March 4

The LORD is God; He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. — Ps 118:27 BSB

Are you a poor, broken-hearted child of the living God? Is there any trace of the Spirit of Christ in you? Is there any faint reflection of His meekness and holy image stamped upon your heart? If so, you feel yourself bound to the altar with cords of necessity and love. You feel a strong pull to remain there, but you also struggle as a victim bound to the altar, wishing you could escape the trials and difficulties that come with it. You might even long to find an easier way, or be tempted to create your own altar, just as King Ahaz modeled one after the pattern of Damascus (2 Kings 16:10). You might even feel drawn, like some, to external symbols like the material cross, instead of worshiping the God-man who bled upon it. You might desire to leave behind the path of self-loathing, trials, temptations, and spiritual struggles to walk in a meadow of pleasant doctrine and speculation, free from the pangs of conscience and trials of the soul.

But the Lord says, “Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.” You are tied to the altar, and there is no escape. You might resist, rebel, or stretch these cords to their limit, but you cannot break them. These cords are too firmly attached to your tender conscience and too tightly wrapped around your broken heart to be broken. They would cut your heart in two before they would break.

In your right mind, you would not want to be anywhere but bound to the horns of the altar. In those moments, you want the cords tightened, to be drawn closer to it, and to have the blood that was shed upon it sprinkled on your conscience. You want to see, through the eyes of faith, the Victim who once bled and suffered there, and as you look upon Him, you desire to drink in His image, feeling the softening and melting power of that vision.

Yet, with this also come trials, temptations, and sacrifices, and at times you wish to escape them. In moments of rebellion or a desire for ease, you long to run away, even though at other times, you want to draw near. We are such wretched creatures that we often prefer to serve the flesh and the world, hoping to take our chances for eternity rather than endure the trials and temptations that come with following Christ. But it is our mercy that we cannot break these cords of eternal love, that despite our weakness, God will “fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power.”