may I think be gathered from all his writings. Such an idea runs through every epistle, and pervades every line.

2. We may trace the dignity of our Lord, amidst all the ignominy he endured.