SERMON XX.
"' Il'herbe," is greater, the qold, or the Temple that sa»ctifieth the old!"
A TEMPLE there has becn Ul)On earth, a spiritual OEemple, ruade np of living" stones, a ïemple, as I may say, :omposcd of souls; a Temple with God its Light, and Christ tbr the IIigh Priest, with wings,,f An'els tbr ifs archcs, with Saints and ïeachers ifs pillars, and with worshippers for ifs pavement; such a Temple has been on earth over since fhe Gospel was first prcached. This unscen, secret, mysterious, spiritnal Temple exists evcrv where, flroughouf the kingdom «,t" Christ, ii ail places, as perfect in one 1,lace as it wcre hot in another. Wherever there is faith and love, this Temple is; faith and love, with the Naine of Christ, are as hcavcnlv eharms and spells, fo make liresent fo ris this 1)ivine Teml,le, in every part of Christ's kingdom. This Temple is invisible, but it is peri;ct and real because it is invisible, and gains nothing erfect.ion by possessin visible tokens. There needs no outward building" fo meet ihe eye, in order fo make i lllore Of a Temple than it ah'«,ady is lu itselt God, and Christ, and Ang'cls, and souls, are hot thesc a heavenly COUl'b all pert)êt, to whieh this world ean add nothing? Though thithflfl Christians worship without splendour, without show, in a holnely and rude way, sti]l lheir worship is as acceptable to God, as excellent, as h,dy, as though they worshipped in lhe public view (,[' men, and with all the glory and riches of lhc worhl. Sueh was lhe Chur«h in its beg'inning; "built upon lhe foumlafion of Apostles;md lh'olhels, Jestls Christ Himselt being lhe chier corl,er-stone," " builded tog'elher for au habitation of God throug'h lhe Spirit." In the Apostles' liIç'time it was poor and perseented, and the holv Telnplc was all but invisible. There were no ediI'ying" rites, no vm'ious eerelnonies, no rich music, no high Cathednfls, no mvstic veslments, no solemn altars, no slone, or marble, or lnetals, or jewe]s, or woods ofeost., or fine linen, fo signit)" outwardly, and lo holmur duly, the heavenly Telnple in whieh we stand and serve. The place where out Lord and Saviour first celebrated the holy Saerament of the ]ucharist., was t.he upper room of a bouse, hh'ed too or used for lhe oeeasionl; that in which lhe Aposlles and lhc holy women waited for the prolnised eolning of the Comforter, was also "an upper room " and that "flso in whieh St. Paul 1)reaehed af Troas, was an " upper ehamber, where they were g'athered together. '' Vhat other places of worship do we hear of? The water side, out in the open nir; as at Philippi, whcre, we are told, "on the Sablmth," St. Paul and his eomlmnions " went out of the vity l»y a river side, where prayer was wont fo be made. '' And the sea. shore; " Thcv ail l»l'oug'ht ils on our way, with wives ami ehildl'el, till we were out of the eity;:md we kneeled dmvn cm the shore and prayed-.' knd St. l»etor was in prayer (11 the lmuse-top; and St.. aul and St. 8ilas sang {heir hvlnns and psahns in prison, with their ri.et iii the stocks; and St. Philip baptized the Ethiolfiau eunuch in lhe deselM Yet, vherever they were, whether in prison, »r on the house-op, (.r in the wildel'lmSS, or by the river side, or on the sea. shore, or in a. private room, God and Christ were with them. The 8pirit of raee was there, the Telnp]e of God was l'Otllld them. They were eome unto the mystienl Sion, and o the heavelfl- aerusalem, and fo au innumernble eompany of Angels, and fo the spirits of the aust. There needed lmt gold, nor jewels, nor eostly arrav for thon, who hnd, what aeeording" to the {ext. was reater, w]m hnd the Temple. I lnigh be righ and fitting, if possible, o lmve {hese preeious things n.lso, bu i was hot neeessarv; fir whieh was the grea{er? 8ueh things did no make the ïelnple more holy, but beeame themsehes lmh" l»" being used fi»r he Temple; the gold flid lm snnetitk" the Temple, but the Telnple was g'reater, and sanetified the g'old. Gold is n thing of nought qthout Christ's presenee; and with Ilis Presenee, as in the days or" Ilis earhly ministry, it might be dispensed with. Aets xvi. 13. « Aets xxi. .
The case is the saine as regards the immcdiate suceessors of the Apostles, who were in still more f»rlorn eireumstanees, as rega.rds worship, flmn lhe Apostles themselves. The Christians wh,, came ai'ter them, were obliged to worship in graves and tombs fo save their lires flore le perseeutor. In the eastern and southen parts, where the Apostles and the first «mwerts lived, betbre the R'lad sound ot' he (h,spel had reached these aortllern and distant countries, thev were aceustmned bu W in caves dug ont of lhe rock. Img" alleries there are st ill remaining, in some places fi,r mlles undewround, on eaeh side of which the dead were plaeed. There the poor perseeuted Christians met t»r worship, and thnt night. Or the great peop]e of the rime huilt for themselves high nnd statelv tombs above ground, as large as bouses for the living; here too, in the darkness and solitude of nig'ht, did the Saints worship. Or in the dept.h of some wood, perhaps, where no one was likelv diseover them. Such were the places in whieh le visible Temple manifested itself in rimes of heathenism; and who shnll snv that it wanted nugt of outward show fo make if perfect? This is truc and ever fo l»e lmrne in mind; nnd yet no one ean deny, on the other hnnd, that a g'rent objeet of Christ's eoming was fo subdue this world, fo elnim if us His own, to assert His rights as its Ma.steç fo destrov the usurped dominion of the enemy, fo show Ilimsel¢ all men, and to take possessi,m. IIe is that Mustardtree whieh wns destined silenllv fo spread nnd overshadow all lands; He is thnt Leaven whieh was seeretly fo make ifs wav through the mass of human opinion and institutions till tle whole was leavened. Iteaven and earth had hitherto been separate. His gracions pro'pose was 1o make them on% and that by makinff ear(h like heaven, lIe was in the worhl ri'oto the beg'ilmin, and lnan worshil)ped other gods; he ealne into he world lu the flesh, and he world knew Him hot; IIe came unto ]Iis own, and llis own re«eived Ilim hot. ]ht l[e came i ortier fo make them -eeeive II-hn, know llhn, worsh[ 1) l[im. lle came to absorb liais wurld in(o llimselt'; that, as lle was lig4t, so if mig'ht. 1)e li'h also. When IIe came, ]le had no a l)la(.e 1()lay llis hea(l; 1)ni ]Ie came to make ]Iimself a l)lace, to make lIimself a home, fo make IIimself houses, fo fiishion for llimself a 'l,)rious dwelling out of this whole w()rhl, whieh the powers of evil had taken captive. IIe came in (he dark, in the dark night was lIe 1)orn, iu a cave uuderg'round; lu a cave where eattle were stabled, thev was IIe houd; in a. rude manger was I[e laid. There first ]Ie laid IIis head; but He meant hot, blessed be lIis Name[ lIe meant hot there 1() remaiu for ever. ]Ie did hot resign lIimself to (hat ()bseurity; lIe came into tlmt cave to leave it. Thê King of the Jews was born fo claire the kingdom; yea, rallier, lhe IIol)e of all nations and the Kin of the whole earth, the King" of kings and Lord of lords; and IIe g'ave hot " sleep to IIis eyes or slumber 1o tIis eyelids," till He had ehang.ed IIis mang'er for a royal throne, and ]Iis gro for high palaees. Lift up your eyes, my brethven, and h)ok around, f)r iL is fulfilled at Lhis day; yea, lon ago, for many ages, and in many eountries. "Wisdom bath builded ber bouse, she bath hewn out her seven pillars." V'here is thc.rot? where tire stall for ca(He? where lhe manger? where he grass and sfraw? where that despiscd place? Is if. possil»le th.t lhe Eternal Son should have been born in a h«de of the earth? was the great miracle there wrought, whcrcby a pure and spotless Virgin })rought fi.»rth God? Strane condescension un(lergolm te) st.cure a sri'ange tl'iunq»h He purposed fo change the lowest pif, in a place of darklwSS, and lu the decp." Ail was fo be by IIim rencwed, and IIe availcd IIimself of nothing that was, that out of not}]in tic mig'ht make all thhgs. He was hot born in the Temple of Jerusalem; He abhorred the palace of David; He laid tIimself on the damp earth in thc cold night, a light shining in a dark place, till by the virtuc that wcnt out of Him, IIe should crcate a Temple worthv of tIis ame. And lo, in omen of the fiture, even in His cradle, the rieh and wise of the earth seek IIim with gold, and frankineense, and myrdb as an offering. And He purs aside the swaddling elothes, and takes instead "a eoat without sealn, woven from the top throughout." And He chans water into wine; and Levi feasls Him; and Zaeehwus reeeives Him; and Ma T almints His head. Pass a few generations, and the whole face of things is chand; the earth is eovered with Temples; as if bas been for ages. Go where you will, you final the etenml mountains hewn and fashioned into shrines where He may dwell, who was an outeast in the days of His flesh. Rivers and mines pay tribute z86 Thc 'isiM« Tc»zh'. of their riehes jewels; forest, s are searehed for their ehoicest woods; the skill of man is put fo task fo use what. nature thrishes. Go through the countries whcre l lis naine is known, aud you will find ail that is rarest,ad mos wonderfifl in nature or art has beeu consecrated fo Him. King's palaces are poor, whether in al'chitcclure or in deeorati,,n, COlnparcd with the shrim.s xvhich have hecu rearcd fo llim. The Invisible Teml»lC has 1,eeome k-isible. As on a misty day, the g'loom g'radually melts and the sun brighteus, so have the gdories of the spiritual wovhl lit up this world below. The dull aud cohl c:rth i« pcnetrated lw the rays. Ail arouud we see glimpses or rctections t,f those heavenly things, which the citer of God shall one day sec face fo [-hêe. The kiugdoms of this world are become the king'd,,lUS o' out Lord and ,f llis Christ: "the Temple has sanctitied the gold," and the propheeies madc fo the Church bave been thlfilled to the lcttcr. "The glory of hel,auou" has been "g'iven unto if, the exeellency of Carmel and Sharon." " The glory of Lelmnon, the tirtree, thc piue-trcc, and the box together, fo beautify the place of tIis sanetuary, and fo make the place of His tket gorious. The multitude of camels have covered if, the drome&ries t,f Midiau aud El,hah; ail they ri'oto Sheba have corne; thcy have brought gohl and ineense, and shown forth the praises of the Lord. » "The labour of Egypt, and merehaudize of Ethiopia, and of the Sabeans, men of stature, have corne over fo it, in clmins have they corne over; they hure fallen down, they have ruade supplication'." a Ira. xxxv. 2 j lx. 6. 13; xlv. 1.
And He has ruade IIim a Teml)le, hot only out of inanimate things, but of men also as parts of if.:Not gold and silver, jewels and fine linon, and skill of man fo use them, make the tIouse of G»d, but worshipl)crs, thc souls and bodies o[" men, whom 1 le has redcemcd.,_NOS souls alone, He takes possession of the whole man, body as wcll as soul; for St. Paul says, "I besecch you, thercçore, lwcthren, 1)y the mcrcics of God, that yc present your bo«lies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable serviceS." And IIc claires us as tIis own, hot ont ]»v ont, but altog'ethcr, as -ne great company; for St. ])ctcr says, that we "as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to oflbr up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable fo God by Jesus Christ L" All of us, and every one, and cvery part of evcry ont, must go fo make up I[is mystical hody; for thc Psalmist says, "0 God, mv heart is ready; I will sing and give praise with the ])est member that ]ï have. Awake thou, lute and harp, ]ï mvself will awake right earlv. I will g'ive thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the people; I will sing lmfises unto Thec among the nations." Our tongues must preach ttim and out voices sin of Him, and out knees adore Him, and out hands supplicate tIim, and out heads bow 1)etbre Him, aud our countenauces beam of Him, and out gait herald Him. And hence arise joint worship, forms of pr.qyer, ceremonies of devotion, the course of «ervices, orders of miuisters, holy vestments, so]cmn music, and other thins of a like nature i all which are, a. if were, l,e incomin into this world oi the Invisible Kinçdom oP Christ, the ri'uit o ifs influence, the sample of its power, the earnest «,ç ifs victories, the means of ifs inanité.station. Thin's teml,,ral bave their visihle cstab}ishmenL Kins' eonrs and pahees, eomei} and armies, have dazzled lhe multitude, and blin&'d flcm, ill flwv worshipped them as id,ls. Su(.h is out nature, we must have something" to hmk up to. We eannot help admiring" «»ethi»; and iF there is nothing" g'ood fo admire, we admire what is bad. When lhen men see proud Bal,el set up on hig.h with all her show and lomp, when they see or hear of g're:tt eities, with their stately mansions, the streets swarming" wilh ehariots and horses innumerable, and the sh,ps filled with splendid wares, and great men and women riehlv dressed, with mamattendants, and men en'in,,'- Bmv the knee, and soldiers in brig'ht array, with the sound of the trumpet, and other militarv music, and other things whieh one eould mention, were if reverent fo be partieular,—simple men are teml»ted to look np to all this as the summit of perrection and blessedness, nay, as I have said, fo worship what seems fo them, thouh they do hot so express if. the presenee of the Unsn. Ilenee eome in servility, eoveting',jealousy, aml,ition; men wish fo be grea in this world, and try fo he great; they aire at riches, or they lie in wait tbr promotion. Christ» then, in order fo eounteraet this evil, has mereififlly se up His own court and tlis own polity, that men mig'h have something fo fix their eyes upon of a more Divine and holy eharaeter than the world ean supply; tlmt poverty miht
T/c 17«i8[« Tenq[«. 8 9 af least divide lnen's admiration with riches; tha meekness mighf be sef np on hig'h as well as pride, and sanetiy beeome out ambition as well as luxurv. 8aintly bishops with their elergy, ollieials of ail kinds, religious bodies, austere Nazarites, prayer and praise xvithout eeasin',all this hath hrist mereifidly set up, to outshine the fi, seinations,»[ the wofld. o tan the promise: " I have se watchmen upon thy walls, 0 Jerusalem, whieh shall never h.ld their peaee day nor night." "Sing unto the Lord a. new song, and IIis praise froln the end of the earth; ye that go down fo the sea, and all that is therein.... Let fle wilderness and the eities thereot" lit up their voiee, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sine; let them shout ri'oto the top of the mountains. Let them give ghn T unto the Lord, and deelare IIis praise in the islands '." And these words bean fo bave their fulfilment even ri'oto the rime that Christ came; for, as I said when I began, St. Paul and St. Silas «ay in the prison; and when he and his party left Tyre, the men, women, and ehildren, who aeeolnpanied them out, 2"eeled do« on the shore with theln, and prayed. Sueh were the fOrllS of worship in the beginnin; till, as rime went on, the Chureh, like some fait tree, put out her branches and foliae, and stood eomplete in all lnanner of holy sylnbols and spiritual ordinanees, an outward sign of that unseen Telnple in whieh Christ had dwelt ri'oin the first. And now, in conclusion, let me observe, that sueh a
" 9 o Tc l'TsiMc" viev as ]ms been taken oç t,he connexion of the rituM ()f religion with ifs @iritual and invisible power, will enal,le us to fi)rm a rig'ht estimate of thing's external, and keep us both fi'«,m a curious and superstitious use, and m arrogmt neg'leet of them. q'he Temple is g'reater than the gold; therefiwe eare hot thoug'h the g'old he away:—i sanctifies if.; therefoe cherish the g'old while i is lwesent. Chrisf is with us, thoug'h here le no outwm'd show; suppose ail the eomelv appendag'es of out worship stripped off; ye¢ where two or /hree are gaflwred toether in Ilis Naine, tic is in the midst, of lhem. Be it a eoItag'e, or the open fields, or even a pris.n or a dungeon, Chris ean be there, and will be there, if les servants are there. You will ask whether this does not c.untenanee persons who ho!d meeting's apart ti'om the Chnrch, or who preaeh in the st«'eets? No, i does hOt; beeause, in sueh cases, men do no meeg tog'ether "in the Nmne of Christ." tic says, "Where two or three are gathered together in My Nmne." Now, i does hot tbllow tlmç men are mec in l Ils Naine beeause they say or think they are; tbr He warns us, « Many shall eome in Mv Naine, saying, I mn Christ, and shall deeeive mmy." Manv a man labd', he is speakin in Christ's Nmne, when he is lweaching his own th»etrine. Chris did hOt send snch men, yeb they have run; and I[e owns them hot, thoug'h they even worship in Chureh. In Chureh, or in the fields, would be the saine in this marier. Stone walls d,» no¢ make a Chureh. Thoug'h they were in the vastest, uoblest, riehes bui!ding on earth, still Christ would hot be with those who preaeh another gospel than that which He delivered once for all. This is the vcry point I mn insisting" on. Itis the q'eml)lc which sanctificth the g'old; i is nothin but the invisible and hcavenlv Presenee which sanefifieth my place or any thing'. [agnificent or mean, eostly or eommon, it alone sanetiries either worshippers or building..ks it avails hot fo have sumptuous Churehes without thc Spirit of Christ, soit is but; nloekerv fo bave lm-e eong'regations, cloquent preaehers, and much exeitemcnt, if fhat g'raeious Spirit is away. But. whcre ]le really places His lhere, be the spot t palaee or a. eottaR'e, it is sacrcd and glorious. IIc who once lay in mang'cv, will still eondeseend o manifest Himself any where, as He did in primitive rimes. -o indignities ean be donc to Him who inhabiteth eternity. "I[eaven is IIis throne, and carth His footstool;" "the very hcaven of heavens eanhot eonfain ttim;" mueh less any bouse whieh wc ean build. High or low is alike fo im. This is an obvious and vcry eomibrtablc reflcctiou, when xve think of thc gïeat irveverenecs and profanations which sometimes take place in Chureh. Men corne in lightly and thoug'htlessly; they eare hot fo uneover fheir heads; they talk, and laug'h, and even sing,;s if they were in t eommon building; or, when there is any needfil work fo be done in it, and tools and other implements are brought in, they seem fo think as if, all of sudden, it were tuned into an uneonseerated place, beeause itis neeessm T to exereise a trade in it. Or, perhaps, if it so happen, they turn aside into it at other rimes, and think that God is hot there bceause man is hot there o sec them.,d so
ffin, when we g'o ino certain Churches, nnd see neglected state in which they are left, the font cast aside, or, if hot, used as a place to keep any sort of litter in; and the I[,,ly Tal,le mean and unsightly, with a miser= able covering, and the pavement defi]t.d and broken, and the whole lmihling in a state of negleet, of whieh any nenL l,erson would l,e nshamed even in his own eottng'e (fo say n,,thing wha wealtby people would feel, if their r,oms were leI't in sueh: e,,ndition); Ï say, when these and sueh like sig'hts meet us, perhals, for an instant, we are tempted to say, Can Christ 1,e bere? Can the l[oly Sl,iri deig'n fo sanetify water fbr the washing away of sins, 1,roug'ht in, as it is, with sueh irreverenee of mnnner, nnd in so menn a vessel? Or, ean the lifeg'iving Presenee and the saerifieial power of Chris be upon tba Altar? nay, ean if be an Altar, whieh is so wretehed fo look upon? ]]uf, I ask, or rather, any one will ask himselt on second thoughts, Could Christ be in a manger? Doubtless then IIe, whom the Angels of God worshipl,ed as the Only-beg'otten, when brought into the world in a place t»r eattle, ean be manifested, ean be worshipped, in the most negleeted Chureh. -o; out distress must n,,t be af all for Iii»c; sch would be superstitious and earnal; out distress must 1,e fiw the insul offered IIim, and so fitr as there is insult. If the state of neg'lee I ara speaking" of is no one's fault, then distress there nmst be none. ut if there be blame, then xve may and musL feel distress, that. our Lord shouhl be insulted by IIis own servants; and yet more on their aeeount, tha they should insult tIim. They who profane His Presenee, who treat ifs resting-plaee s a eommon house, and make ff'ce with if, these men do hot hurt Christ., but they hurt themselves. The Temple is reater than the gold. And, while IIe is displeased with thc profime, He aeeepts such oflbrings as are lnade iu fifith, whether they be greater or less. I[e aceepts out gold and out silver, 11o fo honour IIimself thel'eby, lmt in merey to us. When Mary 1,oured the ointlnen upon Ilis head, i was her adwmtae, hot IIis; lIe praised ber, nnd said, " She hath donc what she eould." Every one must do his best; he must. pray hls 1.est, he must sine" his best, he nmst attend his best. If we did al], it would be little, hot worthy of Hiln; if we do little, i may suee to show out fidth, and IIe in His merey will accept whatever we ean offer. He will aeeept, what we prefer giving o IIim to givingto ourselves. Vhen, instead of spending money on out own holneS, we spend i on IIis house, when we prefer that He should bave the gold and silver to out havin" if, we do hot make oto" worship more spiritual, lmt we bring Christ nearer fo us; we show that we are in earnest, we evidenee out faith. I requires very little of true faith and love, to feel an unxvillingness o spend money on one's self. Fine dresses, fine houses, fine flmfiture, fine establishments, are painflfl to a truc Christian; they el'eate misgivings in his mind whether his portion is with the Saints or with the world. Rather he will feel if suitable fo lay out his money in God's service, fo feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, fo educate the young, to spread the knowledge of the truth; and, among other pious objeets, fo build and fo deeorate the visible House of God.
29¢ Tc l "isiM« "Iemember me, 0 my God, eoneerninx this, and wipe hot ont my good dds tha I have done for bouse oç my God, nnd çor the oees thereoç. '' Sueh was ehemlnh's prnyer, when he had bee stirred lp fo elennse the sauetuary. Mav God remember us also, in nnv measure IIis raee has moved us fo similar nets ofzeal çor I[is glory! And, 0 mav ]Ie it His merey grant, that out outward show does hot outstrip our iward progress; lhat whatcver gift, rtu'e or boautifii], we introduce here, mav be buf a figure of inward beauté- and unsecn sanctiy ornalnenting our hcarfs! Itearts arc thc truc shrinc whcrcin ('hrist must. dwell. "Thc Kiug"s dau'hter is al]-glorimis within;" and whcn we are repeting of past siu, and c]e:msing" ourselves ri-oto all detilcment of tlesb and spirit, and perfecting holiness in the ri.nf of the Lord, then, and then only, may wc saçely employ oursclves in 1)ri'htenin, embellishing', and mal¢ing, g'lorious the dwelling'-place of His invisible rescnce, doing if. with that. severity, g'raviiy, and awe, which a chastened hcart and sober thoug'hts will teach IlS.