treets hideous, and then ask whether or not Jesus weeps. And more
than this, let us bring the matter home to ourselves. Each one of us
is, so to speak, a city, a temple of the living God. We have been
consecrated to Him in Baptism, as was Jerusalem by the coming of the
Ark. God has promised that He will dwell in us. Are we trying to keep
our lives pure and holy, remembering that we are the temples of the
Holy Ghost? Is God dwelling in the holy of holies of our heart, or
have we cast Him out, like Israel of old, to make room for some
unworthy idol? A man's god is that which he loves, admires, and trusts
to most. It may be money, it may be pleasure, or fame, or beauty:
these are all idols.

Brethren, who is your God? Who dwells in the secret place, the holy of
holies of your heart? God's people Israel were commanded to keep the
sacred fire always burning upon the altar of sacrifice. It was never
to go out. It was to be fed daily with wood, and with sacrifices of a
sweet-smelling savour. It is supposed that this sacred fire was kept
burning for a period of eight hundred years, till the reign of the
wicked king Manasseh. From his days, when the fire was suffered to go
out, the nation fell lower and lower into absolute ruin. When we were
baptised, the sacred fire of the Holy Spirit came down upon the altar
of our hearts. Are we keeping that holy flame alight? Are we feeding
it with offerings of self-sacrifice and love; offerings of a
sweet-smelling savour to God? If we have allowed the sacred fire to
die out of our hearts God is no longer there. Our life is like the
desecrated temple of the Jews, silent, abandoned by all, except by foul
things which dwell in desolate places. Oh! that our eyes were open to
see our true state; to see the things concerning our peace, before the
fatal day when they shall be hid for ever from our eyes!

An ancient legend tells us that the Centurion who pierced our Lord's
side at the crucifixion was a soldier named Longinus, and that he was
blind. When the Blood poured from the wounded side of Jesus it was
sprinkled on the blind eyes of the Centurion, and he received his sight
and testified, "Of a truth this was the Son of God."

May that same Precious, Redeeming Blood open our eyes to see our sin,
and to know Jesus as our Saviour. Then we shall ask Him to come into
the temple of our heart, as He went into the Jewish temple of old, and
to cast out all those evil demons of l