The Annual Atonement
(No. 1923)
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, OCTOBER 3, 1886,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse
you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord."
Leviticus 16:30.
BEFORE Adam transgressed, he lived in communion with God, but after he
had broken the Covenant and grieved God's Spirit, he could have no more
familiar fellowship with God. Under the Mosaic dispensation, in which
God was pleased, in His Grace, to dwell among His people and walk with
them in the wilderness, it was still under a reserve– there was a Holy
Place wherein the symbol of God's Presence was hidden away from mortal
gaze. No man might come near to it except in one way, only, and then
only once in the year, "The Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way
into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest, while as the first
Tabernacle was yet standing." Our subject today illustrates the
appointed way of access to God. This chapter shows that the way of
access to God is by Atonement and by no other method. We cannot draw
near unto the Most High except along the blood-besprinkled way of
sacrifice. Our Lord Jesus said, "No man comes unto the Father, but by
Me." And this is true in many senses and in this, among them, that our
way to God lies only through the Sacrifice of His Son.
The reason for this is that sin lies at the door. Brothers and Sisters,
a pure and holy God cannot endure sin. He cannot have fellowship with
it, or with those who are rendered unclean by it, for it would be
inconsistent with His Nature to do so. On the other hand, sinful men
cannot have fellowship with God–their evil nature could not endure the
fire of His holiness! Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? What is that
devouring fire and what are those everlasting burnings, but the Justice
and Holiness of God? The Apostle says, "Even our God is a consuming
fire." A guilty soul would perish if it were possible for it to draw
near to God apart from the Mediator and His Atonement. The fire of
God's Nature must consume the stubble of our nature so long as there is
sin in us or about us. Hence the difficulty of access, a difficulty
which only a Divine method can remove. God cannot commune with sinful
men, for He is holy. Sinful men cannot commune with a holy God, because
He must destroy them, even as He destroyed Nadab and Abihu when they
intruded into His Holy Place. That terrible judgment is mentioned in
the opening verses of the chapter before us as the reason why the
ordinances herein contained were first of all made.
How, then, shall men come to God? Only in God's own way! He, Himself,
devised the way and He has taught it to us by a parable in this
chapter. It would be very wrong to prefer any one passage of Scripture
beyond another, for all Scripture is given by Inspiration. But if we
might do so, we should set this chapter in a very eminent and prominent
place for its fullness of instruction–and its clear, yet deep
doctrinal teaching. It treats upon a matter which is of the very
highest importance to all of us. We are here taught the way by which
the sin that blocks the door may be taken away, so that a seeking soul
may be introduced into the Presence of God–and stand in His Holy
Place–and yet live. Here we learn how we may say, with the astonished
Prophet, "I have seen God and my life is preserved!" Oh that we might,
today, so learn the lesson that we may enter into the fullest
fellowship with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ, in that safe
way, that only way, which God has appointed for us! Oh for the power
and guidance of the Holy Spirit, that we may know and use "the new and
living way!"
Before I proceed to enlarge upon this chapter, I want to notice that,
of course, this was only a type. This great Day of Atonement did not
see an actual atonement made, nor sin really put away, but it was the
figure of heavenly things–the shadow of good things to come. The
substance is of Christ. If this Day of Atonement had been real and
satisfactory, as touching God and the conscience of men, there would
never have been another–for the worshippers once purged would
have had no more conscience of sin! If they had lived 50 or a hundred
years, they would never have needed another Day of Atonement–but
because this was, in its nature, imperfect and shadowy, being only
typical–therefore, every year, in the seventh month, on the 10th day
of the month, a fast was proclaimed, sin was confessed, victims were
slain and atonement was again presented.
In the Jewish year, so often as it came round, on one special day they
were commanded to afflict their souls, even though it was a Sabbath of
rest. In very deed a remembrance of sin was made every year, a painful
remembrance for them, although sweetened by a new exhibition of the
plan by which sin is cleansed. The Lord said, "This shall be an
everlasting statute unto you." It lasted as long as the Mosaic economy
in the letter, but its spirit and substance last on forever. They had
that day to remember that their sin was not put away once and for all
and forever by all their types and ceremonies and, therefore, they had
again to humble themselves and come before God with sacrifices which
could never truly put away sin! Israel had to do this constantly until
Jesus, the true High Priest appeared–and now they have no sacrificing
priest, nor altar, nor Holy of Holies. By Jesus Christ's one offering
of Himself, sin was put away, once and for all, effectually and
finally, so that Believers are really clean before God.
Now, if I should seem to run the type into the substance, you will just
separate them in your own minds. It is not easy to speak as to keep
shadow and substance quite clear of each other. We are apt to say,
"This is so-and-so," when we mean, "this represents so-and-so," and we
have our Lord's example for so doing, for He said, "this is My body and
My blood," when He meant that the bread and wine represented His body
and blood. We are not speaking to fools, nor to those who will wrench
the letter from its obvious spiritual sense! I shall trust to your
intelligence and the guidance of the Holy Spirit that you will, in this
discourse, discern between the symbol and the substance! May the Divine
Spirit help me and help you to a right understanding of this sacred
type!
I. Now, then, let us come to the text and note, first, WHAT WAS DONE on
that particular day. The text tells us what was done symbolically–"On
that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you,
that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord."
The persons, themselves, were cleansed. If any of them had become
unclean so as to be denied communion with God and His people, they were
made clean, so that they might go up to the Tabernacle and mingle with
the congregation. All the host were, that morning, regarded as
unclean–and all had to bow their heads in penitent sorrow because of
their uncleanness. After the sacrifice and the sending away of the
scapegoat, the whole congregation was clean and in a condition to
rejoice. If it happened to be the Year of Jubilee, the joyful trumpets
rang out as soon as the atonement was complete. Every year, within four
days after the Day of Atonement, the people were so clean that they
kept the joyful Feast of Tabernacles. Jewish Rabbis were known to say
that no man had ever seen sorrow who had not seen the Day of Atonement
and that no man had ever seen gladness who had not witnessed the
hilarity and delight of the people during the Feast of Tabernacles!
The people, themselves, were made to be a clean people and I lay great
stress on this, because unless you, yourself, are purged, everything
that you do is defiled in the sight of God. When a man was unclean, if
he went into a tent and sat upon anything, it was unclean. If a friend
touched his garments, he was rendered unclean. The man, himself,
needed, first, to be delivered from impurity and it is precisely the
same in your case and mine! I have need to cry, "Purge me with hyssop,
and I shall be clean! Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow." Your
very person, by nature, is defiled and obnoxious to the justice of God.
In body, soul and spirit you are, by nature, altogether as an unclean
thing and all your righteousnesses are as filthy rags–you, yourself,
need to be washed and renewed. It is a far simpler thing to remove
outward stains than it is to purge the very substance and nature of
man, yet this is what was done, typically, on the Day of
Atone-ment–and this is what our redeeming Lord actually does for us!
We are outlaws and His Atonement purges us of outlawry and makes us
citizens. We are lepers and by His stripes we are so healed as to be
received among the clean! By nature we are only fit to be flung into
those fires which burn up corrupt and offensive things–but His
Sacrifice makes us so precious in the sight of the Lord that all the
forces of Heaven stand sentinel about us! Once black as night, we are
so purged that we shall walk with Him in white, for we are worthy.
Their persons being made clean, they were also purged of all the sins
confessed. I called attention, in the reading of the chapter, to its
many, "alls." I think there are seven or eight of them. The work which
was done on that day was compre-hensive–a clean sweep was made of sin.
I begin with that which was confessed, for it was that for which
cleansing would
be most desired. It is said that, "Aaron shall lay both his hands upon
the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of
the children of Israel." All sin that was confessed over the scapegoat
was carried away into a land not inhabited. Sin that is confessed is
evidently real sin and not a mere dream of a morbid conscience. There
is a certain mythical cloud of sin which people talk about and pretend
to deplore and yet they have no sense of the solid weight and
heinous-ness of their actual iniquity. Certain grievous sins are
comparable to cauldrons of foaming filth–no man will willingly
acknowledge them, however clearly they may be his, but when he does
admit them before God, let him remember that it is this real sin, this
foul and essentially abominable transgression, which is put away by the
Atonement of Christ!
Sin confessed with tears. Sin which causes the very heart to
bleed–killing sin, damning sin–this is the kind of sin for which
Jesus died! Sham sinners may be content with a sham Savior, but our
Lord Jesus is the real Savior who did really die–and died for real
sin. Oh, how this ought to comfort you, you that are sadly bearing the
pressing burden of an execrable life! And you, too, who are crushed
into the mire of despondency beneath the load of your guilt! Brothers
and Sisters, sin which you are bound to admit to as most assuredly
committed is the sort of pollution from which Jesus cleanses all
Believers. Sin which you dare not confess to man, but acknowledge only
as you lay your hand upon the Divine Sacrifice–such sin the Lord
removes from you.
The passage is very particular to mention "all sins." "The goat shall
bear upon him all their iniquities." This includes every form of sin of
thought, of word, of deed, of pride, of falsehood, of lust, of malice,
of blasphemy. This comprehends crimes against man and offenses against
God of peculiar blackness. And it does not exclude sins of
inadvertence, or carelessness, or of omission. Transgressions of the
body, the intellect, the affections are all blotted out. The outrageous
scandals which I dare not mention are yet pardonable–yes, such have
been pardoned! There is not the same degree of virus in all sins, but
whether or not, the Atonement is for all transgressions. The Lord Jesus
Christ did not pour out His heart's blood to remove one set of stains
and leave the rest– He takes away from the soul that puts its trust in
Him every spot and trace of sin. "Wash me," said David, "and I shall be
whiter than snow." He looked for the extreme of cleanness and such the
Savior brings to the soul for whom He has made effectual Atonement. I
desire to be so plain and broad that the chief of sinners may gather
hope from my words. I speak in very simple language, but the theme is
full of sublimity–especially to you that feel your need of it. The
Atonement removed all sin. I must give you the exact expression. He
says, "all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their
transgressions in all their sins."
It seems that the Divine Atonement puts away the sin of sin–the
essence and heart of sin. Sin has its core, its kernel, its mortal
spot. Within a fruit there is a central stone, or pip–this may serve
as the likeness of sin. Within each iniquity there seems to lie a
something more essentially evil than the act itself–this is the kernel
of intent, the core of obstinacy, the inner hate of the mind. Whatever
may be the sin of the soul, or the soul of the sin, Atonement has been
made for it all. Most sins are a conglomerate of sins. A sin may be
compared to a honeycomb–there are as many sins within one sin as there
are cells within a piece of comb. Sin is a swarming, hiving, teeming
thing! You can never estimate its full vileness, nor perceive all its
evil bearings. All sorts of sins may hide away in one sin.
It would puzzle all the theologians in the world to tell what sin was
absent from Adam's first offense. I could take any point you choose and
show that Adam sinned in that direction. All sin was within that first
sin. Sin is a multitudinous evil, an aggregate of all manner of
filthiness, a chain with a thousand deadly links! A sinner is like a
man possessed with a devil who cries, "My name is Legion, for we are
many!" It is one in evil and yet countless in forms. The Atonement is
more than equal to sin–it takes away all our transgressions in all our
sins. It is the fullest purgation that could be imagined. The Lord
Jesus has not left upon those for whom He has made Atonement a single
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, so far as their justification is
concerned. He has not left an iniquity for which they can be condemned
before the bar of judgement. "You are clean every whit," is His sure
verdict and none can contradict it.
It appears from this chapter, too, that another thing was done. Not
only were all the sins that they had committed put away, but also all
their holy things were purged. There stood the altar upon which only
holy things were offered, but because imperfect men ministered there,
it needed to be sprinkled with blood before it could be clean. There
was the Holy Place of the Tabernacle which was dedicated solely to
God's service, wherein the holiest rites of God's ordaining were
celebrated–but because the priests that served there were fallible and
unholy thoughts might cross their minds even when they handled the holy
vessels, therefore the blood was sprinkled seven times within the Holy
Place! Inside, within the veil, the sanctuary was called the "Holy of
Holiest." Yes, but standing, as it did at first, in the midst of the
camp of an
erring people and afterwards near to it, it needed to be purged! It is
written, "the priest shall make an atonement for the Holy Place,
because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel." Even the Mercy
Seat and the ground whereon it rested were sprinkled with the blood of
the sacrifice seven times!
O Brothers and Sisters, I feel so glad that our Lord has atoned for the
sins of our holy things! I rejoice that Jesus forgives the sins of my
sermons! I have preached my very soul out among you with purity of
motive, seeking to win men for Christ, but I dare not hope to have them
accepted in and of themselves, for I perceive that they are defiled
with sin! I feel so glad that Jesus has purified our prayers! Many
saints spend much time in hearty, earnest cries to God, but even on
your knees, you sin–and herein is our comfort, that the precious blood
has made Atonement for the shortcomings of our supplications. Sometimes
when we get together, Beloved, we sing to the praise of our Lord with
heart and will. I have felt in this place as if you and I and all of us
were so many burning coals, all blazing within a censer and thus
letting loose the odors of the sweet incense of our Lord's praise! How
often has a pillar of fragrant smoke risen from this house to Heaven!
Yes, but even then there was sin in our praises and iniquity in our
doxologies. We need pardon for our Psalms and cleansing for our hymns!
Blessed be God, Atonement is made for all our faults, excesses and
shortcomings. Jesus puts away not only our unholy things, but also the
sins of our holy things!
Once more, on that day, all the people were cleansed. All the
congregation of the house of Israel were typically cleansed from all
sin by the Day of Atonement–not only the priests, but all the
people–not only the princes, but the poorest servants in the camp! The
aged woman and the little child. The gray beard and the youth were,
alike, purified. Men of business inclined to covetousness, they were
cleansed. And younger men and maidens in their gaiety, too apt to
descend into wantonness–they were all made clean that day! This gives
great comfort to those of us who love the souls of the multitude. All
who believe are justified from all things! It is written, "The blood of
Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin." I have often heard
the text quoted with the, "us," left out. Permit me to put it in at
this moment– "cleanses us from all Sin." Now put yourself into the,
"us." Dare to believe that Grace admits you there! By an act of faith,
let all of us all round the galleries and in this great area say, "The
blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses US." If you pull, "us," to
pieces, it is made up of a great many "me's." A thousand, thousand
times "me" will all pack away into a single "us!" Let each one
say–"The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses me, and cleanses me
from all sin." Be glad and rejoice forever because of this gracious
Truth of God! This was done on the Day of Atonement in the symbol–and
it has really been done by the Lord Jesus through His atoning
Sacrifice.
II. Now we notice, in the second place, HOW IT WAS DONE. We have seen
what was done and this is most cheering. But now we will see how it was
done. I shall have to be brief in this description. The Atonement was
made, first of all, by sacrifice. I see a bullock for a sin offering, a
ram for a burnt offering and, again, a goat for a sin offering. Many
victims were offered that day and thus the people were reminded of the
instrumental cause of atonement, namely, the Blood of Sacrifice. We
know that the blood of bulls and of goats could never take away sin,
but very distinctly do these point to the sufferings of our dear
Redeemer. The woes He bore are the Expiation for our guilt. "He was
wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are
healed."
If you want to know by what means sin is put away, think of Messiah's
life of grief and shame and arduous service. Think of His agony and
bloody sweat in the garden. Think of the betrayal and denial, the
scourging and the spitting. Think of the false accusations and the
reproaches and the jeers. Think of the Cross, the nailed hands and
feet, the bruised soul and the broken spirit. Fierce were the fires
which consumed our Sacrifice. "My God, My God, why have You forsaken
Me?" is the quintessence of agony–and this came from the heart which
was crushed for our sins! Atonement was made for your sins and mine by
the shedding of blood–that is to say, by our Lord's suffering and
especially by His laying down His life on our behalf. Jesus died–by
that death He purged our sin, He who only has Immortality gave up the
ghost–in the cold embrace of Death, the Lord of Glory slept! They
wrapped Him in spices and linen cloths and laid Him in the tomb of
Joseph of Arimathaea. In that death lay the essential deed by which sin
dies and Grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life.
Notice, next, that the atonement was made not only by the blood of
sacrifice, but by the presentation of the blood within the veil. With
the smoke of incense and a bowl filled with blood, Aaron passed into
the Most Holy Place. Let us never forget that our Lord has gone into
the heavenly places with better sacrifices than Aaron could present.
His merits
are the sweet incense which burns before the Throne of the heavenly
Grace. His death supplies that Blood of Sprinkling which we find even
in Heaven. "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with
hands, which are the figures of the true; but into Heaven, itself, now
to appear in the Presence of God for us." "Neither by the blood of
goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the Holy
Place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." The presenting of
the blood before God effects the Atonement. The material of the
Atonement is in the blood and merits of Jesus, but a main part of the
atoning act lies in the presentation of these in the heavenly places by
Jesus Christ, Himself.
Furthermore, atonement was made effectual by its application to the
thing or person cleansed. The atonement was made for the Holy Place–it
was sprinkled seven times with blood. The same was done to the
altar–the horns thereof were smeared seven times. So to make the
Atonement effectual between you and God, the blood of Jesus must be
sprinkled upon you by a lively faith. Though this does not so plainly
appear in the type before us as to the people on this occasion, yet it
comes out in other types–the cleansing blood was always the Blood of
Sprinkling. Before the blood of the Paschal lamb could cause the
avenger to pass over the house, it must be marked with the crimson
sign. This is that scarlet thread in the window which delivers the
Lord's Rahabs in the day of destruction. Before any man can receive
reconciliation with God, the Atonement must be applied to his own heart
and conscience. Faith is that bunch of hyssop which we dip into the
blood and, with it, sprinkle the lintel and two side posts of the house
wherein we dwell–and so we are saved from destruction.
Further, my dear Brothers and Sisters, inasmuch as no one type was
sufficient, the Lord set forth the method of the removal of sin, as far
as we are concerned, by the scapegoat. One of two goats was chosen to
live. It stood before the Lord and Aaron confessed all the sins of
Israel upon its head. A fit man, selected for the purpose, led this
goat away into a land not inhabited. What became of it? Why do you ask
the question? It is not to edification. You may have seen the famous
picture of the scapegoat, representing it as expiring in misery in a
desert place. That is all very pretty and I do not wonder that
imagination should picture the poor devoted scapegoat as a sort of
cursed thing, left to perish amid accumulated horrors. But please
observe that this is all fancy–mere groundless fancy! The Scripture is
entirely silent as to anything of the kind and purposely so. All that
the type teaches is this–in symbol the scapegoat has all the sin of
the people laid upon it and when it is led away into the solitary
wilderness, it has gone and the sin with it! We may not follow the
scapegoat even in imagination! It is gone where it can never be found,
for there is nobody to find it–it is gone into a land not
inhabited–into "no man's land" in fact.
Stop where the Scripture stops! To go beyond what is written is unwise,
if not presumptuous. Sin is carried away into the silent land, the
unknown wilderness. By nature, sin is everywhere, but to Believers, in
the Sacrifice of Christ, sin is nowhere! The sins of God's people have
gone beyond recall. Where to? Do not ask anything about that. If they
were sought for, they could not be found! They are so gone that they
are blotted out. Into oblivion our sins have gone, even as the
scapegoat went out of track of mortal man. The death of the scapegoat
does not come into the type. In fact, it would mar the type to think of
it. Of Melchizedek, we read that he was without father, without mother,
without descent and so on, because these things are not mentioned in
Scripture and the omission is part of the teaching. So in this case,
the fate of the scapegoat is not spoken of and the silence is a part of
the instruction. The scapegoat is gone, we know not where, and so our
sins have vanished quite away–nobody will ever find the scapegoat–and
nobody will ever find the Believer's sins!
"Where are my sins? Oh where?" Echo answers, "Where?" Gone to the land
of nobody, where Satan, himself, could not find them! Yes, where God
Himself cannot find them. He says He has cast our sin behind His back
where He cannot see. What part of the creation must that be which lies
behind God's back, whereas He is everywhere present, beholding all
things both by night and by day? There is no such place as, "behind His
back"–and there is no place for our sins. They have gone into nowhere.
"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our
transgressions from us." He has cast them into the depths of the
sea–and even that is not so good a figure as the scapegoat, for things
that are at the bottom of the sea are still there–but the scapegoat
soon passed away altogether and, as far as Israel was concerned, it
ceased to be. The sins of God's people are absolutely and irrevocably
forgiven! Never, never, never can they be laid to our charge! They are
extinct, buried, blotted out, forgotten. "Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect?"
Yet, dear Friends, the ceremony was not quite finished, for now
everybody who had had a hand in it must be washed, so that everybody
might be clean. There is Aaron–he takes off his garments and washes
himself scrupulously clean! Yes,
he does it a second time. Here is the man who took the scapegoat away
and he washes himself. Here is a third person, who carried away the
skin and the flesh of the sin offering and burnt them outside the
camp–he also washes himself. Everybody becomes purged. The whole camp
is clean right through. So, when Jesus completes His sacrifice, we
sing–
"Now both the sinner and Surety are free." No sin remains upon Him on
whom the Lord once laid the iniquities of us all! The great Atonement
is made and everything is cleansed, from beginning to end. Christ has
put it all away forever by the water and the blood which flowed from
His riven side. All is purified and the Lord looks down on a clean
camp–and soon He will have them rejoicing before Him, each man in his
home, feasting to the full! I am so glad, my joy overflows! O Lord, who
is a pardoning God like You? Where can such forgiveness be found as You
do freely give to sinners through Jesus, Your Son?
III. In the third place, I ask your attention, for a brief interval, to
this special point–WHO DID IT? The answer is, Aaron did it all. Aaron
was quite alone in the work of that day. It was heavy and even
exhausting work, but he had no assistant. Aaron performed the work of
priest and Levite that day and no one helped him, for it is written,
"There shall be no man in the Tabernacle of the congregation when he
goes in to make an atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and
has made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all
the congregation of Israel." The Tabernacle seemed lonely that day.
Aaron went into its courts and chambers and saw no sign of man. Of
course there were lamps to be lighted, but Aaron had to light them
himself–the showbread had to be changed–Aaron had to change it. All
the offices of the tabernacle were left to his sole care for the day.
When it came to killing the victims, priests and Levites were there on
other days, but now the High Priest must do it all. He must kill and
receive the blood and sprinkle it himself. He must kindle the
sacrificial fire and lay the burning coals upon the incense. He must
carry both the incense and the basin of blood into the Holy Place with
his own hands. I think I see him looking around in the solitude. He
says, "I looked and there was no man." Of the people there was none
with him. In the Holy Place there stood no priest to minister before
the Lord except Aaron. It must have been with trembling that he lifted
up the curtain and passed into the secret place of the Most High with
the censer smoking in his hand. There he stood in that awful Presence
quite alone with the Eternal–no man was with him when he sprinkled the
blood again and again till the seven-fold rite was finished.
Three times he goes in and out and never a soul is there to so much as
smile upon him. The tension of mind and heart which he endured, alone,
that day, must have been trying, indeed. All that day he must have been
conscious of a burden of responsibility and a weight of reverence
enough to bow him to the dust and yet no one was present to cheer him.
Now fix your eyes on the great Antitype of Aaron. There was none with
our Lord–He trod the winepress alone. He bore our sins in His body on
the tree. He alone went in where the thick darkness covered the Throne
of God and none stood by to comfort Him. "All the disciples forsook Him
and fled." It would have been a very natural thing, one would think,
that Peter should have defended Him and even died with Him–but no one
died with Jesus except thieves–and nobody could suspect that thieves
aided Him in His Sacrifice! They showed the need of the Sacrifice, but
they could do no more.
Worship our Lord as working salvation by His own single arm! Do not
tolerate those who would share His work. Do not believe in priests of
any church who pretend to offer sacrifice for the quick and the dead!
They cannot help you and you do not need their help! Do not put your
own merits, works, prayers, or anything else side by side with your one
lone High Priest, who in His white garments of holy service performed
the whole work of Expiation and then came forth in His garments of
Glory and of beauty to gladden the eyes of His chosen! I say no more.
Let that Truth of God abide in your hearts–our High Priest, alone, has
made Reconciliation!
IV. Lastly, WHAT WERE THE PEOPLE TO DO for whom this atonement was
made? There were two things they had to do that day, only I must add
that one of them was doing nothing. For the first thing, they had to
afflict their souls that day. Brothers and Sisters, does it seem a
strange thing to you that on a day of rest they were to afflict their
souls? Think of it a little and you will see that there was cause for
it. We most rightly sing–
"Here let our hearts begin to melt, While we, His death record And with
our joy for pardoned guilt Mourn that we pierced the Lord." It was a
day of confession of sin. And should not confession be made with
sorrowful repentance? A dry-eyed confession is a hypocritical
confession! To acknowledge sin without grieving over it is to aggravate
sin. We cannot think of our sin
without grieving–and the more sure we are that it is forgiven–the
more sorry we are that ever it was committed! Sin seems all the greater
because it was committed against a sin-forgiving God. If you do wrong
to a person and he grows angry, you may be wicked enough to persist in
the wrong. But if, instead of growing angry, he forgives and does you
good in return, then you will deeply regret that ever you had an unkind
thought towards him. The Lord's pardoning love makes us feel truly
sorry to have offended Him.
Not only was it a day of confession, but it was a day of sacrifice. No
tender-hearted Israelite could think of that bullock, ram and goat
dying for him without saying, "That is what I deserve." If he heard the
moans of the dying creature he would say, "My own heart groans and
bleeds." When we think of our dying Lord, our emotions are mingled–we
feel a pleasing grief and a mournful joy as we stand at Calvary. Thus
it is we sing–
"Alas! And did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Could He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
Was it for crimes that I ha ve done
He died upon the tree?
Amazing pity, Grace unknown,
And love beyond degree!
Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When God the mighty Maker died
For man, the creature's sin!
Well might I hide my blushing face
When His dear Cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears."
It was a day of sacrifice and, therefore, a day of affliction of their
souls and herein we are in sympathy with them.
Once more, it was a day of perfect cleansing and, therefore, by a
strange logic, a day of the affliction of the soul, for, oh, when sin
is forgiven, when we know it is forgiven, when, by Divine Assurance, we
know that God has blotted out our sins like a cloud, then it is we
mourn over our iniquities! "They shall look upon Me whom they have
pierced"–that look gives life! "And they shall mourn for Him as one
mourns for his only son and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that
is in bitterness for his first-born"–this bitterness is one of the
truest signs of life! They were to afflict their souls. Brethren, we
cannot talk of the Cross of Christ except in subdued tones. If you
think you can laugh and sport yourself because your sin is forgiven,
you know nothing of the matter. Sin has been pardoned at such a price
that we cannot, from this day on, trifle with it. The sacrifice was so
august that we must always speak of it with holy trembling.
I always feel a suspicion of those converts who get up and glibly boast
that once they were drunks, thieves, blasphemers and so forth. Brothers
and Sisters, if you tell the story of your sin, blush scarlet to think
it should be true! I am ashamed to hear a man talk of his sins as an
old Greenwich pensioner might talk of his sea-fights. I hate to hear a
man exhibiting his old lusts as if they were scars of honor! Friend,
these things are disgraceful to you, however much the putting of them
away may be to the honor and Glory of God–and they are to be spoken of
by you with shame and confusion of face. Afflict your soul when you
remember what you once were!
On the day of atonement they were to afflict their souls and yet they
were to rest. Can these things come together– mourning and resting? Oh
yes, you and I know how they meet in one bosom. I never am so truly
happy as when a sober sadness tinges my joy. When I am the fullest of
joy I could weep my life away at Jesus' feet. Nothing is more really
sweet than the bitterness of repentance. Nothing is more healthful than
self-abhorrence mixed with the grateful love which hides itself in the
wounds of Jesus! The purified people were to rest–they were to rest
from all servile work. I will never do a hand's turn to save myself by
my own merits, works, or feelings. I have done forever with all
interference with my Lord's work. Salvation as to its meritorious cause
is complete–we will not think of beginning it over again, for that
would be an insult to the Savior.
"It is finished," said our Lord Jesus, as He bowed His dear triumphant
head and gave up the ghost. And if it is finished, we will not dream of
adding to it. It is finished! We have no work to do with the view of
self-salvation. But you say
to me–"Have we not to work out our own salvation?" Certainly we have!
We are to work out our own salvation because God works it in us. It is
our own salvation and we show it forth in our lives–we work it out
from within–we develop it from day to day and let men see what the
Lord has done for us! It must first be worked for us and then in us, or
we can never work it out!
They were assuredly to cease from all sinful work. How can the pardoned
man continue in sin? We have done with toiling for the devil! We will
no more waste our lives in his service. Many men are worn to rottenness
in the service of their lusts, but the servant of God has been set free
from that yoke of bondage. We are slaves no longer–we quit the hard
bondage of Egypt and rest in the Lord.
We have also done with selfish work. We now seek first the Kingdom of
Heaven and look that all other things shall be added unto us by the
goodness of our heavenly Father. Henceforth we find rest by bearing the
easy yoke of Christ. We joy to spend and be spent in His beloved
service. He has made us free and, therefore, we are under bonds to His
love forever. O Lord, I am Your servant, I am Your servant! You have
loosed my bonds–from this day on I am bound to You. God grant that
this may be a high day to you because you gladly realize the grand
Truths of God which are shadowed forth in these delightful types! Amen.