Consecration
Among the many passages in the Old Testament whose translation is vitally improved in the new Revision is the following verse in the first book of the Chronicles: ‘‘Who then offereth willingly to consecrate himself this day unto the Lord?’ King David propounded this question to the people of Israel when he was about undertaking the noble project of rearing a magnificent temple to Jehovah. He called for contributions of money and of labor. ‘There was to be no enforced draft of either men or money; every gift ‘ was to be spontaneous and offered willingly. It is the same thought which Paul presents when he exhorts us, ‘‘ Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord.’? The overmastering love of Christ in the soul will make hard labors light and unwelcome tasks agreeable and sacrifices prompt and cheerful. ‘‘Plunged into the atmosphere of love, the dim flame of obedience will burn more brightly, like a lamp plunged into a jar of pure oxygen.”’
The very word ‘consecration’? savors of pious cant in the estimation of some people, because they have heard it glibly used by certain sentimental Christians in a cheap and flippant fashion. Rightly felt and practised, it is the very essence of healthy, holy, and happy piety. God has a sovereign right to us; in every sweet breath of his pure air, in every object of beauty our eyes behold, in every line of his precious Word, in every step of his providential care, in every heart-joy at the mercy-seat, in every promise fulfilled and grace imparted, we discover a new obligation to be the Lord’s. ‘‘ Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price;’’ these solemn, tender words seal the claim of our crucified Master. Christ for me, and I for Christ, is the very core of honest self-consecration,.
To be worth anything this must begin with and centre in the Aeart. The whole undivided soul must be surrendered to Him who died to re-
‘ie il deem the soul. Christ will not take up with a closet ora corner. He d¢mands the complete surrender of the will, the faculties, and the affections. A hundred half-Christians cannot make a single whole one. The more heart there is in our religion, the more joy, the more power, the more victory. Nobody succeeds in what is undertaken grudgingly; the successful men have always been, like Paul, men of one idea. ‘‘ This one thing I do;’’ ‘‘ For me to live is Christ.’? The paramount purpose with Isaac Newton was stareyed science; he waited at the posts of her doors until she taught him how to weigh the globe. Love of his art held Joshua Reynolds to his easel for twenty unbroken hours till he had caught the coveted conception on his canvas. Th€ great,. tugged Scotch soul of Livingstone was already among the heathen of the Dark Continent before
he carried his body thither for martyrdom. The
more of your heart you give to Jesus the more will Jesus give you of himself.
In reading the biographies of many of the most vigorous and effective Christians we have been struck with the fact that at the outset they entered into a solemn, sincere covenant of self-consecration. Something like this has been the spirit if not always the actual language of their dedication of themselves to God: ‘‘Oh, heart-searching God and Father, thou hast a right to me, as my Creator and Preserver, and as having given thy Son to be my Saviour. I thank thee that eternal life has been offered to me through his atoning death, that the Holy Spirit has drawn my heart unto thee, and that thou hast called me to thy blessed service. May the Lord Jesus Christ dwell in my heart by his Spirit, and purify me and fill me unto all the fulness of God! Unto thee I do consecrate my heart, my body, my time, my possessions, my influence — all I am and all I hope to have in this world or another. ‘Teach me how to serve thee, and may I never grow weary in doing thy holy will. Let thy Word abide in me in all wisdom and thy grace ever be sufficient for me. Make me steadfast in faith, perfect in love, and abundant in: labor; and when this poor heart shall cease to”
CONSECRATION. DEE
pulsate on earth, grant me a gracious admission as a sinner saved into the higher, holier service of thy heavenly kingdom — for Jesus’ sake.’ Whoever can in humble sincerity make this consecration of himself to God has taken the great initial step towards a healthy and happy Christian life. When the heart is given to Christ and given without reserve or compromise, all other things will be quite sure to follow. *“Holiness to the Lord’’ will be stamped on them as a merchant stamps his trade-mark on his wares. Such practical questions as, What work shall I engage in, how much time shall I devote, and how much money shall I give? will be settled by a conscience of which Christ is: King. Christ will get the best. ‘The first-fruits will not be locked up in the granary or the fattest sheep killed for the table of selfishness. The whole week will not be monopolized for business or household duties and a hurried ten minutes be snatched for private prayer or a sleepy hour be grudgingly given to a devotional meeting. If there is a bright, intellectual son in the family, the first thought will not be to enter him in the race for wealth or fame or splendid station, but this other thought — May not Jesus Christ have a use for this brain and tongue in preaching his glorious gospel? ‘There are some of us ministers who in heaven will thank a godly mother for having made this very choice for us and for having consecrated us from infancy to this ‘‘high calling.’’? ‘There are very many other ways in which a man may serve God outside of a pulpit; but Jesus Christ ought to have the ‘‘pick”’ in our schools and colleges, and back of that in our homes and households. No young man or woman ever consecrated himself or herself to the work of saving souls and helping their fellow-creatures Godward and was sorry for it.
The question ‘‘Where shall I find a field of labor for Christ??? must be settled by the other considerations — ‘‘ What am I best fitted for? and Where am I most needed?’? Mary Lyon’s injunction to her pupils at Mt. Holyoke was worthy of Paul himself: ‘‘ Young ladies, in choosing your place of labor go where nobody else 1s will-
—> ing to go.’ ‘That sentence is as near like Holy Scripture as Abraham Ljncoln’s ‘‘ With malice towards none, with charity for all.’’ The amount of our property to be consecrated
to purposes of benevolence should be left to a prayer-enlightened conscience. If Christ keeps the check-book and the key of the purse, then he will get his due share. But not a dollar should be given to charity which is demanded by honest indebtedness. ‘‘Owe no man anything but to love one another’’ is a divine rule whose claim is as binding as the claim of God’s treasury. The Bible rule is that every one should give ‘‘as God hath prospered him;’’ in other words, according to his means. This puts” the poor widow’s mites on a par with the millions of a rich donor. ‘The most effective way of consecrating money is to bestow it systematically — just as the river Nile gives so much water and just so much soil and rice-crop every year. But, good friends, after you and I have consecrated our whole selves and all our possessions, we shall still meet our Lord in heaven as poor debtors.
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