"We have an altar."
—HEBREWS XIII: 10.

"Ay, if men say that on all high heaven's face
The saintly signs I trace
Which round my stoled altars hold their
solemn place,
Amen, Amen!"
—FRANCIS THOMPSON.

DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE OF
SAINT LUKE'S PARISH, EVANSTON,
IN AFFECTIONATE APPRECIATION OF ALL THEIR
LOVING KINDNESS TO ME DURING A QUARTER OF A
CENTURY.
1904-1929.
G. C. S.

"WE MUST needs base our cosmic conception on the fragment of reality which our terrestrial experience affords us. If it gives us a clue which may even possibly lead to a complete comprehension we must be satisfied, for that is the utmost that we can expect. What, however, does this tell us concerning the nature of the Supreme Spirit? It tells us that sacrifice is the root principle of reality because it is the characteristic activity of God."
—WILLIAM TEMPLE,
Archbishop of York.

CONTENTS

Chapter One
THE ALTAR IN NATURE Page 1

Chapter Two
THE ALTAR IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Page 13

Chapter Three
THE ALTAR ON CALVARY Page 31

Chapter Four
THE ALTAR IN THE CHURCH Page 41

Chapter Five
THE ALTAR IN THE HOME Page 57

Chapter Six
THE ALTAR IN THE LIFE page 71

THE CHAPTERS of this book were originally six Lenten sermons preached in Saint Luke's, Evanston, in the spring of 1929, when for forty days the devotional life of the parish was intensively directed to "Sacrifice."