The great duty of public worship, and of erecting and setting apart proper places for that purpose. A sermon, preached in St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia. On Friday, September 4th, 1761. Being the day appointed for the first performance of Divine worship in said church. : To which is prefixed, an account of the whole service used on that occasion. : Published at the desire of the church-wardens and vestry. / By William Smith, D.D. Provost of the College and Academy of Philadelphia. ; [Four lines from I. Kings]

The great duty of public worship, and of erecting and setting apart proper places for that purpose. A sermon, preached in St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia. On Friday, September 4th, 1761. Being the day appointed for the first performance of Divine worship in said church. : To which is prefixed, an account of the whole service used on that occasion. : Published at the desire of the church-wardens and vestry. / By William Smith, D.D. Provost of the College and Academy of Philadelphia. ; [Four lines from I. Kings]

Table of contents

Title page

At a Meeting of Vestry, held at St. PETER'S Church, September 7th, 1761.

PREFACE.

SERMON.

PRAYER.

§

§

§

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The great Duty of public Worship, and of erecting and setting apart proper Places for that Purpose. A SERMON, Preached in St. PETER'S Church, Philadelphia. On FRIDAY, September 4th, 1761. Being the Day appointed for the first Performance of Divine Worship in the said CHURCH. To which is prefixed, An Account of the whole SERVICE used on that OCCASION. Published at the Desire of the Church-Wardens and Vestry.

BY WILLIAM SMITH, D. D. Provost of the College and Academy of PHILADELPHIA.

And the Lord said to Solomon, I have heard thy Prayers and thy Supplications—I have hallowed this House which thou hast built to put my Name there for ever; and mine Eyes and mine Heart shall be there continually.

1 K. Ch. ix. 3.

PHILADELPHIA: Printed and Sold by W. Dunlap, M,DCC,LXI. Sold also by the other Booksellers in Philadelphia, and by J. Rivington, in New-York, and A. Stuart, at Lancaster.

At a Meeting of Vestry, held at St. PETER'S Church, September 7th, 1761.

[Page]

RESOLVED that the Thanks of this Board be given to the Rev. Dr. SMITH, for his excellent Sermon preached at the Opening of St. PETER'S CHURCH, the 4th Instant; and the Church-Wardens are ordered to return him the Thanks of this Board accordingly, and to request the Favour of him to furnish a Copy of the said Sermon to be printed.

TRUE Copy from the Minutes. A. STEDMAN, C. Warden.

PREFACE.

[Page]

IT was an ancient Custom not only among the Jews, but even among the Gentiles, long before Christianity, to Separate from common Use, by certain formal Rites of Dedication, their Temples, Altars and Places of religious Worship. And we find God himself expressly approving this Custom in Respect to the Jews (who were his peculiar People, and blessed with a more adequate Knowledge of his Name) inasmuch as he vouchsafed his special Presence in the Places so separated and dedicated by them. Of this, the Chapter, from which the Text of the following Discourse is taken, furnishes sufficient Evidence; and in the third Verse of the succeeding Chapter God expressly tells Solomon—‘I have heard thy Prayer and thy Supplication—I have hallowed this House which [Page] thou hast built, to put my Name there for ever; and mine Eyes and mine Heart shall be there continually.’

AGREEABLE to this, the primitive Christians, even in the most difficult Times (as we have the utmost Reason to believe) did not resort to any Place for stated Worship, till they had first separated or set it apart, if not by public Rites, yet at least by peculiar Thanksgivings, and Prayers for a sanctified Use thereof. And in the more prosperous Days of Christianity, when Kings and Potentates became Converts to its Truths, these Separations were performed with far greater Ceremony, and distinguished by the more pompous Names of Dedications, Consecrations, and the like; in all which acts, ‘the common Prayers of the Church were not looked upon as sufficient, without special Panegyrical Orations, and Forms of Adoration and Praise more peculiar to the Occasion.*’

[Page]THIS Custom was very early introduced into our Mother-Country; for we find Austin himself, who has been styled the Apostle of our Ancestors, agreeable to his Instructions, converting such Idol-temples, as were fit for Use, into Christian Churches, by the Rites of Consecration. And in aftertimes it was expresly provided, that all Churches &c. should be consecrated within two Years after they were finished; * nor do our Laws take any Notice of Churches or Chapels, as such, till they are formally consecrated. ‡

NOW, it is to be presumed that, in these Laws and Regulations, our Fore-fathers were actuated by the same pious Motives that influenced the primitive Christians; namely the Hopes (grounded on the old Testament, and more particularly on the new) that God would be specially present with them, to hear their Prayers and pardon their Offences, in those Places thus separated to his Service, and dedicated to his Name. And [Page] thus run the Preambles of these very Laws themselves—"Domus Dei, materiali Subjecto non differens a privatis, per Mysterium Dedicationis invisibile, fit Templum Domini, ad expiationem Delictorum & divinam Misericordiam implorandam—"‡ And therefore it was but fit that the Performance of a Service so solemn and ancient, agreeable to the same Laws, should be reserved to the highest Dignitaries of the Church, namely the Bishops, or those having their immediate Authority.—

IN this Country, then, where our Church is far removed from the Government of her Bishops, and where it hath not yet been the Method (nor indeed would Circumstances always admit) before a stated Use of our newly-erected Places of Worship, to sollicit a special Authority for Separating them to God's Service, in the express Manner of any approved Ritual; all we can do is to preserve so much of the original Design of the Thing as Presbyters may warrantably perform, and which, in such Circumstances, [Page] may be thought more immediately necessary for Edification. We may meet on a fixt Day; and, in Conjunction with the common Service of the Church, may use such particular Forms of Prayer, and Sermons, as may be suitable to the Occasion; professing before God and the World, our humble Desire of setting apart such Places to his Service, and keeping them continually sacred to that pious End.

THUS much is in the Power of every religious Society; and thus much, at least, as Members of the Church of England, it is our particular Duty to do, with all possible Solemnity, Gravity, and Love to God, whensoever we devote any particular Place to his Service; in Order that for ever afterwards, when we enter therein, we may consider ourselves as entering into the Place where hath promised to manifest his more immediate Presence, and behave ourselves when there (as the primitive Christians are * said to have done in their Places of Worship) with the utmost Reverence and Devotion, as in the Palace of the GREAT KING.

[Page]THESE were the Principles kept in View at the Opening of St. PETERS CHURCH in this City; and the best Testimony for the Conduct of that Solemnity, is the Approbation it met with, even from some who came prejudiced against every Thing of that Kind. And here it is but Justice to the officiating Ministers to set down the whole Order and Choice of the Service, made by them on this Occasion.

§

1. A Beginning was made, with pronouncing the following Sentences.

Thus saith the Lord: The Heaven is my Throne, and the Earth is my Footstool. Where is the House that ye build unto me? and where is the Place of my Rest?

Isaiah.

From the rising of the Sun, to the Going down of the same, my Name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every Place Incense shall be offer'd unto my Name, and a pure Offering; for my Name shall be great among the Heathen, saith the Lord of Hests.

Malachi.

The Wilderness and the solitary Place shall be glad, and the Desert shall rejoice and blossom as the Rose.

Isaiah,

Where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the midst of them.

St. Matthew.

2. AN occasional Prayer from the Reading-Desk.

3. MORNING Prayer of the Church, as usual.

4. PROPER Psalms. 84th, 122d. 132d.

[Page]5. The Lessons, viz.

1 Kings, Ch. viii.

St. Matthew, Ch. xxi to ver. 14th.

[N. B. Thus far (except reading the Absolution) by the youngest officiating Minister. *]

6. AN occasional Prayer, with a Baptism, at the Fount. [By the Author of the following Sermon.]

7. THE Remainder of the Morning Service (using only, instead of the Collect for the Day, that for St. Peter's Day, and the last for good Friday) by the ‡ eldest Missionary present.

8. OCCASIONAL Prayer, with the Communion Service.

9. THE Collects, as above.

10. THE Epistle. Haggai, Ch. 2d. to ver. 10th.

11. THE Gospel for St. Peter's Day.

[N. B. This part of the Service was performed at the Altar, by the † eldest officiating Minister, except the Epistle, which was read by the Youngest.]

*

Rev. Mr. Duché.

↵

‡

rev. Mr. Neill.

↵

†

rev. Mr. Sturgeon.

↵

TO this succeeded the following SERMON; and if a Judgment might be formed from the Attention wherewith it was received by a very crouded Audience, and even by some who have given but few other Instances of their PARTIALITY in the Author's favour; he may flatter himself that now, when it appears from the Press, and sollicits a candid Perusal in the Closet, it may be of some Service. Would to God [Page] that, divested of every Prejudice, the Subject-matter alone might engage the Reader's Attention; and more especially the Arguments used in Regard to our neglected Sabbaths and public Ordinances.

THE Author's Situation allows him but few Opportunities of addressing the World in this Way; and those hitherto have chiefly arisen out of public Occasions, where the Calls were sudden, and where he hath only had Leisure to shew the Warmth of the Heart, and not the Labour of the Head—Happy always, if with a Desire to serve his Friends, he can give any Testimony of a Zeal for Truth, and for that Church whereof he is a Member!

HE returns his Thanks to the Church-Wardens and Vestry, for the Honour done him in requesting the Publication of this Sermon; and he now sends it into the World entirely under their Patronage and Countenance.

Notes

*

SEE Bingham's Eccles: Antiquities, who gathers this from Eusebius, who has preserved an Oration delivered on one of these Occasions.

↵

*

—ut omnes Cathedrales Ecclesiae, et Conventuales, ac Parochiales, a tempore Perfectionis ipsarum, insia Diennuem, per Dioecesanos ad quos pertinent, vel eorum Auctoritate per alios, Consecrationes acciperent.

↵

‡

V. Coke Inst. 4.

↵

‡

Vid De Consecr. & Reform. Stat. Eccles; 52 Hen. 3. [...] Cod.

↵

*

Chrysostom.

↵

SERMON.

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1 KINGS, Chap. viii. 13, 27, 57, 60.

I have surely built thee an House is dwell in, a settled Place for thee to abide it for ever!—But will GOD indeed dwell on the Earth? Behold, the Heaven, and Heaven of Heavens, cannot contain thee; how much less this House that I have builded?—

The Lord our God be with us as he was with our Fathers: Let him not leave us, nor forsake us— That all the People of the Earth may know that the LORD is GOD, and that there is none else.

My BRETHREN;

ALTHOUGH I have only read to you the foregoing Verses, as being those which I am more immediately to insist upon, yet the greatest Part of the Chapter from which they are taken, containing the History of Solomon's Dedication of the Temple, and which has been already read to you as the first Lesson for this Day's Service, will be the Subject of my following Discourse.

BUT, before I proceed, it may perhaps be expected that I should carry you back into remote [Page] Antiquity, to investigate the Origin and shew the Reasonableness of CONSECRATING, DEDICATING, or SETTING APART, particular Places for the more immediate and public Worship of the supreme God. And such an Enquiry, it must be confess'd, would furnish out a most interesting Detail; no way unsuitable to this Day's Solemnity. But the Time being short, and having another Plan in View, I shall touch but slightly on these Matters.

THE great Progenitors of our Race, ADAM and EVE, when they first sprung from the forming Hand of their munificent Creator, no doubt, felt their Hearts bound with Joy and Gratitude unutterable. Every Thing within and without them contributed to heighten this Joy into the most transcendent Extasy. The Curiosity of their own Structure, the Paradise that surrounded them, the unfading Beauty, the' eternal Verdure and yet continual Novety, of its Scenes (while they continued in their State of Innocence) led them, doubtless, at all Times and in all Places, into the most fervent Acknowledgments of that Goodness from whence the whole proceeded. Nevertheless, it is no way improbable but that they had some consecrated Place, some chosen Bower, by Brook or by Fountain, adorned with all the bloomy Honors of Paradise, whither [Page] (at stated Times, and at proper Intervals) they might retire from the Heat of the Day, to offer up their more immediate Praises for creating Love and preserving Goodness.

BUT whatever may be in this, one of the first Things we find their Descendents employed in, after the Fall, was their solemn offering up "the Fruits of the Earth, and the Firstlings of their Flocks", in Places set apart for that End; and, after the Flood, NOAH no sooner descends from the Ark than he is found erecting an Altar unto the Lord. Abraham too planted a Grove in Beersheba, where he called on the Name of the everlasting God; and this God himself, thro' four whole Chapters of Exodus, is found instructing Moses how to erect and adorn that glorious Tabernacle that we read of there.

NOW these Places of Worship were agreeable to the State of a People, in those early Ages, migrating from Place to Place. But when Nations were settled, and distinct Societies formed, in the Place of Groves and temporary Tabernacles, superb Temples were erected, And thus it was with the Jews, at the Time of errecting that Temple of unparallel'd Magnificence and Architecture divine, whose Dedication or Consecration my Text refers to.

[Page]AFTER journeying for many Years thro' the Wilderness, after sustaining many bloody Wars with their fierce Enemies, that People had now got full Possession of the Land of Promise, and enjoy'd that happy Tranquility, which their Souls had long and earnestly wish'd for.

AND now what Improvement doth their illustrious Monarch make of this Occasion? Doth he forget the GOD OF ISRAEL, that had led his People thro' so many Dangers? Doth he turn the Fruits of PEACE entirely to Works of secular Import, or of low selfish Enjoyment? No! But he remembers the Intimation given by the Prophet Nathan to his Father David, how that his Son after him should build an House (not a moveable and temporary Tabernacle, but a fixed and settled House) to the Name of the Lord for ever.* Accordingly, with his whole Heart and Spirit, he sets about this divine Work, and writes to distant Places, for an amazing Store of Materials of every Sort. To this purport is his Letter to Hiram, King of Tyre and Siden. ‡

‘THOU knowest, says he, how that David my Father, could not build an House (or fixt Temple) to the Name of the Lord his God, for the Wars that were about him on every Side, until the Lord put them under the Soles [Page] of his Feet. And now the Lord hath given me Rest on every Side, so that there is neither Adversary nor evil Occurrent: And behold, I purpose to build an House to the Name of the Lord my God; as he spake unto David my Father, saying, Thy Son, whom I will set upon thy Throne in thy Room, he shall build an House unto my Name. Now therefore, command them [thy Servants] to hew me Cedar Trees; for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew Timber like the Sidonians. ‡’

SOLOMON having procured his Materials, and at length finished his House with such a Profusion of Ornament and eastern Magnificence, as far excells all the Pomp of modern Times; having been favoured with the divine Direction in planning and carrying on the Work; having built the Walls with hewn Stone, and lined them with Cedar; having carved and adorned [Page] the Doors and Linings with gilded Cherubims, and Palm-trees, and Knops and full-blown Flowers; having overlaid the holiest Places, such as the Oracle, the Altar and the Sanctuary with Plates of massy Gold; having furnished the whole House with Tables, and Candlesticks, and Lamps, and Tongs, and Basons, and Bowls, and Censers, made also of Gold, and curiously emboss'd with Flowers; together with such an immense Quantity of Bases, and Lavers, and Pots, and other Vessels of polish'd Brass-Work as was not to be weighed;‡—the Day was now come when this superb Edifice, with all its costly Apparatus of Furniture, was to be DEDICATED, CONSECRATED and SET APART for ever to the Name of the Lord!

ON that memorable Day, the Elders and Judges of Cities, the Heads of Tribes and Chiefs of Families, assembled themselves before King Solomon, and began the Solemnity with a grand Procession from Jerusalem to Mount-Sion, in Order to bring from thence the ARK OF THE COVENANT, containing the two TABLES of the LAW; which had been deposited there by David (when he brought it from the House* of Obed, Edom) in a temporary Tabernacle, until a fix'd House should be prepar'd for its Reception.

[Page]IN the like solemn Manner did they return from Mount-Sion, to the Mount of the Temple at Jerusalem, the Priests bearing the ARK with the LAW, and the Levites the TABERNACLE in which it had been placed, with all the Holy Vessels of the Sanctuary;‡ that there might remain, no Occasion for Idolatry, nor Pretence for Schism, or Worship in any other Place save that which was now dedicated to the Lord.

SOLOMON and his grand Retinue being now arrived at the Temple, in the midst of Sacrifices of Sheep and Oxen innumerable; the Priests, whose Privilege it was (leaving their Attendants in the outer Courts, and before the House) entered first into the holy Place, and then into the most Holy, and there with solemn Awe they deposited the Ark in the Place prepared for it, under the Wings of the Golden Seraphims, that expanded themselves from Wall to Wall, shading the MERCY-SEAT and the Cherubims of Moses.

BUT behold now a most stupendous Appearance! No sooner had the Priests retir'd from the most holy Place to begin the Service at the Altar; no sooner had the Trumpeters and Singers become as one, and lifted up the Voice in full Chorus with* Trumpets and Cymbals and Instruments [Page] of Music, to be heard in praising and thanking God, than lo! a Cloud of thick Darkness, declaring the immediate presence of the Glory of the Lord fill'd the whole House; so that the Priests durst not stand to minister by Reason thereof, but retreated to the outer Courts with the utmost Consternation.

AND here let us pause, ponder and reflect, on the Nature and Meaning of this wonderful Phaenomenon. Strange it may seem that a GOD who is LIGHT itself should appear in thick Darkness. But let us not mistake the Nature of this Darkness as any way similar to what we vulgarly call so. Nor let us think that it was nothing more than the Pillar of Cloud, in which the SCHECHINAH, * or presence of the divine Glory, usually dwelt. No, my Brethren, the [Page] GLORY, on this Occasion, did undoubtedly burst thro every Veil, and the DARKNESS here spoken of seems to have been nothing else but the unsufferable Power of LIGHT itself—such a Darkness as our sublime Poet speaks of—

"DARK with excessive BR [...]T"— a Darkness arising from a Deluge of Light that could not be beheld!

[Page]SUPPOSE a Person long pent up in a gloomy Dungeon, where scarce a single Ray had penetrated to cheer his lonely Hours; and suppose him liberated at once, and turning his Eye to the Noon-Day Sun; would not the whole Face of Things appear to him Dark and without Distinction, till by repeated Efforts he had accustomed himself to bear the redundant Blaze? Or suppose ten thousand Noon-Day Suns should now unite their Splendors, and burst instantaneously upon us who enjoy but one, would not [Page] our weak Organs be wholly overpower'd, and all Things around us be lost in Darkness visible and sensible? And yet what are these compared to the immediate Breaking in of the Presence of God's Glory, before one single Ray of which ten thousand Noon-Day Suns themselves would hide their diminish'd Heads, and be lost in total Obscurity? Could mortal Eye look at this and live? Even the burning Seraphims cover themselves before it, and "With both Wings veil their Eyes!"

[Page]THE wise Solomon, on this Occasion, having either more Presence of Mind than the astonish'd Priests, or rather being the Instrument whom God had chosen to proceed with the Remainder of this solemn Service, cries out— ‘The Lord hath said that he would dwell in thick Darkness;’ and no Man can behold his Glory without a Vail. Be not afraid ye Priests and Ministers of God, at what has now happen'd! Do you not know, from the Book of your own Law, that the high Priest durst not approach the Mercy-Seat, without making a Cloud of Incense before him, lest he should be struck blind, or lose his Life with the Splendor of the divine Glory? Know ye not that at the * Consecration of the Tabernacle, in like manner as now, the Majesty of the divine Glory broke out so strong, beyond what ever it had done before, filling the whole House, that "Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of the Congregation." Look therefore on this sudden and alarming Appearance of Darkness, that drove you from the Altar, as a sure Token of God's immediate Presence, overwhelming with Light that cannot be beheld, accepting our solemn Dedication of this House, and acknowledging it to be the Place where his Glory will dwell for ever!

TRIUMPHING [Page] into Raptures divine, the pious Monarch now turns his speech from the Priests and People immediately to JEHOVAH himself, in that sublime Apostrophe of my Text.—

"I have surely built thee an House to dwell in, a settled Place for the to abide in for ever?"—

Now do I assuredly know, O thou holy One of Israel! that my Labours of Love to thee are not in vain! Now am I convinced that I enjoy that Honor which I have long wish'd for—that supreme Honor of building thee an House (not a temporary Tabernacle, like those of former Times, in which thou wilt sojourn only for a Season, but a fixed Place, an House of Ages) in which, I trust, thou wilt abide for ever!

THEN turning himself back to the People, he began to bless them, and to give Thanks to God, and to recount before him the many Instances of his Kindness in the carrying on this Work for the Reception of his Glory.

BUT suddenly recollecting himself, and being struck with the Vanity of thinking that the tremendous Majesty of God could be confin'd to Time or Place, he breaks out into a second Apostrophe more grand than the former still, and exceeded by Nothing that is to be found in all the Volumes of the World!

[Page]"BUT will God indeed dwell on the Earth?" Will [...] at whose Footstool ten thousand Worlds hang and are as Nothing—will HE who walks on the Whirlwind's Wing, and passes from one End of Creation to the other, swifter than the Lightning's Glance—will HE be limited to any particular abiding Place? How vain the Thought, O thou being superlatively raised above all Beings! Behold! the whole Immensity of Space, nay the very "Heaven, and Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this House that I have builded?" Yet, tho' in a literal and local Sense, thou wilt not be confined here, we know that thou wilt nevertheless in a special Manner be present—"to have Respect to the Supplication, and to hearken unto the Cry and to the Prayer which thy Servant and thy People shall make towards thee in this Place."*

CONVINCED, therefore, of this, the Rest of the Chapter and Service dedicatory, is chiefly SUPPLICATION and PRAYER; two Verses of which I have also taken into my Text as a Model for us on the present Occasion.

HAVING thus laid before you the Design and Occasion of the Text, with as much Brevity as [Page] Circumstances would admit, I come now to make an Application of the whole to the Purpose of this Day's Solemnity.

WE too, my Brethren, have been building a HOUSE to the Lord; not a superb and magnificent ONE, fitted to the ostentatious Worship of the LAW; but a HOUSE decently neat and elegantly plain, * fitted to the Simplicity of that GOSPEL-WORSHIP which must be perform'd in Spirit and in Truth. We too are here assembled, in the Presence of Almighty God, and in the Sight of Men and Angels, to make a solemn OFFERING of THIS HOUSE to the Name of the Lord; and to set it apart to the Purposes of Religion for ever.

BY this Work of ours, we pretend not to confer any peculiar Sanctity on particular Places, or Portions of inanimate Nature. What we do is only declarative of our own fixt Intention of endeavouring, thro' God's Grace, to sanctify ourselves in this Place, in the full Hopes of meeting the spiritual Consolation of his divine Presence therein; and entering into a solemn Engagement, for ourselves and our Posterity, of keeping it for ever sacred to these pious Uses, [Page] agreeable to the pure Model of that most excellent Church, whereof we are Members.

THIS Labor of our Love, however unworthily performed, and by however mean Instruments, we hope will be accepted in and thro' the Mediation of Christ Jesus. A Sign from Heaven to confirm this Hope, we must not expect! a CLOUD OF GLORY, declaring the immediate Presence of God among us, we look not to see! Types and Shadows and the Burden of Ceremonies are done away. But behold, a greater Evidence is here! The Son of God himself hath been among us, and hath left in our Hands the GOSPEL of Salvation, the Words of eternal Truth, declaring that—"Where two or three are gathered together in God's Name, there will he be in the midst of them." By the Eye of Scripture Faith, that fast Anchor of the Soul, we can see him, we can feel him vitally present with us! we can enjoy Union and Communion with him; and, in our most holy Placee, we can behold him seated on another Mercy-Seat than that of the Temple and the Law, and hear him speaking in another Manner than from within the Vail! We can behold him seated on the Mercy-Seat of REDEEMING LOVE, and hear him speaking in the comfortable Overtures of the Gospel of Peace!

[Page]THESE interesting Truths being premised, and having the well-grounded Assurance that "God will indeed dwell on the Earth"—even in the midst of the truly religious Meetings or Societies of his People; it behoves us next to consider what Conduct such Societies ought more especially to observe, in order to expect so great a Blessing.

AND first, then, if we, as a religious Society, would hope that God would continue among us in this Place which we have dedicated to his Name, we must be careful to improve ourselves in "all Manner of holy Conversation and Godliness, not forgetting the Assembling ourselves together, as the Manner of some is."*

AND here, as this Neglect of "Assembling together," in the Place where God's Honour more immediately dwells, is an Evil of the most ungrateful kind, and which cannot but provoke him above any other, to withdraw his more immediate Presence from a People, it may not be amiss, with all Candor and Affection, to address a few Things to those whose "Manner" this is; altho' it must be confess'd that it is hard even for Charity herself to imagine any plausible Pretext for their Conduct.

[Page]THERE is not, I am certain, a Person among us that will not acknowledge some Sort of Homage to be due to the supreme Lord of Heaven and Earth. Even the DEIST himself will be fond of owning this to be a natural Dictate of eternal Reason, founded on the immutable Relation between the Creature and its Creator. But then he will say that this Homage is a Tribute of the Heart, better to be perform'd in the Retirements of the Closet, than amidst the Avocations of a public Assembly. And the kindest Thing we can suggest is, that this Sentiment (it is to be feared) is too much adopted by many Men, in other respects of strict Honour, fair Morals and useful Members of Society, who, altho' they profess to believe in the Religion of Jesus Christ, and would scorn the Imputation of Deism, yet still continue in the Neglect of that public Worship and those sacred Ordinances which this Religion hath enjoined. Instead of approaching the Courts of the Lord, with their respective Families, on those Days that are consecrated to his more immediate Service, they either sequester themselves from the rest of Mankind in unsocial Retirements; or, if Decency obliges not to this, "one goes to his Farm, and another to his Merchandize."

[Page]NOW, we will allow such Persons, all that they themselves can ask. We will in Charity suppose that they are as regular and fervent in private Devotion as they can possibly pretend to be. Yet still we say that the Neglect of public Worship contradicts their Profession of Christianity, and is a public Breach of Duty to God, to Society and to their own Souls. And would to Heaven that what may be offered on this Head might gain their Attention; seeing no Terms of Asperity and Reproach shall be used, unbecoming the Spirit and Temper of that Religion, to the public Exercise of which, we would woo and win them.

AND first they are intreated to consider that, from the whole Tenor of Scripture, the public Observance of a Sabbath, in Places set apart for that Purpose, appears to have been God's own Appointment, and has the Promise, both of this Life, and that which is to come, annexed to it. Eternal Wisdom gave an early Intimation of it, while our first Parents were yet in Paradise, by blessing the Seventh Day. Our first Parents delivered it in Tradition to their Posterity, who (as we have seen) had their Places of public Worship, approved by God's immediate appearance among them; and at Length when these [Page] Traditions were either darkened or destroyed, the Lord solemnly republished the same Institution or Ordinance from mount Sinai, in the Law, saying—"Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy."

JESUS CHRIST, who came not to destroy but to fulfil the Law, frequented the Places of public Worship, and sanctified the Sabbath by his Example. The very Form of Prayer, given by him to Mankind, at the Instance of his Disciples, is a public Form. Nay the great Design of his Coming into this World and leaving his Gospel behind him, was to accomplish a Plan of Redemption for lost Mankind, to plant a CHURCH for himself upon Earth, and form his Disciples into one public Body, whereof himself is the Head.

BUT how can there be a CHURCH, where there is no Membership, no Communion, no "Assembling ourselves together," agreeable to his appointment? How can those be his Disciples now, who do not imitate his first Disciples, and join together "in * Doctrine, in Fellowship, in Breaking of Bread, and in Prayers?" These first Disciples certainly knew their Master's Will as well as we do now; and if one Sett of Men, who call themselves Christians, may [Page] [...] Circumstances, another may do the same; and, as Example is powerful, the Time may fast come, when in vain shall we build Churches—nay, in vain should we open the Doors of those that are already built!

WE do most readily allow the private Worship of a Man's own Heart, its full Commendation; and God forbid that any Thing here said should be understood as derogatory from that Worship, or tending to set in Opposition to that which is public. It is most sincerely to be wished that no Man ever pretended to it, who did not heartily practise it. All true Devotion must begin in the Heart; but then it must not end there. God not only calls us to acknowlege him in our own Minds, but openly and avowedly to acknowlege him before Men; that they, seeing our good Works, may be stirred up to give him the greater Glory.

OPENLY do the CELESTIAL CHOIRS pour forth their triumphant HALLELUJAH'S to his adorable Name! Openly do they cast their Crowns at his Feet, saying—"Worthy art thou, O Lord! to receive Glory, and Honour, and Power!"

[Page]AND shall MAN be silent, or wholly selfish, in his Worship? Man, so highly favoured! Man, the REDEEM'D OF GOD! Man, made social in his Nature; endued with Voice articulate, and appointed to lead the Chorus of this lower World! Shall he forsake his Post, and neglect those public Praises, which his Tongue was framed to utter? Should he do this, the very Brute, and even the inanimate Creation, openly and incessantly declaring God's Glory Day and Night, would shame him for his sad Desertion—And shame him they do, while he confines himself to a Worship merely selfish or solitary, hides himself from the * World, absents himself from the great Congregation of God's People, and blushes to utter forth his Maker's Praises before Heaven and Earth!

BY a Worship merely solitary, a Man may perhaps somewhat improve the State of his own Mind, and serve himself; but, by public Worship, a Man not only serves himself, but, as far as poor Dust and Ashes can, promotes God's Glory also, by acknowledging him before the whole World. The Height of religious Perfection [Page] is when both Sorts of Worship have their due Place; and however much a Man may boast of the Devotion of the Heart, if he keeps it there, the World will be apt to suspect him, and to ask of him a Sign for the Edification of others.

UPON the whole then, it appears that a Neglect of the public Ordinances of Religion, in one professing to believe the Gospel, is a plain Contradiction of that Profession, and a Breach of that Duty which we owe to God. And Oh! That it might never be forgotten by any one who names the Name of Christ, that it is only to those who "confess him before Men," that he hath given the most comfortable Promise of "confessing them before his heavenly Father," in that awful Day of Accounts, when he is to sit absolute Judge of their Conduct.

AND yet still, if such be the Case in Respect to those who, tho' they neglect the public Worship of God, nevertheless pretend to a more private and spiritual Worship of him; what must it be with them who are avowed Enemies to both? Would to God that they would put the Matter to their own Souls in their serious Moments; if, peradventure, they ever leave themselves Leisure to be serious.

[Page]BUT, to proceed—we were next to shew that the Neglect of public Worship is also a Breach of Duty to Society. Much of what might be offered on this Head is anticipated on the former; for so kind hath God been to us, that whatever he hath commanded us to do for his Glory, is also for our own Good. Many Arguments might also be drawn from the Nature of Society; our common Wants, our common Dangers, our common Redemption, and our common Dependance for Happiness here and hereafter, on the same Parent-God. But these may be passed over at present; it being generally acknowledged that Government and Society cannot be maintained on any other Principles than Justice, Sobriety and Obedience. And these Principles cannot be maintained, in any tolerable Degree, but "for the Lord's Sake," and by Means of Religion and its divine Sanctions. And Religion cannot be maintain'd without a due Regard to its public Ordinances,

THERE is something as lovely and venerable, as it is truly ancient, in the Appointment of a Sabbath, or one Day in Seven, for assembling ourselvs together. By this Means, People are brought forth and associated in their most decent Attire. They are humanized and polished and made better acquainted. They provoke one [Page] another, as the Apostle expresses it, to Love and good Works. Nay, as the same Apostle further testifies, much greater Fruits than these may be expected. For, "if * the whole Church be come together in one Place, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned; he is convinced of all, he is judged of all; and so, falling down on his Face, he will worship God, and report that God is of a Truth" in that Place.

WHENCE it appears that the Neglect of public Worship is also a Breach of Duty to Society, and a Bar to the Reformation and good Order of Mankind. It was next to be proved a Breach of Duty to our own Souls. And here little need be said.

WHATEVER is a Neglect of Duty to God, whatever obstructs the good of Society, must necessarily be prejudicial to the Individual. Were Men wholly composed of Soul and made entirely for themselves, a refined selfish and Solitary Religion might possibly suit them. But, as the Matter now is, they stand in Need of all social Helps to enflame their Devotion; and it is found by Experience that the Exercises of Religion are greatly quickened by friendly Communion with our fellow Creatures. On [Page] such Occasions, when all Things are conducted with Decency and Order, a kind of holy Fervor is apt to catch from Bosom to Bosom, rising to Heights which the solitary Worshipper cannot easily reach or conceive. In a Word, 'tis to social and public Worship, as hath been already hinted, that our blessed Saviour hath given many of the Gospel-Promises. For he hath assured us that if even so small a Number as "two shall agree on Earth, as touching any Thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of his Father who is in Heaven." *

THESE Arguments, 'tis to be hoped, may convince those who neglect or scorn our Sabbaths and public Meetings, that they are, in Reality, acting contrary to their Duty to God; to Society, and to themselves; and that if it were not for the wise Ordinance of a Sabbath, true Religion would scarce be found upon Earth. And if Religion were gone, Society could not long subsist, or at least it could not subsist on the Principles of Virtue, Freedom and Safety.

AND this leads me to one Argument more, which, as it is of a worldly Nature, may perhaps be better heard. If we would wish to live happy and see good Days; if we would wish to see our Children dutiful, and our Families in [Page] Subordination round us; if we would wish to have our Property safe, and our Persons free from Violence; we ought to support the Credit of Religion, and set forward the public Worship of God, by our whole Influence, our example, and every other Means in our Power.

SO far in general. As to you, my Brethren, to whom this Discourse is more particularly addressed, it is to be hoped that you will be persuaded to conscientious attendance upon the public Worship, the Prayers, the Festivals and the Sacraments of our Church, not only from the above Motives, but from the nobler Motives first mentioned to you, namely as a Means of continuing the divine Presence among you, and obtaining that spiritual Consolation and Fellowship with God, which, it is to be believed, were your sincere Desire in contributing of your Substance to the Erection of this Place.

ANOTHER Thing I must recommend to you, if you would expect God to dwell among you, as a religious Society. 'Tis UNION and CHARITY with one Another. For St. Paul tells the Corinthians, that where Divisions are among a People, they will come together in the Church, "not for the better, but for the worse."* It is impossible, indeed, in this World, while Men [Page] have their Passions, their Vanities, their Interests, and their Ambitions, but such Offences will come; and a good Man will be apt to cry out—"Is there no Balm in Gilead," no sovereign Method to prevent or heal these painful Wounds? The best Way, indeed, is to practise all Christian Forbearance, and to leave the Rest to God's Providence; ever bearing in Mind that the Glory of a Church consists not in the Ostentation of Numbers, but in the strict Union and Fellowship of its Members.

THE same Charity, Love and Candor, that you extend to one another, let me beseech you, in a particular Manner, to extend to those who are appointed to minister among you. Judge of them with Impartiality. Bear in Mind the Difficulties of their Office. Consider that they are Men of like Infirmities with yourselves, placed by their Station in a very public Point of View; and thereby what Failings they may have are rendered the more conspicuous.

WHEN you enter God's House, let your Minds be impressed with deep Sense of his awful Presence, and "keep your Feet with all Diligence." Examine carefully into the Motives of your Appearing there; whether it be from an idle Curiosity, or to have a momentary Warmth raised in you merely by Preaching; or [Page] whether it be, in good Earnest, to humble yourselves before the Throne of God, and to join with your fellow Christians in the Solemn Acts of Devotion; "in Supplications, Prayers, Intercessions, and giving of Thanks for all Men," agreeable to the most compleat Form of our excellent Liturgy?

PREACHING, my Brethren, was originally a wise Institution, to instruct the Ignorant, to rouse the Dull, to confirm the Wavering, and to animate all in the Discharge of their Duty; and, as such, is still retained by our Church as a very necessary Addition to her public Service, and is moreover warranted by the Example of our Saviour and his Apostles. But then, here lies the Fault, that many will consider this Preaching as the principal Part of the public Worship itself; and no Preaching will be acceptable to them that does not, as it were, hurry them out of themselves, by captivating the Passions, as if that was a nobler and more useful Work than to convince the Judgment. Preachers there are, indeed, who can do both in an eminent Degree; and their Success in this Respect is a Blessing to the Societies to which they belong. But what we complain of is this—that the excellent Liturgy of our Church should be no Motive, or only a secondary Motive, for frequenting her Service; [Page] and that this wrong Taste of Hearers is apt to lead to a wrong Taste in Preaching, and draws Men of warm Tempers, small Abilities, and fond of Pleasing, into Extravagances of Heat and Zeal, which Reason cannot justify, and Christianity requires not at their Hand.

AS the Result, therefore, of what has been said, let me, in the next Place entreat you, as a religious Society, to "hold fast the Profession of your Faith without Wavering," without Levity, and without being "blown about by every Wind of Doctrine." I mean not, on this Occasion, the least Reflection against any of those who differ from us in their Persuasion. They have, no Doubt, fully examined and convinced themselves in the Faith they hold; and the same Indulgence which we freely extend to them, we only crave for ourselves. Seeing we also, as well as they, have embraced the Faith of a particular Church, we also, must be allowed to have sufficient Conviction in our own Minds for the Choice we have made. We must be allowed to think the Faith of our Church the same that "was once delivered to the Saints." We must be allowed to consider her Worship as social in its Nature; plain yet solemn, and [Page] keeping the golden Mean betwixt those idle Pegeantries that distract the Attention to Things purely sensible, and those illusive Reveries that pretend to Refinements which human Nature cannot reach. We must be allowed to pay a due Regard to her ancient Discipline, her venerable Order and her wise Constitutions, that were planned by Men of superior Eminence, and have stood the Test of Ages. And, lastly, we must be allowed to look upon these Things as Matters, not lightly, wantonly, or rashly to be given up.

I shall only detain you while I recommend one thing more to you, as a religious Society; and that is, a liberal and beneficent Spirit in contributing to all Works of Charity and common Concern. And, on this Head, it is with Pleasure that I confess myself almost absolved from the Necessity of saying any Thing. I am rather called to congratulate you on the excellent Spirit that hath already been shewn, than to doubt of its Continuance.

THIS House hath been almost wholly built within yourselves; by the free, voluntary and chearful Contributions of your own Members. Some have spared in their Exigence, and some out of their Abundance, and that [...]o with [Page] surprizing Liberality. Blessed are ye ‘for this Loan that ye have lent unto the Lord.* May God remember you concerning this, and wipe not out your good Deeds that you have done for the House of your God and for the Offices thereof.‡’

PROCEED with the same liberal and pious Spirit, in what remains of this good Work. Remember that God hath blessed you with every Instance of Prosperity, in Times of extremest Danger. And surely, when our Harvests have been multiplied, and our Cattle and our Fields encreased;—when we behold our Children growing up and prospering round us, and even wanting Room in the House of the Lord,—then, Oh then! it is one of the noblest Charities to offer back to God a Part of what he has so liberally bestowed, and to make a Provision for continuing the Worship of his adorable Name among our Posterity to the latest Generations! Whatever we may give this Way, according to our best Abilities, God will accept as an offering of our Love to him; and let us look what we lay out, and it shall be returned to us "after many Days."*

[Page]I come now to the last Verses of my Text, which were these—‘The Lord God be with us, as he was with our Fathers. Let him not leave us nor forsake us—That all the People of the Earth may know, that the Lord is God, and there is none else.’— And the very Tenor of these Words, as well as the Nature of this Occasion, calls us to conclude in the most humble and supplicant Manner with—

PRAYER.

AND now, O thou most holy and ever-adorable LORD GOD omnipotent! our GOD and our Fathers GOD—who inhabitest Eternity, and art the Life and Light of the World! What shall we render unto thee for ten thousand times ten thousand Mercies, which Language would fail us to express, and the whole Period of our Lives to recount! But, above all, what shall we render unto thee for the Knowledge of thine everlasting Gospel, and those glorious Privileges to which we are called as Members of thy Church Militant on Earth—even to that exalted Privilege of Angels—the Privilege of enjoying Union and [Page] Communion with thee! O, then, that our Hearts could now conceive, and our Tongues could utter, such Strains of Praise and Adoration and Thanksgiving so thee, as Angels, and glorified Spirits, and the Church triumphant, pour forth to thee in Heaven above!

IT is good for us, O Almighty Father, that thou hast called us to this Knowledge, and hast vouchsafed us these Privileges! It is good for us that thou didst put it into our Minds to build thee an House to dwell in, and hast permitted us to dedicate and set it apart (as we hope) to the Glory of thy Name for ever! Yet, inasmuch as we are taught not to put our Trust in these outward marks of Devotion, but that each of us must prepare for thee an Habitation inwardly, and a Temple in our Hearts; we do, therefore, now come to make a nobler and more important DEDICATION unto thee! We come, as is our bounden Duty, thro' the Merits and Intercession of our blessed REDEEMER, to dedicate OURSELVES, our Souls and Bodies, our whole Lives, to thy Service. And, O thou who art the Hearer of Prayer, "to whom Mercies and Forgivenesses belong, tho we have rebelled against thee," we most earnestly pray that our past Offences may be blotted out, that we may be washed in the Blood of Christ, and that the [Page] Vows and Offerings which we now make may be accepted in Him, and rendered effectual to our everlasting Salvation.

For this End, O merciful God, let the Grace of thy holy Spirit assist and strengthen us in all our Supplications and Prayers that we shall thenceforward offer up to thee in this Place; and be thou graciously pleased to vouchsafe us thy Presence therein continually. As thou wert with our Fathers, O Lord our God, so be thou with us. As thy mighty Power brought them (like the Israelites of old) thro' the Perils of another raging Sea; as thou didst support them in a remote Land, while it was yet another Wilderness; as thou didst at Length give them goodly Habitations therein, and, in thy divine Favour, made Choice of them and their Children after them, to plant and propagate thy everlasting Gospel thro' Regions that sat in Darkness and the Shadow of Death—as thou wert with them in these Things, so be thou with us. Let not our Unworthiness provoke thee to leave us nor forsake us; but let our Light shine continually forth, till all the People of the Earth shall know—till the HEATHEN around us know—that the Lord is God, and there is none else; till they know and confess that the Gods whom they have served are no Gods; that they and their [Page] Fathers have inherited Lies and Vanity from the Beginning; and that there is none in whom Salvation may be found, save in thee, O Lord most mighty and most high!

AND in Order to hasten this happy time, when all the Ends of the Earth shall bow down before thee, and Kings and Princes cast their Crowns before the Throne of the Lamb, we pray that thou would give Success to all Foundations of useful Knowledge, and to the blessed GOSPEL, wheresoever and by whomsoever it is truly preached. In a particular Manner, be pleased to give continual Success to the Preaching thereof in this House, which we have now openly and solemnly set apart to that sacred Purpose. May all who are called to minister therein, put off their own Righteousness, nor seek the applause of Men; but may they be cloathed with the Humility of Christ, rightly and duly administer his Sacraments, explain his Word, and be anxious for Nothing so much as to advance his Glory, and preach him crucified. May this Place never be prostituted to the Purposes of Vanity and Ambition, Error or Enthusiasm, Coldness or Lukewarmness. May it continue the Habitation of the God of Jacob for ever; a Place where Prayer shall ever be made unto him, and where daily shall he be praised! May it continue a Place where [Page] the Service of our Church, the Preaching of the Word, and the Administration of our Sacraments, may be rendered effectual, thro' the atonement of Christ, to the Salvation of Thousands!

FINALLY, O Lord, we pray that Love and Union may prevail among all the Members of this Church thro' Life; and, at their Death, may they be translated into the general Assembly of the Church of the first-born that are written in Heaven; where, being freed from all human Frailties, and admitted to the beatific Presence, they may offer up unwearied Hallelujahs to him that sitteth on the Throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever!

Amen!

Notes

*

2 Sam. vii. 13.

↵

‡

1 Kings v. 2—7

↵

‡

Those Sidonians are the very Same whom Homer calls [...], much skill'd in divers Arts; to whom he ascribes all the neater Sort of Work, both in his Iliads and Odyssey, as Bochartus observes of his Phaleg. Lib. 4. Chap. 3. By these Arts they grew very rich, and are made an Example, in Judges xviii. 7. of those that lived quietly and securely. See Bp. PATRICK'S Commentary.

THIS particular Character of the Sidonians, is mention'd to shew that Solomon sought out the most excellent Artists in the World for the Work of the Temple; and that the Bible Character of these People corresponds exactly to the Character given of them, in some of the most ancient profane Writings which we now have.

↵

‡

1 Kings, Ch. vi.vii.

↵

*

2 Sam. vi. 12, 17.

↵

‡

1 Kings, Ch. viii.

↵

*

2 Chron. vi. 13.

↵

*

AS the SON of GOD, when he came into the World to redeem Mankind, did, of his infinite Condecension, take upon him their Nature as a Veil to his Divinity, that he might thereby converse with them Face to Face; so the great JEHOVAH, in conversing with the Israelites, did it by his divine SCHECHINAH, or the Presence of his Glory, abiding under the Form of a Pillar of Cloud and Pillar of Fire.

THIS well-known Appearance it was that went before the Israelites in the Wilderness; that called Moses up into the Mount; that spoke to * Aaron and Miriam in the Door of the Tabernacle; and that finally rested "over the most holy Place within the Veil; and thence spoke from off the Mercy-Seat, that was upon the Ark of the Testimony, from between the two Cherubims." ‡ And this former Dwelling of God among the Israelites by the SCHECHINAH, was all along a most luminous Type of his Son's future Dwelling in human Nature.

NOW, outwardly this Habitation of the Presence of the Divinity looked as a Cloud, but inwardly as a FIRE; and the Fire, or inward Part, was that which was more immediately termed the GLORY, and put on different Appearances according to different Circumstances. Sometimes it shone thro the Cloud in such serene and soften'd Lustre that it might be looked upon by common Eyes. Sometimes it prevailed so much over the Cloud, that only the Eyes of a favoured few could behold it, and that too by repeated Efforts and by gradual Approaches. And sometimes it broke out so intensely strong, eclipsing the Sun, the Cloud and the whole Face of Things, that no human Eye could behold it, or any Thing else that fell within its overwhelming Splendors.

BEAUTIFULLY has the Jewish Rabbi, Jehudah, expressed himself on this Subject, as he is quoted by Bp. Patrick. ‘Of the GLORY mentioned in Scripture, there is one (saith he) which all the ISRAELITES saw, such as the CLOUD and consuming FIRE; another of such a Nature that [only] the Eyes of the Prophets could sustain it; but another so pure, and bright to such a Degree, that no Prophet is able to apprehend it, but if he venture too look on it, his Composition is dissolved.’

There are sublime Passages of Scripture, beautifully descriptive of these several GLORIES. Of the FIRST, where the Cloud and Glory appear together, in mild and soften'd Lustre, I have already mentioned sundry Instances; and this it is which the Psalmist describes, in Psalm xcvii. 2, 3. ‘CLOUDS and DARKNESS the round about him, and FIRE goeth before him.’—Of the SECOND Kind, where the FIRE or GLORY so far prevailed over the VEIL or CLOUD, that only a favored Few could behold it and that at a Distance, or by gradual Approaches, we have a most grand Description in Exodus xxiv. 10. as it was seen by Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abibu, and the seventy Elders— ‘And they saw the GOD OF ISRAEL, and there was under [...], as it were a paved Work of Sapphire-Stone, and as it was the Body of Heaven in his Clearness’—or the united Splendors of all the heavenly Luminaries. And when Moses was to be called nearer to this glory, six Days was he in his Approach to it, while the Lord kindly veiled it before him, nor was it till the seventh Day that he was taken into the midst of it.

BUT as to the THIRD GLORY, which in its unveiled Splendor eclipses all the created Luminaries of the Universe, seeing no human Eye has been able to behold it, so no human Language has been able to describe it, otherwise than by the Negative Terms of DARKNESS, or ‘Light which no man can approach, or behold and live.*’ For that which overwhelms and hides the view of all things else, and yet is itself beyond the Power of all View, must, in respect to us, be the same as total DARKNESS.

THIS high Degree of GLORY is that in which the more immediate presence of the Godhead seems to have appeared on all special Occasions. This it was that broke in upon St. Paul at Noon-Day, so intensely strong, that the Sun shone to him in vain; for "he could not see for the Glory of that Light, but was led by the Hand of those that were with him," who, it is presumed, saw only a lesser Degree of this astonishing and overwhelming Light. This too it was that filled the whole Body of the Tabernacle, at the Consecrating thereof, so that Moses, who had entered into the second Glory and beheld it, was not able to enter into this.

CAN we doubt, then, but that it was the same Superior GLORY, dazzling and overwhelming, even to thick DARKNESS itself, that astonished the Priests at the Consecration of the Temple? Had it been the more usual Appearance of the Cloud and the Glory together, it is not to be imagined that they would have been driven by it from the Service at the Altar as they now were;—with a View, no doubt, in the Conduct of Providence, to "intimate that their Ministry and Way of Worship should cease when the Messiah came, in whom the Fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily." Indeed, we are expresly told that the Glory did, on this Occasions, break entirely out of the Cloud; and after it had filled the whole House, ‘dazzling rather than enlightening (saith the learned Bp. Patrick) so that nothing else could be seen’ while it continued there, it settled at last in the most holy Place.

THESE Remarks I thought necessary, in order to justify the Explanation that I have ventured to give of the Phaenomenon that astonished the Priests, at the Dedication of Solomon's Temple.

NO Person seems to have and more beautiful and accurate Conceptives on this Subject than our sublime Poet Milton, in the Passage already referred to—

"Fountain of Light! thyself invisible

"Amidst the glorious brightness where thou sit'st

"Thron'd inaccessible, [...] when thou [...]

"The full Blaze of thy Beams, and thro' a Cloud,

"Drawn round about thee like a radiant Shrine,

"DARK WITH EXCESSIVE BRIGHT, thy Skirts appear,

"Yet dazzle Heaven, that brightest Seraphim

"Approach not, but with both Wings veil their Eyes!"

↵

*

Numb. [...]ii. 5.

↵

‡

Numb. vii. 8.

↵

*

1 Tim. vi. 16. Exod. xxxiii. 18.

↵

*

Exod. xl. [...]5.

↵

*

V. [...]. [...].

↵

*

The House here spoken of well deserves the above Character, being a very elegant Building, executed in the best Taste. Its Dimensions are Ninty-one Feet by Sixty-one.

↵

*

Heb. x. 25.

↵

*

Acts ii. 42.

↵

*

THERE have been Instances, where some of God's Servants have been suffered to withdrawn from the World to a Life, merely solitary. But these are rare Cases. not intended for common Use, or common Example: nor do we speak to any who pretend to a Life of that Sort.

↵

*

1 Cor. xiv. 23

↵

*

Mat. xviii. 10.

↵

*

1 Cor. xi. 1 [...].

↵

*

1 Sam. ii. 20.

↵

‡

Nehem. xiii. 14.

↵

*

Eccles. xi. 1.

↵

§

§

N. B. Here a Conclusion was made by singing the Words of the Text, as an Anthem.

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Title statement

The great duty of public worship, and of erecting and setting apart proper places for that purpose. A sermon, preached in St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia. On Friday, September 4th, 1761. Being the day appointed for the first performance of Divine worship in said church. : To which is prefixed, an account of the whole service used on that occasion. : Published at the desire of the church-wardens and vestry. / By William Smith, D.D. Provost of the College and Academy of Philadelphia. ; [Four lines from I. Kings]

Smith, William, 1727-1803.

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2009-10.

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N07078

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N07078

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Evans 9011

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APV9912

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9011

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99005568

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Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 ; no. 9011.

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— The great duty of public worship, and of erecting and setting apart proper places for that purpose. A sermon, preached in St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia. On Friday, September 4th, 1761. Being the day appointed for the first performance of Divine worship in said church. : To which is prefixed, an account of the whole service used on that occasion. : Published at the desire of the church-wardens and vestry. / By William Smith, D.D. Provost of the College and Academy of Philadelphia. ; [Four lines from I. Kings], Smith, William, 1727-1803..

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x, [1], 6-41, [1] p. ; (8vo)

Printed and sold by W. Dunlap, M,DCC,LXI. Sold also by the other booksellers in Philadelphia, and by J. Rivington, in New-York, and A. Steuart, at Lancaster.,. Philadelphia: :: [1761].

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