On our back patio is a rock formation with a fountain that flows into a pool of water beneath it. The constant flow of water is pleasant to the eye and ear, creating a delightful ambiance. The fountain is the centerpiece of that peaceful setting.
With the sound of our own fountain in my ear, I read this morning of another fountain described in Zechariah 13:1, where the prophet testified,
On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
The word “fountain” suggests an abundant, ongoing supply. And the purpose of this fountain is special — utterly unique, in fact — for it cleanses not dirt from the body but sin and guilt from the soul.
How so? What is the nature of this unique, transforming fountain? We don’t have to guess, because the Lord himself, speaking through Zechariah, tells us in the preceding paragraph:
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one hours for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one gives for a firstborn son. (Zech. 12:10)
Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, this prophecy foretold of his death and the proof of it by the piercing of his body on the cross by a Roman soldier’s spear (John 19:34-37). Soon thereafter the God-fearing Jews in Jerusalem were “cut to the heart” and repented as the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost and Peter proclaimed the gospel (Acts 2:32-37).
Praise God, that same fountain of cleansing is still available for sinners today! This is Good News! Matthew Henry wrote, “those who look upon Christ pierced, and mourn for their sins that pierced him, and are therefore in bitterness for him, may look again upon Christ pierced and rejoice in him, because it pleased the Lord thus to smite this rock, that it might be to us a fountain of living waters.”
It was this good news, especially as the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy, that inspired William Cowper to write one of his most beloved hymns in 1772 — a song that still resonates deeply in the hearts of Christians today.
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its pow'r,
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.
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.
When this poor lisping, stamm'ring tongue
Lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song
I'll sing Thy pow'r to save.
The last book of the Bible contains yet another prophecy concerning the Pierced One. In Revelation 1:6-7, the apostle John writes,
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
Those who mourn for their sin now will have no need to wail when the Lord Jesus returns to judge the earth, for they will have been saved from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:9-10). There is enough mercy in God and merit in Christ to cleanse the greatest of sins and sinners. That is the Good News of Jesus Christ!
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
If not, come in faith to the Fountain, and you’ll find forgiveness full & free.
If you have already come to Christ, then live to the praise of the One who was pierced for you.