The Voice of the Blood of Christ

The Voice of the Blood of Christ

A Sermon

(No. 211)

Delivered on Sabbath Morning, August 29, 1858, by the

REV. C.H. SPURGEON

at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens

"The blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of
Abel."–Hebrews 12:24.

OF all substances blood is the most mysterious, and in some senses the
most sacred. Scripture teacheth us,–and after all there is very much
philosophy in Scripture,–that "the blood is the life thereof,"–that
the life lieth in the blood. Blood, therefore, is the mysterious link
between matter and spirit. How it is that the soul should in any degree
have an alliance with matter through blood, we cannot understand; but
certain it is that this is the mysterious link which unites these
apparently dissimilar things together, so that the soul can inhabit the
body, and the life can rest in the blood. God has attached awful
sacredness to the shedding of blood. Under the Jewish dispensation,
even the blood of animals was considered as sacred. Blood might never
be eaten by the Jews; it was too sacred a thing to become the food of
man. The Jew was scarcely allowed to kill his own food: certainly he
must not kill it except he poured out the blood as a sacred offering to
Almighty God. Blood was accepted by God as the symbol of the atonement.
"Without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin, because, I
take it, blood hath such an affinity with life, that inasmuch as God
would accept nought but blood, be signified that there must be a life
offered to him, and that his great and glorious Son must surrender his
life as a sacrifice for his sheep.

Now, we have in our text "blood" mentioned–two-fold blood. We have the
blood of murdered Abel, and the blood of murdered Jesus. We have also
two things in the text:–a comparison between the blood of sprinkling,
and the blood of Abel; and then a certain condition mentioned. Rather,
if we read the whole verse in order to get its meaning, we find that
the righteous are spoken of as coming to the blood of sprinkling, that
speaketh better things than the blood of Abel; so that the condition
which will constitute the second part of our discourse, is coming to
that blood of sprinkling for our salvation and glory.

I. Without further preface I shall at once introduce to you the
CONTRAST AND COMPARISON IMPLIED IN THE TEXT. "The blood of sprinkling,
that speaketh better things than that of Abel." I confess I was very
much astonished when looking at Dr. Gill and Albert Barnes, and several
of the more eminent commentators, while studying this passage, to find
that they attach a meaning to this verse which had never occurred to me
before. They say that the meaning of the verse is not that the blood of
Christ is superior to the blood of murdered Abel, although that is
certainly a truth, but that the sacrifice of the blood of Christ is
better, and speaketh better things than the sacrifice which Abel
offered. Now, although I do not think this is the meaning of the text
and I have my reasons for believing that the blood here contrasted with
that of the Saviour, is the blood of the murdered man Abel, yet on
looking to the original there is so much to be said on both sides of
the question, that I think it fair in explaining the passage to give
you both the meanings. They are not conflicting interpretations; there
is indeed a shade of difference but still they amount to the same idea.

First, then, we may understand here a comparison between the offerings
Abel presented, and the offerings Jesus Christ presented, when he gave
his blood to be a ransom for the flock.

Let me describe Abel's offering. I have no doubt Adam had from the very
first of his expulsion from the garden of Eden offered a sacrifice to
God; and we have some dim hint that this sacrifice was of a beast, for
we find that the Lord God made Adam and Eve skins of beasts to be their
clothing, and it is probable that those skins were procured by the
slaughter of victims offered in sacrifice. However, that is but a dim
hint: the first absolute record that he have of an oblatory sacrifice
is the record of the sacrifice offered by Abel. Now, it appears that
very early there was a distinction among men. Cain was the
representative of the seed of the serpent, and Abel was the
representative of the seed of the woman. Abel was God's elect, and Cain
was one of those who rejected the Most High. However, both Cain and
Abel united together in the outward service of God. They both of them
brought on a certain high day a sacrifice. Cain took a different view
of the matter of sacrifice from that which presented itself to the mind
of Abel. Cain was proud and haughty: he said "I am ready to confess
that the mercies which we receive from the soil are the gift of God,
but I am not ready to acknowledge that I am a guilty sinner, deserving
God's wrath, therefore," said he, "I will bring nothing but the fruit
of the ground." "Ah, but" said Abel, "I feel that while I ought to be
grateful for temporal mercies, at the same time I have sins to confess,
I have iniquities to be pardoned, and I know that without shedding of
blood there is no remission of sin; therefore," said he, "O Cain, I
will not be content to bring an offering of the ground, of the ears of
corn, or of first ripe fruits, but I will bring of the firstlings of my
flock, and I will shed blood upon the altar, because my faith is, that
there is to come a great victim who is actually to make atonement for
the sins of men, and by the slaughter of this lamb, I express my solemn
faith in him." Not so Cain; he cared nothing for Christ; he was not
willing to confess his sin; he had no objection to present a
thank-offering, but a sin-offering he would not bring. He did not mind
bringing to God that which he thought might be acceptable as a return
for favors received, but he would not bring to God an acknowledgment of
his guilt, or a confession of his inability to make atonement for it,
except by the blood of a substitute. Cain, moreover, when he came to
the altar, came entirely without faith. He piled the unhewn stones, as
Abel did, he laid his sheaves of corn upon the altar, and there he
waited, but it was to him a matter of comparative indifference whether
God accepted him or not. He believed there was a God, doubtless, but he
had no faith in the promises of that God. God had said that the seed of
the woman should bruise the serpent's head–that was the gospel as
revealed to our first parents; but Cain had no belief in that
gospel–whether it were true or not, he cared not–it was sufficient
for him that he acquired enough for his own sustenance from the soil;
he had no faith. But holy Abel stood by the side of the altar, and
while Cain the infidel perhaps laughed and jeered at his sacrifice, he
boldly presented there the bleeding lamb as a testimony to all men,
both of that time and all future times, that he believed in the seed of
the woman–that he looked for him to come who should destroy the
serpent, and restore the ruins of the fall. Do you see holy Abel,
standing there, ministering as a priest at God's altar? Do you see the
flush of joy which comes over his face, when he sees the heavens
opened, and the living fire of God descend upon the victims? Do you
note with what a grateful expression of confident faith he lifts to
heaven his eye which had been before filled with tears, and cries, "I
thank thee O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast accepted
my sacrifice, inasmuch as I presented it through faith in the blood of
thy Son, my Saviour, who is to come."

Abel's sacrifice, being the first on record, and being offered in the
teeth of opposition, has very much in it which puts it ahead of many
other of the sacrifices of the Jews. Abel is to be greatly honored for
his confidence and faith in the coming Messiah. But compare for a
moment the sacrifice of Christ with the sacrifice of Abel, and the
sacrifice of Abel shrinks into insignificance. What did Abel bring? He
brought a sacrifice which showed the necessity of blood-shedding but
Christ brought the blood-shedding itself. Abel taught the world by his
sacrifice that he looked for a victim, but Christ brought the actual
victim. Abel brought but the type and the figure, the Lamb which was
but a picture of the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the
world; but Christ was that Lamb. He was the substance of the shadow,
the reality of the type. Abel's sacrifice had no merit in it apart from
the faith in the Messiah with which he presented it; but Christ's
sacrifice had merit of itself; it was in itself meritorious. What was
the blood of Abel's lamb? It was nothing but the blood of a common lamb
that might have been shed anywhere, except that he had faith in Christ
the blood of the lamb was but as water, a contemptible thing; but the
blood of Christ was a sacrifice indeed, richer far than all the blood
of beasts that ever were offered upon the altar of Abel, or the altar
of all the Jewish high priests. We may say of all the sacrifices that
were ever offered, however costly they might be, and however acceptable
to God, though they were rivers of oil and tens of thousands of fat
beasts, yet they were less than nothing, and contemptible, in
comparison with the one sacrifice which our high priest hath offered
once for all, whereby he hath eternally perfected them that are
sanctified.

We have thus found it very easy to set forth the difference between the
blood of Christ's sprinkling and the blood which Abel sprinkled. But
now I take it that there is a deeper meaning than this, despite what
some commentators have said. I believe that the allusion here is to the
blood of murdered Abel. Cain smote Abel, and doubtless his hands and
the altar were stained with the blood of him who had acted as a priest.
"Now," says our apostle, "that blood of Abel spoke." We have evidence
that it did, for God said to Cain, "The voice of thy brother's blood
crieth unto me from the ground," and the apostle's comment upon that in
another place is–"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was
righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it he being dead yet
speaketh," speaketh through his blood, his blood crying unto God from
the ground. Now, Christ's blood speaks too. What is the difference
between the two voices?–for we are told in the text that it "speaketh
better things than that of Abel."

Abel's blood spoke in a threefold manner. It spoke in heaven; it spoke
to the sons of men; it spoke to the conscience of Cain. The blood of
Christ speaks in a like threefold manner, and it speaks better things.

First, the blood of Abel spoke in heaven. Abel was a holy man, and all
that Cain could bring against him was, "His own works were evil, and
his brother's were righteous." You see the brothers going to the
sacrifice together. You mark the black scowl upon the brow of Cain,
when Abel's sacrifice is accepted while his remains untouched by the
sacred fire. You note how they begin to talk together–how quietly Abel
argues the question, and how ferociously Cain denounces him. You note
again how God speaks to Cain, and warns him of the evil which he knew
was in his heart; and you see Cain, as he goes from the presence
chamber of the Most High, warned and forewarned; but yet with the
dreadful thought in his heart that he will imbrue his hands in his
brother's blood. He meets his brother; he talks friendly with him: he
gives him, as it were, the kiss of Judas; he entices him into the field
where he is alone; he takes him unawares; he smites him, and smites him
yet again, till there lies the murdered bleeding corpse of his brother.
O earth! earth! earth! cover not his blood. This is the first murder
thou hast ever seen; the first blood of man that ever stained thy soil.
Hark! there is a cry heard in heaven, the angels are astonished; they
rise up from their golden seats, and they enquire, "What is that cry?"
God looketh upon them, and he saith, "It is the cry of blood, a man
hath been slain by his fellow; a brother by him who came from the
bowels of the self-same mother has been murdered in cold blood, through
malice. One of my saints has been murdered, and here he comes, And Abel
entered into heaven blood-red, the first of God's elect who had entered
Paradise, and the first of God's children who had worn the blood red
crown of martyrdom. And then the cry was heard, loud and clear and
strong; and thus it spoke–"Revenge! revenge! revenge!" And God
himself, upstarting from his throne, summoned the culprit to his
presence, questioned him, condemned him out of his own mouth, and made
him henceforth a fugitive and a vagabond, to wander over the surface of
the earth, which was to be sterile henceforth to his plough.

And now, beloved, just contrast with this the blood of Christ. That is
Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God; he hangs upon a tree; he is
murdered–murdered by his own brethren. "He came unto his own, and his
own received him not, but his own led him out to death." He bleeds; he
dies; and then is heard a cry in heaven. The astonished angels again
start from their seats, and they say," What is this? What is this cry
that we hear?" And the Mighty Maker answers yet again, "It is the cry
of blood; it is the cry of the blood of my only-begotten and
well-beloved Son!" And God, uprising from his throne, looks down from
heaven and listens to the cry. And what is the cry? It is not revenge;
but the voice crieth, "Mercy! mercy! mercy!" Did you not hear it? It
said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Herein,
the blood of Christ "speaketh better things than that of Abel," for
Abel's blood said, "Revenge!" and made the sword of God start from its
scabbard; but Christ's blood cried "Mercy!" and sent the sword back
again, and bade it sleep for ever.

"Blood hath a voice to pierce the skies,

'Revenge!' the blood of Abel cries;

But the rich blood of Jesus slain,

Speaks peace as loud from every vein."

You will note too that Abel's blood cried for revenge upon one man
only–upon Cain; it required the death of but one man to satisfy for
it, namely. the death of the murderer. "Blood for blood!" The murderer
must die the death. But what saith Christ's blood in heaven? Does it
speak for only one? Ah! no, beloved; "the free gift hath come upon
many." Christ's blood cries mercy! mercy! mercy! not on one, but upon a
multitude whom no man can number–ten thousand times ten thousand.

Again: Abel's blood cried to heaven for revenge, for one transgression
of Cain that for ought that Cain had done, worthless and vile before,
the blood of Abel did not demand any revenge: it was for the one sin
that blood clamoured at the throne of God, and not for many sins. Not
so the voice of the blood of Christ. It is "for many offenses unto
justification." Oh, could ye hear that cry, that all-prevailing cry, as
now it comes up from Calvary's summit–"Father, forgive them!" not one,
but many. "Father, forgive them." And not only forgive them this
offense, but forgive them all their sins, and blot out all their
iniquities. Ah! beloved, we might have thought that the blood of Christ
would have demanded vengeance at the hands of God. Surely, if Abel be
revenged seven fold, then must Christ be revenged seventy times seven.
If the earth would not swallow up the blood of Abel, till it had had
its fill, surely we might have thought that the earth never would have
covered the corpse of Christ, until God had struck the world with fire
and sword, and banished all men to destruction. But, O precious blood!
thou sayest not one word of vengeance! All that this blood cries is
peace! pardon! forgiveness! mercy! acceptance! Truly it "speaketh
better things than that of Abel."

Again: Abel's blood had a second voice. It spoke to the whole world.
"He being dead yet speaketh"–not only in heaven, but on earth. God's
prophets are a speaking people. They speak by their acts and by their
words as long as they live, and when they are buried they speak by
their example which they have left behind. Abel speaks by his blood to
us. And what does it say? When Abel offered up his victim upon the
altar he said to us, "I believe in a sacrifice that is to be offered
for the sins of men," but when Abel's own blood was sprinkled on the
altar he seemed to say, "Here is the ratification of my faith; I seal
my testimony with my own blood; you have now the evidence of my
sincerity, for I was prepared to die for the defense of this truth
which I now witness unto you." It was a great thing for Abel thus to
ratify his testimony with his blood. We should not have believed the
martyrs half so easily if they had not been ready to die for their
profession. The Gospel in ancient times would never have spread at such
a marvellous rate, if it had not been that all the preachers of the
gospel were ready at any time to attest their message with their own
blood. But Christ's blood "speaketh better things than that of Abel."
Abel's blood ratified his testimony, and Christ's blood has ratified
his testimony too; but Christ's testimony is better than that of Abel.
For what is the testimony of Christ? The covenant of grace–that
everlasting covenant. He came into this world to tell us that God had
from the beginning chosen his people–that he had ordained them to
eternal life, and that he had made a covenant with his son Jesus Christ
that if he would pay the price they should go free–if he would suffer
in their stead they should be delivered. And Christ cried e'er "he
bowed his head and gave up the ghost"–"It is finished." The covenant
purpose is finished. That purpose was "to finish the transgression, and
to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to
bring in everlasting righteousness." Such was the testimony of our Lord
Jesus Christ, as his own blood gushed from his heart, to be the
diestamp, and seal, that the covenant was ratified. When I see Abel die
I know that his testimony was true; but when I see Christ die I know
that the covenant is true.

"This covenant, O believer, stands

Thy rising fears to quell;

'Tis signed and sealed and ratified,

In all things ordered well."

When he bowed his head and gave up the ghost, he did as much as say,
"All things are made sure unto the seed by my giving myself a victim."
Come, saint, and see the covenant all blood-bestained, and know that it
is sure. He is "the faithful and true witness, the prince of the kings
of the earth." First of martyrs, my Lord Jesus, thou hadst a better
testimony to witness than they all, for thou hast witnessed to the
everlasting covenant; thou hast witnessed that thou art the shepherd
and bishop of souls; thou hast witnessed to the putting away of sin by
the sacrifice of thyself Again: I say, come, ye people of God, and read
over the golden roll. It begins in election–it ends in everlasting
life, and all this the blood of Christ crieth in your ears. All this is
true; for Christ's blood proves it to be true, and to be sure to all
the seed. It "speaketh better things than that of Abel."

Now we come to the third voice, for the blood of Abel had a three-fold
sound. It spoke in the conscience of Cain. Hardened though he was, and
like a very devil in his sin, yet he was not so deaf in his conscience
that he could not hear the voice of blood. The first thing that Abel's
blood said to Cain was this: Ah! guilty wretch, to spill thy brother's
blood! As he saw it trickling from the wound and flowing down in
streams, he looked at it, and as the sun shone on it, and the red glare
came into his eye, it seemed to say, "Ah! cursed wretch, for the son of
thine own mother thou hast slain. Thy wrath was vile enough, when thy
countenance fell, but to rise up against thy brother and take away his
life, Oh! how vile!" It seemed to say to him, "What had he done that
thou shouldst take his life? Wherein had he offended thee? Was not his
conduct blameless, and his conversation pure? If thou hadst smitten a
villain or a thief, men might not have blamed thee; but this blood is
pure, clean, perfect blood; how couldest thou kill such a man as this?"
And Cain put his hand across his brow, and felt there was a sense of
guilt there that he had never felt before. And then the blood said to
him again, "Why, whither wilt thou go? Thou shalt be a vagabond as long
as thou livest." A cold chill ran through him, and he said, "Whosoever
findeth me will kill me." And though God promised him he should live,
no doubt he was always afraid. If he saw a company of men together, he
would hide himself in a thicket, or if in his solitary wanderings he
saw a man at a distance, he started back, and sought to bury his head,
so that none should observe him. In the stillness of the night he
started up in his dreams. It was but his wife that slept by his side;
but he thought he felt some one's hands gripping his throat, and about
to take away his life. Then he would sit up in his bed and took around
at the grim shadows, thinking some fiend was haunting him and seeking
after him. Then, as he rose to go about his business, he trembled. He
trembled to be alone, he trembled to be in company. When he was alone
he seemed not to be alone; the ghost of his brother seemed staring him
in his face; and when he was in company he dreaded the voice of men,
for he seemed to think every one cursed him, and he thought every one
knew the crime he had committed, and no doubt they did, and every man
shunned him. No man would take his hand, for it was red with blood, and
his very child upon his knee was afraid to look up into his father's
face, for there was the mark which God had set upon him. His very wife
could scarcely speak to him,–for she was afraid that from the lips of
him who had been cursed of God some curse might fall on her. The very
earth cursed him. He no sooner put his foot upon the ground, than where
it had been a garden before it suddenly turned into a desert, and the
fair rich soil became hardened into an arid rock. Guilt, like a grim
chamberlain, with fingers bloody red, did draw the curtain of his bed
each night. His crime refused him sleep. It spoke in his heart, and the
walls of his memory reverberated the dying cry of his murdered brother.
And no doubt that blood spoke one more thing to Cain. It said, "Cain,
although thou mayest now be spared there is no hope for thee; thou art
a man accursed on earth, and accursed for ever, God hath condemned thee
here, and he will damn thee hereafter." And so wherever Cain went, he
never found hope. Though he searched for it in the mountain top, yet he
found it not there. Hope that was left to all men, was denied to him: a
hopeless, houseless, helpless vagabond, he wandered up and down the
surface of the earth. Oh! Abel's brood had a terrible voice indeed.

But now see the sweet change as ye listen to the blood of Christ. It
"speaketh better things than that of Abel." Friend! hast thou ever
heard the blood of Christ in thy conscience? I have, and I thank God I
ever heard that sweet soft voice.

Once a sinner near despair;

Sought the mercy seat by prayer."

He prayed: he thought he was praying in vain. The tears gushed from his
eyes; his heart was heavy within him; he sought, but he found no mercy.
Again, again, and yet again, he besieged the throne of the heavenly
grace and knocked at mercy's door Oh! who can tell the mill-stone that
lay upon his beating heart, and the iron that did eat into his soul. He
was a prisoner in sore bondage; deep, as he thought, in the bondage of
despair was he chained, to perish for ever. That prisoner one day heard
a voice, which said to him, "Away, away to Calvary!" Yet he trembled at
the voice, for he said, "Why should I go thither, for there my blackest
sin was committed; there I murdered the Saviour by my trangressions?
Why should I go to see the murdered corpse of him who became my brother
born for adversity?" But mercy beckoned, and she said, "Come, come
away, sinner!" And the sinner followed. The chains were on his legs and
on his hands, and he could scarcely creep along. Still the black
vulture Destruction seemed hovering in the air. But he crept as best he
could, till he came to the foot of the hill of Calvary. On the summit
he saw a cross; blood was distilling from the hands, and from the feet,
and from the side, and mercy touched his ears and said, "Listen!" and
he heard that blood speak; and as it spoke the first thing it said was,
"Love!" And the second thing it said was, "Mercy!" The third thing it
said was, "Pardon." The next thing it said was, "Acceptance." The next
thing it said was, "Adoption." The next thing it said was, "Security."
And the last thing it whispered was, "Heaven." And as the sinner heard
that voice, he said within himself, "And does that blood speak to me?"
And the Spirit said, "To thee–to thee it speaks." And he listened, and
oh what music did it seem to his poor troubled heart, for in a moment
all his doubts were gone. He had no sense of guilt. He knew that he was
vile, but he saw that his vileness was all washed away; he knew that he
was guilty, but he saw his guilt all atoned for, through the precious
blood that was flowing there. He had been full of dread before; he
dreaded life, he dreaded death; but now he had no dread at all; a
joyous confidence took possession of his heart. He looked to Christ,
and he said, "I know that my Redeemer liveth;" he clasped the Saviour
in his arms, and he began to sing:–"Oh! confident am I; for this blest
blood was shed for me." And then Despair fled and Destruction was
driven clean away. and instead thereof came the bright white-winged
angel of Assurance, and she dwelt in his bosom, saying evermore to him,
"Thou art accepted in the Beloved: thou art chosen of God and precious:
thou art his child now, and thou shalt be his favourite throughout
eternity." "The blood of Christ speaketh better things than that of
Abel."

And now I must have you notice that the blood of Christ bears a
comparison with the blood of Abel in one or two respects, but it
excelleth in them all.

The blood of Abel cried "Justice!" It was but right that the blood
should be revenged. Abel had no private pique against Cain; doubtless
could Abel have done so, he would have forgiven his brother; but the
blood spoke justly, and only asked its due when it shouted "Vengeance!
vengeance! vengeance!" And Christ's blood speaketh justly, when it
saith, "Mercy!" Christ has as much right to demand mercy upon sinners,
as Abel's blood had to cry vengeance against Cain. When Christ saves a
sinner, he does not save him on the sly, or against law or justice, but
he saves him justly. Christ has a right to save whom he will save, to
have mercy on whom he will have mercy, for he can do it justly, he can
be just, and yet be the justifier of the ungodly.

Again, Abel's blood cried effectively. It did not cry in vain. It said,
"Revenge!" and revenge it had. And Christ's blood, blessed be his name,
never cries in vain. It saith, "Pardon;" and pardon every believer
shall have it saith, "Acceptance," and every penitent is accepted in
the Beloved. If that blood cry for me, I know it cannot cry in vain.
That all-prevailing blood of Christ shall never miss its due; it must,
it shall be heard. Shall Abel's blood startle heaven, and shall not the
blood of Christ reach the ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth?

And again, Abel's blood cries continually, there is the mercy-seat, and
there is the cross, and the blood is dropping on the mercy-seat. I have
sinned a sin. Christ says, "Father, forgive him." There is one drop. I
sin again: Christ intercedes again. There is another drop. In fact, it
is the drop that intercedes, Christ need not speak with his mouth; the
drops of blood as they fall upon the mercy-seat, each seemeth to say,
"Forgive him! forgive him! forgive him!"

Dear friend, when thou hearest the voice of conscience, stop and try to
hear the voice of the blood too. Oh! what a precious thing it is to
hear the voice of the blood of Christ. You who do not know what that
means, do not know the very essence and joy of life; but you who
understand that, can say, "The dropping of the blood is like the music
of heaven upon earth." Poor sinner! I would ask thee to come and listen
to that voice that distils upon thy ears and thy heart to-day. Thou art
full of sin; the Saviour bids thee lift thine eyes to him. See, there,
his blood is flowing from his head, his hands, his feet, and every drop
that falls, still cries, "Father, O forgive them! Father, O forgive
them." And each drop seems to cry also as it falls, "It is finished: I
have made an end of sin, I have brought in everlasting righteousness."
Oh! sweet, sweet language of the dropping of the blood of Christ" It
"speaketh better things than that of Abel."

II. Having thus, I trust, sufficiently enlarged upon this subject I
shall now close by addressing you with a few earnest words concerning
the second point.–The CONDITION INTO WHICH EVERY CHRISTIAN IS BROUGHT.
He is said to be "come to the blood of sprinkling." I shall make this a
very brief matter, but a very solemn and pointed one. My hearers, have
you come to the blood of Christ? I do not ask you whether you have come
to a knowledge of doctrine, or of an observance of ceremonies, or of a
certain form of experience; but I ask you if you have come to the blood
of Christ. If you have, I know how you come. You must come to the blood
of Christ with no merits of your own. Guilty, lost, and helpless, you
must come to that blood, and to that blood alone, for your hopes; you
come to the cross of Christ and to that blood too, I know, with a
trembling and an aching heart. Some of you remember how you first came,
cast down and full of despair; but that blood recovered you. And this
one thing I know: if you have come to that blood once, you will come to
it every day. Your life will be just this–"Looking unto Jesus." And
your whole conduct will be epitomized in this–"To whom coming as unto
a living stone." Not to whom I have come, but to whom I am always
coming. If thou hast ever come to the blood of Christ thou wilt feel
thy need of coming to it every day. He that does not desire to wash in
that fountain every day, has never washed in it at all. I feel it every
day to be my joy and my privilege that there is still a fountain
opened. I trust I came to Christ years ago but ah! I could not trust to
that, unless I could come again to-day. Past experiences are doubtful
things to a Christian; it is present coming to Christ that must give us
joy and comfort. Did you not, some of you, sing twenty years age that
hymn,

"My faith doth lay her hand

On that dear head of thine

While like a penitent I stand,

And there confess my sin."

Why, beloved you can sing it as well to-day as you did then. I was
reading the other day some book, in which the author states, that we
are not to come to Christ as sinners as long as we live; he says we are
to grow into saints. Ah! he did not know much, I am sure; for saints
are sinners still, and they have always to come to Christ as sinners.
If ever I go to the throne of God as a saint, I get repulsed; but when
I go just as a poor humble seeking sinner, relying upon nothing but thy
blood, O Jesus, I never can get a repulse, I am sure. To whom coming as
unto "blood that speaketh better things than that of Abel." Let this be
our experience every day.

But there are some here who confess that they never did come. I cannot
exhort you, then, to come every day, but I exhort you to come now for
the first time. But you say, "May I come?" Yes, if thou art wishing to
come thou mayest come; if thou feelest that thou hast need to come thou
mayest come.

"All the fitness he requireth,

Is to feel your need of him;"

And even

This he gives you,

'Tis his Spirit's rising beam."

But you say, "I must bring some merits." Hark to the blood that speaks!
It says, "Sinner, I am full of merit: why bring thy merits here?" "Ah!
but," thou sayest "I have too much sin." Hark to the blood: as it
falls, it cries, "Of many offenses unto justification of life." "Ah!
but," thou sayest, "I know I am too guilty." Hark to the blood! "Though
your sins be as scarlet I will make them as wool; though they be red
like crimson they shall be whiter than snow." "Nay," says one, "but I
have such a poor desire, I have such a little faith." Hark to the
blood! "The bruised reed I will not break, and smoking flax I will not
quench." "Nay, but," thou sayest, "I know he will cast me out, if I do
come." Hark to the blood! "All that the Father giveth me shall come to
me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." "Nay, but,"
sayest thou, "I know I have so many sins that I cannot be forgiven."
Now, hear the blood once more, and I have done. "The blood of Jesus
Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin." That is the blood's
testimony, and its testimony to thee. "There are three that bear
witness on earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood;" and behold
the blood's witness is–"The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth
us from all sin." Come, poor sinner, cast thyself simply on that truth.
Away with your good works and all your trustings! Lie simply flat on
that sweet word of Christ. Trust his blood; and if thou canst put thy
trust alone in Jesus, in his sprinkled blood, it shall speak in thy
conscience better things than that of Abel.

I am afraid there are many that do not know what we mean by believing.
Good Dr. Chalmers once visiting a poor old woman, told her to believe
in Christ, and she said, "But that is just the thing I do not know what
you mean by." So Dr. Chalmers said, "Trust Christ." Now, that is just
the meaning of believing. Trust him with your soul; trust him with your
sins; trust him with the future; trust him with the past; trust him
with everything. Say,

"A guilty, weak, and worthless worm,

On Christ's kind arms I fall

Be thou my strength and righteousness,

My Jesus and my all."

May the Lord now give you his blessing; for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
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