Evening and Morning
By Charles
Haddon Spurgeon
April 17
Morning
"We are come to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."—Hebrews 12:24.
Reader, have you
come to the blood of sprinkling? The question is not whether you have come to a knowledge of doctrine, or an observance of ceremonies, or
to a certain form of experience, but have you come to the blood of Jesus?
The blood of Jesus is the life of all vital godliness. If you have truly come
to Jesus, we know how you came—the Holy Spirit sweetly brought you there.
You came to the blood of sprinkling with no merits of your own. Guilty, lost,
and helpless, you came to take that blood, and that blood alone, as your
everlasting hope. You came to the cross of Christ, with a trembling and an
aching heart; and oh! what a
precious sound it was to you to hear the voice of the blood of Jesus! The
dropping of His blood is as the music of heaven to the penitent sons of earth.
We are full of sin, but the Saviour bids us lift our
eyes to Him, and as we gaze upon His streaming wounds, each drop of blood, as
it falls, cries, "It is finished; I have made an end of sin; I have
brought in everlasting righteousness." Oh! sweet
language of the precious blood of Jesus! If you have come to that blood once,
you will come to it constantly. Your life will be "Looking unto
Jesus." Your whole conduct will be epitomized in this—"To whom
coming." Not to whom I have come, but to whom I am always
coming. If thou hast ever come to the blood of sprinkling, thou wilt feel
thy need of coming to it every day. He who does not
desire to wash in it every day, has never washed in it at all. The
believer ever feels it to be his joy and privilege that there is still a
fountain opened. Past experiences are doubtful food for Christians; a present
coming to Christ alone can give us joy and comfort. This morning let us
sprinkle our door-post fresh with blood, and then
feast upon the Lamb, assured that the destroying angel must pass us by.
Evening
"We would see Jesus."—John 12:21.
Evermore the worldling's cry is, Who will show
us any good?" He seeks satisfaction in earthly comforts, enjoyments, and
riches. But the quickened sinner knows of only one good. "O that I knew
where I might find HIM!" When he is truly awakened to feel his guilt, if
you could pour the gold of India at his feet, he would say, "Take it away:
I want to find HIM." It is a blessed thing for a man, when he has brought
his desires into a focus, so that they all centre in
one object. When he has fifty different desires, his heart resembles a mere of
stagnant water, spread out into a marsh, breeding miasma and pestilence; but
when all his desires are brought into one channel, his heart becomes like a
river of pure water, running swiftly to fertilize the fields. Happy is he who
hath one desire, if that one desire be set on Christ,
though it may not yet have been realized. If Jesus be
a soul's desire, it is a blessed sign of divine work within. Such a man will
never be content with mere ordinances. He will say, "I want Christ; I must
have Him—mere ordinances are of no use to me; I want Himself; do
not offer me these; you offer me the empty pitcher, while I am dying of thirst;
give me water, or I die. Jesus is my soul's desire. I would see
Jesus!"
Is this thy condition, my
reader, at this moment? Hast thou but one desire, and is that after Christ?
Then thou art not far from the kingdom of heaven. Hast thou but one wish in thy
heart, and that one wish that thou mayst be washed
from all thy sins in Jesus' blood? Canst thou really say, "I would give
all I have to be a Christian; I would give up everything I have and hope for,
if I might but feel that I have an interest in Christ"? Then, despite all
thy fears, be of good cheer, the Lord loveth thee,
and thou shalt come out into daylight soon, and rejoice in the liberty
wherewith Christ makes men free.