consists, that we should familiarise our minds with the evidences of its existence, and, above all, that we should regard our own spiritual state as unsafe and doubtful, unless love to the house of God is a pervading element of our character.

Suffer the writer, then, to invite the serious attention of his readers to the object, reasons, and evidences, of this vital and influential affection. And,

I. The OBJECT of this affection is the house of the Lord. "I have loved the habitation of thy house."

That God is a Spirit, and can only be worshipped in spirit and in truth, are doctrines which cannot be too solemnly impressed upon the human conscience. The belief and feeling of these doctrines will prevent us from sensualising and localising the great object of worship; and will, at the same time, preserve us from that spirit of formalism and hypocrisy upon which the Most High has pronounced the heaviest censures of his word.

It is no infringement, however, of the doctrine of the spirituality of the Divine Being, to think of him as having always manifested himself to his feeble, dependant, and fallen creatures, in a way adapt ed to their limited faculties. Though it be true that "he dwelleth not in temples made with hands," so as to be restricted in his presence, or limited in his operations; yet there is a sense in which the eternal and ineffable Mind has dwelt with men upon earth. Though the heaven, and heaven of heavens, cannot contain him, and though he may challenge all the sons of men, and say, "What house will ye build for me?" yet his words to Moses, in the mount that burned with fire, can never fail to be realised while our world stands.

In

all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee."

The tabernacle of witness; the temple of Solomon; the ministering priesthood; the altar of burnt-offering; the sacrifices, oblations, and divers washings of the ceremonial law; the ark, the mercyseat, and the shekinah of glory, were all but so many memorials of the grand and vital truth, that God will in very deed dwell with them upon earth;-so dwell with men as to make known his adorable nature and perfections,-stoop to receive their homage and accept their praise,-give forth the tokens of his immediate approbation,—and impart the consciousness, to every spiritual worship

per, of the most exalted, endearing, and sanctifying fellowship.

God did dwell with his ancient church in the wilderness, and in the promised land; but we must never forget that this act of ineffable condescension and grace was mainly connected with that display of himself to his chosen people which he vouchsafed in the mystic symbols of the tabernacle and the temple. His house was emphatically the scene of his most gracious manifestations; there he gave forth his law; there he caused his name continually to be recorded; there he listened to the united prayers of the assembled tribes; there the mystic fires of the altar continued to burn day and night; there ministering Priests and Levites performed their perpetual round of service; there the great festivals and memorials of the nation were solemnized; there the high priest entered, once a year, into the most holy place, with the blood of atonement; and there, too, did he come forth to bless the people who waited to receive his official and significant benediction.

And was not all this, while it contained in it the means and instruments of present intercourse with God, a shadow of good things to come? Assuredly it was. And what are the good things of which it was the shadow? Where, under the present dispensation, when these symbols are all withdrawn, are we to look for the great realities which they were intended to shadow forth? Is there not a sense in which we are still to search for them in the house of our God? It is true, indeed, that the mysteries of redemption, by the sin-atoning Lamb, are the grand antitypes of that ritual service which obtained for so many ages under a former economy; but where are we to learn these mysteries of the cross, but in those hallowed scenes where the living teacher stands up to unfold the lessons of the New Testament church, and of which the omnipresent Redeemer speaks, when he says, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." In the highest sense, indeed, the true members of the spiritual church "are the temple of the living God;" of whom God says, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people :" but there is a sense, and that a most important one, in which the place of Christian assembly is still to be regarded as the

house of the Lord. True, indeed, in such hallowed spots, we have no burdensome ritual to be performed by the offices of a Levitical priesthood; but we have a "royal priesthood" still to "offer up the sacrifices of praise to God continually; that is, the fruit of their lips giving thanks to his name." We have no blood of bulls and of goats to pour out upon the altar of sacrifice; but we draw near to God by that one offering by which our great High Priest hath for ever perfected them that are sanctified. The cloud of glory, the mercy-seat, and the ark, are no more to be seen in our places of solemn assembly; but in the promised and vouchsafed presence of our divine Redeemer, we have more than all that these mysteries contained. We have no train of priests, of Aaron's line, ministering to us by day and by night; but we have "pastors and teachers in the midst of us, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." We have no bloody rite of circumcision to initiate us into the fellowship of the New Testament church; but we have the washing of baptismal water, to signify the renewal of the Holy Ghost, and the remission of sin by the blood of Jesus. We have no passover feast, in memory of the deliverance from Egyptian bondage; but "Christ our passover is slain for us," and we are to "keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." The habitation, or dwelling-place of the Lord, then, is still in the midst of us. We recognise it in the house of devout assembly, in the scene of fervent, united prayer; in the temple, where swells the loud anthem of praise; in the place of Christian instruction; in the hallowed enclosure, where the meek and penitent disciples of the cross commemorate the love of their dying Lord. Yes, Christian friends, this sacred scene, wherever realised,-whether on the mountain's brow, or in the valley's depth,whether in the royal palace, or in the humble cottage,-whether in the Gothic temple, or in the unpretending meetinghouse is the habitation or dwellingplace of the Most High. We have no notions of sacerdotal benediction incon

sistent with the great canon of the New Testament, that "in every place we may lift up holy hands to God, without wrath or doubting;" and we have something less than faith in pompous rites of consecration, when every thing is to be "sanctified by the word of God and by prayer." But we can have no objection to that feeling-nay, we must greatly applaud and commend it-which would hallow every association connected with the Christian sanctuary; and which would look on it, in its appendages of worship, instruction, and sacramental service, as "the house of God, and the gate of heaven."

Such, then, is the object of that devout affection which the Psalmist expresses in the text; it is "the habitation of God's house, and the place wherein his honour dwelleth."

II. We may glance at the REASONS which would warrant this affection.

This is both a wide and inviting field; in exploring which, it will be no easy task to determine where to commence and where to terminate our inquiries. Could we collect the testimony of the members of the true church, on earth and in heaven, on the question, "Why have your hearts glowed with love to the house of God?" what a profoundly interesting record would it present! Could the myriads who have proved by experience the value of God's house, be permitted to stand in the midst of our Christian assemblies, and to unfold their multiplied and powerful grounds of attachment, oh what a scene of tears and joy would instantly ensue! Christians, can you be at any loss to determine why you love the habitation of God's house, and the place where his honour dwelleth? Surely a thousand tender emotions rush into your minds, while you call to remembrance God's ways in the sanctuary, and think of the well-springs of life and refreshment which there have opened upon your parched and dying souls. Think of it as the signal of appointed intercourse with heaven, as the place for publishing God's counsel to the children of men, as the scene of the conversion of sinners, as the field of Christian culture and Christian progress; and while you meditate on these thoughts, say with David, "I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth."

1. Think of it as the signal of appointed intercourse with Heaven,

The habitation of God's house is emphatically and pre-eminently the scene of devotion and prayer. It is of the Gospel church that the prophet Isaiah speaks, when he says, "Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all flesh." The first assemblies of Christians" continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers." Every sanctuary erected in our land, under a directly Christian influence, is an act of professed homage to Jehovah as the hearer of prayer, as well as a practical invitation to the surrounding population, to repair in humble adoration to the footstool of the Divine throne.

The offices of prayer, as connected with the house of God, are among the richest benefits it entails upon an undevout and thoughtless generation. These offices ought ever to be performed with the utmost reverence and solemnity; with a brevity and point calculated to awaken the energies of conscience; with scriptural simplicity and fervour; with a comprehensiveness embracing the several varieties of human necessity; with an evangelical ardour, distinguishing them from the effusions of a subtle and refined pharisaism; with an humble and uniformly expressed dependence upon the spirit of grace and supplication; and with the most hearty and unequivocal recognition of the offices of the Divine Mediator, who stands before the golden altar of heaven, and perfumes the offerings of his people with the incense of his own all-perfect oblation.

When the prayers of the sanctuary are what they ought to be, in matter, and manner, and spirit; when the officiating minister is indeed a wrestler with the Angel of the covenant; when the several cases of guilt, and misery, and temptation, and woe, are included in the devotional engagements of the house of God, what an inestimable blessing do they confer upon thousands of the children of men! How many have thus been introduced to the life of prayer; how many have thus been taught to worship God in spirit and in truth; how many have thus been elevated from the form to the power of godliness; how many have thus been relieved from the pressure of intolerable guilt; how many have thus been taught to take their harps from the willows, and to sing the Lord's song, even in a strange land; how many have thus been constrained to

take up the words of the Christian poet, and to sing with their whole hearts,—

"Great is the Lord our God,

And let his praise be great;
He makes his churches his abode,
His most delightful seat.
"These temples of his grace,

How beautiful they stand!
The honours of our native place,
And bulwarks of our land."

And while speaking on prayer, shall I omit to urge an earnest plea on behalf of those social meetings for devotion, which are the strength and ornaments of our Christian sanctuaries? Who ever devoted himself with earnestness to the maintenance of these institutions, without feeling his love to the house of God thereby increased? They are essential aids to the ministry of the word; they tend most powerfully to promote the love and unity of Christ's Church; they draw down a blessing upon a preached Gospel; they comfort and refresh the hearts of faithful ministers, and devout Christians; they are indispensable to the individual and social piety of every Christian church; they have the express sanction of Christ, who has said, that "if two shall agree on earth, as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." In one word, the prayer-meeting is the pulse by whose movements we may determine the real amount of spiritual life and vigour in any particular church.

2. Think of the house of God as the place for publishing God's counsels to the children of men.

If the simple Gospel, as proclaimed by inspired apostles, is not the staple commodity of the Christian pulpit, it is a curse and not a blessing to the surrounding population. "The priests' lips are to keep knowledge, and the people are to receive the law of God at their mouth." But oh how dire the calamity, if he who undertakes to teach others the way of the Lord, is himself untaught of God. "If we," said Paul, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.' Blessed be God, amidst all the infirmities which yet cling to the congregational churches of this land, the blight of error is not upon them. But, Oh, dear brethren, let us not be content with this; let us seek to baptise

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our ministry with more of the life and spirit of vital godliness; let the trumpet not only cease to give an uncertain sound, but let it wax louder and louder in summoning the Lord's hosts to battle against the common foe; let there be a greater intensity in our ministrations of Gospel truth, a simpler appeal to the human conscience, a more continual reference to first principles, a greater singleness of aim, and a greater fervour of love.

Who can estimate the benefits arising from the multiplication of Christian temples, if they are all to re-echo the praises of God, to be filled with the spirit of prayer, and to be faithful witnesses to the doctrine of salvation by a crucified Redeemer. Nothing, O nothing, but "the sincere milk of the word," nothing but the words of sound doctrine, nothing but the simple appeals of Divine truth, which melted the hearts of thousands on the day of Pentecost, will nourish souls for glory and immortality. It is not a diluted, but a full Gospel, that we want to tell upon the carelessness and vice of our teeming population. We want the seraphic spirit of another Whitefield; we want the flaming zeal of another Wesley; we want more of that bold and daring enterprise which will constantly be sallying forth in some new form of assault on the powers of darkness; we want men who will know how wisely and successfully to innovate upon established usage, yet abiding firm by the doctrine of Christ, and walking continually in the spirit of love.

When we think of the house of God as the theatre of Christ's Gospel, from which the voice of his saving truth is issuing forth in a thousand directions, on every day of sacred rest, spreading health, and peace, and salvation amongst the habitations of miserable and sinstricken men, how can we do otherwise than add our testimony to that of David, -"I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth."

3. Think of the house of God as the scene of the conversion of souls.

Oh it is the thought of souls born to God, which renders indelible the impression of veneration and love for the Chris

tian sanctuary. There," says the brand plucked from the everlasting burnings, "in that very pew God met with me, and made his word quick and powerful to the conviction and conver

sion of my poor, miserable, and benighted soul: it was the voice of a fellowcreature, a man of like passions with myself,' that addressed me; but it was the power of God that subdued my stubborn will, slew the enmity of my unbelieving heart, and brought me a willing captive, an humble disciple, to the feet of Jesus."

How awful-how imperishably sacred is the house of God, considered as the scene of the conversion of lost but undying souls! In a few years, where the Gospel is faithfully preached, every pew, every individual sitting, becomes a link of most hallowed association. Thereand there and there, sat blooming youth, or active manhood, or tottering age, subdued by the mighty power of Christ, and translated into the glorious liberty of the children of God. There once sat, with fixed eye, and melting heart, the meek disciple, who, like Mary, sat at Jesus' feet, but she is now a spirit of light before the throne. And there, too, is a signal trophy of Divine grace a miracle of God's mercy-a child of fashion, and folly, and selfrighteous pride, brought to forsake all, and to follow Christ! There sits a prodigal reclaimed; there an Ishmael lives before the Lord; there is a drunkard made sober; a covetous man made liberal; an unchaste man made pure; a passionate man breathing the meekness and gentleness of Christ; a discontented man, saying with Paul, "I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content." Oh I envy not the man who can think of all this, and feel uninterested in the sanctuary. If there was not a scene in which God met with the patriarchs in days of old, in which they did not set up some stone or some altar of remembrance, shall we look around us on the place of our Christian solemnities, and think of this man and that man born to God, and not be urged to exclaim, "I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth." Most of all, shall we feel that the sanctuary has been the spiritual birth-place of our own immortal spirits; shall we think of the day, or the hour, or the particular manner in which God met with us, and not be drawn with exquisite tenderness of mental association to the place where first we heard words whereby we were saved? It cannot be. The day, the hour, the place, the people, the minister of truth, will

be invested with deepest interest, while we recur, with every fresh wonder and delight, to an event, the tidings of which angels did not disdain to carry, with rapturous emotion, "to the general assembly and church of the first-born which are written in heaven."

4. Think, finally, of the house of God as the field of Christian culture, and Christian progress.

"Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing, to show that the Lord is upright, and there is no unrighteousness in him." God first plants men in his house, roots them in the soil of the church, and then he provides for their growth in grace; that they may go from strength to strength, till every one of them appears in Zion before God. And shall it be said that we have no fixed or ardent attachment to the scene of our spiritual culture? Surely it cannot be, unless it shall be proved that religion is a less grateful thing than any of our mere natural affections. "One thing,' said David, "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." "How amiable," said he, "are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." Such was his love to God's house, that, when banished from its sacred ordinances, he envied the little birds that built their nests near to the altar of his God. 66 Blessed," said he, "are they that dwell in thy house; they will be still praising thee." And again, "A day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness."

Oh how unutterably sacred is the spot where God continually meets with us in the displays of his love and mercy! There, as the good and gracious Shepherd, "he maketh us to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth us beside the still waters; he restoreth our souls; he leadeth us in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." There he revives us when we are drooping, comforts us when we are sorrowful, upholds us when we are weak and ready to faint, succours us when we are tempted, stimulates us

when we are languid, reclaims us when we are wandering. There he opens springs of refreshment for us in the desert; causes the spiritual manna to fall around our tabernacle; makes the pillar and cloud to go before us; sends the Angel of his presence to cheer our wilderness journey; opens Pisgah views of the promised land to our admiring eyes; and reveals the King, the Lord of hosts, in his beauty, as the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely.

What privileges, O Christian, are these! and who that reflects on them is not ready to break forth in rapture, with the sweet singer of our British Israel, as he paraphrases one of the inspired odes of the son of Jesse :

"Lord, 'tis a pleasant thing to stand
In gardens planted by thine hand;
Let me within thy courts be seen
Like a young cedar, fresh and green.
"There grow thy saints in faith and love,
Blest with thine influence from above;
Not Lebanon, with all its trees,
Yields such a comely sight as these.
"The plants of grace shall ever live;
(Nature decays, but grace must thrive ;)
Time, that doth all things else impair,
Still makes them flourish strong and fair.
"Laden with fruits of age, they show
The Lord is holy, just, and true;
None that attend his gates shall find
A God unfaithful or unkind."

It now only remains,

III. That we should trace the more prominent EVIDENCES of love to God's house, that we may be enabled to ascertain to what extent we are partakers of this divine affection.

Love to the house of God is so vital a development of the spiritual principle, and of the new man in Christ Jesus, that it would argue most criminal indifference to our best interests were we to feel no anxiety on the grand question, -"Do we belong to the happy number of those whose hearts are ruled by this holy and heavenly affection?" What, then, are the most unequivocal signs of love to the house of God? What will prove to our own consciences, and evince to our Christian brethren, and to the world at large, that we have a sincere and ardent attachment to the house of the Lord? And,

1. We begin by observing, that if we truly love God's house, it will occupy our retired meditations and prayers.

Nothing is more to be dreaded and shunned, than a religion which consists in mere show and outward profession. Every act of true piety has its seat in