concerning the then temple, and the time employed in building it, he made answer, alluding, and probably pointing, to his own body, "Destroy THIS

temple, and in three days I will raise it again.". Such being the reason of the connexion re-established between God and sinful men, and of his dwelling among them, can we possibly doubt of his dwelling in Christian churches, that have been consecrated to his service, ever since the planting that religion in the world, when Christians had liberty and ability to erect such churches? It may be said, we do not see him, as the Israelites did.

But the glory, or body of light or fire, which the Israelites saw, was only a sign or token of his presence, "God is a Spirit, whom no man hath seen, or can

see. We do not see the souls of those who are now assembled to worship him; yet are they present. The holy angels may be present at this time, and God himself, we trust, is so by his Spirit. You know who has said, " Where two or three are ga"thered together in my name, there am I in the "midst of them."

You will be pleased to favour me with your attention, while I press upon your minds two consequences which follow from this doctrine of the divine presence in holy places, viz. the mercies of God to man, and the duties of man to God.

The king makes the court. Wherever the King of glory comes, all heaven comes in his train: when he descendeth from on high, as when he ascended thither, "he giveth gifts unto men;" the blessings of eternity are showered around; "he openeth his

"hand, and filleth all things living with plenteous

ness. In his dedication prayer, king Solomon, personating, as it should seem, the great Mediator, states before God the various wants and miseries of his people, requesting that to those who should pray in or towards that temple, they might be supplied and relieved; "that thine eyes may be open towards "this house night and day; and hearken thou to the "supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Is"rael, when they shall pray towards this place: and "hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and when "thou hearest, forgive." Pardon for time past, and grace for time to come, comprehend, between them, the spiritual necessities of mankind; and both are supposed to have been justly and beautifully represented by the service and the furniture of the tabernacle and temple of old; the former by the acceptance of sacrifice, and the sprinkling of blood, without which there is no remission; the latter by the table of show bread, the golden candlestick with its lamps, and the altar of incense, denoting the support of our spirits by the true Bread which cometh down from heaven, the instruction of our minds by the light of truth shining forth in the word of God, and the merits of a Redeemer ascending with the prayers of the faithful, to render them acceptable at the eternal throne. Under the new law, in like manner, at the baptismal font, and at the holy table, are exhibited and communicated the Spirit purifying and cleansing from sin, the body and blood of Christ strengthening and refreshing the souls of men. Such are the benefits (and what greater benefits can

your hearts wish for, or your imaginations conceive?) to be obtained, through faith in these holy places, where God is pleased to meet us, and to bless us, if indeed we are disposed to receive the blessing, by turning every one of us from his iniquities.

The duties of man, in return for these mercies of God, are evident.

"Reverence my sanctuary."-Every thing which bears a relation to God, ought surely to be reverenced by man; the house, more especially, wherein he condescends to dwell. It is the temple which sanctifieth the gift. In order to this, a church should be built and fitted up, it should be maintained and preserved, in such a manner as by its appearance to excite and produce that reverence in every one who enters it; that so he may fall down on his knees and worship, checking himself, if at his entrance he has been guilty of any negligence or inattention, with the patriarch's reflection;-"Surely "God is in this place, and I knew it not! This "is the house of God, and this is the gate of "heaven!"

It may be said, "that God has been served, and 11 may be served, acceptably in any church, or with"out any church." He may be served acceptably without a church, when it is not in our power to have one; and he may be served acceptably in a bad church, when it is not in our power to have a good one. The Saviour of men, in the day of his humiliation, did not disdain to be born in a stable; but they who love and honour him would not therefore invite him to come into one again. We expend

much upon our own houses, to make them elegant as well as comfortable; should we grudge a little to render the house of God neat, and decent, and such as Christians may frequent, without endangering their health? It is true, that "whatever we "give to God, we give him of his own;" but one would not therefore give him the worst of his own. He is most honoured by the best; and let the best be his; who has a fairer claim to it? "We cannot

by our gifts profit the Almighty." But we may honour him, and profit ourselves; for while man is man, religion, like man, must have a body and a soul; it must be external as well as internal; and the two parts, in both cases, will ever have a mutual influence upon each other. The senses and the imagination must have a considerable share in public worship; and devotion will accordingly be depressed or heightened by the mean, sordid, and dispiriting, or the fair, splendid, and cheerful appearance of the objects around us. The effects produced respectively are like those we experience, on seeing the habitation of God above overcast with clouds and darkness, or beholding it, when the light of the sun is diffused over it by day, or when by night it is gilded with the softer glory of the moon, and studded with ten thousand stars. You must feel the truth of this observation, and rejoice as much as the Jews formerly mourned and wept, when in their minds they compared the old temple with the new one. To a sanctuary thus exciting reverence by every thing in and about it, let due reverence be paid by all that approach it. Put off your shoes from off

your feet, lay aside the defilement contracted by walking upon the earth; put off, as concerning the former conversation, the old man; wash you, make you clean; for the place whereon you stand is holy ground. Drive out the buyers and sellers; clear your hearts of all worldly cares and thoughts; for this house is the house of prayer: when you enter it, salute him that dwelleth therein, by a fervent ejaculation, and address yourselves, with attention and devotion, to his service. It is the presencechamber of the great King. Jehovah is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.

But the best and most effectual way of reverencing the sanctuary is, by letting the effects of our beha. viour when we are in it, appear to the world by our behaviour when we are out of it; by living and acting in the spirit of religion. "Holiness becom

eth thine house for ever:" holy persons in holy places. "Without are dogs," and other unclean creatures. Angels visit churches, and men who do so should in temper and disposition resemble them. When the sons of God present themselves, the imagination is shocked at the idea of Satan also coming among them, of blasphemy and profaneness, impurity and malignity being found in the sanctuary; the abomination, which maketh desolate, standing in the holy place! "He that defileth the temple of "God, him shall God destroy;" and it is well if he be not provoked to forsake the temple.-O terrible sound of voices said to have been heard in the dead of the night by the priests ministering in