"And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy-seat eastward; and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat." (Ver. 14, 15.) "Seven" is the perfect number; and in the sprinkling of the blood seven times before the mercy-seat, we learn that whatever be the application of the atonement of Christ, whether as to things, to places, or to persons, it is perfectly estimated in the divine presence. The blood which secures the salvation of the Church--the "house" of the true Aaron; the blood which secures the salvation of the "congregation" of Israel; the blood which secures the final restoration and blessedness of the whole creation--that blood has been presented before God, sprinkled and accepted according to all the perfectness, fragrance, and preciousness of Christ. In the power of that blood God can accomplish all His eternal counsels of grace. He can save the Church, and raise it into the very loftiest heights of glory and dignity, despite of all the power of sin and Satan; He can restore Israel's scattered tribes; He can unite Judah and Ephraim; He can accomplish all the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; He can save and bless untold millions of the Gentiles; He can restore and bless the wide creation; He can allow the beams of His glory to lighten up the universe forever; He can display, in the view of angels, men, and devils, His own eternal glory--the glory of His character, the glory of His nature, the glory of His works, the glory of His government,--all this He can do, and will do; but the one solitary pedestal upon which the stupendous fabric of glory shall rest forever, is the blood of the cross--that precious blood, dear Christian reader, which has spoken peace--divine and everlasting peace--to your heart and conscience, in the presence of Infinite Holiness. The blood which is sprinkled upon the believer's conscience has been sprinkled "seven times" before the throne of God. The nearer we get to God, the more importance and value we find attached to the blood of Jesus. If we look at the brazen altar, we find the blood there; if we look at the brazen laver, we find the blood there; if we look at the golden altar, we find the blood there; if we look at the vail of the tabernacle, we find the blood there: but in no place do we find so much about the blood as within the vail, before Jehovah's throne, in the immediate presence of the divine glory.
"In heaven His blood forever speaks, In God the Father's ears."
"And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness." The same truth meets us all along. The claims of the sanctuary must be provided for. Jehovah's courts, as well as His throne, must bear witness to the value of the blood. The tabernacle, in the midst of Israel's uncleanness, must be fenced round about by the divine provisions of atonement. Jehovah provided, in all things, for His own glory. The priests and their priestly service, the place of worship and all therein, must stand in the power of the blood. The Holy One could not have remained for a moment in the midst of the congregation were it not for the power of the blood. It was that which left Him free to dwell and act and rule in the midst of an erring people.