"The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out" (Leviticus 6:13). "Happy is the man that feareth [the Lord] always: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief" (Proverbs 28:14).
The altar with unceasing fire,
Always burning day and night,
Portrayed a steadfast, pure desire
For holy living in God's sight.
This holy fire before God's eyes
Required fuel each night and day,
And here the fear of God applies
In all we think, and do, and say.
We surely are constrained by love
That loved us first and loved us best.
Yet love is a component of
That holy fear we manifest.
There is a sad alternative
That hardens thus our hearts with doubt:
When without God's fear we live,
The fire of holy love goes out.
Let us then by grace now learn
To live for Christ with holy fear,
And daily let love's fire burn;
So much the more as He draws near.
No comments:
Post a Comment