Month: August 2025
Stained Piety and Polluted Devotion
And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. – Numbers 9:16
The Israelite became unclean even in the act of doing good, for assuredly it was a good deed to bury the dead! A man would be defiled, if, out of charity, he helped to inter the poor, or the slain, or the poor relics of mortality which might be exposed upon the plain—and yet this was a praiseworthy action. Alas, there is sin even in our holy things. A morality so pure that no human eye can detect a flaw may yet be faulty to the eye of God. Brothers and Sisters, sin stains our piety and pollutes our devotion! We do not even pray without needing to ask God to forgive the prayer. Our acts of faith have a measure of unbelief in them, for the faith is never so strong as it ought to be. Our penitential tears have some grit of impenitence in them and our heavenly aspirations have a measure of carnality to degrade them. The evil of our nature clings to all that we do. Who shall bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! One way or another defilement will come upon us. We have been once washed in the blood of Jesus, and we are clean before the bar of God. And yet in the Divine family we need that our feet be washed after walking awhile in this dusty world and there is not one disciple who is above the need of this washing. To one and all our Lord says, “If I wash you not, you have no part in Me.”
Pollution went forth from the polluted. Do you and I sufficiently remember how much evil we are spreading when we are out of communion with God? Every ungenerous temper creates the same in others. We never cast a proud look without exciting resentment and bad feelings in others. Somebody or other will follow our example if we are slothful—and thus we may be doing great mischief even when we are doing nothing! You cannot even bury your talent in a napkin without setting an example to others to do the same and were that example followed by all, how dreadful would be the consequences! Observe that I am not now speaking of sinners, but of the saints of God! My soul’s longing is that we may walk worthy of the Lord unto all well-pleasing and may not become unfit for communion with Him. ~ C.H. Spurgeon
https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1481.cfm
Get to Living Things!
And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. – Numbers 19:16
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us]. – Hebrews 9:12
In the passage in Numbers which is now before us, the one source of defilement dealt with is death. “Whoever touches one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.” Now, death is peculiarly the symbol of sin as well as the fruit of sin. Sin, like death, defaces the image of God in man. As soon as death grasps the body of a man, it destroys the bloom of beauty, the dignity of strength and drives forth from the human form that mysterious something which is the token of life within. However comely a corpse may appear for a time, yet it is defaced—the excellence of life has departed and, alas, in a few hours, or at longest in a few days, the image of God begins utterly to pass away—corruption and the worm commence their desolating work and horror follows in their train. What death does for the “human face,” sin does for the spiritual image of God upon us. It utterly defaces it…Like a dog at one’s heels, sin is always with us! Like our shadow, it follows us, go where we may. Yes, and when the sun shines not and shadows are gone, sin is still there. Where shall we flee from its presence and where shall we hide from its power? When we would do good, evil is present with us. How humbled we ought to be at the recollection of this!
Sin is death. Labor to keep from it! Inasmuch as you are delivered from the yoke of sin, go forth and serve God! Since He is the living God and evidently hates death and makes it to be an uncleanness to Him, get to living things! Offer to God living prayers and living tears! Love Him with living love! Trust Him with living faith! Serve Him with living obedience! Be all alive with His life—not only have life—but have it more abundantly! He has purged you from the defilement of death, now live in the beauty and glory and excellency of the Divine Life and pray the Holy Spirit to quicken you that you may abide in full fellowship with God! ~ C.H. Spurgeon
https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1481.cfm
He Hath Said 