THE TEMPLE AND DEMOLISHING EVERY TRACE OF IDOL WORSHIP This chapter carries two distinct trends: (1) If God has granted them the land as a free divine gift. They, on their part, are committed to demolish every trace of corruption, in order to enjoy the holy life. Israel was then one of the newest developing nations. As the people who were about to enter into the Promised Land, were all born in the wilderness; with no experience of the old nations, there was a great probability for them to be influenced by what they see in the Promised Land, of cultures and achievements. That is why the divine command was firm, to demolish everything related to idolatry. (2) God has granted them the holy land. At the same time, requested from them to build for Him a house sanctified for Him; at the location He chooses. He gives plenty, and requests a few of what He gave, in order to confirm the mutual love between Himself and them. After speaking about the blessings of observing and responding to the divine command; and the curses of rebelling against it; the prophet Moses speaks about the importance of demolishing every trace of idolatry. Any compromise with the sin, or neglect of its traces, would draw the heart of the believer gradually away from the love of God, would corrupt his depths, and would deny him the pleasure and sweetness of the divine commandment. He warned them against offering sacrifices outside the location chosen by God to set a holy worship, in order not to create any chance to offer a sacrifice to any other but the true God; or to worship God in a way that is similar to idolatry. He also warned them against drinking blood, as was the custom of pagans; and against inquiring about their vain practices of worship, to protect His people, whom He has chosen, against having anything of the abominations of idolatry that might corrupt their thoughts. The Canaanites used to worship several gods, for whom they set altars at different locations. Here He inspired the idea of “Oneness” in the people’s minds, to ban offering sacrifice in any location other than the one place chosen by God as His temple (1-14); where the name of God dwells (11). Before the temple of Jerusalem, the Lord’s sanctuary was the tabernacle of meeting or the Ark of the Covenant. God alone chooses the place of His sanctuary; and chooses the way He should be worshipped. He would not let His people adopt the ways of the Canaanites (31), or their custom of drinking the blood (15-28), or offering human sacrifices (29-31). 1. Demolishing any trace of idolatry 1-4. 2. Setting a house for the Lord 5-15. 3. Refraining from drinking blood 16. 4. Eating before God 17-18. 5. Taking care not to neglect the Levites 19. 6. Refraining from eating blood 20-28. 7. Refraining from inquiring about the practices of vain worship 29-32. 1. DEMOLISHING ANY TRACE OF IDOL WORSHIP Once man finds comfort from his temptations, he often forgets God and disregards His commandment. That is why the prophet Moses confirms to His people, that when they inherit the land according to the promise of God, they should observe 8 the divine commandment. “These are the statutes and the ordinances that you must diligently observe in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to occupy all the days that you live on the earth” (Deut. 12:1) Saying: ”in the land,” it is obvious that the author feels that the entry of Israel into the Promised Land have become close. This is what prevails on the whole book. He confirms to them that man is committed to observe the commandment as long as he lives on earth. It was not given to him to observe, only during his affliction in the wilderness, but also in Canaan. Man should strive to observe it until his last breath. The greatest commandment openly came, that there is no god to worship, among the other vain, so-called gods, but One God. That is why, once they enter into the Promised Land, they should demolish any trace of idolatry. “You must demolish completely all the places where the nations whom you are about to dispossess served their gods, on the mountain heights, on the hills, and under every leafy tree. Break down their altars, smash their pillars, burn their sacred poles with fire, and hew down the idols of their gods, and thus blot out their name from their places” (Deut. 12:2, 3) “Their sacred poles” (asherahs) are wooden poles on which they used to set the idols for worship. It is amazing to hear him say to the new generation who enter Canaan for the first time: “the nations who you are about to dispossess” (2); (namely the land you are about to inherit), as though they were to inherit a land that belonged to their ancestors. Having promised Abraham to give this land to his children; God counted it as theirs, even though they have not yet come to possess. Now this generation came to possess and to inherit what belonged to their ancestors. By saying, “their gods, on the mountain heights, on the hills, and under every leafy tree” (2), he proclaims, as though those pagan gods, by spreading their altars everywhere, have occupied the places that were supposed to be sanctified for God, the Creator of the world. They have occupied the mountain heights and the hills, as steadfast and high gods that no one could demolish; and under every leafy tree; having been considered as the source of fertility and fruition. Every trace of idolatry at all those locations should be demolished, to proclaim to the people that God alone is the Stronghold of His people, who lifts them up to the heavens, and grants them, not just the fertility of animals and plants, but also the increasing fruition of the spirit. (1) God commanded every trace of idolatry to be demolished, for the land has become holy for the Lord. It is impossible to combine between the divine sanctuaries and the unclean traces that carry the smell of abominations. He did not approve using the sites of idolatry for worshipping the living God, to avoid any probable source of confusion between them. Whoever encounter the Holy God, would hate “even the garment defiled by the body.” (2) Having chosen them as His own loved and honored them; it is fitting for them to chose God alone, to despise, hate, and completely reject idolatry. (3) He did not allow for any trace of idolatry to remain; to protect the souls from getting swept by them in their moments of weakness. (4) By proclaiming the kingdom of God in the life of people, as well as in the holy place, sanctifying man should not be separated from sanctifying the place where His God is worshipped. (5) He warned them against adopting the pagan customs in worshipping God: “You shall not worship the Lord your God in such ways” (4). He did not wish His 9 people to offer their sacrifices to God on the mountain heights, on the hills, under every leafy tree, the way the pagans did. God does not seek these things, but seeks obedience to Him. It is not fitting for us to honor Him according to our human mind, but according to His. (6) He presents us with an important principle that touches our spiritual life, which is not to confuse between the truth and vanity, and between darkness and light. It is fitting for the believer who longs for a fellowship with God – the Light – to reject all works of darkness. He is committed to take off all the works of the old man, and to be clothed with the new man, with all his works and thoughts. He should not get slothful with any evil thought, but should demolish it completely, recalling the words of St. John, the beloved: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true” (1 John 1:6). Is the commandment concerning demolishing idolatry still valid today? Every one of us is in need of demolishing the idols set inside him. Any confusion or preoccupation that would separate us from God, and make us lose the vision of the heavenliness is an idol that should be demolished. It is not the matter or the actual work, nor the joyful or the sad events, that constitutes an idol, but it is the preoccupation of the heart and mind, and their diversion from the salvation of man, that is an idol. 2. SETTING A HOUSE FOR GOD The Lord, is God of the whole earth; yet he chose for Himself a special place to put His name on it: “The place of the name of the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 18:7); “the place where your glory abides” (Psalm 26:8). He committed them to a certain place chosen by Him to dwell in, where they can worship and offer their sacrifices, but He did not fix its exact location, but left it to the future, when they get the Promised Land, He gives the commandment at the right time. It is obvious that the author did not know the location of the future temple at the time he wrote this book, an indication, that it was the prophet Moses (or someone right after his departure) who has written it, long before the building of the temple of Jerusalem. Some may probably believe that the book of the Law began by a negative tone, proclaiming the demolition of everything related to the nations. But, it is clear that its goal has been the positive side; namely, confirming the role of the sacrifice and the blood in their life, which was not to be realized while idolatry still remained. He combines the demolition of everything related to the Gentiles, especially idolatry, with setting a dwelling place for God in their midst. The land that was previously used for abominations it is sanctified to be counted as a dwelling place for God. God does not wish for demolition, as much as for building, for transferring our energies from evil to goodness. As the temple would be the place of the sacrifice, and the center of life for the people of God, entering into a covenant with God; its one and particular location had to be chosen by God Himself (5, 11, 18). It is true that there is a multitude of animal sacrifices to reveal the many aspects of the cross. But they are all offered in one temple, being a non-repeated sacrifice. God did not allow His people to offer sacrifices in any place, but the place He has chosen to be His own dwelling place, where an altar for Him is set, in order to keep them from falling into offering sacrifices to idols, or on idol altars. 10 “But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes as His habitation to put His name there. You shall go there, bringing there your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and your donations, your votive gifts, your free-will offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and flocks” (Deut. 12:5, 6) The Ark of the Covenant, including the two tablets of the testimony represented the divine presence; and wherever it was, God referred the place to Him, and counted it as His holy house. No one got a blessing, except through the Ark of the Covenant, that used to represent the Law or the word of God, as though from the mouth of God Himself. During their journey in the wilderness, the tabernacle of meeting was not always set; and it was not possible to designate a fixed place for worship, or to practice all the rites according to the law. But after the temple was built at the location chosen by the Lord, the situation became completely different The Ark of the Covenant settled down first in Shiloh; but because of the evil done by the people, and God’s wrath that came down on that location, the ark was moved from one place to another, until it settled down in Jerusalem in the days of the prophet David, and the temple was built by his son king Solomon, to whom the Lord appeared in the night and said to him, “I have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice” (2 Chronicles 7:12). And Solomon said: “I have built You an exalted house, a place for you to reside in forever” (2 Chronicles 6:2); “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with His hand has fulfilled what He promised with His mouth to my father David, saying: ‘Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any of the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, so that my name might be there, and I chose no one as ruler over my people Israel; but I have chosen Jerusalem in order that my name may be there” (2 Chronicles 6:4-6). In the Old Testament, sacrifices were offered in only one house of God; whereas in the New Testament, the whole earth came to be for the Lord and His Christ; and the incense is offered to the Lord everywhere (Malachi 1:11); according to what the Lord Christ proclaimed to the Samaritan woman, that the true worship will not be bound to this mountain, nor to Jerusalem, but to the spirit and the truth wherever the true worshipers are found (John 4:23). What are they to do in the house of the Lord? 1. Bring there their burnt offerings, their sacrifices, and their donations (6, 11). It is fitting for the Christian to offer sacrifices of love to God. 2. Eat there before the Lord: “You shall eat there in the presence of the Lord their God” (7). He does not only request from them to offer their gifts, which are actually of what He gave them, but also to proceed to eat a holy food. He wishes to fulfill their depths; seeks what is theirs, not what is His. He needs nothing, but longs to sit with us, to eat with us and we with Him, on the level of friendship and love, saying: “I am standing at the door, knocking; If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to you, and eat with you, and you with me” (Revelation 3:20). He wants us to eat before Him, to fill our hearts with His love, our minds with His knowledge, and our senses with His holiness; granting us a satisfaction for our depths. 3. Practice joy in the Lord in this house; confirming the commitment to rejoice (7, 12, 18). In this book, He keeps on repeating His invitation to rejoice together before the Lord (14:26; 16:11, 14; 26:11; 27:7). 11 And you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your households together, rejoicing in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you” (Deut. 12:7) Here, He probably means the celebration of the main feasts during which certain sacrifices were offered. He wishes to make out of His house ‘a house of rejoicing,’ where the believers get together to celebrate the feasts. Joy was one of the features of Jewish worship and life (Deuteronomy 12:7, 18). Nothing would bring joy to the heart of the Lord, like seeing His children rejoice in His house. That is why He was not pleased when they covered His altar with tears, weeping, and groaning (Malachi 2:13). The believer rejoices in the Lord, and draws the hearts of his household, his servants, and those around him, to rejoice in the Lord together with him. Faith is a call to enjoy the heavenly inner joy, in the midst of the sufferings, and to live it even in the moments of weeping, and through the tears of repentance. Together with the bitterness of repentance, the soul experiences the joy of spirit and the peace of heart. By joy, the believer accepts all the troubles, and crosses over the tribulations, enjoying the fellowship together with his Christ, the Grantor of true joy. The sweetness of apples makes up for the bitterness of its roots. The hope for gaining a profit brings joy during the dangers of the sea. Looking forward to getting healthy would make it easier to take the disgusting medication. Who likes to eat nuts, would have first to break down its hard shell. So also he, who wishes to rejoice in the holy conscience, would easily bear the bitterness of repentance1. St. Jerome St. Augustine believes that the source of rejoicing of the believers, is their enjoyment of the beauty of the divine truth, saying: Now, O blessed Jesus, Look down from Your holy mountain, on Your true believers among the multitudes, finding no joy except to be contradicted and debated all the time by others. Open up their eyes, O Lord, to behold You, and be amazed by the beauty of Your truth, to hasten to run and worship You2. St. Augustine 4.To let the Levite who resides in their town also rejoice together with them (12) “And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you together with your sons, and your daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levites who reside in your towns, since they have no allotment or inheritance with you.” (Deut. 12:12) If the males alone were probably committed to come over to the house of the Lord to celebrate the feast (Exodus 23:17), women were also allowed to accompany them (1 Samuel 1:3-23). The Levites helped the priests in executing their ritual tasks, and used to go around the cities to teach the people the Law of God. It is fitting for us to invite the Levites to come to our houses, to hear from their mouths the Law of God, and to bring pleasure to their hearts by responding to the word of God. According to the Law of God, tithes, and firstlings were offered to the Levites for the services of the temple, and for their own subsistence. Why were they committed to centralized worship, especially as far as 1 Comm. On th Gospels. 2 Sermons, 234. 12 offering sacrifices are concerned? 1. To protect them against the seduction to offer sacrifices to idols, or on idol altars. As seductions were all around them, the possibility of falling was imminent. 2. To keep the spirit of unity among the congregation, to get together in one house, and by one heart. The temple represented the center of unity. In the Old Testament the people were commanded to worship the Lord in one place, especially for celebrating the feasts, in order to realize their unity as one nation, worshipping One God, away from idolatry. Whereas in the New Testament, instead of the one place, we have come to have the encounter of One Person, that of our Lord Jesus Christ; in whom we come together from different nations, peoples, and tongues, as members in one body, who carries us into the bosom of His Father, and sets from us a glorified blameless Church. 3. To confirm the Oneness of God; having one God, and one Mediator between God and mankind (Timothy 2:5); and there is only one way by which we encounter with God, our Father – the Person of the Lord Christ. 4. That it is not up to them to choose the location of worship, but it is God who chooses it. “You shall not act as we are acting here today, all of us according to our own desires; for you have not yet come into the rest and the possession that the Lord your God is giving you. When you cross over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is allotting to you, and when He gives you rest from your enemies all around that you live in safety, then you shall bring everything that I command you to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for His name; your burnt offerings and your sacrifices; your tithes and your donations, and all your choice votive gifts that you vow to the Lord” (Deut. 12:7-11) “Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place you happen to see. But only at the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes – there you shall offer your burnt offerings and there you shall do everything I command you” (Deut. 12:13-14) Commanding that everyone should not act according to his personal desires, in this chapter he repeats the expression: “Take care” three times (13, 19, 30). He exhorts everyone to take care, not by holding fast to his personal views, but by examining his inner depths. In the same way, the apostle Paul exhorts his disciple Timothy; saying: “Pay close attention to yourself” (1 Timothy 4:16); and likewise exhorts the Corinthians, saying: “Examine yourselves” (1 Corinthians 11:28). Both the prophet Moses and the apostle Paul advise every one of us to pay attention to himself, namely, it is fitting for the mind to take the royal path, examining his inner heart, lest he might have diverted thousands of miles away from the way of God. He should not examine others and judge them, but examine himself as though by fire, lest while being preoccupied with examining others and criticizing them, he may go astray from truth. Our task is to love others and seek their salvation to share with us the eternal glory, and not to judge and criticize them. Pope Athanasius the Apostolic believes that God commanded that no sacrifices should be offered out of the place chosen by Him in the city of Jerusalem: that when the time comes and the city is destroyed, all would realize that the shadows came to an end, and there is no more need for the symbolic animal sacrifices1. 1 Cf. Paschal Letters, 1:7f. 13 Now, What is the spiritual burnt offering? “the sacrifice of thanksgiving” (Psalm 50:14 LXX). Where should we offer it? In the Holy Spirit. How did we learn this? From the words said by the Lord Himself, “The true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth” (John 4:23)1. St. Basil the Great “Whenever you desire you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, according to the blessing that the Lord your God has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it as they would of Gazelle and deer” (Deut 12:15) Meat was not a customary food for daily consumption by the people, but was eaten from the offerings and during feasts. During the journey in the wilderness, beasts, slaughtered for food like oxen, goats, and lambs, were offered as a sacrifice of peace at the tent of meeting; its blood dashed, and its fat burnt on the altar. That was for fear, lest anyone would offer sacrifices to idols. But after entering the Promised Land, and the tribes spread on such vast areas, they were given the right to slaughter beasts for food within their towns and their houses. They were allowed to slaughter certain animals, that are not fit to be offered as sacrifices to the Lord (Leviticus 17:3); in their houses for food; as for instance the Gazelles and deer; on condition that this should be “according to the blessing of the Lord.” 3. REFRAINING FROM DRINKING BLOOD “The blood, however, you must not eat; you shall pour it out on the ground like water” (Deut. 12:16). Why, in both the Old and the New Testament, the commandment came not to drink blood? 1. Some believe that pagans were bloodthirsty; and assume that their gods were likewise. They used to drink blood as a necessary rite in worshiping, in order to please the demons. And as said by the Psalmist David: “Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips” (Psalm 16; 4). Drinking blood was therefore considered as a fellowship with the demons2. Together with every meal, it is fitting for us to feel the divine presence, and the hunger for it. 2. That task bore a symbol of the salvation role of the Lord Christ, who came to destroy the kingdom of the devil completely. 3. Blood was believed to be bearing the life of man. So shedding or eating the blood was considered a sacrifice that should not be offered to any human being. 4. Until recently, man in his violence; especially in cases of revenge, used to kill and then drinks from the blood of his victim, as a kind of malice. That is why the commandment came to ban drinking the blood as a general rule. The reason for banning the drinking of blood, is that it was dedicated to be offered to God alone; or because God intended to keep men from shedding human blood… We previously said that we often hear someone threatening to kill his adversary, saying: ‘I shall kill you and drink from your blood!3’ St. John Chrysostom 1 St. Basil: On the Spirit, 62. 2 Matthew Henry Commentary. منشورات النور: مجموعة الشرع الكنسي، لبنان 1975 م، ص 3 .865 14 4. EATING BEFORE THE LORD “Nor may you eat within your towns the tithes of your grain, your wine, and your oil, the firstlings of your herds and your flocks, any of your votive gifts that you vow, your freewill offerings, or your donations; these you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God at the place that the Lord your God will choose, you together with your son and your daughter, your male and female slaves, and the Levites resident in your towns, rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God in all your undertakings” (Deut. 12:17-18) In the wilderness, before the Ark of the Covenant came to settle down in a permanent place, the people were allowed to offer sacrifices to the Lord, and to eat of them wherever they happened to be, as there was no probability of partaking of the sacrifices for idols. But once they settled down in the Promised Land, because that probability was there, the commandment came firm, that they should never slaughter for the Lord except in the house of the Lord; nor to eat of those sacrifices in their own houses. Yet, they were allowed to slaughter, as they desire, and to eat meat in their houses, of other than the sacrifices of the Lord. Servants – even foreign slaves – had many rights and privileges among the Israeli people, of which was to enjoy, and partake of the grand feasts (Deut. 16:11). 5. TAKING CARE OF THE LEVITE: “Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land” (Deut. 12:19) Because Levites do not get a portion or inheritance in the Promised Land; as God is their portion and their inheritance; it is fitting for believers to give their tithes, their firstlings, and their vows for the Lord to His ministers. As the ministers of the word dedicate themselves to the ministry and the spiritual work, it is not much to satisfy their material needs. 6. REFRAINING FROM EATING THE BLOOD We have already dealt with this in our comment on verse 16. “When the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he has promised you, and you say,’ I am going to eat meat,’ because you wish to eat meat, you may eat meat whenever you have the desire. If the place where the Lord your God will choose to put His name is too far from you; and you slaughter as I have commanded you any of your herd or flock that the Lord has given you, then you may eat within your towns whenever you desire. Indeed just as Gazelle or deer is eaten, so you may eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it. Only be sure that you do not eat the blood; for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the meat. Do not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. Do not eat it, so that all may go well with you and your children after you, because you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. But the sacred donations that are due from you, and your votive gifts, you shall bring to the place that the Lord will choose. You shall present your burnt offerings, both the meat and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; the blood of your other sacrifices shall be poured out beside the altar of the Lord your God, but the meat you may eat. Be careful to obey all these words that I command you today, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God” (Deut. 12:20-28) “When the Lord your God enlarges your territory” (20): God has promised 15 His believers to enlarge their territory (Genesis 15:18; Exodus 23; 27-31); to enjoy the goods of the earth, and to eat everything they desire. Now, God is realizing this divine promise in His sacred land; in the new man, whose heart becomes more spacious to feed on the fruits of the Spirit; namely, love, joy, peace, and goodness… The work of His Holy Spirit is to make man’s heart more spacious, to find pleasure, and to embrace, if possible, all mankind, even his adversaries; partaking by this of the features of Christ, the Philanthropist. This is the food we desire to eat, by the work of the grace of God in us. People, especially those dwelling in remote mountainous regions, are given the right to hunt, slaughter, and eat the beasts of the field, like the gazelle and the deer, wherever they are. There is difference between “the sacred donations” (26), dedicated to the religious offerings, and those that they slaughter just for food (15, 20, 21). “The gazelle and the deer” (15) are two swift-moving animals that dwell on the mountains, which have been at that time very numerous, yet have become, later on, a rare luxury in the cities (1 kings 4:23). 7. REFRAINING FROM INQUIRING ABOUT VAIN WORSHIP “When the Lord your God has cut off before you the nations whom you are about to enter to dispossess them, when you have dispossessed them and live in their land, take care that you are not snared into imitating them, after they have been destroyed before you; do not inquire concerning their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I also want to do the same.’ You must not do the same for the Lord your God, because every abhorrent thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods. They would even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. You must diligently observe everything that I command you; do not add to it or take anything from it” (Deut. 29-32) In order not to mix between the sacred sacrifice to the Lord, and the idol sacrifices, He warned them even against inquiring about the idolatry practices of the pagan nations; whose corruption and violence reached the extent of offering their own sons and daughters as sacrifices to the idols. God chose His people, and demolished the pagan nations before them. So, it is not fitting for them to adopt their practices, that were abomination in the sight of God. Yes, the situation becomes extremely serious when the sacrifice, which is meant to be for the sake of man’s sanctity, turns to become abomination and uncleanness (Proverb 15:8). Why did God allow for those nations to be killed? Having reached the extent of burning even their sons and daughters in fire for their gods, (12:31), there was no other way to put things right, other than demolishing those whose hearts have hardened, altogether! The pagan nations at that time were connected to idolatry, abominations, and violence. This chapter presents the following broad lines for proper worship: 1. Where to worship the Lord? God chooses the location. 2. What is the essence of worship? The divine presence, and God’s dwelling among His people (5-11). 3. How to worship the Lord? According to the divine thought; and not to the human. 4. Who will worship the Lord? The whole family, even the little children. 5. How should be the atmosphere of worship? Joy in the Lord. 6. How is worship related to salvation? The need to sanctify the blood, as 16 without blood, there would be no forgiveness. 7. How is worship related to life? Even in our regular meals, we should eat in the presence of the Lord. 8. What is the role of believers? To be positive in everything! They should participate in the material giving, and in fulfilling the expenses of God’s house and of His ministers. 17 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY (Chapter 12) LET ME REJOICE BEFORE YOU You long to carry me to You, To let me eat and rejoice before you. To destroy every idol, and to demolish every corrupt temple. And to set out of my depths a holy temple, chosen for Yourself. Accept the burnt offering of my love, and the sacrifice of my thanksgiving to You. To receive my offerings that are actually from You. Grant me not to mix my worship with the worship of an idol. But my heart should be wholly yours. Where would You choose for me to worship You? But at the ‘Golgotha’! To bind my worship to Your cross; To pour Your love in my heart, and to fill my soul with joy and rejoice. To make the “territory” of my heart more spacious, and to embrace in it all mankind. Let me escape from every abominable place. Set me free from every unclean habit and from every idol abomination. To refrain from drinking blood and from harboring a hard heart or an unclean soul. Sanctify me completely, You, the only Holy One.
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