of our activity, and the goal of our life? When will Jesus be the law of our life, and the end and purpose of our being? When? Some of us have been his disciples through many years. When? Some of us have been severely rebuked, and sorely chastened for our disloyalty to him. When? The time during which we can be influenced by him here is becoming very short. When? When we listen to him more devoutly and look at him more steadily. Listen to him now, as he saith, "For my sake." Look at him now, as he saith, "For my sake." Yield yourselves to him now, as he saith, "For my sake."

XXIII.

A LIVING SACRIFICE.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."-ROMANS xii. 1.

TH

HE knowledge of Christian doctrine involves serious obligations. When we become acquainted with the truth which is revealed by Christ, we are required to bring our inner and outer life into harmony with the revelation. The truth in Jesus is not a comet, attracting attention, awakening wonder, appearing for a little time and then vanishing away; it is the sun which makes and which rules our spiritual day, and it is the moon relieving the darkness of spiritual night. The truth in Jesus is not like the pictures on the walls of our dwellings, pleasant rather than serviceable, or if useful, not essential; it is as the necessary furniture of our homes. It is not as the garnish of the dishes of a feast, it is as the viands themselves; it is not as honey to bread, but is itself bread of life. It is not an unimportant appendage to Christian character, it is that character's necessary foundation. Let us not neglect doctrine, and let us be careful to render it into action and life. The epistle before us is

superlatively doctrinal and thoroughly practical, and this fact has suggested these introductory remarks, which, moreover, are sustained by the text, and especially by the use of the word "therefore." But let us now look steadily at the text itself.

2. Here is

ye

1. Here is something to be done. a strong motive-power by which to do it. First. Here is something to be done. “That present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God." "Present "--the word here rendered present" is elsewhere in this epistle rendered "yield." "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."* "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" "As ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness."‡ Present your bodies,"-yield, devote, consecrate your bodies. The word is that commonly used for bringing to offer in sacrifice.§ Bodies," a part of human nature, and the inferior part, is here used to represent the whole. Our whole nature, according to Paul, consists of body, soul, and spirit.|| But as the body is the visible and tangible part of our nature, the organ of practical activity, as soul and

*Rom. vi. 13. Rom. vi. 16. Rom. vi. 19. § Luke ii. 22.

|| 1 Thess. v. 23.

spirit cannot now be devoted to God, except as closely connected with the body, nor themselves entirely consecrated without the body, and as the body cannot be presented as a sacrifice in a state of separation from the spirit; moreover, as the allusion to the ancient sacrificial institution required the recognition of the material part of our nature, we may conclude that by "your bodies" is intended. "yourselves." Yield, devote, yourselves "a living sacrifice." The animal sacrifices required by the law were brought alive to the altar, and in offering them up they were slain. They were living until they became actual sacrifices, and as sacrifices they lost life. So soon as the offering was made they were dead sacrifices. The oblation was no sacrifice at all, except as the victim was slain. Yield yourselves a sacrifice in life, a sacrifice for life, a sacrifice rich in life. Shed not your blood as an offering to God, but present yourselves a living sacrifice, "holy, acceptable unto God;" yourselves, "holy," cleansed by that blood of Jesus Christ his Son which cleanseth from all sin, forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness, sanctified wholly and preserved blameless, justified freely by his grace, dead to sin, alive to God, servants to God with your fruit unto holiness," holy," not nominally but really, cleansed from guilt, purified; passively and actively holy,"holy," not fictitiously but actually, not ceremonially but experimentally, not ritually but practically, not outwardly only but inwardly:-yourselves "holy" and "acceptable;" the sacrifice real, therefore acceptable; the bringing of the offering sincere, therefore

acceptable; the Mediator recognised in the offering, therefore acceptable "acceptable," i.e., well-pleasing unto God. The sacrifices under the law were pleasing to God as representing certain ideas and facts, and as expressing certain sentiments; but the sacrifice before us is in itself an object of divine complacency. "The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.' "Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him."‡

The requirement of the text is this, Bring yourselves as a life offering to God, righteous, pure, and well-pleasing in his sight. That which is here required is not "devotions," but devotion. Present your prayers and praises and confessions of sin, and bring the offerings of true worship, but in all this and beside all this and above all this, present yourselves. All that we are is required, beside that + Isaiah lxii. 4, 5. Mal. iii. 16, 17.

* Psalm cxlvii. 11.