/^- 3 
 
 I ALUMNI LIBRARY, | 
 
 I THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, | 
 
 * PRINCETON, N. J. "^^ 
 
 
 sec 
 
 /■ 
 
 nS' 
 
UTERARTr Sc PHII.OSOFHIOAL SOCIETY 
 
 JVas organized on the Wth day of Juhj^ 1825. — The 
 following is a list of the Officers of the Society. 
 
 PREsiDEjrr, 
 The Hon. ANDREW KIRKPATRICK, Esquire. 
 
 VICE-PRESIDEJ^TS, 
 His Honour CHARLES EWING, Esquire, 
 His Excellengt ISAAC WILLIAMSON, Esquire, 
 The Hon. MAHLON DICKERSON, Esquire, 
 Rev. JAMES CARNAHAN, D. D. 
 AUGUSTUS R. TAYLOR, M. D. 
 
 CORRESPOJS'DIJ^G SECRETARY, 
 Rev. SAMUEL MILLER, D. D 
 
 RECORDJJ^G SECRETARY, 
 Rev. LU ij HER HALSEY, A. M. 
 
 \( Measurer, 
 
 JOHN VANCLEVE, M. D, 
 
 executive cojijiittee, 
 
 Rev. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D. D. 
 LUCIUS Q. C. ELMER, Esquire, 
 JAMES S. GREEN, Esquire, 
 JOHN GUMMERE, A. M. 
 JOHN MACLEAN. A. M. 
 
/^ 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 DELIVERED JUNE SEVENTH, 1823, 
 AT THE OPENING OF THE 
 
 NEW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 
 
 IN ARCH STREET, IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, 
 FOR THE PUBLIC WORSHIP OF GOD 
 
 BY SAMUEL MILLER, D. D. 
 
 PROFESSOR IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, AT PRINOETON 
 
 PUlLJiDELPHU. 
 
 Published by T. T. ^sli. Fourth and Walnut Sirs. 
 
Philadelphia, June 1th, 1823. 
 
 At a meeting of tJie Association for building a 
 Presbyterian Church on Arch near Tenth street, 
 
 UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED, 
 
 That the Rev. Thomas H. Skinner^ Dr. Charles 
 D. Meigs, and Mr. Thomas B. Dairach, be a com- 
 mittee to present the thanks of the Association to the 
 Eev. Dr. Miller, for the Sermon delivered by him at 
 the opening of the Church; and that they respectfully 
 request of him a copy thereof for publication. 
 
 Jos. H. Dulles, Secretary. 
 
SERMON, ^c 
 
 iOOOi 
 
 II Chronicles, vi. 41. 
 
 " Now, therefore, arise, O Lord God, into thy resting 
 place, thou, and the ark of thy strength/" 
 
 The history of buildings and places devoted to the 
 worship of God, especially in the earlier periods of the 
 Church, is very obscure. In the patriarchal age, we 
 have no distinct record of any thing of this kind. That 
 the pious, from Adam to Moses, were no strangers to 
 the social exercises of religion, can hardly be doubted: 
 and if they had stated social worship, we must suppose 
 they had particular places to which they resorted for 
 that purpose. Accordingly, when Cain, by murdering 
 his brother, had forfeited his former standing as a 
 professor of religion, we are told that " he went out 
 from the presence of the Lord;" by which commenta- 
 tors have generally understood to be meant, that he 
 no longer associated with the people of God; that he 
 no more frequented the place where sacrifices were 
 
4 
 
 wont to be offered; but became, literally, excommuni- 
 cated from the visible church. In subsequent times we 
 find the pious, wherever they sojourned, or fixed their 
 residence, erecting altars, at which they, and probably 
 their households, worshipped God. Thus did JVoah, 
 and thus, after him, did Mraham and Jacob, on a va- 
 riety of occasions. The Tabernacle, reared by divine 
 direction in the wilderness of^ Arabia, on the journey of 
 the chosen people of God from Egypt to Canaan, more 
 than twenty-five centuries after the visible Church was 
 established, seems to have been the first moveable 
 structure, and the Temple o^ Solomon, at Jerusalem, the 
 first fixed edifice that was ever erected for a religious 
 purpose. 
 
 The Temple of Solomon has been justly styled the 
 wonder and glory of the East. It was certainly, on 
 many accounts, the most remarkable edifice that was 
 ever erected. Imagine, for a moment, a building of 
 which " Jehovah himself condescended to be the ar- 
 chitect." A building, in the construction of which, 
 scarcely any thing appeared of less value than silver 
 and gold. A building on which was bestowed the la- 
 Jjour of one hundred and eighty thousand workmen for 
 more than seven years. And a building in which there 
 
 was, no doubt, a greater display of grandeur, taste, and 
 beauty than in any other structure that was ever raised 
 
 by the hand of man. 
 
 But all this external splendour and glory did not 
 
 satisfy the pious mind of Solomon. After bestowing 
 
 upon tjie outward adorning of this temple, all that his 
 
exalted genius and his royal treasures, under the spe- 
 cial direction of God, enabled him to afford, he still 
 acknowledges, in his prayer at its dedication — of which 
 our text is a part — that the ornament, the glory which 
 he values most, is the presence of Jehovah in the 
 house which he had erected to his name. Xow, there- 
 fore, arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou 
 and the ark of thy strength! As if he had said—'- The 
 art of man has done all that it can accomplish. But 
 vain will be every thing, unless the Lord himself come 
 and take up his abode in the temple which we have 
 raised to his gloiy. Come then, thou God of the House,, 
 and crown our labours with thy presence! Come, thou. 
 and enter in, and dwell here: and this will be the con- 
 summation of our desires'." 
 
 The Ark of God, to which the royal suppliant here 
 refers, was the Ark of the Covenant, originally formed 
 by divine direction in the wilderness, and deposited in 
 the Most Holy Place, first in the Tabernacle, and af- 
 terwards in the Temple. On the interesting occasion 
 on which the words of our text were delivered, this 
 Ark was with much solemnity brought, and, for the 
 first time, placed in the House of God, as the most 
 precious part of its furniture. It was called the .irk of 
 Jehovah's strength, because it was a pledge of his pre- 
 sence; and because it was attended, whithersoever it 
 went, with most remarkable manifestations of divine 
 power. And the Temple, in which it was now deposited, 
 is represented as the resting place of God and his Ark, 
 because, after many removals, for the space of several 
 
hundred years, this symbol of the divine presence and 
 •^lory, was, at length, fixed in the Most Holy Place in 
 the Temple, as its permanent and final abode. 
 
 Although, in this prayer of Solomon, there was, no 
 doubt, something asked which was peculiar to the 
 Temple, and to the dispensation under which it was 
 erected; and for which we, of course, cannot ask in 
 behalf of any place of worship under the christian dis- 
 pensation; yet there is also something in its import 
 common to all ages, and which applies to every place 
 in which God is worshipped. It, therefore, forms a 
 proper subject of discourse at this time. 
 
 The blessing here implored is the presence and 
 power of God; and that to be displayed in a house de- 
 voted to his worship. Let us inquire into the nature 
 and the value of this blessing. And while we speak 
 of it, may the great Master of assemblies cause us to 
 experience its blessed reality, to the glory of his holy 
 
 name 
 
 I. The first question which arises is, what is the na- 
 ture of the blessing here implmed? What are we to 
 understand by that presence and power of God, in a 
 house devoted to his worship, which, under the gospel 
 dispensation, we may properly ask and hope to receive.'* 
 
 God is every where present. There is a sense in 
 which, according to the language of the Apostle Paul, 
 in his serjiion at Athens^ He dwelldh not in temples 
 made with hands;—ih'di is, he is not, as the Pagans 
 imagined, concerning their deities, confined to particu- 
 lar buildings or places. All space is his temple. Every 
 
part of the universe is his abode. This most impres- 
 sive, and incomprehensibly glorious doctrine is sug- 
 gested by Solomon in the very prayer of which our text 
 is a part. Will God, in very deed^ he asks, dwetl with 
 man on the earth? Behold, the heaven, and the heaven 
 of heavens cannot, contain thee; hmv much less this house 
 which I have builded! This is the essential presence 
 of God. It is the same at all times, and in all places. 
 It is the same in heaven, earth, and hell, it pervades 
 the universe; supporting, actuating, and controlling all 
 creatures, and all their actions. The Most High can 
 no more cease, for a moment, to be present every 
 where, than he can cease to be God. 
 
 There is another sense in which God was present 
 in certain buildings and places, under the Old Testa- 
 ment dispensation; and which, so far as we know, was 
 confined to that dispensation, I mean the manner in 
 which he was present, and manifested his power at 
 Luz, in the wilderness, when the patriarch Jacob cried 
 out under a sense of it — How dreadful is this place! 
 Surely tlie Lord is in this place! Verily, this is none other 
 than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!* 
 Jehovah was also present, in a similar manner, at the 
 burning bush in Midian, when he appeared and spoke 
 to Moses, and said,-— Pw« off thy shoes from off thy feet, 
 for the place wtmeon thou standeth is Iioly js^round.f 
 Another example of this solemn presence and manifes- 
 tation of the divine glory, was exhibited at mount Sinai, 
 when the people were forbidden to approach the moun- 
 
 * Genesis, xxviii, 16, 17. | Exodus, iii, 5. 
 
8 
 
 tain ou account of it; when thunderings, and lightnings, 
 and earthquake, struck terror into the whole congrega- 
 tion of Israel, and constrained even Moses, with all his 
 piety and heroism, and all his holy familiarity with God, 
 to say — 1 exceedingly fear and quake* And, finally, of 
 this presence and manifestation of the divine glory, we 
 have a signal example in the SJiekinah, or visible token 
 of the majesty of God, which, for ages, appeared over 
 the Mercy Seat, in the Most Holy Place in the Taber- 
 nacle, and afterwards in the Temple. For, although 
 there was considerable diversity of mode in which the 
 divine presence was manifested in each of these seve- 
 ral cases; yet they may all be regarded as coming un- 
 der one general law, as referable to one general class. 
 This may be called the miraculous, or extraordina- 
 ry PRESENCE of God. It was a presence which ad- 
 dressed itself to the external senses. It was visible 
 and audible; and it imparted a relative holiness to the 
 places in which it was manifested. This relative holi- 
 ness, in some cases at least, depended not upon the 
 presence of worshippers. It was adherent, if I may so 
 express it, to the buildings and places themselves. They 
 were, properly speaking — especially those which were 
 last mentioned — ^^consecrated buildings and places. 
 Whether there was a worshipper or not in the Taber- 
 nacle, or in the Temple, still the Shekinah, or visible 
 glory of God, overspread the Mercy Seatj and any one 
 who profanely entered the sacred apartment, or even 
 glanced an eye, contrary to the divine injunction, on the 
 
 ■Hebrews, xii, 21. 
 
august symbol, was considered as a capital offender 
 against the majesty of heaven, and inevitably perished. 
 
 In this sense, we are not to expect, or to ask, the 
 Most High to dwell in any building, or in any place, 
 under the gospel dispensation. That particular mode 
 of manifesting the divine glory to the Church, was 
 chiefly, if not entirely, confined to the ceremonial 
 economy, and, of course, terminated when that econo- 
 my was abolished. 
 
 But there is a third sense, in which God may be 
 said to be present, in those places or buildings which 
 are devoted to his worship. I refer to his spiritual 
 and GRACIOUS presence. Jehovah dwells, by the power 
 of the Holy Spirit, in every sanctified heart. Thus saith 
 the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, I dwell 
 in the high and holy place, and with him also that is 
 contrite, and of an humble spint, and that trembkth at 
 my word* And in conformity with this representation, 
 the Apostle Paid says to believers, What, know ye not 
 that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of 
 God dwelleth in you? As God hath said, J will dwell 
 in them, and walk in them, and 1 will be their God, 
 and they shall be my people.] Wherever, then, there 
 is an humble, contrite, believing heart, there Jeho- 
 vah is spiritually and graciously present; present to 
 enlighten, to sanctify, to comfort, and to bless. Wher- 
 ever a sincere and devout worshipper lifts up his soul 
 in faith and love to heaven, whether in the closet or 
 
 * Isaiah, Ivii, 15, Ixvi, 2. J I Cor, iii, 16. II Cor. vi, 16. 
 
 B 
 
10 
 
 in the field; on the trackless ocean or in the lonely 
 desert, he may find and enjoy a present God, In this 
 respect, as was said with regard to his essential pre- 
 sence, God is confined to no times, to no places, to no 
 forms. Wherever there is a holy heart, of whatever 
 kindred or people, or nation, or tongue, He comes in 
 to him, and makes his abode with him. 
 
 But, as Jehovah always has had, and always will 
 have, a respect to his covenant, and will put honour 
 upon the ordinances of his own appointment; so wher- 
 ever his people are assembled for acts of social wor- 
 ship. He has promised to favour them, in a special 
 manner, with his gracious presence: — and, in attending 
 on the ordinances of his house, they are encouraged to 
 expect the divine presence, in a manner which they 
 may not ordinarily hope for in the neglect of these 
 ordinances. Where two oi^ three are gathered together, 
 said the Saviour, in my nanie^ there am I in the midst 
 of them* The Lord, says the Psalmist, loveth the gates 
 of Zion more than all tfie dwellings of Jacob. The 
 Lord hath chosen Zion: He hath desired it for an ha- 
 bitation: this is my rest forever; here will 1 dwell, for I 
 have desired it.j Yes, my Christian friends — in the 
 sanctuary, that is, in the place where the people of God 
 habitually convene, wherever that may be, to hear his 
 holy word, to sing his praise, to pour out the prayer of 
 faith, and to receive the sacramental seal — there, in a 
 special manner, Jehovah, the king of Zion is present 
 
 ' Matt. xviii,20. + Psa. Ixxxvii, <2. Fsa. cxxxii. 13, M 
 
II 
 
 with them: there He accepts both their persons and 
 their offerings: there he manifests himself to them, as 
 he does not to the world: there he draws near to them 
 in mercy, and enables them to draw near to Him in 
 the lively exercise of grace: there He lifts upon them 
 the light of his countenance, and gives them joy and 
 peace in believing: there He brings them into his ban- 
 queting house, and his banner over them is love. 
 
 The foregoing principles and remarks will, I con- 
 ceive, enable us to determine in what sense we are to 
 invoke, and to expect, the presence and the power of 
 God, in places devoted to his worship, under the gospel 
 dispensation, and in what sense we are not. We are 
 not, by any means, as I just intimated, to invoke, or to 
 expect this blessing in the same mode in which it was 
 manifested in a number of cases, under the Mosaic 
 economy, and especially in the tabernacle and temple 
 of old. We are not to invoke or to expect it in any 
 sense which implies either intrinsic or relative holiness 
 in such buildings or places. Intrinsic holiness can be 
 ascribed to nothing but the real, spiritual church, — the 
 body of believers, whom the Redeemer hath purchased 
 with his blood, and sanctified by his Spirit: and relative 
 holiness can be ascribed to nothing but that which is 
 devoted exclusively to holy purposes. The most Holy 
 Place, under the ceremonial economy, could be entered 
 by only one individual of all the nation of Israel, and 
 by him only once a year. And even into the Holy Place 
 none might enter or so much as look, but those who 
 bore the sacerdotal character. But a little reflection 
 
}2 
 
 will convince us that our places of public worship can- 
 not be holy, even in this latter sense, so long as they 
 are open to the worldly as well as the pious; so long 
 as we permit the profane and unbelieving to come and 
 mingle in our assemblies, with the most spiritual and 
 exemplary worshippers. When, therefore, we adopt 
 the prayer of our text in reference to this house, it is 
 not, that its seats and aisles, its columns and arches 
 may have some mysterious sanctity impressed upon 
 them, but that God may be pleased to manifest his 
 spiritual presence — his gracious power to his people, 
 when they shall assemble here from time to time: that 
 here sinners may be convinced and converted, and 
 saints edified and comforted; that here He may bless 
 the provisions of his house, and satisfy his poor mth 
 bread: that here He may clothe his ministers with sal- 
 vation, and cause his saints to shout aloud for joy. And 
 the more frequently and powerfully these manifesta- 
 tions of his gracious, life-giving, and sanctifying in- 
 fluence are enjoyed, the more largely is the blessing 
 implored in our text conferred. 
 
 It was said by the inspired Prophet Haggai, con- 
 cerning the Second Temple, erected by a set of im- 
 poverished returning captives — The glory of this latter 
 lumse shall be greater than the glory of tlie former* 
 What was the Prophet's meaning? The Temple of 
 which this was spoken, was greatly, I had almost said 
 infinitely, inferior to that which Solomon dedicated, 
 
 * Haggai, ii, 9. 
 
13 
 
 when he uttered the words of our text. Inferior in 
 cost, in splendour, in furniture, and in all its outward 
 glories. It even lacked that Ark of Jehovah's strength, 
 which adorued the first edifice, and that Symbol 
 of the divine presence which overspread the Mercy 
 Seat above. Yet still it was really more glorious than 
 the former Temple. Why so? Because it was favoured 
 with the presence of Christ himself, in a sense more 
 truly valuable and glorious than any thing vouchsafed 
 under the ceremonial dispensation. The Redeemer 
 was present personally, and by his blessed spirit in 
 this second Temple: — present in a manner far more 
 adapted to enlighten, to purify, to elevate, and to bless, 
 than that presence which had been the honour of the 
 original structure. And, let me add, that the humblest 
 and meanest edifice which is favoured with the spiri- 
 tual presence of the king of Zion, is, in all cases what- 
 soever, beyond comparison, more glorious than the 
 most magnificent temple, the glories of which are all 
 of the outward and secular kind. 
 
 The primitive Christians, my friends, had no such 
 temples for the worship of God, as that in which we 
 are now assembled. They held their solemn assem- 
 bHes in private houses, — in retired upper chambers, — 
 in cellars,— in caves,— and even in vaults, in which 
 the dead were deposited. It was not, as is generally 
 believed, until some time in the latter half of the third 
 century, that they began to erect houses for the ex- 
 press purpose of public worship. And even these, at 
 first, were of the most plain and simple kind. It was 
 
u 
 
 in^fi mark it well — when the disciples of Christ were 
 
 persecuted on every side, and when they had neither 
 the means nor the privilege of raising those expensive 
 and splendid structures for the worship of God, which 
 afterwards became so common^— it was then that they 
 enjoyed, in a pre-eminent degree, the presence and the 
 gracious power of their ascended Master. It was then 
 that the blessing implored in our text, in its proper 
 gospel sense, was, perhaps, more happily and glorious- 
 ly realized than ever before or since. Yes, brethren, 
 it was in those early times, when the Church had none 
 of that external splendour thrown around her, which 
 dazzles the eyes, and attracts the admiration of the 
 worldly minded; when magnificent temples and rich 
 ecclesiastical endowments were unknown; when all 
 was simple and unostentatious, and humble: — it was 
 THEN, pre-eminently, that the king of Zion dwelt among 
 his people. Then tfie word of the Lord had free course, 
 and was glmified. Then the Churches were huilt up 
 in the most holy faith — and converts, walking in tJie 
 fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, 
 were multiplied. Then, in a word, the Spirit and pre- 
 sence of Christ, dwelling and reigning among his peo- 
 ple, and manifested in all the ordinances of his ap- 
 pointment, and in holy tempers and practice formed 
 the brightest era in the history of the Church. 
 
 But when, in the fourth century, the fires of perse- 
 cution were quenched; when the wealth and grandeur 
 of the world began to take the side of Christianity; 
 when Constantino the great loaded ecclesiastics with 
 
15 
 
 multiplied houours, and lavished his imperial treasures 
 on the erection and endowment of splendid cathedrals; 
 when the ministers of the sanctuary, instead of direct- 
 ing all their attention to the true spiritual interests of 
 the Redeemer's kingdom, began to expend their ener- 
 gies in the pomp and toil of a gaudy ritual, and to ex- 
 ceed Paganism itself, in outward gloryj — then the spirit 
 and power of Christ, in the same proportion, departed 
 from the Church. As the ceremonial of piety increased, 
 the reality of it gradually declined. The more splendid 
 professions and mock consecrations were multiphed, 
 the less power did real holiness maintain over the 
 hearts and lives of men. In short, the more laborious- 
 ly men strove to impart holiness to those things to which 
 it never was, or could be imparted, the more misera- 
 bly did they fail of manifesting it in those things to 
 which it did properly belong, and in which it ought to 
 have been manifested. Hence arose, in this century, 
 for the first time, so far as history informs us, the 
 pompous consecration of churches, with many super- 
 stitious notions relative to their holiness^ and several 
 centuries afterwards, the consecration of church-yards, 
 church bells, and church vessels;— notions and prac- 
 tices which have generally had most stress laid upon 
 them in those churches and times in which the genuine 
 spirit of the gospel had least practical influence. 
 
 I mention these things, my friends, not by any means 
 for the purpose of imputing blame to those who may 
 differ from us in opinion on this subject; but merely to 
 show how prone professing Christians have been, in all 
 
16 
 
 ages, to mistake the real nature of that blessing of which 
 we are speaking, and which it is a part of the appro- 
 priate service of this day to implore. To show that, 
 in fact, where there has been most external magnifi- 
 cence and splendour, most laboured ceremonial, and 
 outward glory, there has commonly been least of that 
 spiritual presence and power of the King of Zion, which 
 is the true happiness and glory of the church. And, 
 on the contrary, that some of those periods which have 
 been most remarkable for affliction and depression, with 
 respect to the external church, have been distinguished 
 by the most signal displays of her Master's power and 
 love; — the word and ordinances have been accompa- 
 nied with a peculiar Divine energy; — vital piety has 
 been more deep and prevalent; the flame of faith, and 
 love, and universal hohness, have risen far higher, and 
 shone with a far brighter lustre than in more externally 
 prosperous seasons. And happy is that church, the 
 members of which, understanding the real nature of 
 the blessing in question, and holding every thing else 
 subordinate to it, cease not to pray for its attainment, 
 and to pursue that humble, spiritual course, which is 
 adapted, under the government of a faithful and prayer- 
 hearing God, to draw it down in its most plenteous 
 effusions! 
 
 Having thus briefly considered the nature of this 
 blessing, let us 
 
 II. Attend to its value. The wise man prays for it 
 as for a most important object; as something which he 
 deemed far more desirable and precious than all the 
 
17 
 
 outward splendour that the wealth and the art of man 
 could confer. 
 
 Need I stop, my friends, to show, by formal reason- 
 ing, that the wise man's estimate of this matter was 
 correct; — that the presence and the gracious power of 
 the great Head of the Church, is the richest, the most 
 precious blessing that any church can receive; — that, 
 however poor and depressed in her external condition, 
 if she be favoured with a large measure of this blessing, 
 she is rich indeed; but that, if she have it not, though 
 loaded with all the wealth, and honours, and outward 
 prosperity that a flattering world can bestow — she is 
 poor and miserable, and would appear so in her own 
 view, if she could see herself in a just light? 
 
 What, let me ask, is the great design of the Church? 
 If it be, indeed, as many seem to imagine, an institu- 
 tion the chief object of which is to polish and adorn 
 the surface of society: — if its grand purpose be mere- 
 ly to furnish objects which shall dazzle the senses, 
 gratify the imagination, cultivate the taste, and soften 
 the manners of men: — if it be intended, in short, to 
 furnish a place for an elegant and entertaining lounge 
 on the Lord's day; to supply on special occasions the 
 pageant of an imposing cerenionial; to seal us with the 
 Christian name, when we enter the world, and to so- 
 lemnize with appropriate exercises our sepulture, when 
 we leave it: — if such be the chief design of the Church 
 — then, indeed, we might suppose, that the greater its 
 external glory, the more perfectly it would answer the 
 great purpose which it was intended to subserve; and 
 C 
 
18 
 
 that nothing else was really essential to the attainment 
 of its highest benefits. 
 
 But if the Church has been established by its all- 
 wise and all-gracious Master, that it may be a nursery 
 for Heaven;— if, to this end, every thing respecting it 
 has been so prescribed by infinite Wisdom and Love, 
 as to render it admirably adapted to become the birth- 
 place of souls; — the means of convincing and convert- 
 ing sinners, and of enlightning and comforting believ- 
 ers; — ifj in a word, the great design of the Church is 
 to be the depository of Jehovah's truth and ordinances; 
 — to bear witness to his Gospel and his glory, before 
 an unbelieving world; — and to become the means of 
 sanctifying the hearts and lives of men, and thus pre- 
 paring them to be happy members of the society of their 
 i'ellow men, in this world, and above all to be parta- 
 kers of the holy joys of his presence in the world to 
 come: — if such be the great design of the Church; the 
 great purpose for which it was originally founded, and 
 for which it is still preserved and supported; — then, 
 surely, the gracious presence, the sanctifying power of 
 Christ, is the most invaluable blessing that can be con- 
 ferred on the church at large, or on any particular 
 "branch of it. It is the grand blessing which the friends 
 of Zion ought to desire above all others, and for which 
 they are bound to labour and pray without ceasing. 
 
 It is only so far as the gracious presence and bless- 
 ing of Christ are vouchsafed to his church; — it is only 
 so far as the King of Zion condescends to come and 
 dwell in it, with the " ark of his strength,*' that any 
 
19 
 
 real spiritual benefits are enjoyed by his people. With- 
 out his gracious presence, there is no true spiritual 
 worship, no profitable hearing of the word, no real 
 benefit in ordinances. We may write upon them all — 
 Ichabnd — for the glory is departed/ But when the King 
 comes, in the power of his grace and love, into those 
 places in which his name is recorded, — then his. 
 Word is quick and powerful, — religion is revived, — 
 times of refreshing come; — many hear the voice of 
 the Son of God, and they that hear are made to live; 
 multitudes are seen asking the way to Zion, ivith their 
 faces thitherward, and saying — Come let us join our^ 
 selves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant never to he 
 forgotten. 
 
 Further; it is the gracious presence and blessing of 
 Christ which renders the service of the sanctuary de- 
 Ughtful, as well as beneficial to his people. Without 
 this blessing, all is dull and comfortless; but with it, all 
 is light, and peace and joy. When this is enjoyed, and 
 then only, the pious can say, with experimental plea- 
 sure, How amiable are thy tabernacles, fjord of Hosts! 
 Jl day in thy courts is better than a thousand. My 
 soul thirsteth, yea even longeth,for the courts of the Lord. 
 My soul is salisfi£d as with manow and fatness. I sot 
 down under his shadow ivith delight, and his fruit was 
 sweet to my taste. 
 
 In short, what the light and genial warmth of the 
 sun are to the natural world, that, and unspeakably 
 more, is the presence of Christ with his Church and 
 people. It brings life, and growth, and fruitfulness, 
 
50 
 
 wherever, and in proportion to the degree in which it 
 is conferred. It quickens the spiritually dead; — warms 
 and excites to activity the cold and ice-bound believer; 
 and causes fruit to abound where all had been bar- 
 renness and sterility before. What is hell, but being 
 banished forever /rom the presence of the Lord, atui 
 from the glory of his potver? And what is heaven, 
 and the heaven of heavens, but the uninterrupted and 
 everlasting enjoyment of Him whose favour is life, and 
 whose loving kindness is better than life? What is the 
 essence of the celestial blessedness, but enjoying 
 without a cloud, and without measure, that gracious 
 presence of God which is vouchsafed in a degree when- 
 ever a soul dead in trespasses and sins, is raised to 
 newness of life, or a child of God JUled with joy and 
 peace in believing? I shall be satisfied, says one, when 
 I awake with thy likeness. In thy presence is fulness 
 of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures forever 
 more* 
 
 Permit me, now, brethren, to employ the foregoing 
 illustration of the text for the purpose of enforcing 
 several practical considerations, which appear to be 
 suggested by what has been said, and by the solemni- 
 ties of this day. 
 
 I. And the first practical lesson which our sub- 
 ject suggests is, that professing Christians are every 
 where bound, as far as possible, to provide them- 
 selves WITH COMMODIOUS AND COMFORTABLE HOUSES 
 FOR THE PURPOSE OF WORSHIPPING GOD. W C are not 
 
 Psa. xvji. J 5. xvi- 11. 
 
21 
 
 indeed, bound, nay, I think, we are not at liberty, un- 
 der the simple spiritual dispensation in which our lot 
 is cast, to emulate, even if it were in our power, the 
 splendour or expense of the Old Testament Temple. 
 The unrivalled richness and glory of that wonderful 
 edifice, were intended to answer great typical and 
 ceremonial purposes, which called for every thing that 
 was bestowed upon it. But the same thing, I appre- 
 hend, would not be lawful, without a special divine 
 warrant, under the present dispensation. To expend 
 millions upon a single place of worship now, while 
 thousands of poor around us are suffering for bread, 
 and while a great majority of our race are still co- 
 vered with Pagan darkness, and perishing for lack of 
 knowledge, — appears so unreasonable and criminal, 
 that I hope we are in no danger of going to that ex- 
 treme. But another, and perhaps, a much more com- 
 mon extreme, especially in our church, taken at large, 
 is, contenting ourselves with nnean and uncomfortable 
 houses in which to worship God. Nay, it is not very 
 uncommon, in some districts, for a number of the opu- 
 lent members of our truly primitive and apostolical 
 Church, to dwell themselves in ceiled houses, while tfic 
 house of God lies^ comparatively, ivaste. This, I will 
 venture to say, is both disreputable and criminal. We 
 ought always to be ready to serve God with the best 
 THAT WE POSSESS. No worshippcr ought ever to be 
 willing to live in a better house than that which he, with 
 others, has devoted to his Maker and Kedeemer. - And 
 while, on the one hand, that splendour and magnificence 
 
22 
 
 of architecture, which is adapted to arrest and occupy 
 the mind, and to draw it away from spiritual objects, 
 ought carefully to be avoided; and avoided, not merely 
 on the score of expensey but of christian edification; 
 so, on the other hand, that simple tasteful elegance, on 
 which the eye is apt to rest with composed satisfaction; 
 that studious provision for perfect convenience and 
 comfort, which is calculated to place every worship- 
 per in circumstances favourable to tranquil, undivided 
 and devout attention, ought to be always and carefully 
 consulted by every congregation, thatisobie to accom- 
 plish what is desirable in these respects.* And per- 
 
 * May it not be questioned, whether the principles which ought to 
 regulate our conduct in relation to this subject, have been at all times 
 duly regarded? It is a law of our mental, as well as of our physical na- 
 ture, that two classes of emotions cannot be in a high, certainly not in a 
 governing, degree of exercise at the same time. Whenever, therefore, 
 we assemble for the worship of God in situations in which we are con- 
 stantly surrounded and addressed by the most exquisite productions of art, 
 which arrest and engross the mind, we are, plainly, not in circumstances 
 favourable to true spiritual worship. Would any rational man expect to 
 find himself really devout in St. Peter^s, at Rome, even if the most scrip- 
 tural service were performed within its walls, until he should have become 
 so familiar wiih the unrivalled specimens of taste and grandeur around 
 him, as to forget or cease to feel them? Or, would any one be likely to 
 " make melody in his heart to the Lord," while the most skillful and 
 touching refinements of music saluted and ravished his ears? Thrilled 
 and transported be might be; but it would rather be the transport of 
 natural taste, than the heavenliness of spiritual devotion. There never 
 was a sounder maxim than that delivered in the plain and homely, but 
 forcible language of the celebrated Mr. Poole, the learned compiler of 
 the Synopsis Criticorum, so well known throughout the Christian world, 
 in the Preface to a Sermon, entitled " Evangelical Obedience," and 
 pleached before the Lord Mayor of London, in 1660. Amidst much 
 •ther excellent matter, the author observes--" the more inveiglements 
 
23 
 
 haps it may not be improper to add, that all this is, in 
 my judgment, peculiarly important in great cities, 
 where the point of taste is more generally consulted, 
 and where the style and magnitude of surrounding ob- 
 jects seem to demand more attention to appearances, 
 than may be absolutely necessary, or even truly useful, 
 in a different situation. 
 
 You have, therefore, in my opinion, acted wisely, 
 my Friends, in the erection of this Edifice. It was 
 a measure which you owed to yourselves, to your chil- 
 dren, and to the Church of God. Some of you have 
 already vested, and others will vest, no small amount 
 of property here. I pray you grudge not the investment. 
 Perhaps it will prove to be the best part of your estate. 
 It certainly will prove to be so, if you honestly desire 
 and implore that blessing from the king of Zion of 
 
 there are to sense, the more disadvantage to the spirit." No one, of 
 course, will consider this maxim as intended to teach, that, in order to 
 promote the spirit of true devotion, it is necessary or desirable to be 
 surrounded with that which is mean, irregular, or disgusting to the mind 
 of taste. On the contrary, the fact is, that such mean and disgusting 
 objects tend to arrest and draw away the mind in an opposite and pain- 
 ful manner; and are thus, perhaps, with respect to many persons, quite 
 as unfriendly to the exercises of calm piety, as the utmost fascinations 
 of art can be. The obvious inference from the whole, then, is, that, 
 for the house of God no style of architecture or of music is so favoura- 
 ble to the most elevated exercises of pious affection, as that simple, cor- 
 rect, tasteful style, on which the mind rests with tranquil, composed 
 gratification, without being either painfully occupied with emotions of 
 disgust, or captivated and borne away by those of sensitive pleasure. 
 The happy medium, in this, as in most things, is conducive to the high- 
 est degree of edification: while all short of it, and all beyond it, will 
 seldom fail of proving injurious, 
 
24 
 
 which we have been speaking. And, at any rate, if. 
 by aiding to erect such a temple to the Uving God, as 
 will be likely to attract and fix within the sound of the 
 Gospel, many a wavering family or individual, you are 
 made instrumental in conferring benefits, inconceivably 
 precious in their nature, and endless in their duration, 
 on many immortal souls, think you that you will ever 
 regret the expenditure? No, my friends, rather will 
 you have reason to rejoice in it more and more for- 
 ever! 
 2. The spirit of our text seems evidently to intimate, 
 
 that THE PRACTICE OF OPENING HOUSES OP PUBLIC WOR- 
 SHIP WITH APPROPRIATE RELIGIOUS EXERCISES, IS A RA- 
 TIONAL AND LAUDABLE CUSTOM. 
 
 I am no friend, my respected hearers, to many of 
 those ideas, in relation to this subject, which have had 
 much currency among serious people, in different ages, 
 and which are now received by no small portion of the 
 community; as if, by the solemnities which attend the 
 first opening of a church for public worship, it became, 
 properly, a consecrated building; in other words, as if 
 there were a kind of inherent sanctity imparted to the 
 edifice itself; a sanctity which communicated some 
 mysterious efficacy to the religious services per- 
 formed within its walls. I know of nothing, either 
 in scripture, or in the records of the primitive church, 
 which gives the smallest countenance to ideas of this 
 kind. I know of no warrant, as 1 before intimated, 
 for believing that holiness can be imparted to the walls, 
 or arches, or seats, within which we assemble to wor- 
 
25 
 
 ship God. And when we recollect the mischievous 
 superstitions, and delusive hopes which have been so 
 extensively generated, in all ages, by the doctrine in 
 question, it surely cannot be considered as a very pro- 
 fitable, or even innocent doctrine. 
 
 But, in receding from an errror on this side, let us 
 not fall into one on the other. Because the iJea of 
 " consecrating a church," as that phrase is commonly 
 understood, is really objectionable; because we cannot 
 conceive of holiness, strictly speaking, being imparted 
 to a material building-, — let us not imagine that there 
 is any thing, either unscriptural or unreasonable, in 
 entering on the occupancy of a house intended for 
 public worship, with appropriate exercises of religion, 
 and, by these exercises, solemnly devoting or dedicat- 
 ing it to God. Is it unreasonable or unscriptural, when 
 we com.mence the puhhc occupation of such a house, 
 to thank God for the power and the privilege of erect- 
 ing it.'' Is it unreasonable or unscriptural to pray, that 
 his blessing may rest upon the erection of it; — that he 
 may meet his people there, from time to -time, with 
 the manifestations of his grace and his love;— and that 
 his word preached, and his ordinances administered 
 there, may be attended ivith power from on high? Is 
 it unreasonable or unscriptural to begin by imploring 
 from Him who has all hearts in his hands, that a building 
 erected for his service, may, as long as^ it shall stand, 
 be devoted to his glory; — that no false doctrine may ever 
 be proclaimed, or criminal practice ever recommended 
 within its walls;— and that it may always be the resort 
 D 
 
V 
 
 26 
 
 of spiritual worshippers, and the scene of glorious tri- 
 umphs over sin and satan ? No, my friends, 1 must 
 believe that this is all rational and scriptural. Nay, 
 ullovv me to ask — does any Christian dare to enter on 
 the occupancy of a house of any kind, as the residence 
 of HIMSELF or his FAMILY, without beginning that oc- 
 cupancy with fervent prayer for a blessing upon it; 
 without asking the God of all grace to smile upon his 
 residence in it, and to make it, in the best sense, a 
 place of comfort and prosperity to him and his-, without 
 in fact, in a sense, dedicating it to God? I say, does 
 any Christian dare to enter on the occupancy of any 
 HOUSE without this? 1 hope not. And if not, can he 
 give vent to the best feelings of his heart, if he open 
 the doors, and enter the seats of the House of God> 
 without exercises of a similar kind, but, of course, more 
 pubhc, more formal, and, therefore, more solemn? 
 
 Accordingly, it has been customary, I believe, in all 
 ages, in which the people of God were allowed and 
 were able to erect houses for his stated worship, to 
 open then* with appropriate exercises of religion. It 
 would seem, indeed, to be a dictate of nature, and to 
 be no less countenanced by the word of God. That it 
 is a practice liable to abuse, is no valid objection to its 
 proper and enlightened use. Intelligent christians can 
 easily distinguish between entering on the occupancy 
 of a place of worship in the fear of God, and with a 
 suitable acknowledgment of God; and cherishing those 
 superstitious sentiments, and adopting those supersti- 
 tious lorms, in relation to this subject, which may be 
 
y 
 
 21 
 
 attached to any thing, and which few of the institutions 
 of religion, however precious, have entirely escaped in 
 certain periods and portions of the church. 
 
 3. Againj it appears to me to follow, from what has 
 been said, that after a house erected for the worship 
 of God, has been solemnly set apart for that purpose, 
 
 rr IS NOT DESIRABLE OR PROPER, IN ORDINARY CASES, 
 TO EMPLOY IT FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE. 
 
 Although neither intrinsic holiness, nor relative ho- 
 liness can, properly speaking, be ascribed to the build- 
 ings or places in which God is worshipped, but only 
 to the worshippers themselves: — although there are no 
 buildings or places known to me, under the present 
 dispensation, into which, like the Holy Place, or the 
 Most Holy Place, in ancient times, it is lawful for none 
 but consecrated persons ever to enter: — yet we are 
 by no means, ! think, to infer from this, that there are 
 no sentiments of reverence and solemnity which 
 ought ALWAYS to be connected with those places in 
 which holy services are statedly performed. There is, 
 my friends, a principle deeply implanted in qur nature, 
 which we commonly denominate the principle of as- 
 sociation. This principle will always lead serious, de- 
 vout minds to connect feelings of reverence with an 
 edifice in which the people of God statedly meet for 
 pubhc worship. They will always enter with mingled 
 emotions of solemnity and pleasure, within those Walls 
 which have long and often resounded with the glad tid- 
 ings of salvation: — they will contemplate with delight 
 those Seats in which the pious have often found com- 
 
28 
 
 munion with their God and Saviour; and they will 
 look with sentiments of sacred veneration toward that 
 Pulpit from which they have statedly heard the instruc- 
 tions and consolations of Divine mercy. Are these feel- 
 ings superstitious? Are they to be proscribed? Far, 
 very far from it! They are natural; they are com- 
 mendable; they are scriptural feelings. They ought 
 unquestionably to be cherished. Nay, I will venture 
 to say, that the person who can enter a church without 
 experiencing any of the devout and reverential emo- 
 tions to which I have refeured, has not in exercise the 
 proper feelings of a man, certainly not those which 
 become a christian man. 
 
 Now, when houses devoted to the worship of God 
 are frequently, or even occasionally, employed for other 
 and secular purposes, and especially for purposes con- 
 nected with noise, disorder, and unhallowed mirth, 
 the effect cannot fail of being unhappy. It breaks that 
 devout, reverential association of which I have just 
 spoken. It connects ludicrous images and recollections 
 with the Iwuse of God. It takes away from the affec- 
 tionate respect and awe with which it is always de- 
 sirable to enter the sanctuary. And it will be well if, 
 the next time it is entered, after such an incongruous 
 scene, there be not a struggle before the mind can re- 
 sume its wonted tranquil devotion. Would any good 
 man, who was at the same time a wise and prudent 
 one, be willing that the closet, to which he was accus- 
 tomed daily to retire for secret devotion, should be fre- 
 quently employed for purposes which, so far as he 
 
29 
 
 thought of them, were calculated to disturb or banibh 
 every devout feeling? Surely I need not wait for an 
 answer. 
 
 Guard, then, against every thing of this kind as far 
 as possible. There are obstacles enough to a spirit of 
 elevated devotion in the house of God, without unne- 
 cessarily adding to their number. Let nothing ever 
 enter these walls, if you can possibly exclude it, that 
 tends to inspire levity, to pollute the imagination, or 
 to give you pain in recollecting it, when you afterwards 
 come to worship God. Let nothing be exhibited here, 
 which will render it difficult for you or your children, 
 when you tread these courts, to feel as if you were 
 withdrawn from the world. Let nothing, in a word, be 
 transacted here, but what has a tendency to compose 
 and spiritualize the mind, and to raise it from earth to 
 heaven. 
 
 4. Finally, my friends, from what has been said, it 
 appears, that the object of your most earnest and ten- 
 der entreaty, this day, and at all times, ought to be, 
 THAT God may here be pleased graciously and 
 
 LIBERALLY TO DISPENSE HIS SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS. 
 
 Methinks the great Head of the church, to-day, ad- 
 dresses every devout worshipper who has an interest 
 in this Edifice, in the language which an eastern mo- 
 narch addressed to his beloved companion, as recorded 
 iti the sacred history, — What is thy petition, and what 
 is thy request? — Happy will it be for this church of 
 Christ, if the hearts of all are united as one "man in 
 replying — JVoio^, therefore^ ari^e, Lord God, into thy 
 
^30 
 
 resting place, thou and tJie ark of thy strength! While 
 you are thankful that the Lord has prospered you thus 
 far, imagine not that your work is done, when the 
 House which you have raised for God, is opened and 
 dedicated to Him. Your work, in fact, in reference to 
 this Sanctuary, is only now begun. Let it be your 
 care, not only once, but constantly and perseveringly, 
 to implore that spiritual presence of the King of Zion, 
 which is the richest of all blessings that can be con- 
 ferred on a Church, and which alone can render this 
 edifice, and the occupancy of it by you and your chil- 
 dren the means of real and lasting benefit. 
 
 Do you ask, hoiv you are so to conduct yourselves as 
 to invite, from time to time, this invaluable blessing? 
 I answer — Besides continually asking for it, in humble, 
 unceasing, persevering prayer; — let a diligent discharge 
 of duty constantly testify that you really desire to ob- 
 tain it. See that every thing be done for the welfare of 
 the church which fidelity to our common Master re- 
 quires. Study, at all times, to cooperate with your be- 
 loved Pastor in promoting your own best interests. 
 While he preaches the Gospel with faithfulness and . 
 zeal, and dispenses the sacramental seals committed 
 to him, with an enlightened fidelity; be it your care, 
 my friends, to attend upon all his ministrations with 
 punctuality, with meekness, and with love; to support 
 him continually by your prayers; to encourage the 
 hearts, and strengthen the hands of him and your other 
 ecclesiastical Rulers, in the maintenance of discipline; 
 to stimulate one another to every good word and work; 
 
31 
 
 and, in one word, to endeavour, by all the means which 
 the Head of the Church has appointed, to draw down 
 the blessing of God upon your solemn assembhes, and 
 upon all the individuals who compose them. 
 
 If ever the time should come in which the simple and 
 pure doctrines of the gospel shall be either corrupted 
 or kept back, by those who minister here in holy things: 
 — if the divine glories, the vicarious atonement, or the 
 justifying merits of the " Lord that bought us," shall 
 ever be denied by those who occupy this pulpit: — if 
 the Sacraments of Christ's house shall ever be habitu- 
 ally neglected or profaned within these walls: — or if 
 the body of worshippers shall ever become cold, pray- 
 erless, and secular in their character: — whatever out- 
 ward glory may continue to surround this House, I 
 proclaim to you this day, that the Lord will depart 
 from it, and that the, Ark of his strength will no more 
 display its power here. 
 
 God grant, my friends, that the blessed reverse of all 
 this may be your happy lot, to the latest generations! 
 Peace be within these ivalls, and prosperity within these 
 palaces! May you, and your children, and your chil- 
 dren's children, long come to this house of God, and 
 never come to it without a blessing! As the external 
 glory of this latter house is greater thdiU the glory of the 
 former occupied by you, may the latter, in spiritual 
 GLORY still more eminently excel the former! May the 
 eye of Jehovah be ever open upon it, and his ear be 
 ever attent unto the prayer that may here be offer- 
 ed up! May the word and ordinances here dispensed, 
 
32 
 
 from sabbath to sabbath, be attended with power from 
 on high! May this devoted edifice, as long as it shall 
 stand, be a means of Christian sanctification, a seat of 
 Christian enjoyment, and a center of Christian action! 
 May revival after revival fill it with devout and holy 
 worshippers! And when they shall successively take 
 leave of it, may it be to enter a House of infinitely 
 greater glory; a House not made with hands, eternal 
 in the heavens! — Amen, and Amen' 
 
's^*-^^*^,<>i^