He taketh away the sin of the world. He taketh the sin away! O wondrous transaction this, that God's Lamb takes away the world's sin! He takes away the world's sin, first, by substitution. The first and original transference of our sin, if we could see it, is not either in the day of our pardon, or in the day of atonement, but in the day of the everlasting covenant, when Christ engaged to substitute Himself for sinners of mankind, given unto Him by the Father; when He put His soul in their souls' stead, and had their guilt transferred to Him and laid upon Him. The Son of God, having become answerable for sin, and having it thus upon Him in the way of obligation to bear it, it came upon Him in the way of actual demand; God came and laid the iniquities upon Him. What then is sin's desert? The whole amount of all sin that hath been or shall ever be forgiven, the whole sin of all that have been and shall be saved — which would have borne them with the rest of the world down to everlasting destruction — that was inflicted on the Lamb of God. He was able to bear it. He was willing to bear it. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him, to put Him to grief. Then, Christ by bearing sin thus bears sin away, like the one of the goats which was lead out to bear the sin of Israel away, the Lamb of God bears away the sin of the world. There is "redemption now through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." "He hath power on earth to forgive sin." He bears it away, actually takes it off from the shoulders of individuals in the day of regeneration, conversion, and justification. And we must just remark, that He bears not only, or takes only away, the guilt but actually the sin. The direct end of His atonement, indeed, is expiation of the guilt of sin; but the result of expiation is consecration and obedience, by the sprinkling of the blood; the blood which, shed, makes atonement to God, the same applied to sinners purges them and consecrates them to be royal priesthood and peculiar people. Christ washes us from our sin in His own blood.

How are we to understand these words, "taketh away the sin of the world"? Is there not sin in the world still? Is it not a world that lieth in the wicked one? Are there not those that perish? Is the whole world then actually saved? No, my brethren. It is necessary that we consider this matter as Scripture teaches us, looking neither to the right hand nor to the left, but looking to the rule of God's holy Word. It teaches us a particularity in the matter; and were it not for this, where could be our confidence in beholding the atonement, in looking at the cross of Christ, if it did not actually save — insure the salvation of those given to Christ of the Father? Or if we set our salvation loose from the death of Christ, or suspend it by any chains which can be broken, then, then of course, we can have no confidence, no assuring hope.

"How vain that universal grace
That can no certain bliss bestow,
Which leaves the universal race
Exposed to universal woe."

It is not that we want to confine, but that we are called by the Scripture to exalt, the certainty and efficacy of the death of Christ. The death of Christ was not only sufficient to this purpose, that sinners believing are pardoned and have life everlasting, but it was meritorious of its own application, and therefore insures the salvation in God's good time of all that believe.

But then there is a universal aspect in this and other texts. "Behold the Lamb of God." We need not dwell on the comparative narrowness of the Old Testament economy, and the still narrower prejudices of the Jews with reference to the calling of the Gentiles. When he says, "Behold the Lamb of God," he meant it not for the Jews only, but for the sins of the whole world. But particularly we may remark that the atonement, and the salvation by atonement, of the Lord Jesus, bears a reference and aspect upon the particular condition and state of every child of mankind. Every man is in the world's sin fundamentally. In regard to anything of vital importance there is no difference, for all have sinned. Every man in the world needs this Lamb of God for the taking away of his sin.

Then, considered as exhibited to sinners of mankind in the Gospel, it is equally fitted for each sinner of the human race. The Gospel is just as much fitted for me as for you, and for you as for me. Christ and His sacrifice just meet your case, as they meet mine. The sinner's need corresponds to what is in the sacrifice of Christ, and what is in the sacrifice of Christ corresponds to the sinner's need.

Again, there is a universal extent of command with regard to its proclamation. We don't yet say, and it is the Church's fault in a great measure, that this command in its full extent has been obeyed. In the providential management of its proclamation, alas! how many yet sit in darkness and in the shadow of death externally. But there is a universality of extent in the command, "Go and preach the Gospel to every creature." There is a command of God the wherever there is a sinner there shall be a setting forth of the Lamb of God, with a command to that soul to "behold the Lamb of God."

Then, as there is a universality of command to proclaim this Gospel to the whole world, and every creature in it, so wherever it is proclaimed it contains a free and unfettered, and universal and special invitation — universal to all, special to each — to look and be saved. It warrants my conscience to cast the weight of my guilt upon the atonement of Christ, to cast the shameful depravity of my nature on the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness, to cast my whole state as a sinner on Christ the Savior set forth before me in the Gospel. There is this universality which every creature needs: it is to be preached to every creature; wherever it is preached it contains a full and free warrant to every individual to betake himself to the Lamb of God as the only Savior, with assurance that he shall not be cast out.

Now, the Lamb of God is not only set before us this day in the preached Gospel, He is about to be set before us also in sacramental symbol. "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" God is saying at His table, and in reference to it, as He is saying in the Gospel, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!" Oh, of what use is the Gospel when we only hear the words —men's words — and of what use are sacraments when we see only the bread and wine? God clothes eternal verities in human words, formed by human breath, and written or stamped by men's hands on material paper; and He connects them also with outward and visible signs in the sacraments. The Word is nothing without the Spirit; the symbols nothing unless we see Jesus. Oh, what need then have we of the Spirit of God, that we many behold Christ in the glass of the Word, in the glass of sacraments!

We are by nature all of us of the world; we are all in the world's sin. We have been speaking about the world's sin, but oh! friends, it's my sin. I am one of this world, and I am in its sin. The world is all sinful together, but sinners must be saved out of it one by one. As regards the application of the salvation, sin is taken away from sinners of that world individually. You and I then, being sinners, and in the world's sin, we would need to be beholding the Lamb of God. And oh that we had these objects together in our minds this day, the one would not distract the other — the world's sin, and our individual sin, and the Lamb of God! Oh to see both! And to see the latter highest and brightest! To behold our sin , so that its dark face may commend to us the glorious One! To feel our own sin, that we, in reference to the world's sin in us individually, may find what has to be taken away, and look to Him who does take sin away, that so sin may not be slight in our esteem, but the Lamb of God more precious — seeing His merit transcending our demerit infinitely and absorbing it! And accordingly, seeing, and knowing, and believing that in our case sin hath abounded, but that in the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world grace hath superabounded, seeing that sin hath reigned unto death over us, but that grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord, oh, in prospect of the Table of the Lord, be trying to get an appropriating hold of this text! And if you ask me, "how?" Oh, friends! if I understand it, it is not by thinking that I am an elect man, a regenerated man, an effectually called man , it is not by adding anything about myself to the Gospel held forth to me individually as a sinner, but by taking hold of the whole Gospel in that word which touches me, that word about sin. I cannot get near the Lamb of God, it may be — but sin, I am near it — and I will just go and confess my sin before God, with my finger upon that word sin, and keep it there before the eyes of God and of the Lamb. So in similar exhibitions of the Gospel. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." "Sinners" — that's it; that's the point in the text that God is holding out to me, that I may get hold of the whole text. "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost." "Lost" — that is the word. Take it individually, and if you cannot put your finger upon Christ, put it upon sin in a text where God has put sin and Christ together. Let me exhort you the exercise of an appropriating faith.