1

that of the Church it may be said in the language of the patriarch Jacob, "Surely the Lord is in this place:" seeing of the Church it may be said, "How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" let us not act as men who "know it not;" but let us act in a manner conformable to our knowledge of so interesting and important a truth. Let us not "forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is1:" let us not, as is the manner of others, assemble ourselves inconstantly and interruptedly neither let us be dilatory in coming, nor precipitate in departing, nor irreverent and inanimate whilst we are here. But let us to a conviction of what is right add constancy in performing it; and to constancy diligence, and to diligence perseverance, and to perseverance humility of deportment, and fervency of spirit, and sincerity and integrity of heart. "Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way2." Better means of "serving God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" no Church ever possessed, than such as are possessed by the Church of this kingdom. Let us live in the conscientious practice of these means,

1 Heb. x. 25.

2 Heb. xii. 12, 13.

Heb. xii. 28.

and we may take to ourselves the language of the Lord to the patriarch, “Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest." Our attendance in this house of God will be a perpetual source to us of consolation and enjoyment: nor will He leave us nor forsake us, until through this "gate of heaven" He shall have conducted us into his celestial abode; even into that presence of his, where there "is fulness of joy;" where we shall be "abundantly satisfied with the plenteousness of his house, and he shall make us drink of the river of his pleasures."

I shall conclude with one of the Collects of the Liturgy. O Lord, we beseech thee to keep thy Church and household continually in thy true religion; that they who do lean only upon the hope of thy heavenly grace may evermore be defended by thy mighty power; through Jesus Christ our Lord: to whom with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen1.

1 Collect for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany.

DISCOURSE XXI.

THE CHURCH'S HOLY PLACES, THEIR DIGNITY,

ORIGIN, AND USES.

PSALM CXxii. 1.

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.

THE Author of this Psalm was David; for so we are informed by the title prefixed to it, which calls it "a song of degrees or of ascensions;" meaning probably one that was sung, when the Israelites came up to worship in Jerusalem at the annual festivals. The subject of it is the joy which they felt, as they ascended in companies to the city, at that time ordained by Divine appointment for the publick worship of the Lord: and "the house of the Lord" denotes the particular place where his worship was celebrated, as being that where He promised to be specially present. For, as heaven is called his dwelling place, because He there

most conspicuously manifests his glory, so the name is transferred to places upon earth distinguished also for a more than ordinary revelation of his Divine perfections. Thus the tabernacle, at first, constructed at the Divine appointment by Moses, for holding the ark of the testimony which the Lord gave him, over which the glory of the Lord was seen, was called the Lord's house or dwelling-place'. And afterwards the temple, built by Solomon on Mount Sion, succeeding to the custody of the ark, succeeded also to the appellation of the house or dwelling-place of the Lord: an appellation, which was notoriously given to it, not only by the inspired writers of the Old Testament, but by our blessed Saviour Himself in the New.

To this place of the Lord's peculiar presence all the men of Israel were required to go, at least three times in every year, from the remotest quarters of the land. And it is generally supposed that the psalm before us was composed for those occasions in order that the people might therein express their satisfaction and delight during that holy journey, saying or singing to each other as they went, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand in thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem

1 Exod. xxv. 8. 16.

2 2 Chron. v. 2. vi. 2.

is built as a city, that is at unity in itself: for thither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord to testify unto Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord."

But the psalm, though probably composed for this solemn occasion in particular, was no less adapted to the general use of the devout Israelite; who, enjoying from proximity of residence more frequent opportunities of visiting the place of God's dwelling, failed not to profit continually by those opportunities of worshipping the Lord in his appointed place, and there soliciting his blessing. To a person thus circumstanced, perpetual occasions must have arisen for uttering the Psalmist's exclamation, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." And to the devout Christian at the present time, as to the devout Israelite in times of old, the application and use of the words are obvious: expressive, as they are, of that sentiment, which at all times animates the hearts of those who love the Lord in sincerity, and are studious of promoting his honour by a publick profession of his service.

It is true, that we have no such outward signs of the special presence of God in our churches, as the Israelites had of old in their tabernacle and temple. Still we cannot reasonably doubt, that He is as specially present with us in the places dedicated to his service, as He was with them. It