The ashes are our sins ; the things that day by day and hour by hour lie upon our consciences ; the things that we know are wrong. And whatever we do we must not allow these sins to lie upon our hearts ; we must get rid of them regularly, because, if we do not, just as the accumulating ashes would have smothered the fire upon the altar, so the accumulating sin within us will destroy the Divine life. So we have to go into the inner temple of our own being ; we have to go to the altar and take away the ashes ; find them out by regular self-examination.
^ Our Christian life cannot go on aright unless, like the priests of old, at fixed and regular times we go to the altar of our heart, and there find out what the ashes are. Then when we have found them out, let us take them in our hands — take them in the hands of a trembling contrition, and be sure we carry them to the right place. We cannot go wrong as to what the right place is, because we have got an interpretation of it given us in the New Testament : " The bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us therefore go forth unto Him without the camp." Let us take them to Jesus always ; kneel down at His feet ; confess our sins to Him definitely. If we confess our sins — not sin — if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive ua our sins and to cleanse U8 fi^om all unrighteouBuess.^
^ Owon 6. Body.
LEVITICUS VI. 13 343
Take unto Thyself, 0 Father, ' This folded day of Thine,
This weary day of mine. Its ragged corners cut me yet, 0, still the jar and fret! Father, do not forget
That I am tired With this day of Thine.
Breathe Thy pure breath, watching Father,
On this marred day of Thine,
This erring day of mine ! Wash it white of stain and spot! O, cleanse its every blot! Eeproachful Eyes ! remember not
That I have grieved Thee On this day of Thine!
2. The Feeding vnth Fuel. — We have not only to take away the ashes, we have also to lay on wood. We must feed the fire. What is the fuel which God has provided for the fire of the Christian life? We know the answer — the public and private means of grace. A diligent use of the public ordinances of God's house is necessary to the obtaining of fuel for the spiritual life. Under the Mosaic law the Sabbath was instituted not only as a day of rest from the ordinary work and activities of life, but also as a day of " holy convocation " — a day which furnished an opportunity of assembling for Divine worship. And the Christian Sabbath is in force for the same purpose. "Waiting upon the Lord" in the public worship of the sanctuary, we "renew our strength, we mount up with wings as eagles; we nm and are not weary ; we walk and are not faint."
^ Then I saw in my Dream, that the Interpreter took Christian by the hand, and led him into a place where was a Fire burning against a Wall, and one standing by it always, casting much Water upon it to quench it : yet did the Fire burn higher and hotter. Then said Christian, What means this ? The Interpreter answered. This fire is the work of Grace that is wrought in the heart ; he that casts Water upon it, to extinguish and put it out, is the Devil : but in that thou seest the fire notwithstanding burn higher and hotter, thou shalt also see the reason of that : So he
344 THE CONTINUAL FIRE
had him about to the back side of the Wall, where he saw a Man with a Vessel of Oil in his hand, of the which he did also continually cast (but secretly,) into the Fire. Then said Christian, What means this? The Interpreter answered, This is Christ, who continually with the oil of his Grace, maintains the work already begun in the heart; by the means of which, notwith- standing what the Devil can do, the souls of his People prove gracious still. And in that thou sawest that the Man stood behind the Wall to maintain the Fire ; this is to teach thee, that it is hard for the tempted to see how this work of Grace is maintained in the souL^
More particularly, the fuel is —
(1) Prayer. — Prayer lies at the very foundation of all Christian vitality. To be a praying man or woman is to be spiritually living; to be not praying is to be spiritually dead. Prayer is the Christian's vital breath; and as, if I would live I must breathe, so, if I would be a Christian I must pray; or if I cease to pray, my spiritual life perishes. It lies beneath everything. Without prayer the study of God's Word is no good ; without prayer worship in the sanctuary is no good; without prayer work as a teacher or district visitor is no good — not spiritually ; without prayer self -communing is no good.