n Luke xxiii. 40, where we
find him saying to the other thief, "Dost not thou fear God?" Solomon,
the wise man, says, "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God." Now,
there we have the beginning of wisdom in this thief. He began to
_fear_ God. I hope there will be hundreds in this building who will
fear Him; for that is the true beginning of wisdom.

CONVICTION OF SIN.

Now, the next thing was, the man was convicted. No man is likely to be
converted until he is first convicted of sin. This thief was
convicted. And what convicted him? He heard no sermon from Christ. The
rulers were then deriding Him. The chief men of His own country had
found Him guilty of blasphemy, and had condemned Him to die the death
of the cross. The chief men of the realm were there wagging their
heads and mocking Him. What was it then that convicted this poor
thief? He had seen Christ perform no miracles; he had heard no
wonderful words fall from His lips; he saw no glittering crown upon
His brow. True, it was written over His cross, "Jesus, the King of the
Jews"; but where was His kingdom? He saw nothing of the Jews paying
homage to Him. The Jews were putting Him to death. There was no
sceptre in His hand. True, He had been crowned a little while before,
but only with thorns, and yet amidst it all this poor thief was
convicted after fear fell upon him.

THE POWER OF LOVE.

What convicted him? I will tell what I think convicted him, though I
could not teach it dogmatically but I think it was the Saviour's
prayer. When the Lord Jesus cried out from the very depths of His
soul, "Father, forgive them," conviction flashed into his heart. He
must have said, "Why, this is more than a man; He has got a very
different spirit from me. I could not ask God to forgive them. I would
call down fire from heaven to consume them, and I would call upon God
to smite them with blindness as Elijah did, and I would sweep them
from this mountain if I had the power." That's what he must have
thought as he heard the piercing cry go up, "Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do." Ah, it was love that broke his heart. In
those days, when they crucified a man, they used to scourge him. This
poor man had been taken into the court, and tried and condemned by the
judge; but that had not broken his heart. He had been led forth and
scourged; but that had not broken his heart. And now they had nailed
him to the cross; but even that had not broken his heart. The