There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood

Devotion by Jim League

There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains:

Lose all their guilty stains, Lose all their guilty stains;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains.”

What a gruesome, gory picture. A pool of blood? That is what some people think when they hear this song by William Cowper. (Cooper is the correct pronunciation.) But once that flood has flown over a person, the image is God’s glorious grace and mercy. Immanuel is God. He died to provide this.

And look what happens to those, admitted sinners, are plunged into the pool. “Lose all their guilty stains.” The conscious consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin was guilt. They did not die immediately, but they knew something was wrong. Check Genesis 3. Once they ate, they knew what they had done. The tree was, “The Knowledge of Good and Evil.” They had done evil and they knew it. No wonder they hid when God entered the Garden.

I think that they had the Shekina of the Holy Spirit about them, because they were sinless. But when they sinned, it left, and exposed them completely. What was their response? To try to replace that covering with something else. But the guilt was still there. They knew and they knew that God knew. So they ran and hid.

And what was God’s response? Do you think that Adam and Eve were shocked and surprised when He took a lamb, or possilby two, slit the throat or throats and poured out the blood. We know that is what happened, because Moses gave instructions for killing of animals, either for food or sacrifice, and it included “pouring the blood on the ground.” Then the skins were draped over their naked bodies. The “covering” they sought had to involve the spilling of blood.

They remembered the caveat, “Eat and die.” And they understood the meaning of die to be “separation” because they were separated from God. Part of what shocked them was probably that the death was for the innocent lamb.

Cowper captured that in his remarkable verse. The blood, from Immanuel, the application to the sinner, and now the release from guilt. What a glorious thought. Now read on.

The dying thief rejoiced to see That fountain in his day;

And there may I, though vile as he, Wash all my sins away:

Wash all my sins away, Wash all my sins away;

And there may I, though vile as he, Wash all my sins away.

Another sinner was plunged beneath the flow. And, as our theological friend, Pogo, announced, “We have found the enemy and he is us.” Only now we are talking about the sinner. “He is us.” We cannot stop here.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood Shall never lose its power,

Till all the ransomed ones of God Be saved, to sin no more:

Be saved, to sin no more, Be saved, to sin no more;

Till all the ransomed ones of God, Be saved to sin no more.

(Some translations say, “church of God,” instead of ones.) Adam and Eve, the dying thief, and I were included in that precursor of Calvary played out in Genesis. And you are included too. God is infinite. Immanuel is infinite. So His sacrifice is infinite. That is enough to cover the sins of the whole world. Infinite sin. And how do we appropriate that for ourselves? Adam and Eve accepted the skin coats. Down through the ages, those who believed in the sufficiency, by faith...well, let’s go on.

E’er since by faith I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme, And shall be till I die:

And shall be till I die, And shall be till I die;

Redeeming love has been my theme, And shall be till I die.

We choose to accept, by faith, that stream from His wounds and we are forgiven and changed. We are “saved to sin no more.” Sin is no longer our master, as Paul pointed out in Romans 6:12 and 15. Sin is no longer our master. We are free from condemnation and domination. We are free from guilt. And it is all because of the Love of Immanuel. Shout it out. Our theme is, “My guilt is gone, I’ve been set free. I’m redeemed.” Let’s continue...

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue Lies silent in the grave,

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save:

I’ll sing Thy power to save, I’ll sing Thy power to save;

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save.

We sing with a “poor lisping, stammering tongue,” but the message is powerful. It is noble, sweet, and saving. Another song continues, “My chains (guilt and sin) is gone, I’ve been set free, my God, my Savior has ransomed me!” What a sweet song. I’ll sing it now and throughout eternity. Glory!

With thanks to William Cowper, John Newton, and Chris Tomlin