of evil is abroad, and the sinews of union and concord are cut, and fools make a mock at sin,-" Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?" Roll off this sad reproach, Christian brethren! Ye know the spiritual destitution of the land, its enormously increased population, its need of Churchroom, its want of "the priest the Levite" to be within call of the poor man's dwelling. Here, at least, the bounty of our forefathers, together with the blessing of God upon it, has granted you this boon:-Follow their good example, do what you can to aid and assist the benevolent ends of this excellent Society, whose claims are laid before you this day ". Recollect the free gifts for the tabernacle, and "take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord; whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord; gold, and silver, and brass." In such a cause, as in every cause of true Christian charity, the widow's mite weighs as heavy in the balance of the sanctuary as the queen of Sheba's gold, or the costly offerings of the rich. Of the times of the Gospel dispensation it is prophesied, "In the day of thy power shall the people offer thee free-will offerings with an holy worship ." See that this be A Society which will come to your assistance when wise and willing-hearted men shall determine to decorate this noble Church in which we are now assembled, and which for about £800, might be made beautiful exceedingly. Exod. xxxv. 5. *Ps. cx. 3. fulfilled in you, consider the poor and needy, look to the darker places of our land, where those who "hunger and thirst after righteousness" have no temple room wherein to bow the knee and worship. Endeavour all ye can to hinder this prophecy from being fulfilled yet again; "Behold the day is come, saith the Lord, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, and they shall run to and fro, and seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it "." Finally, Christian brethren, see that ye worship with a holy worship, in spirit and in truth. For be assured of this, that unless we ourselves be edified, that is, built up, in Christian love and holiness, it is but vain to talk of building up the outward walls of the sanctuary. "A pure mind is the best manner of worship, and the impurity of a crime is the greatest contradiction to the honour and religion of holy places. And, therefore, let us imitate the precedent of the most religious of kings; "I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord, and so will I go to thine altar1;" always remembering those decretory and final words of St. Paul, "He that defiles a temple, him will God destroy 2." 2 2 1 Cor. iii. 17. See Jer. Taylor, ut suprà, p. 360. "Take me as I intende ! Philip Shelton. "The world doth think the wealthy man, is he that least shall need ; But true it is, the godly man, is he that best shall speed." Quoth Tusser. "Remember the poor, that for God's sake do call; For God both rewardeth and blesseth withal. Quoth Tusser. "I can walk in my neighbour's pleasant fields, and see the varieties and natural beauties, and delight in all that in which God delights, that is, in virtue and wisdom, in the whole creation, and in God himself. And he that hath so many causes of joy, and so great, is very much in love with sorrow and peevishness, who loses all these pleasures, and chooses to sit down upon his little handful of thorns."-Jer. Taylor. "Statists that labour to contrive a commonwealth without our poverty, take away the object of our charity, not understanding only the commonwealth of a Christian, but forgetting the prophecy of Christ.”—Sir T. Browne, Religio Medici. |