Leviticus 6:13 The fire shall ever be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. "The fire shall ever be burning." I take the words as typical of our common life, and its common duties and opportunities. It is only a shallow mind that can think without being awed of the privilege or the responsibility which belongs to us as custodians of a light that may be dimned or desecrated in our keeping, but cannot die; so much stronger is it and more enduring than ourselves. Yet the words suggest, too, that if our life be as the fire, it must be as the fire in its intensity and purity. It is not worth having if it is dull and cold and heartless, if it is not enkindled with zeal and generosity. I. THE FIRE OF ENTHUSIASM. It was said of Sir Walter Raleigh, "He can toil terribly"; and I think, if the great souls of the past could speak to you in tones that would command your interest, they would say that whatever good they did upon earth was achieved at the cost of strong resolve and strenuous effort. II. THE FIRE OF INDIGNATION. It is not enough, right as it is, to love what is good. We must hate, we must spurn the evil. The wicked are always a discredited minority; and if the good had only the courage of their opinions, the wicked would never have the courage of theirs. III. THE FIRE OF PERSONAL SANCTITY. The flame which consumes the dross of the world must itself be bright and beautiful. It must be "a burning and a shining light." Yes, and it must be "ever burning"; it must "never go out." It was the law of the Vestal Virgins in old time that night and day they should watch with sleepless care the everlasting fire upon the altar of the goddess. No calamity that could happen to the State was so terrible as if through their fault that fire should become extinct. But there was one essential condition of their watching: they must themselves be chaste; should any one of them break the Divine law of chastity, it was death for her and for him who made her break it. And oh! let us resolve that "the fire shall ever be burning upon the altar" of this school, which is so dear to us. Let it be bright, fierce, and lambent. Let it burn away the selfishness which lies at the heart of so many an one who knows it not. (J. E. C. Welldon, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.WEB: Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out. |
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