Twenty-fourth Sunday of Pentecost

I Will Worship at Your Altar Because You Make Me Joyful

Psalm 43: 4

The people who worshiped God by singing the Psalms thought that he was pleased by the singing of large groups and by sweet smells floating up to heaven.

They burned many sorts of things which have a sweet smell when burning - not only meat, but also grain and herbs - on an altar, a special stone which was very important in worship.

This small altar, which was probably a side altar used for burning incense or herbs, has projections, or horns, on the top in order to keep the sacrifice from falling as it burned.

Some modern Christians burn incense during worship to create a sweet smell. And we place on the altar our offerings to God (usually money) and his offerings to us, the body and blood of Jesus Christ that we receive in Holy Communion.

The Christian altar receives our gifts to God, though we don't burn them, and holds his gifts to us, which in earlier Christian times would have been placed on a communion table to be shared with the remembrance of the supper on Holy Thursday. It may be made of stone, but it also may be made from wood or other materials.

The altar for most Christians is a place where we interact with God, bringing him our hearts and receiving his blessings.

Shape the altar from any sort of clay. This altar, from the time of the Israelites, was probably made of alabaster.

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