Sermon 54. Christ Our Passover

(No. 54)

Delivered on Sabbath Evening, December 2, 1855, by the

REV. C.H. SPURGEON

At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.

"For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us."-1 Corinthians 5:7.

THE more you read the Bible, and the more you meditate upon it, the more you will be astonished with it. He who is but a casualreader of the Bible, does not know the height, the depth, the length and breadth of the mighty meanings contained in its pages.There are certain times when I discover a new vein of thought, and I put my hand to my head and say in astonishment, "Oh,it is wonderful I never saw this before in the Scriptures." You will find the Scriptures enlarge asyou enter them; the more you study them the less you will appear to know of them, for they widen out as we approach them.Especially will you find this the case with the typical parts of God's Word. Most of the historical books were intended tobe types either of dispensations, or experiences, or offices of Jesus Christ. Study the Bible with this as a key, and youwill not blame Herbert when he calls it "not only the book of God, but the God of books." One of the most interesting pointsof theScriptures is their constant tendency to display Christ; and perhaps one of the most beautiful figures under which JesusChrist is ever exhibited in sacred writ, is the Passover Paschal Lamb. It is Christ of whom we are about to speak to-night.

Israel was in Egypt, in extreme bondage; the severity of their slavery had continually increased till it was so oppressivethat their incessant groans went up to heaven. God who avenges his own elect, though they cry day and night unto him, at last,determined that he would direct a fearful blow against Egypt's king and Egypt's nation, and deliver his own people. We canpicture the anxieties and the anticipations of Israel, but we can scarcely sympathize with them, unlesswe as Christians have had the same deliverance from spiritual Egypt. Let us, brethren, go back to the day in our experience,when we abode in the land of Egypt, working in the brick-kilns of sin, toiling to make ourselves better, and finding it tobe of no avail; let us recall that memorable night, the beginning of months, the commencement of a new life in our spirit,and the beginning of an altogether new era in our soul. The Word of God struck the blow at our sin; he gave us Jesus Christoursacrifice; and in that night we went out of Egypt. Though we have passed through the wilderness since then, and have foughtthe Amalekites, have trodden on the fiery serpent, have been scorched by the heat and frozen by the snows, yet we have neversince that time gone back to Egypt; although our hearts may sometimes have desired the leeks, the onions, and the flesh-potsof Egypt, yet we have never been brought into slavery since then. Come, let us keep the Passover this night, and think ofthenight when the Lord delivered us out of Egypt. Let us behold our Saviour Jesus as the Paschal Lamb on which we feed; yea,let us not only look at him as such, but let us sit down to-night at his table, let us eat of his flesh and drink of his blood;for his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed. In holy solemnity let our hearts approach that ancient supper;let us go back to Egypt's darkness, and by holy contemplation behold, instead of the destroying angel, the angel of thecovenant, at the head of the feast,-"the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world."

I shall not have time to-night to enter into the whole history and mystery of the Passover; you will not understand me tobe to- night preaching concerning the whole of it; but a few prominent points therein as a part of them. It would require a dozen sermons to do so; in fact a book as largeas Caryl upon Job-if we could find a divine equally prolix and equally sensible. But we shall first of all look at the LordJesus Christ, and show how he corresponds with thePaschal Lamb, and endeavour to bring you to the two points-of having his blood sprinkled on you, and having fed on him.

I. First, then, JESUS CHRIST IS TYPIFIED HERE UNDER THE PASCHAL LAMB; and should there be one of the seed of Abraham herewho has never seen Christ to be the Messiah, I beg his special attention to that which I am to advance, when I speak of theLord Jesus as none other than the Lamb of God slain for the deliverance of his chosen people. Follow me with your Bibles,and open first at the 12th chapter of Exodus.

We commence, first of all, with the victim-the lamb. How fine a picture of Christ. No other creature could so well have typified him who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separatefrom sinners. Being also the emblem of sacrifice, it most sweetly pourtrayed our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Search naturalhistory through, and though you will find other emblems which set forth different characteristics of his nature, and admirablydisplay him to our souls, yetthere is none which seems so appropriate to the person of our beloved Lord as that of the Lamb. A child would at onceperceive the likeness between a lamb and Jesus Christ, so gentle and innocent, so mild and harmless, neither hurting others,nor seeming to have the power to resent an injury.

"A humble man before his foes, a weary man and full of woes."

What tortures the sheepish race have received from us! how are they, though innocent, continually slaughtered for our food!Their skin is dragged from their backs, their wool is shorn to give us a garment. And so the Lord Jesus Christ, our gloriousMaster, doth give us his garments that we may be clothed with them; he is rent in sunder for us; his very blood is pouredout for our sins; harmless and holy, a glorious sacrifice for the sins of all his children. Thus thePaschal Lamb might well convey to the pious Hebrew the person of a suffering, silent, patient, harmless Messiah.

Look further down. It was a lamb without blemish. A blemished lamb, if it had the smallest speck of disease, the least wound, would not have been allowed for a Passover. Thepriest would not have suffered it to be slaughtered, nor would God have accepted the sacrifice at his hands. It must be alamb without blemish. And was not Jesus Christ even such from his birth? Unblemished, born of the pure virgin Mary, begottenof the Holy Ghost, without a taint of sin; hissoul was pure, and spotless as the driven snow, white, clear, perfect; and his life was the same. In him was no sin. Hetook our infirmities and bore our sorrows on the cross. He was in all points tempted as we are, but there was that sweet exception,"yet without sin." A lamb without blemish. Ye who have known the Lord, who have tasted of his grace, who have held fellowshipwith him, doth not your heart acknowledge that he is a lamb without blemish? Can ye find any fault with your Saviour?Have you aught to lay to his charge? Hath his truthfulness departed? Have his words been broken? Have his promises failed?Has he forgotten his engagements? And, in any respect, can you find in him any blemish? Ah, no! he is the unblemished lamb,the pure, the spotless, the immaculate, "the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world;" and in him there is no sin.

Go on further down the chapter. "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year." I need not stop to consider the reason why the male was chosen; we only note that it was to be a male of the first year.Then it was in its prime then its strength was unexhausted, then its power was just ripened into maturity and perfection,God would not have an untimely fruit. God would not have that offered which had not come to maturity. And so our Lord JesusChristhad just come to the ripeness of manhood when he was offered. At 34 years of age was he sacrificed for our sins; he wasthen hale and strong, although his body may have been emaciated by suffering, and his face more marred than that of any otherman, yet was he then in the perfection of manhood. Methinks I see him then. His goodly beard flowing down upon his breast;I see him with his eyes full of genius, his form erect, his mien majestic, his energy entire, his whole frame in fulldevelopment,-a real man, a magnificent man-fairer than the sons of men; a Lamb not only without blemish, but with allhis powers fully brought out. Such was Jesus Christ-a Lamb of the first year-not a boy, not a lad, not a young man, but afull man, that he might give his soul unto us. He did not give himself to die for us when he was a youth, for he would notthen have given all he was to be; he did not give himself to die for us when he was in old age, for then would he have givenhimself when he was in decay; but just in his maturity, in his very prime, then Jesus Christ our Passover was sacrificedfor us. And, moreover, at the time of his death, Christ was full of life, for we are informed by one of the evangelists that"he cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost." This is a sign that Jesus did not die through weakness, nor through decayof nature. His soul was strong within him; he was still the Lamb of the first year. Still was he mighty; he could, if hepleased, even on the cross, have unlocked his hands from their iron bolts; and descending from the tree of infamy, havedriven his astonished foes before him, like deer scattered by a lion, yet did he meekly yield obedience unto death. My soul;canst thou not see thy Jesus here, the unblemished Lamb of the first year, strong and mighty? And, O my heart! does not thethough rise up-if Jesus consecrated himself to thee when he was thus in all his strength and vigour, should not I in youthdedicate myself to him? And if I am in manhood, how am I doubly bound to give my strength to him? And if I am in old age,still should I seek while the little remains, to consecrate that little to him. If he gave his all to me, which was much,should I not give my little all to him? Should I not feel bound to consecrate myself entirely to his service, to lay body,soul, and spirit, time, talents, all upon his altar. And though I am not an unblemished lamb, yet I am happy that as the leavenedcake was accepted with the sacrifice, though never burned with it-I, though a leavened cake, may be offered on the altarwith my Lord and Saviour, the Lord's burnt offering, and so, though impure, and full of leaven, I may be accepted in the beloved,an offering of a sweet savour, acceptable unto the Lord my God. Here is Jesus, beloved, a Lamb without blemish, a Lamb ofthe first year!

The subject now expands and the interest deepens. Let me have your very serious consideration to the next point, which hasmuch gratified me in its discovery and which will instruct you in the relation. In the 6th verse of the 12th chapter of Exoduswe are told that this lamb which should be offered at the Passover was to be selected four days before its sacrifice, and to be kept apart:-"In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb,according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: and if the household be too little for the lamb, let himand his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shallmake your count for the lamb." The 6th verse says, "And ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month." Forfour days this lamb, chosen to be offered, was taken away from the rest of the flock and kept alone by itself, for two reasons:partlythat by its constant bleatings they might be put in remembrance of the solemn feast which was to be celebrated; and moreover,that during the four days they might be quite assured that it had no blemish, for during that time it was subject to constantinspection, in order that they might be certain that it had no hurt or injury that would render it unacceptable to the Lord.And now, brethren, a remarkable fact flashes before you-just as this lamb was separated four days, the ancientallegories used to say that Christ was separated four years. Four years after he left his father's house he went intothe wilderness, and was tempted of the devil. Four years after his baptism he was sacrificed for us. But there is another,better than that:-About four days before his crucifixion, Jesus Christ rode in triumph through the streets of Jerusalem. Hewas thus openly set apart as being distinct from mankind. He, on the ass, rode up to the temple, that all might see him tobeJudah's Lamb, chosen of God, and ordained from the foundation of the world. And what is more remarkable still, duringthose four days, you will see, if you turn to the Evangelists, at your leisure, that as much is recorded of what he did andsaid as through all the other part of his life. During those four days, he upbraided the fig tree, and straightway it withered;it was then that he drove the buyers and sellers from the temple; it was then that he rebuked the priests and elders, by tellingthem the similitude of the two sons, one of whom said he would go, and did not, and the other who said he would not go,and went; it was then that he narrated the parable of the husbandsmen, who slew those who were sent to them; afterwards hegave the parable of the marriage of the king's son. Then comes his parable concerning the man who went unto the feast, nothaving on a wedding garment; and then also, the parable concerning the ten virgins, five of whom were very wise, and fiveof whomwere foolish; then comes the chapter of very striking denunciations against the Pharisees:-"Woe unto you O ye blind Pharisees!cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter;" and then also comes that long chapter of prophecy concerning whatshould happen at the siege of Jerusalem, and an account of the dissolution of the world: "Learn a parable of the fig-tree:when his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh.: But I will not trouble you by tellingyou here that at the same time he gave them that splendid description of the day of judgment, when the sheep shall bedivided from the goats. In fact, the most splendid utterances of Jesus were recorded as having taken place within these fourdays. Just as the lamb separated from its fellows, did bleat more than ever during the four days, so did Jesus during thosefour days speak more; and if you want to find a choice saying of Jesus, turn to the account of the last four days' ministryto findit. There you will find that chapter, "Let not your hearts be troubled;" there also, his great prayer, "Father, I will;"and so on. The greatest things he did, he did in the last four days when he was set apart.

And there is one more thing to which I beg your particular attention, and that is, that during those four days I told youthat the lamb was subject to the closest scrutiny, so, also, during those four days, it is singular to relate, that JesusChrist was examined by all classes of persons. It was during those four days that the lawyer asked him which was the greatestcommandment? and he said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, andwith all thy might; and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." It was then that the Herodians came and questionedhim about the tribute money; it was then that the Pharisees tempted him; it was then, also, the Sadducees tried him upon thesubject of the resurrection. He was tried by all classes and grades-Herodians, Pharisees, Sadducees, lawyers, and the commonpeople. It was during these four days that he was examined: but how did he come forth? An immaculate Lamb! The officers said,"never man spake like this man." His foes found none who could even bear false witness against him, such as agreed together;and Pilate declared, "I find no fault in him." He would not have been fit for the Paschal Lamb had a single blemish have beendiscovered, but "I find no fault in him," was the utterance of the great chief magistrate, who thereby declared that the Lambmight be eaten at God's Passover, the symbol and the means of the deliverance of God's people. O beloved! you have only tostudy the Scriptures to find out wondrous things in them; you have only to search deeply, and you stand amazed at theirrichness. You will find God's Word to be a very precious word; the more you live by it and study it, the more will it be endearedto your minds.

But the next thing we must mark is the place where this lamb was to be killed, which peculiarly sets forth that it must be Jesus Christ. The first Passover was held in Egypt, the second Passover washeld in the wilderness; but we do not read that there were more than these two Passovers celebrated until the Israelites cameto Canaan. And then, if you turn to a passage in Deuteronomy, the 16th chapter, you will find that God no longer allowed themto slay the Lamb intheir own houses but appointed a place for its celebration. In the wilderness, they brought their offerings to the tabernaclewhere the lamb was slaughtered; but at its first appointment in Egypt, of course they had no special place to which they tookthe lamb to be sacrificed. Afterwards, we read in the 16th of Deuteronomy, and the 5th verse, "Thou mayest not sacrifice thePassover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee; but at the place which the Lord thy God shall choseto place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover at even at the going down of the sun, at the season thatthou camest forth out of Egypt." It was in Jerusalem that men ought to worship, for salvation was of the Jews; there was God'spalace, there his altar smoked, and there only might the Paschal Lamb be killed. So was our blessed Lord led to Jerusalem.The infuriated throng dragged him along the city. In Jerusalem our Lamb was sacrificed for us; it was at the precise spotwhereGod had ordained that it should be. Oh! if that mob who gathered round him at Nazareth had been able to push him headlongdown the hill, then Christ could not have died at Jerusalem; but as he said, "a prophet cannot perish out of Jerusalem," sowas it true that the King of all prophets could not do otherwise,-the prophecies concerning him would not have been fulfilled."Thou shalt kill the lamb in the place the Lord thy God shall appoint." He was sacrificed in the very place. Thus, again youhave an incidental proof that Jesus Christ was the Paschal Lamb for his people.

The next point is the manner of his death. I think the manner in which the lamb was to be offered so peculiarly sets forth the crucifixion of Christ, that no otherkind of death could by any means have answered all the particulars set down here. First, the lamb was to be slaughtered, andits blood caught in a basin. Usually blood was caught in a golden basin. Then, as soon as it was taken, the priest standingby the altar on which the fat was burning, threw theblood on the fire or cast it at the foot of the altar. You may guess what a scene it was. Ten thousand lambs sacrificed,and the blood poured out in a purple river. Next, the lamb was to be roasted; but it was not to have a bone of its body broken.Now I do say, there is nothing but crucifixion which can answer all these three things. Crucifixion has in it the sheddingof blood-the hands and feet were pierced. It has in it the idea of roasting, for roasting signifies a long torment, and asthe lamb was for a long time before the fire, so Christ, in crucifixion, was for a long time exposed to a broiling sun,and all the other pains which crucifixion engenders. Moreover not a bone was broken; which could not have been the case withany other punishment. Suppose it had been possible to put Christ to death in any other way. Sometimes the Romans put criminalsto death by decapitation; but by a such death the next is broken. Many martyrs were put to death by having a sword piercedthrough them; but, while that would have been a bloody death, and not a bone broken necessarily, the torment would nothave been long enough to have been pictured by the roasting. So that, take whatever punishment you will-take hanging, whichsometimes the Romans practised in the form of strangling, that mode of punishment does not involve shedding of blood, andconsequently the requirements would not have been answered. And I do think, any intelligent Jew, reading through this accountof thePassover, and then looking at the crucifixion, must be struck by the fact that the penalty and death of the cross by whichChrist suffered, must have taken in all these three things. There was blood-shedding; the long continued suffering-the roastingof torture; and then added to that, singularly enough, by God's providence not a bone was broken, but the body was taken downfrom the cross intact. Some may say that burning might have answered the matter; but there would not have been ashedding of blood in that case, and the bones would have been virtually broken in the fire. Besides the body would nothave been preserved entire. Crucifixion was the only death which could answer all of these three requirements. And my faithreceives great strength from the fact, that I see my Saviour not only as a fulfilment of the type, but the only one. My heartrejoices to look on him whom I have pierced, and see his blood, as the lamb's blood, sprinkled on my lintel and my door-post,andsee his bones unbroken, and to believe that not a bone of his spiritual body shall be broken hereafter; and rejoice, also,to see him roasted in the fire, because thereby I see that he satisfied God for that roasting which I ought to have sufferedin the torment of hell for ever and ever.

Christian! I would that I had words to depict in better language; but, as it is, I give thee the undigested thoughts, whichthou mayest take home and live upon during the week; for thou wilt find this Paschal Lamb to be an hourly feast, as well assupper, and thou mayest feed upon it continually, till thou comest to the mount of God, where thou shalt see him as he is,and worship him in the Lamb in the midst thereof.

II. HOW WE DERIVE BENEFIT FROM THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. Christ our Passover is slain for us. The Jew could not say that; he couldsay, a lamb, but "the Lamb," even "Christ our Passover," was not yet become a victim. And here are some of my hearers within these walls to-night whocannot say "Christ our Passover is slain for us." But glory be to God! some of us can. There are not a few here who have laidtheir hands upon the glorious Scapegoat; and now they can puttheir hands upon the Lamb also, and they can say, "Yes; it is true, he is not only slain, but Christ our Passover is slainfor us." We derive benefit from the death of Christ in two modes: first, by having his blood sprinkled on us for our redemption; secondly, by our eating his flesh for food, regeneration and sanctification. The first aspect in which a sinner views Jesus is that of a lamb slain, whose blood is sprinkled on the door-post and onthe lintel. Note the fact, that theblood was never sprinkled on the threshold. It was sprinkled on the lintel, the top of the door, on the side-post, butnever on the threshold, for woe unto him who trampleth under foot the blood of the Son of God! Even the priest of Dagon trodnot on the threshold of his god, much less will the Christian trample under foot the blood of the Paschal Lamb. But his bloodmust be on our right hand to be our constant guard, and on our left to be our continual support. We want to have Jesus Christsprinkled on us. As I told you before, it is not alone the blood of Christ poured out on Calvary that saves a sinner;it is the blood of Christ sprinkled on the heart. Let us turn to the land of Zoan. Do you not think you behold the scene to-night!It is evening. The Egyptians are going homeward-little thinking of what is coming. But just as soon as the sun is set, a lambis brought into every house. The Egyptian strangers passing by, say, "These Hebrews are about to keep a feast to night,"and they retire to their houses utterly careless about it. The father of the Hebrew house takes his lamb, and examiningit once more with anxious curiosity, looks it over from head to foot, to see if it has a blemish. He findeth none. "My son,"he says to one of them, "bring hither the bason." It is held. He stabs the lamb, and the blood flows into the bason. Do younot think you see the sire, as he commands his matronly wife to roast the lamb before the fire! "Take heed," he says, "thatnot abone be broken." Do you see her intense anxiety, as she puts it down to roast, lest a bone should be broken? Now, saysthe father, "bring a bunch of hyssop." A child brings it. The father dips it into the blood. "Come here, my children, wifeand all, and see what I am about to do." He takes the hyssop in his hands, dips it in the blood, and sprinkles it across thelintel and the door-post. His children say, "What mean you by this ordinance?" He answers, "This night the Lord God will passthrough to smite the Egyptians, and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will passover the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you." The thing is done; the lamb is cooked;the guests are set down to it; the father of the family has supplicated a blessing; they are sitting down to feast upon it.And mark how the old man carefully divides joint from joint, lest a bone should be broken; and he is particular that thesmallest child of the family should have some of it to eat, for so the Lord hath commanded. Do you not think you see himas he tells them "it is a solemn night-make haste-in another hour we shall all go out of Egypt." He looks at his hands, theyare rough with labour, and clapping them, he cries, "I am not to be a slave any longer." His eldest son, perhaps, has beensmarting under the lash, and he says, "Son, you have had the task-master's lash upon you this afternoon; but it is the lasttime you shall feel it." He looks at them all, with tears in his eyes-"This is the night the Lord God will deliver you."Do you see them with their hats on their heads, with their loins girt, and their staves in their hands? It is the dead ofthe night. Suddenly they hear a shriek! The father says, "Keep within doors, my children; you will know what it is in a moment."Now another shriek-another shriek-shriek succeeds shriek: they hear perpetual wailing and lamentation. "Remain within,"says he, "the angel of death is flying abroad." A solemn silence is in the room, and they can almost hear the wings ofthe angel flap in the air as he passes their blood-marked door. "Be calm," says the sire, "that blood will save you." Theshrieking increases. "Eat quickly, my children," he says again, and in a moment the Egyptians coming, say, "Get thee hence!Get thee hence! We are not for the jewels that you have borrowed. You have brought death into our houses." "Oh!" says a mother,"Go!for God's sake! go. My eldest son lies dead!" "Go!" says a father, "Go! and peace go with you. It were an ill day whenyour people came into Egypt, and our king began to slay your first-born, for God is punishing us for our cruelty." Ah! seethem leaving the land; the shrieks are still heard; the people are busy about their dead. As they go out, a son of Pharoahis taken away unembalmed, to be buried in one of the pyramids. Presently they see one of their task-master's sons taken away.A happynight for them-when they escape! And do you see, my hearers, a glorious parallel? They had to sprinkle the blood, andalso to eat the lamb. Ah! my soul, hast thou e'er had the blood sprinkled on thee? Canst thou say that Jesus Christ is thine?It is not enough to say "he loved the world, and gave his Son," you must say, "He loved me,, and gave himself for me." There is another hour coming, dear friends, when we shall all stand before God's bar; and then God will say, "Angel ofdeath, thou once didst smite Egypt's first born; thou knowest thy prey. Unsheath thy sword." I behold the great gathering,you and I are standing amongst them. It is a solemn moment. All men stand in suspense. There is neither hum nor murmur. Thevery stars cease to shine lest the light should disturb the air by its motion. All is still. God says, "Has thou sealed thosethat are mine?" "I have," says Gabriel; "they are sealed by blood every one of them." Then saith he next, "Sweep with thysword of slaughter! Sweep the Earth! and send the unclothed, the unpurchased, the unwashed ones to the pit." Oh! how shallwe feel beloved, when for a moment we see that angel flap his wings? He is just about to fly, "But," will the doubt crossour minds "perhaps he will come to me?" Oh! no; we shall stand and look the angel full in his face.

"Bold shall I stand in that great day!

For who aught to my charge shall lay?

While through thy blood absolved

I am From sin's tremendous curse and shame."

If we have the blood on us, we shall see the angel coming, we shall smile at him; we shall dare to come even to God's faceand say,

"Great God! I'm clean! Through Jesus' blood, I'm clean!"

But if, my hearer, thine unwashen spirit shall stand unshriven before its maker, if thy guilty soul shall appear with allits black spots upon it, unsprinkled with the purple tide, how wilt thou speak when thou seest flash from the scabbard theangel's sword swift for death, and winged for destruction, and when it shall cleave thee asunder? Methinks I see thee standingnow. The angel is sweeping away a thousand there. There is one of thy pot companions. There one with whomthou didst dance and swear. There another, who after attending the same chapel like thee, was a despiser of religion.Now death comes nearer to thee. Just as when the reaper sweeps the field and the next ear trembles because its turn shallcome next, I see a brother and a sister swept into the pit. Have I no blood upon me? Then, O rocks! it were kind of you tohide me. Ye have no benevolence in your arms. Mountains! let me find in your caverns some little shelter. But it is all invain, forvengeance shall cleave the mountains and split the rocks open to find me out. Have I no blood? Have I no hope? Ah! no!he smites me. Eternal damnation is my horrible portion. The depth of the darkness of Egypt for thee, and the horrible tormentsof the pit from which none can escape! Ah! my dear hearers, could I preach as I could wish, could I speak to you without mylips and with my heart, then would I bid you seek that sprinkled blood, and urge you by the love of your own soul, by everythingthat is sacred and eternal, to labour to get this blood of Jesus sprinkled on your souls. It is the blood sprinkled thatsaves a sinner.

But when the Christian gets the blood sprinkled, that is not all he wants. He wants something to feed upon. And, O sweet thought! Jesus Christ is not only a Saviour for sinners, but he is food for them after they are saved. The PaschalLamb by faith we eat. We live on it. You may tell, my hearers, whether you have the blood sprinkled on the door by this: doyou eat the Lamb? Suppose for a moment that one of the old Jews had said in his heart, "I do not see the useof this feasting. It is quite right to sprinkle the blood on the lintel or else the door will not be known; but what goodis all this inside? We will have the lamb prepared, and we will not break his bones; but we will not eat of it." And supposehe went and stored the lamb away. What would have been the consequence? Why, the angel of death would have smitten him aswell as the rest, even if the blood had been upon him. And if, moreover, that old Jew had said, "there, we will have a littlepiece of it; but we will have something else to eat, we will have some unleavened bread; we will not turn the leaven outof our houses, but we will have some leavened bread." If they had not consumed the lamb, but had reserved some of it, thenthe sword of the angel would have found the heart out as well as that of any other man. Oh! dear hearer, you may think youhave the blood sprinkled, you may think you are just; but if you do not live on Christ as well as by Christ, you willnever be saved by the Paschal Lamb. "Ah!" say some, "we know nothing of this." Of course you don't. When Jesus Christsaid, "except ye eat my flesh, and drink my blood, ye have no life in you," there were some that said, "This is a hard saying,who can heart it?" and many from that time went back-and walked no more with him. They could not understand him; but, Christian,dost thou not understand it? Is not Jesus Christ thy daily food? And even with the bitter herbs, is he not sweet food? Someof you, my friends, who are true Christians, live too much on your changing frames and feelings, on your experiences andevidences. Now, that is all wrong. That is just as if a worshipper had gone to the tabernacle and began eating one of thecoats that were worn by the priest. When a man lives on Christ's righteousness, it is the same as eating Christ's dress. Whena man lives on his frames and feelings, that is as much as if the child of God should live on some tokens that he receivedin thesanctuary that never were meant for food, but only to comfort him a little. What the Christian lives on is not Christ'srighteousness, but Christ; he does not live on Christ's pardon, but on Christ; and on Christ he lives daily, on nearness toChrist. Oh! I do love Christ- preaching. It is not the doctrine of justification that does my heart good, it is Christ, thejustifier; it is not pardon that so much makes the Christian's heart rejoice, it is Christ the pardoner; it is not electionthat Ilove half so much as my being chosen in Christ ere worlds began; ay! it is not final perseverance that I love so muchas the thought that in Christ my life is hid, and that since he gives unto his sheep eternal life, they shall never perish,neither shall any man pluck them out of his hand. Take care, Christian, to eat the Paschal Lamb and nothing else. I tell theeman, if thou eatest that alone, it will be like bread to thee-thy soul's best food. If thou livest on aught else but the Saviour,thou art like one who seeks to live on some weed that grows in the desert, instead of eating the manna that comes downfrom heaven. Jesus is the manna. In Jesus as well as by Jesus we live. Now, dear friends, in coming to this table, we will keep the Paschal Supper. Once more, by faith, we willeat the Lamb, by holy trust we will come to a crucified Saviour, and feed on his blood, and righteousness, and atonement.

And now, in concluding, let me ask you, are you hoping to be saved my friends? One says, "Well, I don't hardly know; I hopeto saved, but I do not know how." Do you know, you imagine I tell you a fiction, when I tell you that people are hoping tobe saved by works, but it is not so, it is a reality. In travelling through the country I meet with all sorts of characters,but most frequently with self-righteous persons. How often do I meet with a man who thinks himself quitegodly because he attends the church once on a Sunday, and who thinks himself quite righteous because he belongs to theEstablishment; as a churchman said to me the other day, "I am a rigid churchman." "I am glad of that," I said to him, "becausethen you are a Calvinist, if you hold the 'Articles.'" He replied "I don't know about the 'Articles,' I go more by the 'Rubric.'"And so I thought he was more of a formalist than a Christian. There are many persons like that in the world. Another says,"I believe I shall be saved. I don't owe anybody anything; I have never been a bankrupt; I pay everybody twenty shillingsin the pound; I never get drunk; and if I wrong anybody at any time, I try to make up for it by giving a pound a year to such-and-sucha society; I am as religious as most people; and I believe I shall be saved." That will not do. It is as if some old Jew hadsaid, "We don't want the blood on the lintel, we have got a mahogany lintel; we don't want the blood on thedoor-post, we have a mahogany door-post." Ah! whatever it was, the angel would have smitten it if it had not had the bloodupon it. You may be as righteous as you like: if you have not the blood sprinkled, all the goodness of your door-posts andlintels will be of no avail whatever. "Yes," says another, "I am not trusting exactly there. I believe it is my duty to beas good as I can; but then I think Jesus Christ's mercy will make up the rest. I try to be as righteous as circumstances allow;and I believe that whatever deficiencies there may be, Christ will make them up." That is as if a Jew had said, "Child,bring me the blood," and then, when that was brought, he had said, "bring me a ewer of water;" and then he had taken it andmixed it together, and sprinkled the door-post with it. Why, the angel would have smitten him as well as anyone else, forit is blood, blood, blood, blood! that saves. It is not blood mixed with the water of our poor works; it is blood, blood,blood, blood! and nothing else. And the only way of salvation is by blood. For, without the shedding of blood there is no remission ofsin. have precious blood sprinkled upon you, my hearers; trust in precious blood; let your hope be in a salvation sealed withan atonement of precious blood, and you are saved. But having no blood, or having blood mixed with anything else, thou artdamned as thou art alive-for the angel shall slay thee, however good and righteous thou mayest be. Go home,then, and think of this: "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us."