and salvation, constitutes any place the house of God and the gate of heaven; so a contrary doctrine, a doctrine of wrath, of everlasting condemnation, of hatred, and of every species of partiality, constitutes the synagogue of Satan, and the broad road to destruction.

In this state of destruction men are tormented day and night, with superstitious fears, with malicious spirits, with partial notions of divine goodness, with a persecuting disposition. "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help found." In this doctrine for which we contend, there is a sovereign remedy for all the disorders of error. This love to God and mankind heals all our spiritual maladies. It casts out devils, it heals the leper, it opens the eyes of the blind, unstops deaf ears, and quickens the dead.

A manifestation of this glorious gospel of Jesus is the "mountain of the Lord's house, which he has established upon the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills, unto which all nations are to flow. And this is the house of the Lord, in which those who are planted shall flourish, as in the courts of our God, and bring forth fruit in old age.

By the doctrine to which we have attended it appears, that in order to render any place the house of God, there must be a manifestation of the divine covenant, in which God has promised, that all the families of the earth shall be blessed; there must be an exhibition of him and his doctrine, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

A manifestation of these divine things will constitute this covenant edifice, the fruit of your labours and expenses, the house of God and the gate of heaven. In the divine testimony, which we humbly and devoutly trust will be dispensed in this house, which we this day dedicate to God and his service, those who come hither to worship will find the laws, the covenant, and provisions which our Father in heaven has treasured up in

the gospel of Jesus Christ, for all people. And may it please the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, to grant to the builders of this house, to the worshippers therein, and especially to our Brother who may labour in holy things in this place, clear manifestations of the everlasting covenant, of Jesus its divine mediator, of the doctrine and spirit of his love, that this house may be to old and young, to male and female, none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven. Here may the gentle reproofs of the spirit of truth seasonably check impure desires, and the admonitions of righteousness be successfully dispensed. May the faithful word of reconciliation, the doctrine of God our Saviour, drop as the rain, and distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the gentle dews upon the mown grass. Here may the church of God flourish, and those who hear and know the joyful sound of the gospel walk in the light of the divine

countenance.

When prayer is offered up in this house, may it be offered in faith, and in conformity to the will of God; and may it please our Father in heaven to hear and give assurances of peace.

SERMON XVI.

THE CHARACTER AND WORSHIP OF GOD.

DELIVERED IN CAMBRIDGE-PORT, ON WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18, 1822.

DEUTERONOMY XIV. 23.

"And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tythe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and of the firstlings of thy herds, and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always."

THE wisdom and goodness of God are clearly manifested in the religious institutions which owe their origin to divine authority. Man, being not only a religious, but also a social being, requires for the promotion of his rational happiness, religious institutions which, while they give a proper direction to devotion, at the same time make a wise and profitable improvement of his social feelings. Agreeably to these principles our indulgent and kind Creator gave to the people, whom he chose of all the nations of the earth, to preserve the knowledge and worship of the Divine Unity, such ordinances as were wonderfully calculated to remind them of his goodness, and at the same time to make the best possible use of all their social sympathies and affections.

If we duly contemplate a whole nation assembling, by divine command, and bringing together the tithes of the corn, the wine and the oil, with which a bountiful Providence had blessed them, together with the firstlings of their flocks, the increase of which they owed to the giver of every good and perfect gift, and in a most religious and

devout manner freely eating and drinking before the Lord, who not only requires but accepts this kind of devotion, we are led to view that Being, who is the object of these religious services, as one, who not only designs the best good of his creatures, but as one who employs the wisest means to promote his gracious designs. As often as these religious feasts occurred, the congregation of the commonwealth of Israel were privileged with an opportunity of realizing the goodness of the dispenser of all needful favours, and at the same time of cultivating and improving their acquaintance with each other, by which their social affections were reciprocated and strengthened.

In these solemn and joyful assemblies the twelve tribes would be led to forget any local prejudices, which an absence from each other had permitted to germinate, while the social affections would be called into action by all those natural means by which they are excited. But that which mostly contributed to unite that ancient people, and to render their religious convocations of special interest, was the condescension of the Divine Being in choosing to place his name among them.

In applying this subject to the happy occasion which has invited this solemn and joyful assembly, the following particulars will be briefly noticed.

1. The true doctrine of the divine name, the establishment of which in a certain place consecrates and renders it a proper place for religious assemblies and the solemn exercises of divine worship.

2. The true nature and spirit of devotion: and, 3. The design or object to be promoted by the worship of God.

The true doctrine of the divine name is thus expressed; Exodus 34. "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty."

It will not be necessary, at this time, and on this occasion, to be particular in setting forth the meaning of the words Lord and God, as it is well known these words signify the possessor and ruler of all things, who alone is worthy of supreme worship; but what seems to be of special importance is, that we understand the nature of those attributes which are attached to the words, Lord God, and their due agreement. The attribute of mercy is most strongly expressed as follows: "Merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin." Hear this, O sinful man, and let the goodness of God lead thee to repentance! Stronger language could not have been used to express God's fixed, unchangeable favour towards sinners. Here let it be distinctly understood, that the true name of the Lord God can never be separated from that divine mercy which forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. Any doctrine, therefore, which excludes the sinner from the favour and forgiveness of God is opposed to the name of the Lord, and renders any place unfit for the convocation of those, who would approach their God, thro' the mediation of Jesus, to obtain the remission of sin. The law dispensation and the temple worship were true figures of the gospel, and that spiritual worship of which the Saviour spake to the woman of Samaria. But the legal covenant made no provision for the worship of a people who had no sin; for they found the way to the sanctum sanctorum of their temple, where the sacred NAME was deposited, through the medium of that blood which made an atonement for their sins; nor is the spiritual worship of the true tabernacle ever offered until by the blood of the everlasting covenant the conscience is purged from dead works to serve the living God.

But my christian brethren, let us, with a godly jealousy cautiously avoid the awful error; an error which has constituted a leading doctrine of an