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SEEMO

DEUVERKD AT THE

OPENING

ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH,

OTTAWA,

2Sth January, 1874,

Bev. JOHN JENKINS, D D., Rev. THOMAS WARDROPE,
and Rev. D. J. MACDONNELL, B.D.

rRlNTEI) BY A. S. WOOPBURN, ELGIN STREKT.

1874.

S,T

!• • • • •

• • • • . •
• • • • *•

, .,• • •

, , • • •,•

• • • • •

'•I • • 1 •

, • • • •••

• • • . . . , •: /, .'.

SEEMONS

DELIVKBED AT TllK

OPENING

S.T. ANDREW'S CHURCH,

OTTAWA,

25th January, 1874,

Rev. JOHN JENKINS, D.D., Rev. THOMAS WARDROPE,
and Rev. D. J. MACDONNELL, B.D.

I'RINTKl) »Y A. S. WOODBUKX5 K1,(JIX sTUi;i;r,

1874.

OrTAWA. K.Lr,,,,,,, ,s;,.

SERMON

BY Tlli:

'' ill the now
I "h' Clnuvh
'■t' I'lihlis],,.,!
' occasion ,,n

Rev. Dr. Jenkins, of Montreal.

-♦»-

*' I was <^lti(l when tiiey .<ui(l unto iik', U't us go into the Ho»i.se ot
the Lord." — Psahn cxxii., 1st verse.

*' Now Peter and John went up together into the Temple at tlie
liour orj)rayer." — Acts m., Ist verse.

The f'aithi'uliicss of the eiirly Christians in the matter of
public worship deserves to be noted in an age in which the
duties of religion are made subservient to predilection and
ease, its privileges to tlie interests of time. Whatever the
cause, it is undoubted that now-a-days, the tendency in Chris-
tian people is to set upon the ordinances of the Gospel, a lower
value than was set upon them by their fatl.crs ; to deem them
less influential in the culture of spiritual growth and vigour,
than they were judged to be by the Apostles of Our Lord.
You are too well read in the New Testament not to have
observed the oft-repeated exhortations on this subject, penned
by primitive Christian teachers in their letters to the early
churches. It should Ix) added, that the Apostles gave force to
these exhortations, by their own example. Not only did thev
instruct their converts not to forsake the assemblies of the
Saints, they themselves discharged, with marked faithfulness,
the (iod-appointed duty. The closing verses of the Gospel by
St. Luke contain this statement: "Jesus led them out as far
as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
And it came to pass while He blessed them, He was parted
from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped

llim, and rctiu-ned to Jcnisnlom with grout joy : (uuitvereconthni-
(ilty in the Temple, pruisiiKj and hlessimj God." In tlio oponing
vorHos of the Acts oftho Apostles, we are informed that when the
Diseiples wore come into JeruHulem, after the Lord's Ascension
to glory, ** they went up into an upper room," and " all con-
tinued with one accord in prayer and supplicatior Further
on in the same book we find it stated that the Pentecostal con-
verts, numbering three thousand souls, " continued steadfastly
in the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, in breaking of bread
(i. e., in the iloly Communion) and in prayers," Again wo
learn, that " daily in the temple, and in every house, the
Apostles ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." Still
later we read of their Sabbath-day visits to Jewish synagogues
for purposes of 'vorship — for prayer, the reading of the Scrip-
turcs and mutual instruction and exhortation. These and
other localities, loss known, were ])laces in which •' prayer was
wont to be made" by the Apostles and their followers. The
*• first love" of the early converts impelled them thus to
associate in the temple at the appointed hours of praj-er, an. I
to observe, even daily, the communion of the body and blood
of Christ. By and by, '• the first day of the week," called by
St. John, " the Jjord's Day," was specially observed us a day
for bringing together primitive Christians, that they might
engage in the worship of God.

Two reasons, among others, may be mentioned, why the
Apostles laid so groat stress npon jniblic and joint worship.
One, the views and habits in regard to the observances of i^eli-
gious ordinances, in which the founders of Christianity and the
Church had been brought up. How rigid and earnest the Jews
were, in such observances, we know from the facts concerning
them which the Old Testament supplies. Much of the life of
a sincere Israelite, in the best days of the nation, was spent in
tho performance of public religious duties. Temple worship,,

the keeping of the Lovitical prescriptions, the maintenanco of

a righteous character and of a devotional spirit, combined with

practical pity for the poor, were deemed of higher moment

than the things and aims which fill up Himply this lower,

earthly life. The psalms of David, of Asaph, and of other

Jewish worthies, are full of illustrations of the truth of this.

statement :

" I joy'd when to the House of God
" Go up, they sai-l to me ;
" .Terusaleni, witluii thy gates
" Our feet shall Htanding be."

" I wont with them to the House of God, with the voice
of joy and praise, with the multitude that kept holy-day."
<' My soul longeth, yea even faintoth for the courts of the Lord^
my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." " I will
go into Thy house with burnt offerings; I will pay Thee my
vows which my lips have uttered and my mouth hath spoken
when I was in trouble." " O God, Thou art my God, early
will I seek Thee ; my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth
for Thee, in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see
Thy power and Thy glor}-, so as 1 have seen Thee in the sanc-
tuary." These are a few only of many similar utterances
which we find in the Old Testament. They show with great
clearness, that the tone which characterized the higher stylo of
Jewish piety, was such as we have now described. This pre-
ference and esteem for religion over the world of matter and of
sense — the pre-eminence, that is, conceded to the things of God
by the Isnielites, sprang not from the Levitical institutions. It
lay deep down in human nature. It is in fact essential to the
normal man wherever you find him. The Mosaic ritual, hav-
ing first appealed to this native principle, largely developed
it. It were more correct to say that the system of religion
inaugurated and established by Moses, was based upon it.

"When, therefore, in the Providence of God, ChriHtianity was
introduced into the world through the instrumentality of men
who had been brought up under "the Jews' religion," though
the ceremonial practices which were peculiar to it — its merely
surface parts — gradually disappeared, the foundation principles
of Judaism were retained by Christianity, j-ea, were brought
out into clearer light and prominence. The tendency of the
Jewish system, forasmuch as form and scnsuousness held so
high a place in it — an overwhelmingly i-ifluentuil place, one
ni'ght say — the tendency, I repeat, was to lead its adherents
to fasten upon the outward, and to overlook the inward — those
deep, spiritual principles which lie at the base of all religion.
During the earliest years, indeed, of the Church, a tinge of
Judaism was imparted to Christianity by its propagators.
But, as the system of the Gospel grew, and its influence
extended to Gentile nations, this Jewish tinge became less and
less appreciable. How nobly Paul, that " Hebrew of the
Hebrews," that Pharisee of the Pharisees, discarded the super-
ticial — the merely temporary — in Ju(hiism, and stuck to, and
disseminated the essential principles of religion, his great ser-
mons and grander epistles testify. Even Peter, a man of an
order of mind and culture widely dittbi'ent from [hat of Paul,
at first a. id naturall}' j>rejudiced in favour of the outward in
Judaism — the mere ceremonial of the system — came at length
to tlirow aside the trammels of the old reyiine, and to recognize
tliose spiritual principles which lie beneath it — those grand,
deep, generous principles which were opened, illustrated and
enforced by Jesus in his sermon on the Mount. In regard to
the Apostle John — that Plato of the Apostolic College — how
little of the mere Jew, and how much of the true man and
Christian clave to him! Not long was he incompleting an
analysis of the religious system under which he had boon born

ty was
of men
though
merel}'
inciplos
ji'ought
of the
hold 80
lee, one
heron ts
I — those
"ollgion.
tin<i;o of
ag{it()"S.
nfluonce
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r of the
e Hiipor-
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ward in
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ard to
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eting an
eon born

and etlncated, and in separating the vital and the enduring,
from that which was superficial and temporary.

What 1 am coming to through these observations, is this
that the public worship of (lod is of an older arid deeper exist-
ence than Judaism. First in families, which, by reason of
primitive longevity, became numerous ; then, in tribes and
communitiesj the duty of a public recognition of God by open
worship and combined service, was acknowledged and prac-
tised. The nations which immediatel}'" descended from the
sons of Noah, early acted upon this Catholic obligation. In
Egypt, in India, in Babylon, long before Moses, and even
before Jacob, yea, contemporaneously with Isaac, temples were
built, and an order of men set apart for the offering of vicarious
sacrifices, and for otherwise conducting the ceremonies of"
public worship. We do not err, indeed, in supposing that in
the da^^s of Abraham there wore priests and altars, confessions
of and sacrifices for sin. This is clear from the account which
the Book of Genesis suj)plies of the transactions which took
place between this noblost of the Old Testament patriarchs,^
and that "priest of the Most iligh God" who was the truest
type of the High Priest of the Christian profession, our Savioui'
Christ : ''Thou art a pi'iest for ever after the Order of Mol-
chisedec." Whore there was a priest, there must have been
an Order of pul)lic service. Granted, the Mosaic institutions
tended to bring out into more august prominency, the impor-
tance and value of social worshij>; but this is very different
from supposing or teaching that a public recognition and
adoration of the Creator, may, in this age, be sot aside, or oven
lightly esteemed, on the gi'onnd of its having been derived,
supposedly, from an ejf'ele Judaism. We do not ground the
institution of public worship on the pi-actices instituted under
the Mosaic economy, but on the deeper and broader basis of
man's native religiousness.

VV"o have been contending for the practice of public wor-
ship, on the ground of the religious element in man's nature.
We have another ground upon which to rely, viz., that social
element which so conspicuously influences and controls the
children of men. It is an ordination of Providence that men
shall live and act in companionship. Society is a condition
of the continuance and growth upon the earth of the human
race. Man is of value and force in the world, as he is associated
with, or influenced by, or exerts an influence upon his fellows.
It is not of choice, or as the result of experience, merely or
oven chiefly, that men congregate into villages and towns and
cities, or that they form themselves into companies, societies
and corporations for the achievement of great ends. It is a
necessity of progressive human existence that man should thus
do. This law, the Creator has stamped upon our Catholic
humanity. They who teach and practice isolation from their
fellow men, promote a condition abnormal from the design of
man's creation, and destructive, not less of human progress
than of human happiness. Man cannot stand alone. He needs
the help and counsel of his fellows. He needs to draw wisdom
from the well-earned experience of others. It demands not,
therefore, great sagacity to discover, that union of minds and
persons, in the worship of the Creator, is valuable as an incen-
tive to devotion, as a quickenor of faith, as an impulse to good
worlcs ; is promotive of the principles and acquisitions of true
piety.

There is no form of religion however ancient, there is no
religious system however erroneous, which doe? not recognise
and act upon these two elements of our common nature, the
religious ami the social. Hence, in all ages, from the earliest,
and in all nations, temples have been built for the worship of
the Supreme, priests have been consecrated, altars have been
crecteil, victims have been slain for expiation, prayers have

been oftered to divinities, garlands have been laid upon their
.shrines, and on great oceasions of religious festival, tons of
thousands have been brought together. As those multitudes
have cried aloud, and sung their couplets of praiso, and bowtol
adoringly in presence of the wood or the stono, the silver or
the gold, shaped in the similitude of the supposed deity, the
faith of the ludhndaal in the inspiration and authority of the
system, has been strengthonetl ; and, though false and corrupt,
it has yet received an impetus, which numbers never fail to
impart to even an unworthy cuuse. Much more, when tho
system is divinely originate I autl ordered; when the One
Living and True (rod is the object of adoration and service ;
when tho cause of hunumity in tho form in which tho loving
and faithful Creator has undertaken it, is sought to be strength-
ened and promoted ; vvhen truth and virtue and purity amongst
men, piety in a word, are tho objects sought after, much more
<lo numbers give force and infiuence and dignity to the divinely
ordered system. Union of heart and purpose, union of effort,
mutual countenance and support in a good cause are irresistible.
If that which wo have set forth is founded in truth, it can
not surprise us that the New Testament, as was stated in the
outset, should have pressed these principles into tho service of
the Christian religion. It would have boon utuiccountable, had
Christianity overlooked those foundation principles in tlui
nature of man. But Christ and llis apostles recognized them
fully ; and the Gospol, by prece])t as well as by e.Kamplc, sots
forth both tho advantage and tho obligation of the publir
worship of God. Christum ity is not a heavy-handed system,
which lays an unbearable yoke upon tho necks of its adherentB,
in this respect it stands in considerate and merciful contrast to
tho system of Moses : " The law was given by Moses, but
grace and truth came by Josus Christ." At the same time,
Christianit}- discharges no n)aij from the obligations of the

moral law. It grants no license to neglect, for example, the
claims of a holy day. Free is it, unoppiessive ; so it is in the
light of a privilege to be coveted, rather than as a duty to be
rigidly discharged, that it enjoins the coming together of
its followers for prayers, for exhortation, for communion and
fellowship, for, in brief, a public acknowledgment of faith in
<' the only true (xod and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent"
as Supreme oltjects of human adoration and service. Con-
strained by a common faith and a common hope, by common
obligations and a common impulse, the first Christian converts
joyed in each other's company, yea craved opportunities for
interchanges of Christian thought, of Christian prayers, and of
the expression of Christian liopos. Those opportunities were of
frequent occurrence in the primitive Church, in accordance
with Apostolic appointment and practice. But they were not
too frequent for men and women who had lately been rescued
from the thraldom of superstition, of ignorance, and of .^in, and
had been brought to apprehend in Jysus of J^Iazareth the light,
the salvation, the truth of the world, the way to the Great
blither for mankind, and Iherefore for them. Even before our
Lord's Ascension, during the forty days which elapsed between
His resurrection from the dead, and llis departure for the
Heavenly (ilory, each " first day of the week " found them
meeting together for religious converse and prayer. And after
the Ascension, we are told that in that consecrated upper room,
the Apostles and Disciples, women as well as men, contiimed
',' with one accord in prayer and supplication." From day to day
they met, in number a hundre<l and twenty, until the Feast of
J'ontecost. Simple, no doubt, was this primitive Christian
worship. The Apostles would recount their Master's words of
comfort, of instruction, of rebuke ; His tone of loving sympathy
with th*^m in their trials, their apprehensions, their weaknesses;.
His toils ind His sorrows. His patienco in suft'ering, His over-^

implo, the
t is in the
uty to bo
^ether of
inion and
)f faith in
th sent "
e. Con-
common
converts
nitios for
rs, and of
>s were of
!Cordanco
were not
1 rescued
('.".in, and
the li^ht,
'he Great
3foro our
between
) for the
nd tliem
Lnd after
er room^
on tinned
»y to day
Feast of
Christian
words of
7"mpathy
kn esses ;.
lis over-^

whelming agony, His readiness to fulHl the appointment of His
Father in the redemption of mankind ; all His love, all His pity,
all His self-denial and endurance, the beauty of His character
the might and glory of His miracles would come under review,
and would be exulted in, as one and another called them to
mind in hePiing of the assembly. Those too, whom Jesus had
healed, or out of whom He had east demons, or whom he had
j'aised from the dead, would tell anew, and with tears of joy, of
His loving power, His merciful compassion, Mary Magdeleno
was there, "out of whom He had cast seven devils." Can wo
doubt that she would refer to the Master's gracious interference
on her behalf, that, " clothed and in her right mind," she would
exultinglj' adore the riches of that grace which had been so
conspicuously manifested in her deliverance ? I can not.
Lazarus was, no doubt, among the hundred and twenty,
with the sisters Mary and Martha. " Now Jesus loved Martha
and her sister and Lazarus." With what exultation and thank-
fulness would they recall their Master's kindness, His sympa-
thy with them in distress, the working of His greatest miracle
for their rescue from sorrow in the restoring of their brother!
The women who repaired to the sepulchre would recount the
story of the resurrection morn, their visit to the vacated tomb,
the vision of angels, and the first appearance of the risen Lord
to Mary. The Apostles, once and again, would talk of the
Last Supper, and the whole company would be inspired with
new affection and regard for their Lord, with new faith in Him,
as they listened to the repetition of His words of salvation,
when He brake the bread and dispensed the covenant cup, and
80 instituted that later Passover of which His own body and
blood were to be the sacrificial emblems, aye, the sacrificial
-substance. I can imagine them chanting over and over again
in sad yet trustful lays, the Paschal Psalms which they ha<l
.sung with their Lord on that nieraorable night Prayer, too,

would constitute, indeed, we are told, did constitute an impor-
tant, a chief part in those primitive services. Thej' prayed for
guidance in the choice of an Apostle in the place of Judas ; the
Holy Spirit controlletl their lot which fell upon Matthias. For
ton lon<j da3's they wsitched and prayed, they exhorted eacii
other and conimuned, they waited for the promise of the
Father; then, on tho Pentecostal morn the answer came, the
promise was fuUilled, and the Spirit descended in power, ru:>h-
ing down from heaven upon them all in forms of tiro; a hun-
• Ired and twenty tongues of flame resting one upon the head of
eiich of them — of the whole company, apostles and disciples,
men and women. How glorious a scene ! IIow unparalleled
a visitation ! How complete a fulfdment of Joel's prophecy!
A hundred and twenty praying, waiting disciples, all filled
with the Holy Ghost ! There was an occasion of somewhat
similar power and manifestation later on in the history of tho
^'hurch. It was when at Cesaroii, Peter, in the House of Cor-
nelius, opened the Kingdom of Heaven to the Cxontiles: "Tho
Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word." You
know the result of that power which was granted to the church
on tlie day of Pentecost, how that the Holy Ghost so inspire!
the Ajwstles as that they preached with overwhelming convic-
tion to the wondering thousands who had come together,
attracted b}' the reports which went forth respecting the visi-
tation ; how that three thousand of them were converted to
(lod and baptized into the faith of Jesus ; how that the whole
body of the new converts, with the earlier disciples, continued
*' daily with one accord in the Temple." That was tho golden
age of Christianity and the Church ! Blessed be Grod it is to
come back to us again in more than its primitive power and
glory ! One somstimes thinks ho would like to have lived in
d to have witnessed those early Pentecostal scenes.

roc

gel

age.

(,)ne sometime wishes ho could take a few of these pages that

record the simplicity and earnestness, the tender, all-embraciniij^
generousness and love of those ancient times, and inserl
them, by some moral mechanism, into our modern editions
of the Christian religion as, adorned and illuminated, they are
bound up in purple and gilt, emulating the lordly, and even
imperial gaudiness and pomp of worldly power. I am afraid,
however, that the Church of the present has not the requisite
preparation for a return to the primitive power and success of
which we have been speaking. Were such a scone to take
place in the midst ot us to-day, as was witnessed in Jerusalem
on the day of Pentecost, how many of us who profess atid call
ourselves Christians, would acquiesce in the manifestation ? If
one here, and another there, were heard to ciy out in the midst
of this day's preaching, " Men and brethren what shall we do ?"
" What shall I do to be saved ?" 1 am afraid some of us would
protest against it as " an innovation " upon the established
order of worship. I doubt if in this cold, material ago, the
Church would accept without remonstrance, even the scenes
which a century ago were witnessed at Carabuslang ; or those
which under McCheyene's ministry at Dundee awakened to
Ihoughtfulness and to religion many hundreds of careless,
indirterent, erring souls. The fact is we are bound hand and
foot by forms and customs indifferent in themselves, but which
we have invested with the dignity of principles. " Principles "
forsooth ! As though there were any principle in a liturgical
form of worship which is not found in free prayer ! Or any
principle in sitting at praise which you have not in standing!
Or any principle in standing at prayer which you have not in
kneeling! Or any principle in singing a psalm, say of Moses
or of David, which you find wanting when you sing in Now
Testament paraphrase or hymn the sacred lyrics of VVcsley or
of Watts. We may have our preferences, but let us take care
that preferences innocent in themselves, arc not magnified into-

laws which, without authority, wo seek to impose upon othoi's.
I myself have a preference for standing in public prayers. God
forbid that I should set up my preference in tlie face of those
who choose to •' kneel before the Lord our Maker." The
Churches have constructed ruts in which to worship the Most
High Spirit — God's free Spirit — every Church its own little,
narrow rut, from which it may not diverge, no not a hair's
breadth ! without incurring ecclesiastical anathemas. We have
lost, largely, the freedom, and with it the true glory of primitive
Christian worship. The " body of Christ " is crampal, its limbs
are rendered numb and rigid through the too tight application
of denominational bandages. The circulation of the vital
Christian fluid is checked, is almost stopped by inflexible forms.
" Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty I"

Thus they worshipped in those early days! Thus simply,
sincerely, devoutfully, trustfully, lovingly ! Little variation
occurred in the simplicity of the Christian ritual until after the
death of the Apostle John. He, when too old to walk to the
place of Christian assembly, was wont to be carried by young
men into the church. His sermon on these occasions was,
" Little children love one another !" These were the only words
which fell from those venerable lips. Had he lived in our day,
some elder or manager of the congregation would have given
the old man a hint that it might be wise to retire in favour of
a younger minister! The well-known description of the form
of celebrating the Lord's Supper, which has been handed
down to us from Justin Martyr, may suffice to show, that
for nearly a hundred years after the death of John,
Christian worship and ordinances were characterized by great
simplicity of observance. You know what the Church became
subsequently: how under Imperial patronage, she assumed
Imperial airs ; how she attired herself in Imperial purple, set
up Imperial State, and engrafted upon Christianity the sensu-

on others.
/evs. God
JO of those
sr." The
• the Most
>wn little,
3t a hair's
We have
primitive
, its limbs
pplicatioii
the vital
ble forms.

8 simply,
variation
after the
k to the
•y young
ans was,
ly words
5iir day,
ve given
avour of
;he form

handed
w, that
f John,
3y groat

became
issumed
pie, set
Q sensu-

ous follies, the gorgeous displays, the high sounding but empty
titles and distinctions of an effete Paganism. The natural fruit.s
of these innovations upon primitive purity and simplicity, were
error, corruption, ecclesiastical pollution, and tyranny. Against
all such foolish aping, within the Christian Church, of old Pagan-
ism, our Reforming Fathers in Germany, in Switzerland, in
England, in Scotland and elsewhere protested, as not warranted,
either by the word of God, or by early Christian practice.
Success, in many cates triumph, was the result of their protest,
and the Reformation, widely established amongst the nations
as a policy, came at length to be deeply rooted as to its princi-
ples, in the hearts of the people. In no country did Protestant
principles, and the Protestant cause, take a firmer hold, or
produce a more general moral revolution than in Scotland. A
" people, prepared of the Lord," they greedily accepted the
word of political freedom and spiritual deliverance, and suc-
cessfully resisted every attempt which was subsequently made
to bring them back, first to the old follies and superstitions of
Rome, and then to that semi-Popish ecclesiastical system which
was sought to be imposed upon them by the notorious Laud.
I have sometimes wished that the Churc h of Scotland had re-
mained as she was when Knox left her, especially as to the
modes and forms of worship which were then in vogue. She
consented, at the suggestion of the puritans of England, with a
view to British uniformit}'^, to accept as binding on the Scottish
people, the documents of the Westminister Assembly, and she
has held on to them with a tenacity unparalleled in the whole
history of the adoption of Ecclesiastical t'ormulce. England has
almost forgotten the Westminister Confession and Directory;
Scotland would still fight and suffer for them with the old
martyr-spirit of her covenanters. In an age in which, in some
ecclesiastical quarters, there is evinced a disposition to go back
to I he unapostolic, unscriptural, half-Pagan absurdities against

which tho EoPorniei'8 protested, a tendency to repro<luco that
sensuous form of worship which thoChuirh borrowed from the
i'agan ritual, in Hiich an ago, wo may congratulate our^*elvo8
that the ecclesiastical system under which we are ranged, avoids
these follies ; and, what is more, stands little chance of being
liercattor led into them. Simplicity in worship is too deeply
imbedded in the preferences and convictions of both the clergy
and the people of our Church, to warrant even a fear of oHond-
itig good taste and earnest piety by the introduction of u
supra-sensuous ritual. It may be that we have sometimes
erred, if indeed we do not still err, on the side of bareness and
plainness and slovenliness, in our modes of conducting worship ;
perhaps have bordered even on uncouthnoss. Certainly, in tho
(^'hurches built, both at home and in this country, up to within
twenty-tive or thirty years ago, there was evinced such a
disregard for neatness, not to spealc of beauty, so studied a
[)Uipose to avoid everything tasteful and decorous in architec-
tural style, that God's people laid themselves open to the charge
of worshipping the Creator in "barns," while they themselves
lived in tasteful and comfortable houses, some of them in
mansions and palaces. We have left that age behind. In Canada,
in the rural portions of our Presbyteries, no less than in tho
large towns and cities, places of worship are built suitable to
the high purposes for which they are set apart, correspomiing
with the increased wealth of the worshippers, and in harmonj-
with the general progress of {esthetic culture. There is no
warrant in the New Testament, in early Christian practice, or
in the genius of our Church as developed in her history, for
coarseness, for meanness, for want of taste, either in our
churches or our tbrms of worship. Where such inroads upon
Christian feeling and taste have existed, they are now rapidly
disappearing. Conspicuous is the proof of this statement which
we have before us to-day. This " holy and beautiful house''

xluco that

1 from tlio

ourselvoa

;o(l, avoids

of beiiif;
too deoply
tho cloi'i^y

of ortond-
3tion of u
lometimes
eness and
worship;
dy, in tho
to within
)d such a
.studied a
architec-
le charge

1 em selves
them in

Canada,
m ill tho
i table to
ipondini:;
larmonj-
)ro is no
ctiee, or
ory, foi-

in our

ds upon

rapidly

t which

house''

which you have built for the worship of tho Lord God of your
fathers, is a notable evidence of your desire that lie should not
dwell in tents, or barns, or barracks, while you yourselves
dwell in ceiled houses, many of you in homes furnished with
all the taste and comfort and luxury which wealth and civili-
zation can supply. It is j^round for special thaidii'uliiess to
God, that you have seen your way to make this ottering to His
cause ; and that you are to-day found within these walls rejoicing
that His presence is in the midst of you — that holy sj)iritual
])resenco which is the only true conscci'ation of any build-
ing erected for Christian worship. When the Lord is in any
such place, then and only then may we say, "This is none
other but the House of God, and this is the ^ate of heaven."

Both philosophically and dogmatically we have made out,
f think, a clear case for the observance and maintenance of
public worship. It might be ai'gued also historical]}'. Among
all the nations of the modern centuries of the Christian age,
Scotland, in this regard, has set the most marked e.Kamplc.
The hill-sides which the purple heather adorns and makes fra-
grant, the beaten i)athways along which old and young have
trudged, mile after mile, to the old kirk, tho v.'ist assemblies
which have congregated in church-yards, and under the cover-
ing of tents, and beneath the shadow of mountains, for sacred
worship and communion, boar testimony to tho love of the
children of Scotland for the house and ordinances of (iod.
Some of yourselves remember how the weakly and the aged,
your own forebears it may be, found their way in all weathers,
at great cost of physical strength, to the house of prayer.
May it not be said and truly that Scotland has reaped the fruit
of this so great faithfulness ? IL'ive not the Bible, the Sal)l)atli-
day, and the faithfully-visited Kirk done more than aught else

for Scotland, and made her what she is to-day ?
c

Be it youi'H to ehorish the memory and to omulnto the
example of those ^raiul old ScottiHh fathers. The tendency of
livin«^ away from fatherland is to make men neujli^ent of the
habits and practices — the ^ood ones at least — which prevailed
at homo. Here, in this new land, we think less of missin/jj a
Church Service, less of neglecting Ordinances, less of disregard-
ing the Sabbath, than used to Ih) thought in the old time in
Scotland. Could tho buried fathers leave their Scottish graves,
jmd visit their descendants in this distant homo, they would
hardly recognize as belonging to tho same race, many of those
among us who bear Scottish names, and arc proud of them ; so
loose is the view which prevails of Sabbath and Church
obligation. I ask you to^ay, specially to-day in the joyful
circumstances in which you find yourselves, to consider tho
responsibility which you incur as Scotchmen born, or as
descendants of Scotchmen, in this new land. Wo are laying
here tho foundations of an empire which will hereafter vie
in population and grandeur with the great empires of tho world,
[t will be, in after years, what we now make it who are inserting
the germs of its future growth ; our habits and pi-inciples will
be transmitted to the Canadians of the future; they will largely
become the habits and principles of tho men and women who
shall follow us in the generations to. come. If tho Sabbath is
not observed by us now; if we are careless of the duty of
Christian worship; if we allow tho calls of business and of
society to supplant tho claims of the House of the Lord; if we
get to think that once a day is often enough for engaging in
public worship, we shall transmit to the Canada of the next
century a mongrel, inane, half-alive form of Christianity, and
the next generations will become what the people now^ are in
prance, which enjoys but half a Sunday, and that half, observed
only by women. Apart from tho deleterious influence upon
our own character; which must arise from neglect of the Lord's.

iiulato the
ondoiicy of
tj:ont of'tlio
prevailed
iiii.sHin/j; a
(iisroi^ard-
»ld time in
^^ll /,'i'aves,
lioy would
y of those
them ; go

i Church
ho joyful
sider the
'n, or as
I'o laj'ing
lifter vie
lie world,
inserting
pies will
II largely
nen who
hbath is
duty of

and of
1 ; if we
iging in
le next
ity, and

are in
bserved
e upon
Lord's.

Day and of public worship, there rests upon us in the interests,
both present and to come, of the land we live in and its people,
a crying oldigalion to own our belief in God, in God's law, and
in the sanctitication of a seventh day. Then again, it we hold to
our Christian professions and opinions, we accept the doctrine
that by means of the preaching of the Gospel chiefly, the
preaching of Christ and llim crucitied, men are to bo morally
elevated, lifted up from error and wickedness to truth and
purity ; we believe that the l)uilding of churches, and the
institution of (iospel ordinances in a community, constitute the
leading instrumentality which God has devised and appointed
for converting men from the ways of wickedness. Now it is
not enough that you build churches, however beautiful and
costly. If you wish them to become mighty and efficient
agencies in lienetitting and saving your neighbours, you must
sustain them in efficiency by your faithful, earnest, prayerful
presence. How can you expect the people who most need the
guidance and help of Christian preaching and Christian prayers,
to come to the Jlouse of God, if they see you who commune at
Christ's table, careless as to whether you come or stay away?'
How can you blame young men and women forspending their
sabbaths in walking and visiting, if you are not found regularly
in your place in the Sanctuary? Parents I would speciallj
enjoin to consider the effect which will be produced on the-
minds of ther children, if they themselves neglect the Lord's
J)ay and its sacred ordinances. If your children observe yoa
indifferent to the claims of the Church and of the Sabbath ; if
in the morning or in the evening of the holy day, they mark
hesitation, on some frivolous ground, in regard to your going
to church, little store will they set by these high and sacred
things — the highest and most sacred of all the things that could
occupy their thoughts or fill their aims. You would thus
promote habits of negligence which would grow into habits of

thought ; and these again, would develope into vicious yea
infidel principles. No parent can safely, in the presence of
his family, manifest indisposition, rnuch loss negligence towards
the "holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High."
It will tell unfavourably upon their future interests for
all time, it will in all likelihood end in their everlastinfr
perdition. I beg you then, for I am in earnest, if unhappily
any of you have fallon into negligence as to your attendance
upon Christian ordinances to retrace your steps ; and for your
children's sake as well as your own souls' sake, to honour God's
sanctuary from this day forward. Cultivate in yourselves and
in your households a love for the house of the Lord. Few
things could tend more to develop into the highest religious
power in this congregation the success over which you
natui'ally rejoice to-da}^, than general faithfulness to Christian
ordinances as established within these now sacred walls.

Peter and John went up " together into the temple at the
(evening) hour of prayer." Doubtless they had gone in the
morning. Again they go to call upon their God, to seek His
l)lessing, to tind His grace. We come up to the sanctuary to
jn'ai/. This is a chief part of ])ublic worship. There are other
])laces of t^rayer — there is the family altar — there is the secret
place of communion with Crod. They are important, and not
to be disregarded. But neither is this. God has instituted it.
He has assured His blessing to the assemblies of his people ;
and it must not be forgotten that it was when the apostles and
disciples were together praying that the Holy Ghost camo
down with power. Here, in His house, we are brought very
near to God ap.d Heaven and Eternal things. Here, through
the great Mediator,' we gain '• access by one Spirit unto the
Father." Here may the Spirit be poured down from on high.

And here, in answer to prayers the existence of which is
kuovNiu only to Godj nuiy individuaU tind mercy. You remeni-

ber the two men in Christ's parable, who went up into the
Temple to pray. You remember how the Publican— despised,
outcast, frowned upon by the " I-am-holier-than-thou" Pharisee,
how he bowed his heart as well as his head and, trembling
between hope and despair, at length prayed <' God be merciful
to me a sinner!" I do not doubt that here to-day in this
crowd of worshippers, some are detected by the eye of the
Omniscient, reviewing their sinfulness, abashed in the presence
of the Holy One, weeping tears of sorrow, trembling yet hop-
iug that mercy may reach them, and that the loving arm of
(he Divine power may lift them up to reconciliation and life.
God help you my friends to remember that you have come
hither, or ought to have come hither to pray ! God help you
to apprehend that, whether or no, prayer is at this moment
within reach of both your hearts and lips ! God teach you by
His Spirit how to pray, and then inspire your souls with true
jtrayer — with jxjnitence, with earnestness, witli simplicity, with
trust — trust in " the Lamb of God " who taketh away sins. He
will do all this. He waiteth now to teach, to inspire, to save.
8oon as the heart bears upward to His Throne the wish, "God
be merciful to me a sinner," mercy is yours— pardon, peace,
rest, salvation ! " This man went down to his house justified."
A.men! so may it be this day to your guilty souls i

SERMON"

BY THE

REV. THOMAS WARDROPE, of guelph.

THE LOfiD'3 PEOULIAE LOVE FOR THE GATES OP ZIOK

Psalm lxxxvxi. 2. — Tlie Lord lovoth tlie gate^ ol'Zioii more thuu
all the dwellings of Jacob.

Hehrews XII. 22 —But ye are come unto Mount Zion.
The Lord loves the " dwellings of Jacob," — that is to say.
the households, the homes, of His people. That lie docs so is
obvious enough from this fact alone, that He refers to them for
;. comparison, when making an emphatic declaration of His
.supreme love for the " gates of Zion." He is the (iod of all
the families of the earth that call upon His name. However
obscure their abodes may be, they are all well known to Him.
The angel of the Lord Gncanipeth,and encompasseth them round
about. The Lord Himself is with them, by His Spirit, in their
occupations, their trials, and their enjoyments. When thev
meet at their tables, and ask His blessing upon the bounties of
His providence, He is there to give them the blessing. When
they gather around their tlomestic altars for prayer, and praise,
and the reading of His word. He is near to answer their
pi-ayers, to accept their praises, and to open their eyes llrnt
they may see wondrous things out of His law.

These •' dwelling-s of .Jacob" are nuni}', and — we
rejoice to believe — becoming more and more numerous,
though few in number yet, compji -ed with what they ought
to be. On many a hill, in many a glen, on many well-
cultivated larms, in many little " clearings" in which

pjitient toil is still hovving out a home, as well as on crowded
streets and thoroughfares, there are " tabernacles of the right-
eous," in which is heard "the voice of rejoicing and salvation."
On such family circles the Lord looks down with approbation
and complacency ; to them He vouchsafes His gracious pres-
ence; on them His blessing descends. But He loves "the
gates of Zion" more than any of them — more than them all.

Let us consider, in the first place, the declaration con-
tained in our text : " The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more
than all the dwellings of Jacob;" in the second place, the
reasons why He does this ; and, in the third place, the evidences
of His doing so. And may the Holy Spirit impress upon our
memories and our hearts the lessons that are taught us in
connexion with tins sulyect.

I. The declaration of our text : '* The Lord loveth the
gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob." In the
early days of the Mosaic economy, we find God giving forth
the promise, precious to His people in every age, " In all
places where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and 1
will bless thee," Of similar import to this promise, although
apparently more exclusive in thoir tenor — the exclusiveness is
only apparent, as wo shall see by and by — are all the declara-
tions of God's special favour to Zion. For, Zion having been
chosen as the site of the temj^le to which the tribes were wont
to go up to give thanks unto the name of the Loni, the woi*d
Zion gradually came to be employed to denote the church in
her collective capacity, and especially the church as assembled
for the worship of God. " The Lord hath chosen Zion , Ho
hath desired it for His habitat on. This is mv rest forever;
here will I dwell ; for I have desired it."

In such connexions as this, the names of Zion and Jerusa-
lem are inseparably associatetl. Zion was the mountain of tho
Lord of Hosts : Jerusalem was the city of the great King, In

■X

1 crowdetl
the ii<jjht-
alvation."
►probation
iou8 pres-
oves "the
lem all.
tion con-
iion more
ilaee, the
evidences
upon our
?ht us in

^veth the
' In the
ini^ forth
, "In all
30, and I
although
veness is
) declara-
ing been
ere wont
lie word
burch in
^sembled
ion , Ho
forever ;

1 Jerusa-
n of the
ng. In

reading the word of God, we are struck with the ])rominence
assigned to these names by the inspired writers ; and, the longer
wo read, the more clearly do we see how high n place the holy
mountain and the holy city occupied in the affections and in
the reverence of devout worshippers under the former economy.
This was not because there were no mountains higher than
Zion — not because there were no cities more populous or
powerful than Jerusalem, it is true that Mount Zion was
" beautiful for situation." It is true that, by "the tribes of the
Lord," Jerusalem, with her walls, and towers, and })a1aces, and
temple, was regarded as the " perfection of beauty." Eut it
was the special regard of Jehovah that exalted Mount Zion
above all other mountains, and onjiobled Jerusalem above all
other cities, whatever their fame and whatever their magnifi-
cence. ^HO reason is assigned in the word of God for Zion's
having been singled out as the scene of manifestations so graci-
ous. Speculation as to the reasons of God's choice would have
been vain ; and equally vain would have been dissatisfaction
with respect to it. " Why leap ye, ye high hills? This is the
hill which God desireth to dwell in : yea, the Lord will dwell in it
for ever." It is this — God's choice, God's special regard —
that makes Zion " a high hill :" it is this that makes it, with
the holy city, " the joy of the whole earth."

"The Lord lovcth the ^«<e.sof Zion." In ancient cities the
gates were the phices of concourse. The Nobles and the Elders,
on great occasions, sat in the gates. Business was transacted
there, causes were pleaded, justice was administered. The
reference in our text, however, is to the crowds making their
way into the city for public worship. And the meaning of the
declaration which our text contains is, that the Lord looked
with greater satisfaction on the multitudes gathering at the
gates and pressing in that they might engage in His worship
nt the solemn feasts, than on any other scene in all the land.

With the recorded expressions of God's delight in Zion,
the recorded expressions of His people's delight in Zion are in
perfect harmony. In language inspired by the Holy Ghost,
David says, not in his own name only, but also in the name of
the whole spiritual Israel, "I was glad when they said unto
me. Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand
within thy gates, O Jerusalem." " One thing have I desired
of the Lord, that will I seek after ; that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty
of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple: "A day in thy
courts is better than a thousand :" " Blessed is the man whom
thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that ho may
dwell in thy courts : we shall be satisfied with the goodness of
thy house, even of thy holy temple."

II. The reasons why the Lord thus loves the "gates of
Zion." As has already been said, we cannot tell, no man can
ever discover, why Zion, as a place, should have been honoured
above all places on earth, as that in which God's name was to
1)0 so specially recorded, and God's gracious presence so
signally manifested. But the choice having been made — God
having "chosen Zion" — we can be at no loss to point out some
of the reasons why it should have been said, with such special
emphasis, " The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all
the dwellings of Jacob."

Hero let it be observed that, in speaking of Zion, we are
speaking of a place not merely of cherished memories an<i
hallowed associations. It is all that, but it is infinitely more.
Such were the blessings and privileges connected with Zion, —
so manifest the tokens of God's presence and so rich the com-
munications of His grace vouchsafed there, — that the apostle,
taught by the Holy Ghost, has taken the name Zion, and
applied it, as an appropriate figurative name, to the present
dispensation — the dispensation of the Gospel; while, in like

mil
wll

th)

col

rci

re|

ht in Zion,
Zion are in
loly Ghost,
10 name of
' said unto
^hall stand
e I desii-ed
oil in the
he beauty
Jjiy in thy
lan whom
fit ho may
3odness of

'gates of
man can

honoured

le was to

>sence so

tde— God

out some

li special

than all

wo are
"ies and
y more.
Zion, —
'0 com-
ipostle,
•n, and
3i"esent
in iiko

manner, he applies the name Sinai to the former dispensation
which has waxed old, and vanished away. Thus he says, in
the words which are also before us this afternoon, " Ye are
come unto Mount Zion ;" not unto Mount Sinai, but unto Mount
Zion. In the "blackness, and darkness, and tempest" of Sinai,
was seen a fitting representation of the aspect of God's law with
regard to those violating its sacred precepts. But the apostle
reminded those to whom he wrote that they were not living
under that ancient economy — that they were living, not under
the law, but under the Gosjiel.

So now we say to you. Not indeed that you are, in any
sense, to think lightly of the law. The law of the Lord is
perfect. It is holy, just, and good. If you are taught by the
Spirit of God, you venerate the law, even when it condemns
you. You would not lower its demands, nor sully its purity,
even were it in your power to do so. But you see that you
can never, in any righteousness or strength of your own, meet
its requirements, or pay its penalty. How full then ot grace,
in your estimation, must be the announcement, " Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth !"
He hath *• magnified the law, and made it honourable." All
this is implied in the words of the apostlu, " Ye are ccme unto
Mount Zion."

But it was not of the literal Zion that ho thus spoke.
•' Ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched," ho
said. Now the literal Zion was, just as truly as Sinai, a mount
that could bo touched. But Zion, as spoken of by the Apostle,
was the dispensation of the Gospel, of which the literal Zion,
with all its attractions and all its glories, was of old the
appointed symbol. Some ^say that the strictest analogy
would lead us to regard Mount Zion as heaven, the dwelling
place of Christ and of the redeemed. But, even so, believers

* Prof. Lindsay, on Heb. xri. 22.

ai'e represented as " come unto Mount Zion." Thus it is said
elsewhere, " God hath quickened as together wilii Christ, and
hath raised us up together, and made us sit together hi heavenly
places in Christ Jesus." This refers, as we suppose, to the iiigh
degrees of fellowship with Christ to which believers are ad-
mitted even here below. The " heavenly places" arc in Ilim.
To those admitted to such fellowship, it cannot be inappro-
priate to say, "Ye are come unto Mount Zion" — come to the
actual enjoyment of the blessings of the Gospel here, with the
anticipation of the fuller blessings which await } ou hereafter.
The church below and the church above are one ; they are two
parts (soon to be one) of the great family of God. You are
members now of that family which embraces the redeemed that
are still here below and the redeemed that are now around the
throne.

We need not trouble ourselves, Brethren, about any other
so-called apostolic succession. That of which I speak to you
•now is no mere figment. Spiritual connexion with Zion hallows
all recollections of the past, and brightens all anticipations of
the future. When we call to mind God's dealings with llis people,
individually and collectively; when, for example, we remember
Bethel, and the sublime and encouraging vision with which
Jacob was favoured there ; when we remember the Shechinah
between the Cherubim; when we remember the synagogue at
Nazareth, and Jesus preaching there the acceptable year of the
Lord ; when we remember the upper chamber in which our
Redeemer instituted the ordinance commemorative of His
love, and the room where, when Pentecost was come, tongues
as of tire descended upon the disciples, and the outpouring of the
Spirit prepared them for the great work of preaching the
Gospel to their perishing fellow-men ; and when we think,
with yearning desires, of the grace and glory manifested in
connexion with any of these scenes and occasions, let us

nl
111

never forgot that, " como unto Mount Zion," we are in the
lino along which all these glorious things have been soon or
experienced. Being "come unto Mount Zion," we servo our-
selves — nay, God makes us, through Jesus Christ — heirs and
partakers of them all.

lleturning from this digression, the design of which was
to identify the Zion spoken of by the Psalmist with the Zion
that is now, let us inquire lohy the Lord loves the "gates of
Zion" more than all the "dwellings of Jacob"— looks with
greater complacency upon the assemblies of His people for
public worship than upon thoir separate hon\es.

1. Because, in their assembles, their unity in faith and
love, in interest and in effort, is more distinctly manifested.
Christ's people are always one in faith and love, even when
they are separated from each other; but when they meet
together, their unity is seen. They meet on common ground.
To whitever country they beloni;-, in whatever occupation in
life they are engaged, in whatever sphere they move, tlio dis-
tinctions thence arising are laid aside when they meet in the
house of God. It is then more evident than in the ordinary
intercourse of life that, in Christ Jesus, "there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision. Barbarian, Scythian,
bond nor free; but Christ is all and in all." Before the one
God they humbly bow. They have access into His gracious
presence through His Son Jesus Christ, the one mediator
between God and men. They all rely upon the gracious aids
of the Holy Ghost whom Christ sends to abide with His people
ulway. Tiiey unite in the same confessions of sin, in the same
prayers for forgiveness, in the same adorations, and thanks-
givings, and songs of praise. They listen to the same word of
truth, saying, as with one heart and one mind, " I will hear
wliat God the Lord will speak." When, in such worship, they

«ro broiiglit nearer to their Lord, tlioy are, at the Hame time,
brought neni'er orso lo another. The tendency of such uiiiled
wornhip is to make thorn " hiy aside all malice, and all guile, and
hypocrisiey, and envies, and all evil-speakings;" and to "love
one another with a pure heart fervently." "Jiehold, how good
and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the lioad, that ran down
upon the board, even Aaron's board : that went down to the
skirts of his garments ; as the dew of llermon, and as the dew
that descended upon the mountains of Zion : For there the
Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore."

2, Because, in the assemblies of His people, their regard
for His authority and their delight in His oi'dinances are more
openly avowe<l. His people wiU reverence His authority at all
times and in all places. The language of their souls will be,
** The Lord our God we will hear, and His voice will we obey,"
Whatsoever they do, they will do it heartily as unto the Lord,
and not unto men. In their homes, their roveronco for God's
law, their trust in God's providence, their rejoicing in God's
grace will be seen. In their intercourse with their fellow-men,
those with whom they come in contact will " take knowledge
of them that they have been with Jesus" — that they are true
and loving disciples of Him who hath said, "H' ye love me,
keep my commandments." But when, on the return of the
hoi V day, they say, "This is the day which the Lord hath
made; we will rejoice and bo glad in it:" "As for us, we will
''o into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy," — when they
are soon leaving their various dwellings, ai:d all setting their
(aces in the direction of the place whei© God's name is recorded,
and prayer is wont to be made, — when tho}'^ are seen entering
His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise, —
they give a more impressive and far-reaching, because a united,
testimony to their regard for God's authority and their venera-

ti
f(.

tion for GocI'h ordinaiu'otj. By the very fiiet of their asMombliii^
for public worship, thoy nay to all around, to all within the
loac'h of their influence : " It h good for us to draw near to
(lod : VVi! long to see His power and IFis glory, as we have
seen lEiin in the sanctuary: We will go into His tahernacles,
we will worshij) at His footstool : We love the habitj^ion of
His house, and the place where His honour dwelleth."

3. Because, in the assemblies of His people, there is the
largest and directest employment of the instrumentality which
lie has appointed for the enlightening and reclaiming of a
benighted and perishing world. " It shall come to pass in the
lust days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall Ixi
established in the top of the mountain, and shall be exalted
above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many
people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob ; for
He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths ;
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of tile
Lord from Jerusalem."

How are these glorious results to be brought about, save
by the maintenance of the public ordinances of religion ?
With God, indeed, there is all power. He is confined to no
one method of working. But this is His way. It is true —
and O let us never forget — that believers, as individuals, are to
witness for God. Every one who has had spiritual life imparted
to him is to be willing, on all suitable occasions, to tell what
God has done for his soul. Every one to whom the message of
salvation comes is to do what he can in spreading the glad
tidings : " The Spirit and the Bride say, come ; and let hhn
thai heareth say^ come." But public prayer, and praise, and the
preaching of the woi-d are, and ever will be, the great mean.**
by which God gathers in a people to Himself — the great meani^

ibr the proHorvation and extension of tlio knowledge of God
among the nations of the world.

If there are any hero who have been tempted to make
light of the public ordinances of religion, wo would ask thorn
with what ihoy would supply their place in the event of their
being abolished. Let our churches bo closed — let our pulpits
bo silenced — and how long would the knowledge of the true
God continue to distinguish us a people, from those who are
now sitting in darkness and in tiio shadow of death? How
jiing would "one generation praise God's works to another, and
<leclaro His mighty acts" ? How long would parents continue
to tell their children about the grace of God, and the love of
(Mirist, and the value of their immortal souls, and the etoi-nal
life beyond tl)3 grave? How long would the return of the
vSabbath continue to be hailed with gladness as a day of holy
rest from our secular employments ? How long would devout
households continue reverently to gather about our family
altars? Brethren, let the pul)Iic ordinances of religion be
suspended, and men would ere long cease to bo honest, and pro-
perty to be secure, and life to be sacred. The restraints devised
by human wisdom, anil enforced by human authorit}', would
ere long become powerless to keep in check the lawlessness of
the people. Vices that now "wait for the twilight" would
come forth with unblushing front. C rimes that are now deeds
of darkness would be porpoti-ato I in the open day. Our land
would become a heathen land : it woul I be, as the inspired
writer declares the "dark places" of the earth to be, "full of the
habitations of cruelty."

But lot us banish such imnginings, such forebodings. Let
us be strong in the hope, the confidence, that He who, for His
own glory, instituted the ordinances of public worship, will
for his own glory perpetuate them, liot us be persuaded of
this, that He who so loves the '-gates of Zion " will, by th©

of God

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ott'ectual power of His Holy Spirit, attract and socuro worship-
pin*^ asKOinliiies from generation to generation, till all llin
people are translated from the church holow to tho glorious
sanctuary above — till, from the east, and from the west, and
from tho north, and from the south, they come, and sit down
with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacobin tho Kingdom of God.
4. Bocaiiso, in tho assemblies of His people, there is the
fullest exhibition that earth atfords of tho glory and harmony
of tho Divine attrii)Ules in tho wonderful j)lan of human redemp-
tion. The scenes that are thus presented possess an interest,
and e.xcrt an influence, reaching, as we are taught to believe,
far bej'ond this world and its inhabitants. The onlinances of
religion are maintained, tho Gospel is preached, that sinners
may be saved. But, besides this, tho ordinances of religion
are maintained, the Gospel is preached, *< to the intent that now
unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places may be
known by the church the manifold wisdom of God." How
wonderful to think of such learners! "The principalities and
powers in heavenly places" — tho " innumerable company of
angels," the unfallen spirits that surround tho throne of God.
How wonderful to think of the instrumentality employed in
the instructing of them — the object, as wo may say, in the con-
templation of which they receive instruction ! Tho church of
the redeemed. And how sublime bojond conception the lesson
that they thus leai'n ! "The manifold wisdom of God." In
the other works of God tho angels are interested : at tho creation
of the world, " the morning stars sang together, and all tho
sons of God shouted for jo}'." But especially are they repre-
sented as intensely interested in the still greater and nior»i
glorious work of redemption. Into its mj'steries they desire
to look. They had seen, in God's Avork of creation, light
brought out of darkness and order out of confusion. They had
seen the heavens declaring God's glor}'. and the firmament

,„Ji

showing His handy work. But, in view of the incarnation and
atonomont of Christ, looking down upon the manger of Beth-
lehem and the cross of Calvary, contemplating the sufferings
of Christ an 1 the glory to follow, wondering at the misery and
perdition from which He redeems His people and the felicity
and glory to which He exalts them, they see, in aspects other
and more marvellous than ever before, the Divine wisdom, and
love, and power.

This gives us the highest idea of the glory of the church.
Other works of God illustrate His attributes and perfections :
'• The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power and Godhead." But if it is in and by
the church, redeemed by the blood of Christ, and sanctified by
iris Spirit — the church in the lowness of her origin and the
grandeur of her destiny — that God gives to the highest order of
intelligences the fullest illustrations of His grace, and wisdom,
and power, then the church, in her consummation, must be the
most glorious of His works, and the wonders of redemption
must surpass the wonders of creation.

The church as seen b}- us in our shortsightedness, and
from our present standpoint, looks very unlike that now.
Invaded by world lines , rent by divisions, she comes far, far
short of showing foich, in any adequate degree, the praises of
Him who hath called her out of darkness into His marvellous
Hght. But she is "a city not forsaken." She is called
" Heph/iibah ;' for the Lord delighteth in her. He knows the
end from the beginning. He knows what His church will be,
when His gracious designs with respect to her shall have been
accomplished. He sits as a refiner of silver ; and He knows
what the result will be, when the successive processes of puri-
fication to which He subjects her shall have been completed.
So He loves the church. He loves His people individually.

Tie loves their househokls, the "dwellings of Jacob." But,
more than all, does He love their assemblies, "the gates of
Zion." Looking upon any of their assemblies, — even the
smallest, even the obscurest of them, — humbly presenting their
prayers, with feeble utterances singing His praise, and amid
evf "• 80 much ignorance seeking to understand His word, lie
see^ ' yond the many intirmitios, the broken harmonies, of
their present worship. Ho sees the day when they shall be
"presented faultless before the presence of His glory with
exceeding joy."

111. The evidences of the Loi'd's thus loving the "gates
of Zion." Let us at present notice only these two : His
almighty protection extended, and His gracious presence
vouchsafed, to Zion.

1. His almighty protection continually extended to Zion is
an evidence of the special favour with which He regards her.
" God is known in her palaces for a refuge." " Walk about Zion,
and go round about her : tell the towers thereof. Mark ye
well her bulwarks, consider her palaces." This is the Cliurch
of Christ, built upon the Rock, against Avhich the gates of hell
shall not prevail. Viewing it with the eye of sense merely, and
applying to it the rules by which we should test the strength
and stability of human institutions, we might at times almost
be driven to the desponding conclusion that Christianity itself,
just as other systems have bec(»me effete, is languishing and
dying. But such fears and apprehensions are groundless. The
emblem by which of old the Church was typified is the emblem
by which the Church is represcntal still — that great sight which.
Moses long ago turned aside to see, " the bush burning, but yet
not consumed." No system of doctrine has ever been tested
and sifted as the Christian system has been. Philosophers
fulsely so-called have attempted to prove its untenableness..
Profane wMts have attempted to hold it up to ridicule. To Jews

the prcachin*^ of Christ has long been a stumbling block. By
Gentiles the preaching of Christ has long been accounted
foolishness. But " unto them that are called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ (set forth in the Gospel) is the power of God,
and the wisdom of God." No kingdom of this world was ever
assailed with such furious, malignant, untiring opposition, as
the church of Christ. No kingdom seems so powerless,
judged by ordinary rules, to withstand the assaults of any foe
(for the weapons of her warfare are not carnal) ; but the chui ch
of Christ still survives. " Because I live," says the Divine
Redeemer, " ve shall live also." The church of Christ still
Hurvive3 : " God is in the midst of her ; she shall not be moved :
God shall help her, and that right early."

2. His gracious presence continually vouchsafed to Zion
is another evidence of His special favour. Here is the form in
which we have the promise now : " Where two or throe 'M'o
gathered together in my name, there am T in the midst of
them." This promise— let us unite with all Christ's people in
.saying — is enough for us. The rich, and the learned, and the
])0werful of the world may not always, or often be in our assem-
blies, although we should rejoice to see tfiem sitting at the
( I roat Teacher's feet, and reverently hearing His word. Out-
ward splendour, such as accompanies the appearances and the
progresses of earthly Kings, may not be here to attract the
carnal eye. Pompous ceremonial observances may not be
here, to satisfy those who look more to imposing forms than
to the Hnished work of Mio risen Saviour, But if Christ be
iiere, His presence is all that we need. If He be here, strength-
ening the weak and healing the broken in heart — if Ho be here,
Idessing us with communications of His grace, and manifesting
flimself to us in another wuv than He doth unto the world —
we shall have cause to say, with gratitude and praise, " He

hrtth brought me into His banqueting house, and Ili.s banner
over me was love."

Do we not know, 33rethren, from what our own eyes have
seen, and our own hearts exporioncod, that it is even so ?
How often, in the assemblies of God's people, have the awaken-
ing, quickening influences of the Holy Spirit been bestowed ?
Those who have come among them, thoughtless and careless,
have been constrained to inquire, " What must we do to be
saved?" Mourners in Zion have been comforted. Those who
were as sheep going astray have been brought back to the
Shepherd and Bishop of their souls.

Such things, I say, we have seen and experienced. And
what the Lord has done, ire is still able and willing to do for
His people. For His arm is not shortened, that it cannot save ;
neither is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. Nay, what any
of us have seen, what any of us have experienced, is only an
oiirnest and foretaste of what God is ready to bestow. Were
wo, b}'- the gracious operation of God's Holy Spirit within us,
rising to higher degrees of faith, what bright hopes might wc
warrantably cherish, p.nd what blessed maiiifestations of God's
converting, renewing, sanctifying grace might it be our happy
privilege to witness? Our own souls might be filletl with
light, and love, and joy, and holiness, far beyond all our
Dast experience, or anj'thing that wc have hitherto ventured
to anticipate. In our families, we might see unqestionablc
imlicatiiTvis of God's being our (Jod, as He is of all the families
of the earth that call upon His name. In the church wo mighl
.see the spiritual life by which she ought ever to he char-
acterized — the sympathy, the brotherly love, the delight in
God's orditiances, the willingness to do or to give for the cause
of Christ.

1 account it a privilege to have been with you this after-
noon. I couU give many reasons why it is seemly that I

should rejoieo with j'ou in your joy on this occasion. But T
only say that it is my heart's desire and prayer thai, as the
years pass away, happy and hallowed associations maj' con-
tinue to gather around the relation subsisting between your
pastor and the people of his charge ; that by him, and those
who may come after him, the Gospel may ever be preached
here in its purity ; that many, many of those assembling hoi-e
from generation to generation may be brought under the power
of the truth as it is in Jesus. " The Lord bless you more and
more, you, and your children " " The Lord lift upon you the
light of His countenance, and give you peace." Amen.

->— 0">0«— ^

SERMON

BY THE

REV. D. J. MACDONNELL, B. D.

uM|(lt|«M»,(>l,tM|l»»||M||t»MM»|*H.M».»

Eph., ii, 20— 22.— "And are built upon the foundation of tlie
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ him.self being the chief corner
8tone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto nn
holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together tor an
habitation of God through the Spirit."

The figure of a building is a favourite one with St. Paul in
describing the Church. "Ye are God's building," he writes
to the Corinthians. <' As a wise master-builder 1 have laid the
foundation, and another buildeth thereon." " Hooted and built
up in Christ," " rooted and grounded (i.e., founded) in love,"
are the pregnant expressions in which, combining the two
metaphors of a tree and a building, he describes to the Colos-
sians what their condition ouglit to be.

In the passage before us, he speaks of the Church not
merely as a building, but as '-growing unto an holy temple."
Paul was " an Hebrew of the Hebrews." In so writing he was
doubtless thinking of the temple at Jerusalem, the centre of the
holiest associations of every pious Jew. He nui}' have gone
back in imagination to the days of Solomon, the n^.ost glorious
period of Jewish history ; may have thought of the immense
preparations made for the building of the temple, of the costly
materials gathered, of the elaborate workmanship expended, of
the cloud of glory filling the house in response to Solomon's
prayer, of the thousands of oxen and tons of thousands of sheep
offered in sacrifice at the dedication of the temple. But, thought

he, there is a grander temple still, which is now in process of
erection, built of " living stones " of infinite value, hewn and
polished and fitted into their places; a ''spiritual house,"
hallowed by the indwelling of the Lord, in which better and
more costly sacrifices than Solomon's are continually offered ;
and that is the Church of God which rests on the corner stone
Jesus Christ.

In thinking of this spiritual house, we shall consider —

I. The Foundation and Corner Stone on w-hich it rests.
II. The materials of which it is built.

III. Its character.

IV. Its progress.

1. The Foundation and Corner Stone of the Church is " Jesus
Christ." We may distinguish between the two things, and say
that the foundation means the preaching of Christ — the testi-
mony of apostles and prophets concerning Christ — while the
corner stone is the living historical Christ himself We have
Scriptural authority, however, for referring both words to
('hrist. " Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried
stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation." The idea
seems to be that of a corner stone which also extends beneath the
M-alls as a foundation, on which the sides of the building rest,
and by which they are knit together. It is in Christ that the
whole spiritual building is " fitly framed together." On Him
it rests : " other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Jesus Christ." By the common relation of all the
parts to Him is their coherence secured : — " to whom coming,

as unto a living stone, ye also, as living stones, are built

up."

Think of the character of this foundation. Let the words
of Isaiah and St. Peter throw light on those of St. Paul.

" A living stone" The words seem to convey a contradic-
diction. A stone, one would say, is an apt image rather of

death than of life. Ilowovor costly or brilliant, we do not
associate with it the idea of life. But as the temple which God
is building is a livin<j^ temple, constructed not of dead blocks of
stone, but of living men, the corner stone must likewise be living.
In truth it is from Christ, the living Corner Stone, that every
stone in the building gets its life. He is " the Prince of life."
" In Him was life, and the lite was the light of men." He is
the living Lord still. He liveth, and was dead, and behold He
is alive for evermore.

" vl tried stone.'' One that has been thoroughly tested —
one that is capable of sustaining the weight of the building.
Christ was tried in all things — tried by the devil, tried iy men,
tried by His Father. And he stood the test. The Prince of
this world came and had nothing in Him. Hypocrites sought
to entrap him, but could find no fault in him. He seemed to
bo deserted by His Father at the very crisis of the work which
the Father had given him to do; but His trust was still un-
shaken. His cry was still " MY God," and before ho yielded
up His spirit. He was able to say of the work, " It is finished."

A ''precious " stone. Solomon had " costly stones " placed
in the foundation of the temple. Infinitely more costly was the
Living Stone that was laid in Zion ibr the foundation of the
Church. It was the most precious life in the universe — the life
of God's only begotten Son — that was laid down in order that
new life for the race might spring out of that death. Do we
value precious stones for their beauty ? Christ is of rare
loveliness, "the chief amor.g ten thousand and altogether
lovely." There is no flaw in the perfect symmetry of His
character. Do we value precious stones for their rarity?
There is but one Christ : no second Son like Him has God
begotten.

" A sure foundation." One that will never crumble into
dust. One that will not yield to the wearing influence of time,

or to the frosts of adversity, or to the fires of persecution.
Through all changes, he that builds on this foundation is safe.
" The hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies," but he that rests
on Christ " shall not be confounded." Tens of thousands have
built on this foundation, and not one has ever found it insecure.

It was this foundation — this " living," "tried," "precious,"
"sure" foundation, "Jesus Christ Himself" — that the apostles
and prophets of the M>w Testament laid by their preaching.
Grea^ preparations had been made for laying it. God's work-
men had been employed in clearing away the rubbish of
superstition. By direct types and positive institutions among
the Jews, by the undefined longings and " unconscious prophe-
cies of heathendom," the soil of human hearts was made ready
for the coming One. " When the fulness of the time was come,"
He who had been "the desire of all nations" appeared. He
lived, suftered, died, rose again, ascended to heaven. Then a
few men whom He had gathered round llim went about the
world telling the story of His life and death, resurrection and
ascension. The first sermons were for the most part declar-
ations of these facts. Forgiveness of past sin, grace for present
need, the hope of glory hereafter, were based on these facts,
and wore not preached apart from them. On this foundation the
apostles themselves were built, even while they were laying it
for others.

Men have tried to build on other foundations. Builders
have " rejected " Christ. They have tried to construct a perfect
society on the basis of force, or of political affiinity, or of social
equality, or of this or that form of government, or of some
particular set of ojiinions concerning the work of Christ. It is
nearly as great a mistake to try to build the Church on the
foundation of theological dogmatism as to try to build it on
philosophical speculation. The living Christ hr.3 been some-
times us effectually hidden by the strife of sects as by the sneers

of sceptics. It cannot bo too often repecatod that it is not
intellectual asisent to any set of opinions about Christ that con-
stitutes a Christian, but the knitting of our hearts to His by a
living faith and love. " To whom coming, as unto a living
stone, ye also as living stones are built up," We shall never be
livinir stones at all unless we "come "to Him and draw our
life from Him.

II. The materials of which the spiritual house is built.
" The saints build up its fabric." They are the living stones ot
which the holy temple is being constructed. St. Paul, writing
to the Corinthians, defines the Church thus : — " Unto the
Church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctitied
(consecrated) in Christ Jesus, called saints." The good, the
holj', the "saints;" the men and women who have given them-
selves to Christ to be renewed and indwelt by Him, and who,
though far from having " already attained " or being " already
perfect," are living a consecrated life, a life of separation from
the spirit of the world: these are the materials of which the
living temple is being built. Notice the following points about
these living stones : —

1. They arc gathered from all quarters. Just as for the
building of Solomon's temple gold was brought from Ophir, and
cedar from Lebanon, workmen at a distance from one another
preparing materials which were at last to find place in that holy
and beautiful house, so through many instrumentalities God is
gathering stones for His spiritual temple, old men and little
children, sages and barbarians, from every kindred and tribe
and tongue. Often, too, from the most unlikely quarters.
Hidden, sometimes, under heaps of rubbish, as if they were not
fit to see the light of day. Lying here and there, in obscure
corners, in the fields or lanes, contemptuously or indifferently
or unbelieveingly "rejected" by ambitious builders, even as the
great Corner Stone wtts Himself rejected. But God knows

where thoy are and seeks them out, ami from dons of filth and
slums of vice and moral wastes of ignorance and unbelief, as well
as from the quarries of enlightened and civilized communities,
the}' are lifted by willing hands and fitted into their places in
God's beautiful house. The workers do not always know one
another, though they are working side by side. Sometimes,
alas! they hinder one another through ignorance and suspicion
and narrow-mindedness. Not seldom one tries to pull down
what another has been laboriously building up. But (lod
knows all, and separates the good from the ovil, and, notwith-
standing mistakes and misunderstandings, the work goes
bravely on.

2. Thoy arc of various sorts and sizes. Variety is char-
acteristic of life, and those stones are living. There is no dead
uniformity about them. There is room in the Church for the
greatest variety of temperaments and endowments. The grave
and the gay, the cautious and the impulsive, the educated and the
illiterate, the noble and the peasant, those who toil with strong
arm and those who toil with strong brain, nuiy all find a place
in the spiritual house, if only they have the one common
characteristic of life. In proportion to the amount of life in it
will be the usefulness of any one stone to the building — of
any believer to the Church — not in proportion to genius, or
refinement, or rank, or culture. There are low-born and
untutored men who are pillars in Cod's temple, and grace it
with the spiritual beauty which they reflect from Christ, while
there are men of rank and culture who must be content to
occupy a small niche where they are comparatively unobserved.

3. They are hewn so as to fit into their places. How rough
and unshapely the block of stone or marble looks as it comes
from the quarry! When you see it again after the chisel of
the stone-cutter has dressed and squared it. you scarcely recog-
nise it. Even so is it with the living stones before God's stone-

cutters have licwn thorn. Thoy are so rou^rh, somolimoH,
hriHtling with bad toinpors and evil habits, that you can har Jly
suppose God will tolerate them in His house. They are so
unshapely and unsightly, often, that the workmen are inclined
to throw them away, because they can find no way of titting
them in. They are so hard, sometimes, that it seems almosl
impossible to make any impression on them. But God has
many workmen and a great variety of tools. There is n(»
stereotyped way of hewing the living stones. Now it is in the
family, by the sacred influences of a Christian home ; now, by
tlie faithful preaching of the truth from the pulpit; again, by
some startling event of God's providence, or by the loss of
worldly good, or by the removal of dear ones. Corners arc
broken off, the roughness disappears, and the unsightly blocks
become "as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a
palace."

4. They are ^'fitly framed together " by the cement of love.
However beautiful stones may be in themselves, they cannot
be turned to account for a building without mortar. Even so
must the living stones in Gc'.'s temple be knit together by love,
else that temple cannot rise in its beauty and holiness. Sin-le
believers may exhibit special gifts and graces, but it is only in
the communion of saints that these gifts can be fully exei'cised
jmd these graces strengthened. ^Moreover, each believer will
bo deficient in some elements of the Christian character, which
it will need the stimulus of Christian fellowship to developc.

The relation of believers to one another is the result of their
common relation to Christ. Thoy are members of llim, the
Head, and therefore they are members one of another. One
Christian ought to help another, and at the same time to lean
upon him. Each member of the Church is bound to contribute
his share of life and service to the whole body, and at the same
time he draws from all the other members whatever they can
a

fiiiniHh for h'm Hpiritual iijrowth. How sncl it ia when, instead
of^ivin^ and receiving good, each individual stands alone, not
sharing in any common life, nor having his lack supplied out
of the fulness of others ! There are some pieces of masonry in
which the stones are so firmly welded together that it is easier
to break the stones than to loosen the mortar so that they will
come apart. So it ought to bo with the Church. We oug'
be so tirmly knit together by love that it would be easie. lO
I'cnd the individual life in twain than to sever us one from the
other.

Jiove is the only cement that will etfectually unite us, that
will stand the test of time and trouble. Church members may
be, externally and for a time, bound together by some other tie,
such as the convenience of a place of worship, or the popularity
of a minister, or the attraction of a ritual, or common adherence
to a set of doctrines ; but any one of those will prove a mere
rope of sand, utterly powerless to prevent the whole fi'' 3,
however beautiful, irom falling to pieces at a blow.

II r. The character of the spiritual house. •' An holy
temple." " Holy in the Lord," i.e., hallowed by the indwelling
of the Lord. The temple at Jerusalem was holy, because it was
the special dwelling-place of Jehovah. It was not to be treated
as a common house. Profane feet were not to tread its sacred
courts. It was God's palace, where He dwelt in visible glory,
and where He was to receive homage as a King, according to
his own proscribed modes. We have learned that trod dwelleth
not in temples made with hands, that no place, no thing, no
time, is " common or unclean," that God is a Spirit, and that
the true worshippers are not those who worship in this place or
in that, but those vvho worship in spirit and in truth, whether
it be in the stately cathedral, or in the humble cottage, or on
the lonely hillside. The loving, adoring spirit is God's chosen

homo. God dwells more really in the heart of the Chi-istian
than ever He dwelt in the temple ut Jerusalem.

It is the union of these living, loving spirits, in each of
which God dwells, that conslilutes the Church. If each one of
them is consecrated by God's indwelling, and illumineil with
the glory of His presence, much more will the Church collecr
tively serve as " an holy temple " in which the fulness of God's
glory may be revoale<l. Holiness, then, is to be the prominent
characteristic of the Church. The Church is to be a holy society ;
in the world, yet not of it ; coming into contact with the world
at all points, yet sep.irute from the spirit of the world ; not
necessarily doing ditfcrent acts from those of the world, but
doing the same acts from loftier motives and to nobler ends;
not cutting itself off from human cares and pursuits and interests,
as if these were *' common or unclean," but conseci-ating common
work and living human life in the light of eternity. It is to
aim at realizing the prophecy of Zechariah, when " there shall
be upon the bells of the horses Holiness unto the Lord, and
the pots in the Lord's I 'Mise shall be like the bowls before the
altar; yea, every pot Jerusa'om and in Judah shall be
holiness unto the Lord of ho-sts:" — i.e., there shall bo no dis-
tinction between sacred vessels and common ones, but tiU shall
bo consecrated to the service of the L'rd; there shall not be the
mischievous distinction between secular worU and religious
work, but all woik shall be sacred, and our motto shall be.
'•' Whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus."

Clearly this ideal is yet far from being realized. The
Church visible is not up to the mark thus ti.xed. The Cluirch,
in any of the forms in which it is organised, does not present
tliis picture of a holy society. Too often, there is as much of
the spirit of the world manifested in the conduct of matters
cccle.>.iastical or religious as in business or politics, in which,

im fortunately, too many men see no occasion for the oxercUe
of anything but a worldly spirit. Yet, while there is room for
self-condemnation, there is room also for thankfulness. Let us

think of

IV. The progress of the spiritual house. " All the building
fitly framed together cjroioeth unto an holy temple." The
building is growing. Notwithstanding apparent or temporary
retrogression, there is steady advance. The wave recedes, but
it is only that with gathered force it may rush farther up upon
the shore. It seems sometimes as if the work of building God's
temple wore stopped altogether, or even as if some portions of
the walls were crumbling away ; but when we wait a while and
look again, we find there has been real progress. Course after
course has been laid, and still the building grows. Fresh
materials are continually brought, and hewn and fitted into
their places; and still there is room— room for thousands of
livin"- stones that have not yet been built in, room for all the
good of all the ages.

Not only is this living temple growing in size, it is also
•rrowing in beauty — the beauty of holiness. As the generations
of Christian men follow one another, there is a growing rich-
ness of thought and fulness of life. There is a clearer realiza-
tion of the wants of the world, a better understanding of the
power of Christ's gospel to meet those wants. We are the
heirs of all the Christian ages. The records of devoted piety, the
accumulated wealth of thought on the most important matters
that can occupy the human mind, the history of the triumphs
of the gospel over sin and superstition, the mighty though
silent influence of home piety penetrating successive genera-
lions— all these are ours, all go to form the life of the Chuich
now. What the Church of the future will be depends, under
<;od, on the faithfulness with which we use and pass on the
wealth we have inherited.

For we are buildors as well as built. It is the peculiarity
of this spiritual house that each layer helps to build the next.
The first thing is that we be ourselves living stones, «lru."ing
our life from Christ, built on Ilim as our foundation. The next
thing is that we be thoroughly in earnest in searching out
other stones, bringing them to the living Corner Stone, and
hewing and poliwhing them. It is by human instrumentality
that the work is to be done. In our homes, in our schools, at
our social gatherings, by our words, by our lives, as well as l)y
the moie formal preaching of the gospel, the building of God's
holy spiritual house is to be carried on, until at last the to])
stone shall be laid with shoutings, and the (jhorus shall be sung,
"Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of
our Lord and of His Christ. And He shall reign forever
AND EVER. Kino of kings and Lord of Lords." We may
sometimes wish back the simplicity and the fervent piety of
the early Church ; but we ought rather to look forward, for the
golden age of the Church is yet to come. Faulty as it is, the
visible Church is yet to culminate in " the holy city, now
Jerusalem," which shall need no temple, for the Lord God
Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it ; which shall have
no need of the sun, for the glory of God shall lighten it, and
the Lamb shall be the light thereof; into which they shall bring
the glory and honour of the na'ions ; into which there shall in
no wise enter anything that detileth.

May the Church which shall meet for the worship of God
in this beautiful house be truly described by the closing woi-.ls
of the passage which forms the text : — " In whom ye also are
buildod together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."
•'Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that
build it." There is a temptation to rest in external activity,
xxnd to think that when we have a complete organization, well

manage.l " schenies," flourishing societies for various objects, wo
have a living Church. It is possible that we may have only
the dry tones come together and covered with flesh, but wanting
the breath of life. AVe may have cannon of the most approved
make, charged with powder and shot properly adjusted ; but
tiiey will bo worthless until the spark of living fire has been
applied. The temple was nothing till the cloud of glorj- filled
it. So will the Church, however well organized, however
externally beautiful, be utterly powerless, unless the Spirit of
the living God breathe life into every part. Let us for this
Church, for all our Churches, for the holy catholic Church in
all the earth, take u]> Solomon's prayer, " Arise, O Lord God,
into Th}^ rest, Thou and the ark of Thy strength." And may
God give the answer. "This is mv rest forever: here will i
dwell, for 1 have dosirel it."

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