Heavenly Attraction and Spiritual Obedience 2
Back to J. C. Philpot Sermons
C. But now, observe the EFFECTS. "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean." There is a certain effect to be produced by the sprinkling of the clean water. It will not, it cannot fall in vain; it will have, it must have a certain effect, for it is sprinkled as clean water to produce a certain effect, which must follow; not only because it is sprinkled by the very hand of God himself, but because it is specially promised as an effect. It is "I will" and "you shall." "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean."
You will observe that there is an applicationof this clean water, or the effects could not be produced; and as the clean water is sprinkled to remove defilement, wherever it falls, that effect must necessarily follow.
Now, there are four things in us which need the application of this clean water, that they may be washed from their defilement– There is the understanding; there is the will; there is the conscience; and there are the affections. All these are, so to speak, sadly filthy, and being filthy need to be cleansed by the sprinkling of the clean water upon them to make them pure and clean. Let me show you this more fully and distinctly in detail.
1. First, there is the UNDERSTANDING, and this has to be cleansed from its filth by clean water being sprinkled upon it. The filth of the understanding is, so to speak, ignorance.The understanding we may compare to the 'window of the soul', for through our understanding, as through an open window, comes all light into our soul. We find a contrast in the word between those in whom "the understanding is darkened" (Eph. 4:18) and those who have "the eyes of their understanding enlightened." (Eph. 1:18.) The one may be represented by a house without windows, or with windows and the shutters up, and the other with windows, or the shutters taken down.
When God created man in his own image he gave him an understanding; in other words, he put a 'window into his soul'. Now, this window of the soul has become, through the fall, encrusted with mud. It is like the window of a house not inhabited and standing by the road side. What with neglect to keep it clean on the inside, and what with the mud cast upon it by passing vehicles on the outside, the whole of that window has become encrusted with a thick coat of mud. Now while the window is so encrusted, however clearly the sun may shine, not a single ray will shine into the room. It is effectually obstructed by the crust of mud over the window.
So it is with man's understanding. God gave man a good and righteous understanding of himself, and a knowledge of his will; but sin, through the fall, spread, so to speak, a crust of dirt over man's understanding. This I have called the defilement of the understanding; for a darkened understanding is always attended with deeds of darkness; as the apostle points out so clearly in the first chapter of the epistle to the Romans, that when men's "foolish heart was darkened," they were judicially "given up to vile affections," and dark deeds followed upon dark minds. Until, then, this darkened understanding is cleansed by the clean water sprinkled upon it, not a ray of divine light can enter into the mind, so as to illuminate it with the light of the living. But the clean water, in God's own time and way, is sprinkled upon the understanding. This is "the washing of water by the word" which I have already mentioned, and chiefly the washing of regeneration, for that is the first work of God upon the soul.
Look at the process. Here is a soul which has to be made alive unto God. He himself, in infinite mercy, sprinkles from heaven (his dwelling place) a few drops of this clean water on the understanding. What is the effect? So miraculous is its operation on a man's understanding, that it washes away at once that thick, deep-rooted crust which had gathered over the window of his soul. I have called it a "thick, deep-rooted crust." And have we not daily proof of it, in observing what inveterate prejudice, what obstinate determination not to come to the light, what willful blindness to the word of God, and what resistance to every conviction which would tend to open the eyes are daily displayed by those by whom we are surrounded, and was once as much displayed by us? How truly did the Lord say– "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." (John 3:19, 20.) The first thing needed, then, is to wash away this thick crust.
Now, observe its effects. As the clean water, then, comes falling from heaven's gracious courts in all its divine purity, it drops upon the understanding. I hardly like to pursue the figure lest I debase it, but it is like the application of water to a dirty window– it cleanses. Now a few drops can do to the window of the soul what scarcely buckets of water could do to the window of the room. But mark the effect of the sprinkled drops! A ray of heavenly light now shines through that window of the soul, and we see light in God's light.
Before the Lord was pleased to sprinkle this clean water on your understanding, how dark was your mind. You heard the word, but you understood it not. One of the first things you can now look back to as indicating a gracious work of God upon your soul was, that it seemed as if you had for the first time in your life, at a certain season, some understanding of the things that you heard under a preached gospel. You did not sit as before upon your seat, ignorant and willfully ignorant, blind and willfully blind, as if you would pull your very ears away from the truth, and either sat stupidly mindless, or tried to amuse your mind by thinking of something else. But it seemed as if a ray of divine light had penetrated your mind, and you felt as if you understood what the preacher meant, and that he was preaching to you, so as to fasten conviction upon your conscience.
I cannot dwell further upon this point– but this understanding seemed to gradually increase, for it is, as the wise man speaks– "The path of the just is as the shining light that shines more and more unto the perfect day." (Prov. 4:18.) You now began to read the Scriptures with this divine light shining upon them; and the more you read the word and the more you heard the truth, the more you seemed to understand, believe, and feel it. Here was the clean water sprinkled upon your understanding.
2. But there is, next, the sprinkling of the clean water upon the WILL.God created man with a will in harmony with his own. What God bade him do, man did. God's will was his will. But sin came in and perverted this pure will. Man was determined to have a will of his own; and this obstinacy of the will we may call the filthof the will, for filth in the sight of God is much what filth is in ours, if we are naturally clean in habit and person. As a clean person is disgusted with filth; as there is something loathsome in it to his natural eye; so sin in the sight of God is loathsome, disgusting, and an abomination on which his pure eyes cannot bear to rest. Thus the obstinacy of man's will, his stubborn determination to have his own way, his unwillingness to submit to the will of God, may be considered as the filth of the will, because it is the sin of the will.
It is a great sin to have a will not in harmony with the will of God. "Your will be done," the Lord taught his disciples to pray. To have a will of our own is to have a filthy will. Why? Not only because it is filthiness in the sight of God, but because our natural will is ever bent upon sinful objects, and the gratification of those sensual, proud, or ambitious desires which are contrary to the will of God.
But God sprinkles clean water upon the will; and when the clean water comes, what is the consequence? It removes that obstinacy of the will to please itself; that determination to have our own way and gratify our selfish desires, come what may; and by its gracious operation, brings our will to lie in harmony with the will of God. The gracious promise made to Christ by his heavenly Father was, "Your people shall be willing in the day of your power." (Psalm. 110:3.) And how blessedly do we see this exemplified in the case of Paul at Damascus' gate, when the clean water was sprinkled upon his will, and he all trembling and astonished at its effects, said– "Lord what will you have me to do?" (Acts 9:6.)
3. But again, our CONSCIENCEneeds the clean water to be sprinkled upon it, as well as the understanding and the will.
There are two things that our conscience needs to be cleansed from– one is the guilt of sin, the other is the filth. The guilt of sin is felt first. Now, nothing can cleanse the conscience from this guilt but the application of atoning blood. "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge (or cleanse) your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." Nothing but blood applied with power will cleanse the conscience from the burden of sin and the guilt which sin charged home brings. It is therefore called, "the blood of sprinkling which speaks better things than the blood of Abel."
But our conscience is filthyas well as guilty. O, what loathsome monsters of iniquity; how polluted, filthy, and vile do we feel ourselves to be, when the guilt of our sin is charged home upon our conscience! Have you not loathed yourselves sometimes in your own sight on account of your abominations? Has not the filth of sin sometimes disgusted you– the opening up of that horrible, that ever running sewer, which you daily carry about with you? We complain, and justly complain, of a reeking sewer that runs through a street, or of a ditch filled with everything disgusting, such as is seen sometimes in the outskirts of a town. But do we feel as much, do we complain as often of the foul sewer which is ever running in our soul, of the filthy ditch in our own bosom? We can cover up the one with a drain, and hide from view its hideous sights and restrain its reeking stench. The other lies naked before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do; and as the sight of this open sewer meets our eyes too, and its stench enters our nostrils, it fills us with self-loathing and self-abhorrence before the eyes of a holy God.
We have then to be cleansed, not only from the guilt of sin by the application of atoning blood, but from the filth of sin by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. And I will show you how. Our blessed Lord said to his disciples– "Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." When the word then of pardoning mercy comes, or the word of promise, or the word of truth in its unction and power, it carries with it a cleansing, purifying efficacy. John saw the side of the Redeemer pierced, and what met his astonished gaze? "Forthwith there came out blood and water." The blood came to wash away the guilt of sin; the water to wash away the filth of sin. As Deer says–
"This fountain so dear, he'll freely impart:
Unlocked by the spear, it gushed from his heart;
With blood and with water, the first to atone,
To cleanse us the latter; the fountain's but one."
And I may also observe, though I have not time to dwell upon it, that the sprinkling of this clean water makes the conscience not only clean, but tender, submissive, and obedient to the will and word of God, so as to take his part against sin and self.
4. But the AFFECTIONSalso need cleansing, as well as the understanding, the will and the conscience. For O, how our affections cleave naturally to earth and the things of time and sense; and this creature love, in all its shapes and forms, defiles our affections. Creature love does not leave room in our soul for the love of God to come in and dwell there. And though creature love in some respects is necessary, and therefore may seem innocent, yet we may be sure as long as earthly affections are indulged, sin is loved, carnal things delighted in, and the fancied joys of earth pursued– to the dislike of everything which would interfere with them. There are no heavenly affections kindled in the soul, no mountings up of love toward him who sits at the right hand of God.
But the clean water which is sprinkled upon the understanding to enlighten it, upon the will to change it, and upon the conscience to cleanse it, comes upon the affections to renew them and fix them on heavenly things. God sprinkles them with the clean water; they are washed by the word; and the love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit.
Have you never had the sprinkling of this clean water– a sweet word of promise, a kind invitation, a gracious testimony, a heavenly look, a soft whisper, a gentle touch? Here was the clean water sprinkled upon the affections. And what was the effect? It purified them, and washed away that defilement and filth which they had contracted by earthly loves.
What a blessed thing it is to have the clean water sprinkled, to have the word of God in our heart as well as on our lips, and to feel the power and efficacy of the truth of God in our soul. Have we an enlightened understanding? Have we a renewed will? Have we a purged conscience? Have we heavenly affections? What has produced it? The washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit; the washing of water by the word; the power of God's truth in the soul, according to the promise– "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean."
D. But I pass on to show another effect of the sprinkling of the clean water. God says– "You shall be CLEAN" and with the word of a King there is power. Peter said to our gracious Lord, when he said to him– "If I wash you not, you have no part with me;" "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." But the Lord graciously answered– "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean" So if you have had the clean water sprinkled upon you, you are clean every whit. It is true that you need a daily washing. We need sometimes our eyes to be washed– they are heavy with sleep, or bleared with looking so much to the things of time and sense. We need our earswashed, for they are sometimes dull and cannot hear the word of truth with life, feeling, and power. We need our hands washed and cleansed from every defilement of covetousness, and made more open and liberal to the family of God. We need our feet washed, because as we travel through this muddy world, we often get defiled by the mire of the streets.
Therefore we need to be washed not only in the fountain of Christ's blood, and washed by the washing of regeneration; we need to be washed also by the renewing of the Spirit day by day– to have again and again the sprinkling of the clean water upon us, to keep us clean as well as to make us so; for it is with our souls as with our bodies, they need to be washed continually to keep them clean.
Now, godly people love this clean water on account of its cleansing effects. Filthy people love their filthiness; clean people love their cleanliness. What is the greatest punishment you can inflict upon one of those dirty tramps that are such pests and nuisances wherever they go? Cut off his matted locks; give him a thorough good wash; put him into the work-house bath; wash away the accumulated filth of weeks and months. Cleanliness is a martyrdom to him. But we who know what it is to be continually washing our bodies to keep them clean, love cleanliness; for we cannot bear the least dirt upon us. So it is in the figure. Sinners love their sins. How many a drunken drunkard would sooner sit this morning in some nook of the public-house smoking his pipe and guzzling his beer, rather than meet with us in the house of prayer. But would you like to be found there? Would you choose such a place and such a company for any day of the week, much more the Lord's day? What is a heaven to him is a hell to you, and what is a heaven to you is hell to him. He would be as much out of his place in the house of prayer, as you would be out of your place were you sitting in the corner of a public-house drinking beer and smoking a pipe. If ever a drop of that clean water has been sprinkled upon you, to enlighten your understanding, renew your will, cleanse your conscience, and purge your affections, you love to be clean. You cannot bear to step into the dirty puddles of the street.
I have no doubt if some of you clean females in coming to chapel this morning, had unawares put your foot into a dirty puddle, you would sit upon your seat very uncomfortable all the time of service, and would get no rest until you had taken off your dirty shoe and stocking, and well washed your foot. So it is with the child of God. He may unawares put his foot in a puddle, but he is not like the street arabs, whose choice place of amusement is a dirty. One who knows anything of regenerating grace by the power of God, cannot bear even to soil his feet, for he knows it makes him thoroughly miserable until the clean water comes again to wash them from all their filthiness. And thus I might add a fifth place in us to be sprinkled, as well as the four which I have mentioned, and that is our feet, meaning thereby life, conduct, and conversation.
E. But God has promised in our text, that he will cleanse us "from all our IDOLS,"as well as from all our filthiness.
Idolatry takes a wide range. It is astonishing what the invention of men has created in the shape of actual, material idols; and what a range they take, from the beautiful statues of Greece and Rome to those caricatures of humanity which are found in the South Sea islands. And yet all are idols. Whether it be a statue of the most consummate beauty– "The statue which enchants the world," or whether it be a ritualistic fetish– a monstrous object which the poor benighted African worships, it is an idol still. And all the skill of art and all the refinement bestowed upon the production of a statue by a Greek sculptor, leave it as much an idol as if it were Mumbo Jumbo or an African fetish.
But idolatry, that is, the idolatry of the heart, takes as wide a range as those which I have mentioned as made by human fingers. There are respectable idols and vulgar idols, as there are marble statues and such objects of worship made up of shells and feathers, as you may see in the British Museum brought over by Captain Cook; and yet each will still be an idol. We can bear with respectable idols, as we can look with pleasure upon a Greek statue; but we are very virtuously indignant against vulgar idols. We see a man in the street reeling with intoxication– we turn away with disgust; he is drunk with common beer. But a peer may get drunk with champagne, and nobody think the worse of him. A poor miserable creature, a thief, a pickpocket, a common prostitute will draw down universal reprobation. There may be another equally bad in the sight of God; but whose beauty or wealth, rank and titles, draw down universal admiration. Respectable idols we can admire, as men admire beautiful statuary; vulgar idols we detest. But an idol is an idol, however respectable or however vulgar, however admired, or however despised they may be.
But O how numerous are these respectable idols! Love of money, ambition, craving after human applause, desire to rise in the world, wanting to be what is called respectable– all these we may think are natural desires that may be lawfully gratified. But O, what idols may they turn out to be.
But there are more secret and not less dangerous idols than these respectable idols. You may have a husband, or wife, or child, whom you love almost as much as yourself; you bestow upon this idol of yours all the affections of your heart. Nothing is too good for it, nothing too dear for it. You don't see how this is an idol. Now, God has said, "From all your filthiness, find from all your idols will I cleanse you." Whatever you love more than God, whatever you worship more than God, whatever you crave for more than God, is an idol. It may lurk in the chambers of imagery; you may scarcely know how fondly you love it. Let God take that idol out of your breast, let him pluck that idol from its niche, you will find then how you have allowed your affections to wander after that idol and loved it more than God himself.
It is when the idol is taken away, removed, dethroned, that we learn what an idol it has been. Our good name, our reputation, our character, our respectability, any little property we may have, how we hug and embrace these idols; how we cleave to them; delight in them; bow down to them, and seek gratification from them. How little are we aware what affections entwine round them; how little are we aware that they claim what God has reserved for himself when he said, "My son, give me your heart."
Many a weeping widow learns for the first time that her husband was an idol; many a mourning husband learns for the first time how too dearly, how too fondly, how too idolatrously he loved his wife; many a man does not know how dearly he loves money until he incurs some serious loss; many do not know how dearly they hold name, fame, and reputation until some slanderous blight seems to touch that tender spot. Few indeed seem to know how dear SELF is until God takes it out of its niche and sets himself there in its room.
Now God has said– "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you." Could you go into the courts of heaven with any spot or speck of filth upon you? Would God's eye rest upon you with holy approbation, if it were possible for you to creep into the gates of heaven, and he saw a spot or wrinkle upon your face or your garments? No; his frown would meet your horrified countenance, and that frown would hurl you from the very battlements of heaven into the dismal depths of hell.
And as you cannot go into the presence of God with any speck or spot upon you, you cannot take your idols into the courts of heavenly bliss. Self and pride and reputation, and the love of money and name and fame, these idols you cannot take with you into the courts of heaven, as Rachel took her father's teraphim and hid them under the camel's furniture. How God would be moved to jealousy if you could you carry an idol, were it no bigger than a child's doll, into the courts above. "From all your filthiness, and from all your idols,will I cleanse you."
III. But I must just say a few words, and only a few words upon our last point, although I fear I have almost exhausted your time and patience– the ACCOMPANIMENTSof the sprinkling with clean water. God has promised to give a new heart, a new spirit—to take away the stony heart out of the flesh and give us a heart of flesh.
A. The first effect then of the clean water is to take away the stony heart out of the flesh. A stony heart is an obdurate, an impenitent heart, that cannot be and is not moved by anything to sorrow or to repentance. God, when he sprinkles the clean water, takes away the stony heart; and what does he give in its room? A heart of flesh. I reminded you just now that one of the first effects of regenerating grace was an enlightened understanding.
I will now give you another early mark of quickening grace. A SOFTheart. You felt yourself wonderfully moved under some discourse; the stony heart gave way; the heart of flesh was given; you were melted to tears; your impenitence was dissolved, your obduracy removed, and you found, to your astonishment, that the old stony heart that had so long resisted everything that looked like mercy was removed out of your breast—and there was a soft, tender, humble, penitent, believing, loving heart given in its stead. Wherever the clean water is sprinkled there goes with it the taking away of the heart of stone, and the giving of the heart of flesh.
And this is expressed further by the NEWheart, which embraces with new affections heavenly objects presented to it, where faith and hope and love graciously dwell.
B. And with this new heart there is "a new SPIRIT," whereby we worship God in spirit and in truth; believe, understand, and relish spiritual things; are made spiritually minded which is life and peace; and being made partakers of the Spirit of God, are thus made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.
I would that time and strength were given to me, and patience to you to enlarge more, but I have spoken enough if God is pleased to bless the word this morning. May the Lord add his blessing.
Back to J. C. Philpot Sermons