REVERENCE IN WORSHIP.
ASIUEL, viewed in his place in sacred history, that is, in the course of events which connect Moses with Christ, appears as a great ruler and eacher of his people; this is his prominent character. He was the firs of the prophets; ye, when we read the sacred narrative itself, in which his life is set before us, I suppose those passages are the more striking and impressive which represent him, in the office which belonged to him by birth, as a Levite, or minister of God. He was taken into God's special service from the first; he lived in His Temple; nay, while ye a child, he was honoured with the apparel of a sacred function, as the tex tells us, "he ministered before tire Lord, being" a child, girded with a linen ephod." His mother had « given him unto the Lord all the
,. lecvcrczce çz lt,orship. days of his lire 1,,, by a solemn vow before lais birth; and in him, if in any oue, werc fidfilled the words of the Psalmist, " Blessed are they that dwell in Thy bouse, they will be always praisin Thee:." Sueh a, constant abode in God's house would make common minds only familiar with holy thins, and irreverent; but where God's grace is preseut in the heart, the effect is the reverse; whieh we might be sure would hapl»en in the case of Samuel. " The Lord was with him," we are told; nnd therefore the more the outward signs of that Lord met his eye, the more reverent he beeame, hot the more presumiug. The more he acquainted himself with God, the g'reater vould be his awe and holy fear. Thus the first notice we have of his ministering belote the Lord, reminds us of the decency and gravity necessary af ail rimes, and in all persons, in approaching Him. "' IIe ministered before the Lord, being a. ehild, girded with a linen ephod." Itis mother had nmde hin yearly a little coat for his eommon use, but in Divine Service he wore, hot this, but a g'arment which would bofla express, and impress upon him, reverence. And, in like manncr, in his old age, when Snul sent to seek David af Naioth, where Samuel was, lais messengers round Samucl and the prophets under him all in deeent order. "They saw the eompmy of prophets prophesying, and Samuel over them." And this was so Sain. i. 11. Ps. lxxxiv. 4.
impressive a sig'ht, that it bccame an instrument of God's supernatural 1)owcr towards them, and thcy prophesied also. On the othcr hand, if we would bave an example of" the want of this reverenee, we have if in Saul himselt; the reprobate king, who, when he was on his way to Naioth, and n'as visited by God's Iloly Spirit, did not thereupon reeeive the garment of salvation, nor vas clothed in rig'hteousness, but behaved himselt" in an unseemly wild way, as one whose destitntion and sha.me were but deteeted by the visitation, tle stript off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel, and lay down in that state ail that day and all that night. This differenee we see even at this day:—of persons professing religion, some are like Sanmel, some like Saul; some (as if were) east off their g'arments and prophesy in disorder and extravagance; others minister before the Lord, "girded with a linen ephod," wi(h "their loins flirt and their lamps burning," like men awfidly expeeting the eoming of their great and glorious Judge. By the latter, I mean the true ehildren of the tIoly Ctholie Church; by the former, I mean hereties and sehismaties. There bave ever been ff'oto the first these two kinds of Christians—those who belonged to the Chureh, and those who did hOt. There never was a rime sinee the Apostles' day, when the Church n'as hot; and there never was a rime but men were to be round who preferred some other vay of worship to the Church's way. These two kinds of professed Christians ever have been —Church Christians, and Christians hot of the Church; and itis remarkable, I say, that while, on the one hand, reverence for sacred things has been a characferistic of Church Christians on the wholc, so, want of reverence has becn the characteristic on flie whole of Christians not of the Church. The one bave prophesicd after the figure of Samuel, the other after the figure of Saul. Of course fllerc are mmly exceptions to this rcmark in the case of individnals. Of course I ara hot speaking of inconsistent persons and exceptional cases, in the Church, or out of it; but of those who act up to what they profess. I mean that zealous, earnest, and faithful members of fle Church bave genera.ll3, been revcrent; and zealous, earnest, and faithfill members of other religious bodies have gencrally been irreverent. Again, after all, there will be real exceptions in the case of individuals which we cannot account for; but I mean that, ot t]e wAole, it will be round that reverence is one of the marks or notes of the Church; true though it nlav be that some particular individuals, who have kept apart from it, bave hot been without a rcverential spirit notwithsfanding. Indeed so natural is the connexion between a reverential spirit in worshipping God, and faifll in God, that the wonder only is, how any one can for a moment imagine he bas faith in God, and yet allow himself to
]?cvcrcncc in llTorshi. be irreveren owards Him. To believe in God, is fo believe the bein and presence of One who is All-holy, and All-powcrful, and All-gracious; how tan a man reallv believe thus of ]Iim, and yet nmke ri'ce with Him? i is allnos a contradiction in terres, t[ence even heathen religions have ever eonsidered faith and reverenee identieal. To believe, and no fo revere, fo worship fimfiliarly, and af one's case, is nll anolnaly and n. prodig tlllknown eVOll fO fidse religions, fo sav nothin of the truc one. No onl) r the Jewish and Christian religions, which are direetly fi'om God, ineulente the spil.i¢ of " reverenee and ffdly fenr," but those other religions which have existed, or exist, whether in the East or the South, ineulcate the same. Worship, forms of worship—such as bowingthe knee, takin off the shoes, keepingsilence, preseribed dress, and the likeare eonsidered as necessry for due approaeh to God. The whole xvorld, differing al»out so many things, differin in creed nd rule of lire, yet agree in this that God being out Creator, a certain self-abselnent of the whole man is the duty of the creature; tha¢ He is in heaven, we upou earth; tha¢ He is All-lorious, and we worms of the earth and inseets of a day. Bu¢ those who have separated from the Chureh of Christ have in this respect fallen into grenier than pagan error. They may be said to form an exception to the concordant voiee of whole world, alwavs and every where; they break in upon fixe unanimous sur-
6 «vcrcnce in iKorsi. frage of ma.nkind, and determine, af least by their conduct, that rcverence and awe are hot primary relig'ious dutics. Thcy have considcred tiret in some way or other, eithcr by God's favour or by their own illumination, they are brought so near to God that they have no need to {ar af ail, or fo put any restraint npon their words or thoughts when addressing I[im. They bave eonsidcred awe fo be superstition, and reverence fo bc slavery. Thcy have lcarnt fo be familiar and free with sacred things, as if were, on principle. I think this is rcally borne out by facts, and wil] approve itse]f fo inquirers as /rue in substance, however one man will diflbr fi-om another in the words in whieh he would express the faet i{selE 8nmuel was a li{tle ehi]d who had never {hllen awav from God, but by Ilis g'raee had ever served tlim. Let us t.ake a ve W different instance, the instance of a penitent sinner as set belote us in lhe parable of the Publiean and Pharisee. I need hardlv say whieh of the two was the most pleasing to Godthe Publiean; whereas the Pharisee wus hot. aeeepted by Him. Now what did the Pharisee do? IIe did hot even go so far as fo behave in an unseemly, extravagant way: he wns grave and sdemn, and yet what he did was enough to displease God, beeause he took too mueh upon himsdf and made too mueh of himselL OEhough grave and solemn, he was hot reverent; he spoke in a haughty, proud way, and ruade a long sentence, thanking Goal that he was not as other men are, and despisin.g the Publiean. Such was the bchaviour of the Pharisce; |out the Publiean behaved very differently. Observe how he came fo worship God; " he stood afar off'; he lift hot up so mueh as his eyes unto heavcn, but smote upon his breast, saying', Goal be mercifid to ne a sinner'." You set, lais words were few, and ahnost brokcn, and his whole conduct humble and reverent; he fclt that God was in heaven, he upon earth, Goal All-holy and Almig'hty, and he a po.r simaer. Now all of us are simers, all of us lmve need fo corne to God as the Publican did; every one, if he does but search lais heart, and watch lais eouduet, and trx fo do his dut)', will find himself to be fitll of sius whieh provoke God's wrath. I do hot mean to say that all nlen are equally sinners; some are wilful silmers, and o" them there is no hope, till t.hey repent; others sin, but they try to avoid sinning, pray fo God fo nmke them better, aad corne fo Church fo be ruade betIer; hut ail nlen are quite sinuers enoug'h fo nmke it their dutv to belmve as the Publican. Every one ought to corne into Church as the Publican did, fo say in his heart, "Lord, I e.lU hot worthy fo enter this saered place; nly only plea for eomiug is the merits of $esus Christ my Saviour." When, then, a man enters Church, as mauy do, carelessly and fimfiliarls, thiukiug" of himself, hot of God, sits down coldly and at lais ease, either dues not say a prayer af ail, or merely hides his face for form's sake, sitting all the whilc, not standing or knceling; then looks about tu see who is in the Church,:md who is hOt, and makes himsclf easy and comfortable in lais seat, and uses the kneeler for no other purpose t, ha tu put his feet upon; in short, cornes tu Church as a place, hot of meeting God and Ilis holy Angels, but of seeing what is tu be scen with the bodily eyes, and hearing what is tu be heard with the bodily ears, and thcn goes and gives hls judgment about the sermon freely, and says, "I du not like this or that," or "This is a good argument, but that is a bad une," or "I du hot tike this perso su much as that," and su on; I mean when a man acts in all respects as if he was at home, and hOt in God's Ilouse,—all I can say is, that he ventures tu du in God's presence what neither Cherubim nor Seraphim venture tu du, for they veil their faces, and, as if not daring tu address God, praise Him tu each other, in fev words, and those continually repeated, saying, Ho]y, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. What I bave said has been enough tu suggest what if is tu serve God acceptably, viz. " with reverence and godly fear," as St. Paul says. We must not aire at forms for their own sake, but we must keep in mind where we are, and then forms will corne iuto our service naturally. We must in all respects act as if we saw God; that is, if we believe that God is here, we shall keep silence; we shall ot laugh, or talk, or whisper durinff the Service, as many young persons do; ve shall hot gaze about us. We sha|l fo||ow the example set us by the Church itself. I mean, as the words in which we pray in Church are hot our own, neither will out looks, or out postures, or out thouhts, be our own. We shall, in tbe prophet's words, hot "do out own wavs'" there, nor "find out own p|easure,'" nor "speak out own words;" in imitation of all Saints belote us, including" he Holy Apostles, who never spoke their own words in solemn worship, but either those which Christ taught them, or whieh the Holy Ghost tauht theln, or which the Old Testament taug'ht them. This is the reason why we always pray ri'oto a book in Chureh; the Apostles said to Christ, " Lord, teaeh us fo pray," and out Lord graeiously gave them the prayer ealled the Lord's Prayer. For the saine reason we too use the Lord's Prayer, and we use the Psalms of Davld and of other holy men, and hymns whieh are given us in Seripture, thinkingit better fo use the words of inspired Prophets than oui" own. And for the saine reason we use a number of short petitions, sueh as "Lord, have.merey upon us," "0 Lord, save the Queen," "0 Lord, open Thou out lips," and the like, hot using" many xvords, or roundin out sentenees, or allowing- ourselves to enlarge in prayer. Thus all xve do in Chureh is done on a prineiple of revereiee; it is done with the thought that we are iu God's presenee. But irreverent persons, hot nnderstand- ing this, when they corne into Church, and find nothin there or" a striking kind, whcn thev find every thin is l'cad from a book, and in a calln, quiet way, and still more, whcn they comc a second and a third rime, and find every thinz just the same, over and over aain, they are offcnded and tire& "Thcre is nothing," thcv say, "fo rouse or interest them." They think God's service dull and tiresome, if I may use such words; fi,r they do hot corne fo Church fo honour God, but fo please thcmsclves. Thev want somcthin new. Thev think the praycrs are long', and wish that there was more pl'eachin, and that in a strikin oratorical way, with loud voice and florid style. And when they observe that the worshippers in Church are serious and subdued in their manner, and will hot look, and speak, and more as much at their case as out of doors, or in their own houses, then (if they are very profime) they ridicule them, as weak and superstitious. Now is it hot plain that those who are thus tired, and wearied, and ruade impatient bv our sacred services below, would most certainly get tircd and wearied with heaven al)ove? because there the Cherubim and Seraplliln "rest hot day and night," saving, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almigqty." Such as this, too, will be (le way of the Saints ilt glol-y, for we are told that there will be a great volte of much people saying, Alleluia; and again thcy said Allcluia; and the four-and-t«venty elders said Allehfia: and a voice of many waters and of mightv REV. C. W. SULLIVAN thunderings said Alleluia. Sueh, too, was our Lord's way, when in IIis agony IIc three rimes repcatcd thc saine words, "Thv will, not Mine, be done." If is thc delight of ail holy beings; who stand around the Throne, to use one and the saine form of worship; they are hot tired, it is ever new plea.sure to them to say the words anew. They arc never tircd; but surcly all thosc pcrsons wouhl be soon tired of hcarin lhem, insIcad of taking" pari in their g'lorious chant, who are wearied of Chureh IlOV, and seek fin" something more attractive and rousing'. Let 11 persons, then, klloW for certain, and be assnred befi)rehand, tha if they eome fo Chm'eh fo have their hearts put into sranze and new ri»tins, and their feelings moved and aitated, they eome for wlmt they will hot find. We wish them fo join Saints and Anels in worshil)ping God; fo sav with the Seraphim, " tIoly Lord God of Sabaoth;" fo sav with the Ang'els, " Glory t.o Goal in the highest, and in earth peaee, good-will towards men;" fo sar after our Lord and Saviour, "Out Father, whieh art in heaven,":md what fi)llows; fo say with St. Mary, "My soul doth magnify the Lord;" with St. Simeon, "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peaee;" with the Three Children who were east into the fiery Nrnaee, "0 all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, praise Him, and magnit)" llim for ever;" with the Apostles, "I believe in Goal the Father Ahnig'hty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; and in the Holy
Ghost." We wish to read to them words of inspired Scripture, and to explain ifs doctrine to them soberly ai'ter its pattern. This is what we wish them fo sa)', again and again: « Lord, have mercy;" « We beseeeh Thee to hear us, 0 Lord;" " Good Lord, deliver us;" " Glory be fo the Father, and to tle Son, and to the Holy Ghost." Ail holy creatures are praising God continua}lyve hear them hot, still ihey are praising llim and praying fo Ilim. Ail the Angels, the glorious company of the Apo.tles, the goodly fcllowship of the Prophets, the noble army of:Martyrs, the Holy Church uuivcrsal, all good men ail over the earth, ail the spirits and souls of the righteous,,11 our friends who have died in God's faith and fear, ail are praising and praying to God: we corne to Church to join them; out voices are very feeble, our hearts are very ea.rthly, out faith is very weak. We do hot deserve to eome, surely not;—consider wlmt a great favour if is fo be allowed to join in the praises and prayers of the City of the Living God, we being such sinners;—we should hot be allowed fo corne at all but for the merits of out Lord and Saviour. Let us firmly look at the Cross, that is the token of our salvation. Let us ever remember the sacred Naine of Jesus, in which devils were cast out of old rime. These are the thoughts with which we should corne to Church; and if we come a little before the Service begins, and want something to think nbout, we may look, hot at who a.re coming in and when, but at the building itself, which will remind us of many good thins; or we Inay look into file Prayer Book for sueh passages as the 8Lbth Psalin, whieh runs thus: "O how ainiable are Thy dwellings, Thou Lord of hosts! my soul hath a desire and longin fo enter into the Courts of the Lord: Iny heart and my flesh rejoiee in the Living God." Sueh will be out eonduet and out thoughts in Churç.h, if we he true Christians; and I have been iving this description of them, hot ouly for tle salie of those who are hot reverent, but for the salle of those who t to be so, for the sake of all of us who try fo corne o Chureh soberly anal quietly, that we may knov why we do so, and may have an answer if any one asks us. Sueh will be out eonduet even when we are out of Chureh. I mea.n, those who eome fo Chureh again and again, in this huinble and heavenly way, will find the effeet of it, through God's Inerey, in their daily walk. When Ioses eaine down froin Mount Sinai, where he had been forty davs a.nd forty nights, his face quite shone and dazzled the people, so that he was obliod to put a veil over if. Sueh is the effeet of God's graee ou those who corne to Chureh in faith and love; their Inode of aetingand talking, their very manner and behaviour, show they have been in God's presenee. They are ever sober, eheerful, Inodest, serious, and earnest. They do hot disgraee their profession, they do hOt take God's Naine in vain, they do hot use passionate languao, they do hot lie, they do hOt jest in an unseeinly way» they do
I 4 1Ycvercncc iu lVorshi/). hot use shamefid words, they keep their mouth; they have kep heir mouth in Chureh, and avoided rashness, so they are enabled fo keep i a home. OEhey have brig'ht, smiling', l»leasant fiees. They do hot wear a moek gravity, and, like the hypocrites whom Christ speaks of, make themselves sad eountenances, but they are easy aud natural, and 'ithou meanin i canno help showin" in their look, and voiee, and manner, LhaL hey are God's dent ehildren, and have 1Ils graee within Lhem. hey are civil aud obliging, kiud and friendly; no euvious or jea.lous, nog quarrelsome, hot spiteful or reseutfid, hot selfish, n«t covetous, uog nigg'ardly, hot loyers of the world, uo afi'a.id of Lhe world, hot afraid of what man eau do a.gainst them. Sueh are they who worship God in spirit and in truth in Chureh; they love Ilim and thcy fear IIim. And, besides those who profess fo love without fearinç, thcre are two sorts of persons who fall short; first, and worst, those who neither fcar nor love God; and, secondly, those who fear Ilim, but do hot love Him. There are, evcry where, alas[ some bold, proud, diseontented persons, who, as far as they date, speak against r&ig'iou altogther; they do hot corne fo Chuh, or if they corne, corne t.o see about what is going on, hot to worship. Thcse are flose who neither love nor fear; but the more common sort of persons are they xvho have a sort of fear of Goal without the love of Him, who feel and know that some things are right, and others wrong, yet do hot adhere fo the right; who are conscious they sin ri'oto time to rime, and that wilfiflly, who have an uneasy conscience, who fcar to dic; vho have, indeed, a sort of serious feeling about saered things, who revercce the Church and its Ordinances, who vould be shocked a.t open impiety, who do hot make a mock af Baptism, mueh less at the II«»ly Communion, but, still, who have hot the heart fo love and obey Goal. This, I fear, mv l»rcthrclb m« W l»c the state of some of" yo. See fo it, that you are clear from the sin of knowing and confessing what is your duty, and yet hot doing it. If you be such, and make no effort to become better; if you do hot corne to Church honestly, for God's grace fo make you better, and seriously strive fo be better and to do your duty more thoroughly, it will profit you nothing to be ever so reverent in your manner, and ever so reffuhtr in coming to Church. God hates the vorship of the mere lips; He requires the worship of" the heart. A person may bow, and kneel, and look religios, but he is hot at all the nearer heaven, unless he tries to obey God in ail things," and fo do his duty. iBt if he does honestly strive fo obey God, then his outward manner will be reverent also; decent forms will beeome natral fo him; holy ordinances, though coming to him ri'oto the Chureh, will at the saine time corne (as if were) ri'oto his heart; they will be part of himself, and he ,ill as little fhink oi dispensing with them as he would dispense with his ordinary apparel, nay, as he could dispense xvith tongue or hand in speaking or doing'. This is the true vay of doing" devotional service; hot to have feelings without acts, or acts without tbelings; but both fo do and fo feel;—to oee tlmt "out hearts and bodies are both sanctified togethcr, and become one; the heart ruling out limbs, and makin the whole man serve Him, who bas redcemed the whole man, body,s well as soul.