20. The true Believer offers himself as a Sacrifice to God
EXHORTATION.
"I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."—Rom. xii. 1.
Every Christian must frequently call to mind that we belong not to ourselves, but to God, and this should encourage us to offer ourselves, and all we have, to God in return.
1. The offerings of the Old Testament had to be voluntary. Man must lead a godly life in the world, not from fear of hell, but from love to God; otherwise the sacrifice is but compulsory.
2. The offerings were required to be presented wholly, and not in part; therefore we must not give one half of our hearts to the world and the other to God, but must love God, and surrender ourselves to him with all our hearts, and with all our souls, and with all our might. AS A SACRIFICE TO GOD.
3. These offerings were required to be without a flaw; nothing blind or lame could be sacrificed to God. We must take care not to stain our souls or our bodies, for a soul tarnished with sin God will not admit into heaven. 4. God had a peculiar partiality for young sacrifices:—for lambs one or two years old; this was to show that we must not postpone our conversion to old age, but must give ourselves as a sacrifice to God in good time, in the bloom of youth. 5. What was once sacrificed to God, could not afterwards be changed or taken away; so must a Christian be stedfast in his purposes.
Lord, Lord God! thou who didst command thy people Israel to bring thee daily sacrifices, which were to be entirely hallowed and sanctified unto thee,—lo, I bring thee my believing and penitent heart, thou wilt not despise it. I sacrifice to thee my will, henceforth I will no longer do what I will, but what thou wilt. I offer thee my lips, with which I will praise and extol thee, and which I will never again abuse for shameful words or idle gossip. I offer thee my heart, which do thou fill with a living faith, with thy grace and thy love, and with vital godliness. If it is a heart by nature unclean THE TRUE BELIEVER OFFERS HIMSELF and unfit for sacrifice, O cleanse it with the blood of Jesus Christ, which I accept in true faith, O purify it by thy Holy Ghost, sanctify it for thy habitation, and do thou reign and govern therein I offer thee my life, which I will lead according to thy holy word, according to the good impulse of thy holy spirit. I offer to thee my limbs, help that they may be instruments of righteousness, that I may not abuse them for sin and shame, but that they may remain consecrate unto thee. As the law required that an offering should not again come into contact with other things, so I too will separate myself from the world. Yea, I will sacrifice myself to thee while I yet live and enjoy health, and not wait until I fall sick, for then it might be too late. O Lord! thou didst accept offerings at all times, at morning, noon, and eve; look in mercy also upon my sacrifice. If I bring it to thee but at the noon of life, or if perchance the evening approaches,—if I have suffered the morning of my youth to pass by, still thou wilt not despise my offering, for it is brought in faith, like the faith of Abel. O look upon it in thy mercy; I will be and remain thy property during the remainder of my life. Lord, my Shepherd, source of all joys, thou art mine, I am thine, no one can separate us; I am thine because thou hast given thy blood and thy life unto death for my advantage. Thou art mine, AS A SACRIFICE TO GOD.
because I hold thee, the light of my steps, and do not suffer thee to vanish from my heart; let me come to where thou wilt embrace me, and I thee, in heaven. Amen.
1. O Lord, vouchsafe me the fulfilment
Of what I sigh for day by day;
That I may keep thy word's instilment
And never from thy counsel stray.
Give me a godly life below,
That I to heaven may surely go.
2 Grant that the Saviour's blood and anguish
May hold me firmly to my trust;
And that my love may never languish,
Until my dust returns to dust.
Give me a godly life below,
That I to heaven may surely go.
3. And may sin's shadow never darken
The light that streams from thee to me.
And may to nought I ever hearken
That could divide my heart from thee.
Give me a godly life below,
That I to heaven may surely go.
4. That while in darkness here I falter
I may persist in godliness;
And never with my conscience palter,
Nor miss the time to sue for grace.
Give me a godly life below,
That I to heaven may surely go.
THE TRUE BELIEVER PRAYS.
.5 Then may I die with easy spirit,
And seek the tomb with cheerful face
Assured that I shall then inherit
What I was promised by thy grace.
Give me a godly life below,
That I to heaven may surely go.