Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-02-13
''The Blood of Sprinkling."
Abstract Of Sermon by Il. N. Web
ster. Feb. 2nd, 1873.
In the 18th of Hebrews We have the

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49, "For ye are not come unto the mount that
might be touched, and that burned with FIRE
nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest.
49, And the sound of trumpet, and the
voice of words which roice they that heard en-
treated that the word should not be spoken to
20 (For they could not endure that which
was commanded. And if so much as q beast
touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust
through with a dart:
q. And so terrible was the sight that Moses
said, exceedingly fear and quake ,
%. But ye are come unto mount Sion, and
unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company OF
angels.
49, To the general assembly and church of the
irstborn which are written in heaven and to
God the Judge Of all, and to the spirits Of lust
men made perfect.
"a And to Jesus the mediator CT the new
covenant, and to the blood of spr1nkllng, tha,
speaketh better things than that of Abel"
l have read this passage to you for
the sake of introducing the particular
words that I would have you think Of
this morning viz. "the blood Of sprinh-
ling, that speaketh better things than
that Of Abel.
I must say, first of all, that to uu-
derstand perfectly, almost anything in
this epistle to the Hebrews, we must
put ourselves, so far as possible, into
the position of the writer. We must
get his point of view, and understand
his purpose in writing.
Be it understood then that the apos-
tie is addressing the Jews--the He
brews-who looked for Christ that
should come, but utterly refused, as a
people, to accept Jesus as that Christ.
The writer is himself a 'sHebrew of
the Hebrews" He understands, and
respects the Jewish instincts and pref
udices. He Remembers their ma
tional history; knows how they are
welded to the Temple, and its eervi-
ces feels with them, the deepest ven
Grafton for the ritual of Moses, knows
how tenacious they are of their ma
tional religion. Moreover he ac-
cepts with all the confidence Of the
most jealous Jew, their sacred scrip
lures, and believes with all his heart
that the ceremonial sacrifcings and Of
ferings of the Jewish worship, were
divinely appointed, and of great use to
the people, till Christ should come.
But he believes that these were just
the forms and ceremonies which could
best prepare the people to receive such
Christ as Jesus actually was.
He believes that Jesus is the son OF
God, the Christ who should come into
the world-that Jesus came to put al
end to those forms of worship, which,
in the infancy of the world were neces
sary (for they must have something
that touched their senses) but which
the world had now out-grown, and tt
bring God so near to men, that they
might draw near to Him. not any long
er by means of symbols and formulas
and sacriiicial offerings, but directly
and in spirit, finding him in the glori
Gus person of his Son, and seeing a
least his real character in the revela
ton which the Son gave of him. |
was to persuade the Hebrews Of thi
that the apostle wrote them this epis
tie. OF course he uses language ant
figures of speech which they can un
derstand. He begins, where the,
agree with him. He reasons out o
their scriptures. He talks reverentl.
and aHectionately of the great names
so dear to them, and shows them tina
the living and teaching and dying an'
rising again of this Jesus whom h
preached, was just what all their edu
cation and history and scripture shoul'
teach them to expect, in the Messiah
which they longed for. Rememberin!
the Tabernacle and it's service th
priesthood and its appointments tn
slaying and offering of the animals
the sprinkling Of the blood OF these an
imals with all that was particular il
their national life, he makes all thes
things illustrate "the truth as it is il
Jesus and gets ont of them Ian
guage which the Jews would mos
readily understand, by which he show
that Jesus is the one sacrifice, the on
High Priest--the one Savior, whlc
alone can justify and explain their an
cient worship. In one sense, tn
forms and rites of the first covenant
the mosaic ritual, were an alphabe
from which language must be made
before the things of Christ could b
expressed. In another way the old
/ was a necessary background on whic
to paint the new. The apostle beliey
ed in the old for the sake of the new
But with him the new is far better
hence, he delights in such contrasts a
those in the passage with which we b