that it had, for its chief business, to proclaim the coming of the
Servant of Jehovah, Jesus the Christ.

III. And now, lastly, look at these words as setting forth the true
centre of Christ's work.

'He has sent Him to bless you in turning away every one of you from
his iniquities.' I have already spoken about the gross, narrow,
carnal apprehensions of Messiah's work which cleaved to the disciples
during all our Lord's life here, and which disturbed even the
sanctity of the upper chamber at that last meal, with squabbles about
precedence which had an eye to places in the court of the Messiah
when He assumed His throne. But here Peter has shaken himself clear
of all these, and has grasped the thought that, whatever derivative
and secondary blessings of an external and visible sort may, and
must, come in Messiah's train, _the_ blessing which He brings is of a
purely spiritual and inward character, and consists in turning away
single souls from their love and practice of evil. That is Christ's
true work.

The Apostle does not enlarge as to how it is done. We know how it is
done. Jesus turns away men from sin because, by the magnetism of His
love, and the attractive raying out of influence from His Cross, He
turns them to Himself. He turns us from our iniquities by the
expulsive power of a new affection, which, coming into our hearts
like a great river into some foul Augean stable, sweeps out on its
waters all the filth that no broom can ever clear out in detail. He
turns men from their iniquities by His gift of a new life, kindred
with that from which it is derived.