[4] Not to idleness and laziness ; for still we must cry for know- ledge, and dig for understanding as for choice silver, Prov. ii. 3, 4, 5. And it is the character of the good man, Ps. i. 2, ' His dehght is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.' It is a vile abuse of this heavenly privilege to make the Spirit a patron of negligence, and indulging the ease of the flesh ; as if a good wit in secular learning should never study. So as if meditation were needless because they have the Spirit. Avoid these things, handle the matter as the new nature directs, and it will be a great help to you.
SEPJION UPON HEBREWS XII. 24.
And to the lilood of sprinlding, tliat speaketh better things than that of
^6e^.— Heb. xii. 24.
In the context, the privileges of our being brought into a gospel state are reckoned up. Among other things, these two are of principal regard — That we are acquainted with the true Mediator, and the true ransom which he hath paid for our souls. (1.) The true Mediator ; in the former part of the verse, ' And to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant.' (2.) The true ransom ; that is in the text, ' And to the blood of sprinkling,' &c. In which words the blood of Christ is sej" forth by two things —
1. By the application of it, ' The blood of sprinkling.'
2. By the virtue and efficacy of it, ' Which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel'
The worth and value of it is set forth by a comparison, where take notice — (1.) Of the things compared, Christ's blood and Abel's blood. (2.) Wherein they agree ; they both speak. (3.) The preference of Christ's blood ; KpeiTTova, the blood of Chiist speaketh better things.
The doctrines are two^
1. Those who have entered into the gospel state have the blood of Christ applied to their hearts and consciences.
2. The blood of Christ applied to the penitent believer's heart and conscience is of great value and efficacv with God.
The first point is grounded upon that term, ' The blood of sprinkling.' The second upon the other branch, ' That it speaketh better things.'
For the first, we read in scripture of blood shed and blood sprinkled. (1.) Of blood shed : Heb. ix. 22, 'Without the shedding of blood there is no remission.' Therefore Christ's blood was shed for the remission of sins. There can be no propitiation for sin without the expiation of it. The expiation of sin is by suftering the punishment due to it. Now the punishment was suffered when Christ was made sin for us : 2 Cor. v. 21, ' He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.' A curse for us: Gal. iii. 13, ' Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.' (2.) We are to speak of blood sprinkled, that is, actually applied, for all believers are sprinkled with it. Blood shed hath a cleansing power and virtue, but blood sprinkled doth actually cleanse and purify from sin, when this is applied to us in particular. The
SERMON UPON HEBREWS XII. 24. 107
'blood of sprlukling' is not only spoken of in the text, but in many other places : 1 Peter i. 2, ' Through the sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus,' This sprink- ling relateth unto the law customs, wherein, after the shedding of the blood of the sacrifice, it was sprinkled. A thi'eefold sprinkling I shall take notice of —
1. The first was the sprinkling of the door-posts with the blood of the paschal lamb, to save the house from the stroke of the revenging angel : Heb. xi. 28, ' Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the first-born should touch them ; ' witli Exod. xii. 22, ' Ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the bason,' which was a type of our deliverance by Christ. Blood sprinkled was a mark of preservation ; and the scripture often sets out the heart by a door, which, being opened, giveih entrance to God. Christ hath borne all that wrath which was due to the elect for their breach of the law, that so deserved wrath might pass over all his redeemed ones, to whom his blood is applied ; as the destroying angel passed by all those whose door-posts were sprinkled with the blood of the paschal lamb.
2. Another solemn sprinkling that I shall take notice of was when God entered into covenant with the people of the Jews ; and the blood of the sacrifice, called there ' the blood of the covenant,' was to be sprinkled half upon the altar and half upon the people, Exod. xxiv. 8. You liave the story of it there at large. There was an altar built to represent God, the first and chief party in the covenant. The altera pars 2^ciciscens were the people represented by twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes, Exod. xxxiv. 4. Now the words of the law were to be read, and the people were to promise obedience, and God would promise to be their God ; for the covenant between God and his Israel was to be established by mutual and willing consent. Well, then, to ratify it, blood was to be sprinkled upon the altar and upon the people, that is, upon the twelve stones which were set to re- present the people, or upon the people themselves, to show that God took an obligation to bless, they to obey. Now the new administration of the covenant is also ratified by the blood of sprinkling. God accepted the blood of Christ, and is satisfied with it, and ready to give out grace ; and we, by the sprinkling of the same blood, are comforted and enabled to serve him. This many think is the chief sprinkling alluded unto by the apostle, for the former part of the verse speaketh of Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and then of the blood of sprinkling, by which God is reconciled to us and we to God. We must all be sprinkled with Christ's blood before we can be admitted into covenant with him ; and being once sprinkled, it doth powerfully draw down mercy on the penitent believer. In short, Christ by his blood confirmeth the new covenant. One thing I cannot omit, that presently upon that sprinkling the nobles saw the God of Israel in his majestic appearance, and did eat and drink in his presence, Exod. xxiv. 10, 11. They saw the glory and presence of God in a clear and heavenly appearance, which is a sign of the favour of God towards them that keep his covenant ; as, on the contrary, a dark or cloudy