August 17

PART III. — I Cor. x. 4.

MOSES was directed by the Lord to take the rod, with which he had smitten the river in Egypt, the same rod by which he had divided the waters of the Red Sea, and to smite the rock which was before him. Now let us see how this typified the smiting of Jesus, for that "Rock was Christ." The rod was to smite the rock, — not to be stretched over it, not to be waved before it, nor yet to be cast upon it, but to smite it. Jesus too, was really and truly smitten, by men, by devils, and by the hand of Divine justice. His name, his body, and his soul were all smitten; "He was despised, and rejected of men," and "it pleased the Lord to bruise him and to put him to grief." The rod smote the rock by Divine authority. So it pleased the Father, that Christ should suffer, and that thus he should make his soul an offering for sin. His Father cried, "Awake Osword against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." (Zechariah 13:7.) Hence when all the agonies of the garden and the cross were before his eyes, he said, "The cup which my Father giveth me, shall I not drink it?" The rock was to be smitten publicly, before the elders of the people. How applicable is this to the smiting of Jesus, — he was publicly dragged to the hall of the high priest, and before the elders was maligned and falsely accused, and buffeted, and spit upon. The elders adjudged him to death, paid the price of his blood to Judas, and stood by the cross, railing at him, and accusing him to the last. The rock was smitten for the benefit of the people. By this they were to be supplied with streams in the desert. So Jesus suffered, not for himself, but for us,—he was bruised for our iniquities,—he died to ransom our souls to God, and to open to our souls the fountain of the waters of life. Finally, the smitten rock, immediately yielded the flowing stream. So while Jesus was yet suspended on the cross, from his pierced side flowed a stream of blood and water, which Zechariah had spoken of, when he said, "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness."

"There is a fountain fill'd with blood, Drawn from Immanuel's veins, And sinners plung'd into that flood, Lose all their guilty stains."