set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."--Num. 21:4-9. These people realized that they had sinned against God; that their sins deserved punishment; that they were justly condemned--"we have sinned";--that they were helpless, "Pray unto the Lord that _he_ take away the serpents from us"; and in their helpless condition they turned from their sins and turned to God. There had been, then, an entire change of mind and purpose, or they would never have turned from their sins to God. When they faced the fact that they had sinned and were justly condemned, there resulted sorrow, and their sorrow led to the change of mind and purpose to turn from their sins to God. Had there been no conviction of sin, no realization that they had sinned and were justly condemned, there would have been no change of mind, or purpose to turn from sin to God. Here, then, we have what repentance is,--a conviction of sin, such a realization of the fact that one has sinned and is justly condemned that it produces such sorrow as leads to an entire change of mind and purpose to turn from sin and turn to God. God then provided the easiest way for them, "every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it [the brazen serpent] shall live."--Num. 21:8. The Saviour says, "Even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."--John 3:15.