THE BLOOD OF SPRINKLING 2 – Charles Spurgeon
THE BLOOD OF SPRINKLING
“You have come…to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you refuse not Him who speaks.” Hebrews 12:24, 25.
In the former part of this sermon, the text grew upon me so largely that it was quite impossible to express all its meaning. In as condensed a manner as possible, I explained what was meant by “the blood of sprinkling,” and I also enlarged upon the high position which this precious blood occupies in the Gospel dispensation. But I was obliged to leave, for this second occasion, two practical questions which the text is sure to raise if it is carefully thought upon. The doctrinal portion of our meditation was greatly blessed to our hearts, for God the Holy Spirit refreshed us thereby—may He now fulfill His sacred office with equal power by revealing the things of Christ to us in a way which shall cause self-examination—and awaken us to give more earnest heed than ever to the voice of Him who speaks from Heaven.
No theme can excel in value and excellence that of the precious blood of Jesus! Unless the Holy Spirit shall prepare our hearts, even with such a topic as this before us, we shall not be profited. But if He will show these choice Truths of God to us, we shall be comforted, quickened, edified, and sanctified by them. It is a considerable disadvantage to some of you that you have not heard the former part of the sermon [Sermon #1888, “The Blood of the Sprinkling (First Sermon)] but I hope you will read it at your leisure, and then, if you read this in connection with it, the whole subject will be before you. Not that I can set it all out in words—I only mean that it will be before you as the ocean is before us when we sit on the beach—or as the heavens are before us when we gaze upon Arcturus with his sons. Finite language fails to convey the Infinite and if ever there was a text which deserved to be called Infinite, it is that which is now before us!
Having touched, as with a swallow’s wing, the surface of our great theme under the first division of the sermon, I have now to speak with you upon the second, which is this—Where are we with reference to this blood of sprinkling? The text says, “You have come.” We have not come to Mount Sinai, but we have come to Mount Zion, to angels and their God, to saints and their Mediator—and to the blood of sprinkling. This having had its share of our thoughts, we are to conclude with the question, What then? If we have come to this blood of sprinkling, what then? the answer is, “See that you refuse not Him who speaks.” Let us give to the wondrous Truths of God revealed to us by the sacrifice of Jesus the most earnest heed, that our souls may hear and live. May the Holy Spirit enable us to hear the heavenly voice at this hour! “Faith comes by hearing”—may it come at this time by our reverently hearing the voice of the blood of sprinkling!
II. WHERE ARE WE?
My business under the second head of my discourse is to answer the question, WHERE ARE WE? I have to explain what is meant by the expression which is found in the 22nd verse of the chapter, “You have come.” Link the 22nd verse with this 24th and read, “You have come to the blood of sprinkling.”
Well, first, you have come to the hearing of the Gospel of the atoning Sacrifice. The Israelites left Egypt and, having passed the Red Sea, they entered the desert and, at length, came to the mount of God, even to Sinai, that terrible mountain! In the valley around that Throne of God, they were gathered together in their thousands. What a sight that vast multitude must have been! Probably two million or more were encamped before the mount. Then, “The Lord came from Sinai and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from Mount Paran; and He came with ten thousands of His saints; from His right hand went a fiery Law for them.” Israel crouched in the valley below, subdued by the terrible majesty of the scene and overawed by the trumpet Voice which pealed forth from the midst of the thick darkness. The Lord spoke with them, but their uncircumcised ears could not bear His glorious voice, and they entreated that Moses might act as mediator and speak in God’s place.
You and I have not come to such a terrible sight at this hour. No quivering mountain smokes before you, no terrible lightning appalls you, no thunder distresses you—
“Not to the terrors of the Lord,
The tempest, fire, and smoke.
Not to the thunder of that Word
Which God on Sinai spoke.
But we have come to Sion’s hill,
The city of our God,
Where milder words declare His will
And spread His love abroad.”
Among the great things which you are called upon to consider under the Gospel is, “the blood of sprinkling.” Count yourselves happy that you are privileged to hear of the divinely appointed way of reconciliation with God! You have come to hear, not of your sin and its doom, not of the last judgment and the swift destruction of the enemies of God—but of love to the guilty, pity for the miserable, mercy for the wicked, compassion for those who are out of the way! You have come to hear of God’s great expedient of Wisdom by which He, by the same act and deed condemns sin and lets the sinner live—by which He honors His Law and yet passes by transgression, iniquity and sin!
You have come to hear, not of the shedding of your own blood, but of the shedding of His blood who, in His infinite compassion, deigned to take the place of guilty men—to suffer, that they might not suffer—and die, that they might not die! Blessed are your ears that they hear of the perfect Sacrifice! Happy are your spirits, since they are found where Free Grace and boundless love have set forth a great Propitiation for sin! Divinely favored are you to live where you are told of pardon freely given to all who will believe on the name of the Lord Jesus, as the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world! You hear at this hour not Law, but Gospel! Not the sentence of judgment, but the proclamation of Grace!
“See that you refuse not Him who speaks.” It is no small thing for the Kingdom of God to have come so near unto you. Awake to a sense of your privilege! You do not sit in heathen midnight, nor in Popish gloom, nor in Jewish mist—but day has dawned on you—do not refuse the Light of God!
In a better sense, going a little further, we have not only come to the blood of sprinkling by hearing about it, but we have come to it because the great God now deals with us upon methods which are founded and grounded upon the atoning Sacrifice of Christ. If God were to deal with us upon the terms laid down at Sinai, He need not be long in finding the “two or three witnesses” to prove that we have broken His Law! We would be, ourselves, compelled to plead guilty! No witnesses would be required. Truly, He has not dealt with us after our sins! We are so faulty that we can draw no comfort from the prospect of judgment by the Law of God—we appeal to mercy, alone, for on any other ground our case is hopeless! “This do and you shall live” is a Covenant which brings us no ray of comfort, for its only word to us is that thunderbolt—“ The soul that sins, it shall die.”
By the works of the Law, none can be justified, for by that Law we are all condemned. Read the Ten Commandments and pause at each one—and confess that you have broken it either in thought, word or deed. Remember that by a glance we may commit adultery! By a thought we may be guilty of murder! By a desire we may steal. Sin is any lack of conformity to perfect holiness and that lack of conformity is justly chargeable upon every one of us! Yet the Lord does not, under the Gospel dispensation, deal with us according to Law. He does not, now, sit on the Throne of Judgment, but He looks down upon us from the Throne of Grace! Not the iron rod, but the silver scepter is held over us! The long-suffering of God rules the age and Jesus, the Mediator, is the gracious Lord-Lieutenant of the dispensation. Instead of destroying offending man from off the face of the earth, the Lord comes near to us in loving condescension and pleads with us by His Spirit, saying, “You have sinned, but My Son has died. In Him I am prepared to deal with you in a way of pure mercy and unmingled Grace.”
O Sinner, the fact that you are alive proves that God is not dealing with you according to strict justice, but in patient forbearance! Every moment you live is another instance of Omnipotent long-suffering. It is the Sacrifice of Christ which holds back the axe of Justice which otherwise must execute you! The barren tree is spared because the great Dresser of the vineyard, who bled on Calvary, intercedes and cries, “Let it alone this year, also.”
O my Hearer, it is through the shedding of the blood and the mediatorial reign of the Lord Jesus that you are, at this moment, on praying ground and pleading terms with God! Apart from the blood of Atonement you would now be past hope, shut up forever in the place of doom! But see how the great Father bears with you! He stands prepared to hear your prayer, to accept your confession of sin, to honor your faith and to save you from your sin through the Sacrifice of His dear Son! Through our Lord Jesus, Sovereign Grace and Infinite Love find a free way to the most undeserving of the race! Through the Divine Sacrifice, the Lord says, “Come now and let us reason together: though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.”
Thus the rebel is treated as a child and the criminal as a beloved one! Because of yonder death on Calvary’s cruel tree, God can invite guilty men to come to Him and He can receive them to the bosom of His love. O my dear Hearers, do remember this! I am not sent to scold you, but to woo you! I am not sent to thunder at you, but to let the soft cleansing drops from the heart of Jesus fall upon you! I beg you not to turn away, as men may well do when the tidings are heavy, but listen diligently, for the message is full of joy!
You are now in the house of prayer, addressed by one of the Lord’s ambassadors, and the tidings are of peace through a Propitiation which God, Himself, has provided and accepted. We cry not to you, “Prepare for vengeance,” but we proclaim, “a God ready to pardon!”
III. WHAT THEN?
The last part of our subject is this—WHAT THEN? According to our text, the blood of Jesus is the Voice of the new dispensation. It is the blood which speaks and it speaks better things than the blood of Abel. What, then, is our duty? How does the Apostle express our obligation? “See that you refuse not Him who speaks.”
I would have a quarter of an hour’s very quiet talk with you, without excitement or quibbling debate. Lend me your ears, for I speak in all love for your souls. I want, dear Friends, that this great Truth of the Atonement which I so often preach may have a fair hearing and not be left to lie among the number of forgotten things. Do not refuse the voice of Jesus by cold indifference. God was made flesh and dwelt among men and, in due time, He took upon Himself our sin and suffered for it in His own body on the tree, that sin might be put away by the Sacrifice of Himself. By His death upon the Cross, our Lord made atonement for the sin of man—and those who believe in Him are delivered from evil and its consequences. The main point is that Jesus died for us, the Just for the unjust. His atoning blood has a voice—“See that you refuse not Him who speaks.”
The text says see to it; look to it; make sure of it; be careful about it. Do not miss the salvation of your Lord through neglect, for he who dies by neglecting the healing medicine will as surely perish as he who stabs himself! Be in earnest to accept the Savior—I beseech you to do so, for I am afraid that many refuse Him who speaks because they never think of Him, or of His Sacrifice. It seems to me that if I were a young man I would give this matter very early notice. However deeply I might be engaged in business, I would feel that my first concern ought to be to set myself right with God. Other matters would be sure to drop into order if I could be right with the Lord of All!
If I heard it said that salvation came by the blood of Christ, I think I would pull myself together and resolve to understand this amazing statement. I would not let it go by me, but would endeavor to reach the bottom of it and understand it practically. I would meditate much upon teaching so wonderful as this—that the Son of God, in man’s stead, honored the justice of God by death and so put away sin.
When I was a youth I had a great longing to begin life on right principles. I longed to find deliverance from sin. I would wake up with the sun in summer time to read my Bible and such books as Bunyan’s, “Grace Abounding,” Baxter’s, “Call to the Unconverted,” Alleine’s, “Alarm” and Doddridge’s, “Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul.” In these books I tried to discover the way of salvation, but the chief thing I longed to know was, “How can man be just with God? How can God be just with man and yet put away his sin?” Do you not think that these questions are of high importance? I beg that they may not have the cold shoulder from you. Give this question due space.
I know that a great many things demand your attention nowadays, but I claim for this, which is the innermost Revelation of God, that it should have an early and earnest hearing. God Incarnate in Christ Jesus—bleeding and dying for human sin—is a marvel of love too great to be passed over without thought! I pray you, therefore, “refuse not Him who speaks.” Do not say, “I pray you, have me excused.”
I do not suppose that you will become an infidel or act as a blasphemer towards this grand Truth of God. I will not accuse you of denying the fact of the Atonement, but my great fear is lest you should be indifferent to it! If it is so, that God, Himself, has come to earth to bleed and die to save guilty man, it is the greatest, gladdest news that ever came to our poor erring race—and every member of that race should receive it with hopeful attention!
When you resolve to study the Doctrine, do not approach it with prejudice through misapprehension.
Those that hate the Gospel of Christ are very busy in caricaturing the Doctrine of the Atonement. They assert that we preach that God was not merciful by nature, but must be appeased by the blood of His own Son. They charge us with saying that Jesus, by His death, made God loving. We distinctly teach the very opposite of that statement! What we do say is this, that God is infinitely loving—that, in fact, God is Love—but that love does not cause Him to be unjust or unholy, for that, in the long run, would not be love. God is the Judge of all the earth and He must do right. The Lord, as the great moral Governor, if He makes a Law and threatens a penalty, must execute that penalty, or else His Law will lose its authority. If the penalty threatened is not executed, there is a tacit acknowledgment that it was threatened in error. Could you believe in a fallible God?
The Lord has made a Law which is perfect, just and good. Would you rather be without Law? What reasonable person desires anarchy? God has backed up that Law with a threat. What is the use of a Law if to break it involves no evil consequences? A government that never punishes offenders is no government at all! God, therefore, as moral Ruler, must be just and must display His indignation against wrong and evil of every kind. It is written on the conscience of men that sin must be punished. Would you have it go unpunished? If you are a just man, you would not.
To meet the case, therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ, by Himself bearing the penalty of death, has honored the Divine Law. He has shown to all intelligences that God will not wink at sin, that even His infinite mercy must not come in the way of His justice. This is the Doctrine—do not listen to those who twist and pervert it.
It is the love of God which has provided the great Atonement by which, in a judgment better than ours, the Law finds a glorious vindication and the foundation of moral government is strengthened! Consider this matter and judge it fairly, with candid minds.
We assure you from God’s Word that apart from the Atonement of our Lord Jesus, you can never be saved either from the guilt or power of evil. You will find no peace for your conscience that is worth having, no thorough and deep peace, except by believing in this atoning Sacrifice! Neither will you meet with a motive strong enough to rescue you from the bonds of iniquity. Therefore, “See that you refuse not Him who speaks.” Hear, and your soul shall live! Quibble, and you will die in your sins.
Do not refuse the voice of the Lord Jesus by rejecting the principle of expiation. If God is content with this principle, it is not for us to raise objection. The Lord God is infinitely more concerned to fix matters on a right foundation than we ever can be and if He feels that the Sacrifice of Jesus meets the case in all points, why should we be dissatisfied with it? If there were a flaw in the proceedings, His holy eyes would see it. He would not have delivered up His own Son to die unless that death would perfectly fulfill the design intended by it. A mistake so expensive He would never have perpetrated! Who are you to raise the question? If God is satisfied, surely you should be!
To refuse the Atonement because we are too wise to accept so simple a method of mercy is the utmost height of folly! What? Will you refuse Him who speaks because the present phase of human madness dares to dispute the Divine way of human redemption? I pray you, do not!
Once more. Do not refuse this voice of mercy by preferring your own way of salvation. You have, no doubt, a way of salvation in your own mind, for few men have given up all hope. Perhaps your chosen hope is that you will be saved by doing your best. Alas, no man does his best—and the best acts of a rebel must be unaccepted of his king! So long as he is a rebel, his acts are those of a rebel and of no esteem with his prince. Perhaps your hope lies in saying so many prayers, going to church, or attending chapel—or are you so unwise as to trust to a minister or priest?
Now, we beseech you, hear the Witness of God which He has given us in this Book and learn that other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ the Righteous! There is one salvation and there can be no other! All other hopes are lying vanities and arrogant insults to Jesus. God has set forth Christ to be a Propitiation for sin. There is no other propitiation, or atonement, or way of acceptance—and if you reject this way—you will die in your sins!
I cannot help it if you do not like this teaching, although I shall be grieved if you refuse it. I can only tell you the Truth of God and leave it with your own hearts. Do not willfully refuse it. When I meet you face to face in that last day, to which we all must come, I shall not be clear of your blood unless I tell you what is assuredly the Truth of God—that in the precious blood of Christ is the only cleansing from sin—and the only acceptance with God. By believing in Jesus, as slain for you, you shall be saved! But do what you may, pray as you may, fast as you may, give alms as you may—you shall not enter Heaven by any other road! The way to Glory is by the way of the Cross. “Without shedding of blood there is no remission.”
Look to Him whom you have pierced and mourn for your sins. Look not to any other, for no other is needed, no other is provided, no other can be accepted! Jesus is the only Messenger of the Covenant of life and peace. “See that you refuse not Him who speaks.”
“See that you refuse not.” Then there is a choice about it! If you had never heard the Gospel, you could not have refused it—but now that you have heard the message, it lies within your power—and it is an awfully dangerous power to refuse Him who speaks!
Oh, can you, will you, dare you refuse my bleeding Savior—refuse the Lord of Love? I see Him now. The crown of thorns is about His brow. He is hanging on His Cross, expiring in unutterable agony! Can you refuse Him while He presents such a spectacle of sacrifice? His eyes are red with weeping—have you no tears for such sorrow? His cheeks are all stained with the brutal soldiers‘ spit—have you no love and homage for Him? His hands are fastened to the wood—His feet the same—and there He hangs to suffer in the sinner’s place. Will you not yield yourselves to Him?
I could joyfully bow before the foot of the Cross to kiss His dear feet Stained with blood! What a charm He has for me! And you—do you refuse Him? He is no mere man! It is God, Himself, who hangs upon the Cross! His body is that of a man, but it is in union with the Godhead. He who died at Calvary is God over all and this makes His death so effectual. He whom you have offended, in order to be justly able to pardon you, hangs there and dies for you—and do you turn your back on Him?
O Sirs, if you are wise, you will come, as I said I gladly would come, and kiss those bleeding feet and look up and say, “My Lord, I am reconciled to You—how could I be otherwise? My enmity is dead. How can I be an enemy to Him that died for me? In shame, scorn and misery Jesus dies that I may live! O Lord Jesus, You have worked in me not merely reconciliation, but full submission and hearty love. I joy to sink myself in You and to be Yours forever.”
See that you refuse not my Lord. May the sweet Spirit who loves the Cross and, like a dove, hovers round it now, descend upon you all who hear my message! May the Holy Spirit apply the blood of sprinkling to you and may you feel that instead of refusing Him who speaks, you will rejoice in His name!
When the text says, “See that you refuse not,” it tacitly and pleadingly says, “See that you accept Him.” Dear Hearers, I trust you will receive my Lord into your hearts! When we read of refusing, or receiving, we perceive an action of the will. Jesus must be willingly received—He will not force Himself upon any man. Whoever accepts Jesus is, himself, accepted of Jesus. Never was there a heart willing to receive Him to whom Jesus denied Himself. Never! But you must be willing and obedient. Grace works this in you—and in you this must be. Till the heart entertains Jesus gladly, nothing is done. All that is short of a willing hearing of Jesus and a willing acceptance of His great Atonement, is short of eternal life. Say, will you have this Savior, or do you decline His love? Will you give Him a cold refusal? Oh, do not but, on the contrary, throw open the doors of your heart and entreat your Lord and Savior to come in!
I do not wonder that the Israelites asked that they might no longer hear the Voice of thunder from the top of Sinai— it was too terrible for human ears—but you have no such excuse if you refuse Him who speaks, for Jesus speaks in notes more sweet than music, more tender than a mother’s sonnet to her babe!
Let me remind you that He was known to say, “Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls.” He declared that all manner of sin and of blasphemy should be forgiven unto men. He stood and cried, on the last day of the feast, “If any man thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink.”
I am telling you no fables, for Christ, who was born at Bethlehem and died on Calvary, by His own blood which He shed for many, assures you that there is forgiveness for every one of you who, confessing his sin, will come and put his trust in Him!
“See that you refuse not Him who speaks,” for though you hear only my poor feeble voice pleading with you, with an honest, loving heart at the back of it, yet God the Holy Spirit is speaking and Jesus Christ, Himself, is speaking to you! Refuse me if you please, but do not refuse my Lord!
The blood of Jesus says, “I was poured out for the guilty. I was shed to manifest Divine Love. I am sprinkled to cleanse from sin.” Each drop, as it falls, creates peace of heart. Stand where that blood is falling! Let it sprinkle you! Thus the blood speaks. Will you not answer, “Lord, we come to You, for You have drawn us. Your wounds have wounded our hearts. Your death has killed our enmity. Sprinkle us unto Yourself. Bedew us with Your blood. Let us be accepted in the Beloved.” Amen. So may God hear us!