The Foundation of the Altar

‘“‘ I beseech you by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice.” — Rom. xii. 1.

IT is not often that the idea of sacrifice is

associated with the thought of mercy. We commonly view it as one of the obstacles to our belief in God’s mercy. In all religions that I know of, with one exception, men sacrifice to God at times when they think His mercy turned away; they sacrifice to avert His anger, to restore His smile. But there is one religion which inverts the order — the religion of Christ. All other faiths say, “Sacrifice that ye may win God’s favour”; Christianity says, “Win God’s favour that ye may sacrifice.” All other faiths make sacrifice the root; Christianity makes sacrifice the flower. All other faiths ary, “Bring your offering that you may be purified”; Christianity exclaims, “Be pure that you may bring your offering.” With other faiths it is those who are afar off that sacrifice; in Christ it is those who are near. The Gospel offering is the offering by the purest — a soul without blemish and without spot. That is the reason why Paul says, “I beseech you by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.” It is the sons of purity that he calls to suffer pain. It is to the souls captivated by love that he appeals for an exercise of self-denial. “Ye,” he says, “who have yourselves been made white, ye who have received the mercy of your God, ye who by Divine grace have already reached the inner shrine of the sanctuary, I appeal to you to bear the burdens of humanity. I ask not those in the outer court. I ask not those who are one with the degraded multitude. I ask not those who are partners in the same sin as that of their guilty brother, and who, therefore, might be expected to bear his infirmities. I ask the white-robed. I appeal to the spotless. I call upon the pure in heart who see God. I cry, ‘If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye who are spiritual, restore!’ I beseech you by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.”

I thank thee, O my Father, that Thou hast made sacrifice a Divine thing. It was once the mark of a slave; but Thou hast glorified it. It was once the mark of a sinner; but

Thou hast exalted it. It was once the mark of a victim; but Thou hast enfranchised it. It is always in Thy garden that the sensitive plant is found. In Thy presence is fulness of joy; therefore it is that Thy presence makes us more sensitive to pain. It is they who have been gladdened by the streams of Thy city that are most apt to be saddened by the streams of other cities. It is from Thy sunbeams, O my God, that I learn the shadows of my brother man. I understand why it is that Paul summons to Thine altar the men whom Thou hast blessed. It is the sons of Thy kingdom alone that are poor in spirit. My pity is born of my privileges. Is it not written of Thy Son Christ Jesus that because He was in Thy form He emptied Himself into a servant’s form? It was His height that made His heaviness, His Crown that made His Cross. Even so, my Father, let it be with me! May every personal crown suggest a brother’s cross! May the bread which I break remind me of the hungry! May the robe which I wear remind me of the tattered! May the house which I inhabit remind me of the homeless! May the friends whom I prize remind me of the solitary! May the books which I read remind me of the ignorant! May the fires which I light remind me of the shivering! May the helps by which

I travel remind me of the footsore and weary! So shall Thy mercies be the ground of my sacrifice; I shall present my body for my brother’s burden when I have realised my own light.