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Lastly, we have a guilty conscience plunging its possessor headlong into despair: "he went and hanged himself." First, existence had become intolerable to him. Oh, friends, much has been said in our day, and much has been written about eternity of existence. What will it be to spend an eternity in the existence that was so intolerable to Judas Iscariot that he could not bear with it for one hour, even though there were no outward fires (which it is a sad perversion of Scripture to deny)? Secondly, a guilty conscience made him irrational: "he went and hanged himself." What right had he to suppose that death would deliver him from a guilty conscience? What right had he to suppose that death would deliver him from his tremendous sin? What right had he to suppose that death would deliver him from the misery he now felt in life to be intolerable? Ah, friends, hear me; there are but two resting-places for a guilty conscience. One, blessed be God, we may all find, the blood of sprinkling. Oh, to have our consciences sprinkled with the blood of Jesus! That blood puts away sin. If Judas had applied for it, he would have got it, as true as God is true. If Judas had come to the Saviour he had betrayed, and said, "Saviour, may the blood that I have unworthily betrayed drop first on my own traitor soul," as true as God is true he would have had it. You may have the "blood of sprinkling. It speaketh better things than that of Abel." Abel's blood called for vengeance on his murderers: the blood of Jesus calls for pardon on his murderers. But if you do not find the blood of sprinkling as a rest and refuge for your guilty consciences, there is no other rest, but the blackness of darkness for ever. May God save us from it!

BY

THE REV. MARCUS RAINSFORD,

Preached on Sunday Morning, May 15th, 1870.

"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me ; of righteousness, because I go to my father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."-JOHN xvi. 8-11.

OUR Lord Jesus Christ was himself the great promise of

the Old Testament, and in the fulness of the time. purposed by the Father this promise was fulfilled, and the Lord Jesus Christ came. The Holy Ghost was the promise of the New Testament, and to prepare the way for him the Son of God became incarnate. Thus Jehovah held back nothing from us of his communicable fulness, but calls us by the Gospel of his grace into fellowship with himself, in his Son and by his Spirit: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you all for evermore. Amen."

The words we are about to meditate upon occur in our Lord's last discourse with his disciples. It was the night on which he was betrayed. The hour was come when he was to be baptized with that baptism of which he said his soul was straitened till it should be accomplished-a baptism of death to him that we might have the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

You perceive that his thoughts were, as they ever were, with his people. He was not thinking of his own soul's trouble, but of theirs; his mind was dwelling on the difficulties that would beset them, the trials from within and from without that were prepared for them. He knew that he was sending them forth, as he said, as sheep in the midst of

SERM. VIII.

wolves; he knew they would be persecuted, that there was a time coming when "whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service;" so now he is solacing himself, and comforting them, in anticipation of the mission of the Comforter, who would, so far as they themselves were concerned, lead them into all truth, comfort them in all difficulties, and make it his business to reveal to them what God had given them in Christ. And not only that, but he would, in reference to their ministry, confront the world, silence all opposition to them, utterly put down the gainsayers and their gainsaying, and by his presence in the Church afford such a testimony to the truth of the great salvation he had sent them forth to proclaim as would either convince or convict the world. 66 When," says Christ, "he is come, he will reprove," or, as it is in the margin, convince or convict "the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."

You will observe these were the three great facts constituting the message which the disciples were sent forth to proclaim to the sons of men.

The first was that the Lord Jesus Christ, whom sinners had crucified, was the Son of God; that he had, according to the promise of the Father, in due time, appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and that the sin which cast into the shade all other sins would be the rejection by unbelief of him who was sent from heaven to do salvation work, and who lived on earth, and died, and rose again to accomplish it.

Another great fact they were sent to proclaim was, that the Lord Jesus Christ was the righteousness of God, provided for and proclaimed to sinners, and bestowed upon every one that believeth-that whoever sought any other righteousness dishonoured Christ; for God made him "who

knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him;" "He is made of God. unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption.'

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The third great fact which constituted the Gospel which the disciples were sent forth to proclaim was this,that the prince of this world is judged; the long-ago given promise that "the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head" was performed; that Christ had been manifested to destroy the works of the devil; and that by his presence in our nature here, by his work for our salvation, by his ascension into heaven as our representative, the judgment of Satan, the prince of this world, was accomplished.

Here we have three facts, the sum and substance of the Gospel-glorious facts. They form the great controversy at this hour between the Word of God and our unbelieving hearts. The Lord sent forth twelve fishermen to proclaim them,—puny men, unlearned men,—to meet the wisdom of the wise, the philosophy of the philosophers, the learning of the learned. But says he to them, "Fear not, I will send you the Comforter, and he will do what you cannot do, he will convince the world of the truth of your message, and the triumphs of your Lord, and he will use your message as a winnowing fan, separating men from men, a savour of death unto death in those who reject your testimony, and a savour of life unto life in those that receive it, and it will be through his presence and testimony by you that the whole world will be convinced and convicted of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment."

We do not half realize what a blessing from God the gift of the Holy Ghost to the Church has been. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ was a wondrous visit to our earth. His very presence here implied great purposes to be accomplished-a great work to be done, and upon

his ascension, the presence of the Holy Spirit here-his mere presence-implies that great work hath been accomplished. Why is the Holy Spirit here but to witness to us of that divine salvation achieved by the Son of God? Gloriously he came on the day of Pentecost, proclaiming in all tongues known on earth that the wonderful salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ had made us more than conquerors, through him that loved us.

Just trace the reasons why he appeared. He was here because Christ was glorified. He was here because the high priest had gone within the vail with the all-atoning blood, to sprinkle the mercy-seat seven times. He was here because reconciliation had been made for iniquity, and everlasting righteousness had been brought in. He was here because the rent vail, the crucified body of the Lord Jesus, had opened the way for him to be here. He was here because the Church was represented there. He was here, that both earth and heaven might be taken possession of by the Son of God, so that neither "death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, shall be able to separate us from the love of God." The Son of God in our nature, taking possession of the highest heavens; the Holy Ghost descended to earth to take possession of his redeemed members. He was here because "the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth," and "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness," would shine into sinners' hearts, to give them "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." He is here the seal of Christ's finished work; the earnest of Christ's bestowed salvation; the witness of the fact that Jehovah "is well pleased for his righteousness' sake." Therefore, friends, the presence of the Holy Ghost on earth is an overwhelming evidence of the truth of the Gospel which he has

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