The Priesthood of God

“The Lord hath prepared a sacrifice.” — Zarn. i. 7.

AT is the unique feature in Christianity?

Not the Doctrine of the Trinity — you will find that in India. Not the Doctrine of the Divine in the human — you will find that in Greece. Not the recognition of a Spirit of God — you will find that in the first chapter of Genesis. Not the faith in immortality — you will find that in Egypt. Not the offering up of sacrifice by man — you will find that in every heathen worship. But there is one thing which you will find only in Christianity. Every other worship speaks of man offering to God; in Christ we have the startling paradox of God offering to man. “The Lord hath prepared a sacrifice.” That is a new prophetic note in the faiths of the world. All the nations had been bringing their sacrifices to Him; here He brings His sacrifice to them. Imagine a state of

things in which the injured had to pay.

Imagine a constitution of society in which the assaulted man was the man who had to make reparation for the fray — had to offer a sacrifice in expiation of the fault of others. “What a fantastic conception!” you say. And yet if you could imagine a world in which the injured man was always the man of love, this would become the common experience. Indeed, with all our talk about the sacrifice that waits on sin, you will find that it is the sinless who pay. It is not on the guilty that the deepest sacrifice falls, even where the guilty are punished. It is the innocent who suffer most. Qne of the Jewish psalmists cries, “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not Thy law.” It is the cry of every good father in the moment of ason’s disgrace. It says, “J am the real victim; JI am the true object for pity; on me the actual penalty falls.” Sin’s victim is ever the purest. It is the lamb without spot that suffers. When you pierce the guilty, it is another’s heart that bleeds. When you smite the sinner, it is another’s voice that weeps. When you sentence the man of crime, it is another’s soul that is weighted with sorrow. The sins against love are borne by the loving.

O Lord my God, Thou art the victim of this world’s sin. To Thee belongs its sacrifice, on Thee its bitter cross is laid. Thy spotless love makes Thine the penalty. “There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin.” If there had been another love like Thine, there would have been another suffering like Thine; but there was none; therefore Thou hast trodden the winepress alone. Mine has been the guilt, but Thine has been the pain. Thou hast bled where I blushed not; Thou hast groaned where I grieved not; Thou hast sorrowed where I sighed not. Deeds that broke not my rest have broken Thy heart. Memories that brought me no care have brought Thee a cross. Retrospects that suggest to me no stain have left in Thee a sting. Thy love has lifted my liabilities. Thy pity has appropriated my penalties. Thy devotion has discharged my defalcations. Thou hast become answerable for my debts to man. I hear men say, “Jesus paid it all.” Yes, and He is paying still. It is the Divine that repairs the rents of the human. Thou healest those whom I have wounded. Thou cleansest those whom I have stained. Thou lightest those whom I have darkened. Thou restest those whom I have ruffied. Thou receivest those whom I have expelled. Thou crownest those whom I have contemned. Thou usest those whom I have rejected. Thou leadest those whom I have caused to stray. Mine, O Lord, is the sin, but Thine is the sacrifice