h, and went up into the mountains and talked with him; and
Isaiah saw God lifted up on His throne; but not so with this thief.
There were many who had met Christ and seen wonderful things. His
disciples had heard Him discourse, and had seen Him raise the dead,
and yet they had forsaken and left Him. Yet here amidst the darkness
and gloom this poor thief had faith in Him; for although the Jews had
nailed his hands and feet to the cross, they did not nail his eyes,
and he could look at Him. They did not nail his heart to the cross,
and it is with the heart man believeth, as we read in Romans, and with
his heart _he believed_. There's faith for you.

NOT ASHAMED OF CHRIST.

Then the next thing is, he confessed Christ at that dark period. It
was the darkest hour of Christ's pilgrimage down here. We will never
see another dark hour like that. The sin of the world was on Him;
heaven was closed against Him--locked, bolted, and barred. He was now
hanging on the tree bearing our sins; and it is written, "Cursed is
every one that hangeth on a tree." And even God had to hide His face
from Him, for He could not look on sin, and Christ was then bearing
the sin of all the world. I believe that's what Christ meant in the
garden of Gethsemane, when He prayed that the cup might pass from Him.
Up to that time He saw His Father's face, and He knew He was blessed
of Him, and from time to time a voice came from heaven, "This is my
beloved Son." But now He was taking our place before God as a sinner,
and God had to hide His face from Him. Yes, it was breaking the
Saviour's heart; and now, when darkness is coming over creation, and
the moon is to be turned into blood, and the sun is about to veil its
face because it cannot look upon the terrible scene, and Peter, one of
His most conspicuous disciples, had denied Him with a curse, and swore
that he never knew Him, and Judas, one of His own disciples, had gone
out and sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, and the chief men of the
nation were mocking Him, saying, "He saved others, let Him save
Himself, if He be the Christ"--amidst all this darkness and gloom, out
comes this signal faith of the thief, "Lord, remember me," He called
Him Lord there and then; and he said to the other thief, "This man
hath done nothing amiss." Thank God for that confession. There's faith
and confession for you. If you want to be saved, you must have faith
in Christ, and be ready to confess Him before all men.

"LO