OFFERINGS FOR THE SANCTUARY.
"" I'[e glorg of ZeSanoa shall corne vdo thee, ghe fir-tree, the pim.tree, md the 5ox together, go 5eautlfj the place of 21Ig Sactuar.; aad I will qtake the Tlace of 2lgfeet glorious.'"
VERY attentive render of Seripture must be awnre what stress is there laid upon the dut.y of eosfliness and magnificence in the publie service of God. Even in lhe rst rudmenls of lhe Chureh, 3acob, an oulcast md wanderer, afier the vMon of the Laddcr of Ang'els, lhoug'ht if hot enouh to bow down before the Unseen Prescnce, but partcd with, or, as the world would say, wasted a portion of the provisions he had with hinl the way, in an aeL of worship. Like David, he did hot. "'oflçr unto the Lord of that which eosL hiln nothing but like thaL relig'ious woman at the opening" of a more g,l'aeious Covenant, though he had hot "'an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very preeious, » yet he did " what he could;" makin a sacrifice less than hers in ifs eostliness, grea/er in his own destitute condition, for
9 6 Off«riugs for thc Sauclua3,. he "took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set if up for a pillar, nd poured oil upon the top of if'." Wha acob did as a solitary pilgrim, Dvid as a wealthy king, 5Ira T as a private woman, is presscd upon us boh in sacred history and in prophecy, as fulfilled undcr he Law, as fi)l'ctold of thc Gospel. The Bool of Exodus shows what cost was ]avished upon the q'abernaclc cvcn in the wildcrness; the Books of Kings and Chronicles set belote us the devotion of heart, the scdulous zeal,the carelcssncss of expense or toil, with which thc tirst Temple was rcared upon Iount Sion, in thc ealnmeneemcnt of the lnonarehy of Israel. " Now have I prepared," says David, "«il all »y @hl for the bouse of my God, the gold.. and the silver.. and the hrass., the iron., and wood., onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers eo]ouvs, and all manner of preeious stones, and marble stones in abundauee. Moreover, beeause I h«ve set @clio t() the house of my God, I have " »y 2»'o2çergood, of gold and silver, whieh I lmve given fo the house of my God, over and above all tha I have prepared for the Holy House." And he "rejoieed with great joy,'" and "l»lessed the Lord," beeanse the people also '" q[]?red «t'illity@, beeause vit y;effèct heart they ofl)red williugly to fle Lord." And Solomon, when he came fo use these costly offerings, sen to another country for "a eunnin mau," '" skilful fo work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in
Ojfcrijls for lhc Sanciztarj,. a97 tituber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linon, and in erimson; also fo grave any marmot of graving, and to find ou every device whieh shouhl le lU fo him, with the cunning mon ilX Judah and in Jerusalcm'." Such was he outward splendour of the Jewish Sanetuary; nor were the glories of he Chrisian fo be less outward and visible, thoug'h thev were o be more sl»iritual also. The words of the Prolhet in the text are but one instanee out of several, of the promise of temporal mag'nillecnce ruade to that Coveuant whieh was fo be eternal. " The g'lory of Lebanon," sa2s Isaiah, addressing" the Gospel Church, « shall eolne unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box tog'ether, to beautify the place of Mv Sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet glorious." Ag'ain " For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will lwing silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron; thou shal eall thy walls Salvation, and thy gares Praise." And again; " 0 thou affiieted, tossed with tempest., and no eomforted, behold, I will l;iy thy stones with thir eolours, and lay thy fiundations with Salqhires. I will lnake thy windows of ag'ates, and thv gres of earbuneles, and all thy borders of pleasang stones. '' Now if i be sakl tha some of these expressions are figurative, this may be true; but still the ve U faet tha sueh figures are used in the propheey, would seem fo show tha the materials literally denoted may be suitably used in ifs fulfihnext, unless, iudeed, sueh use is aetually forbidden. They do no eease fo be fiures beeause they are aetually present as well as spoken of. Real gld is 1 1 Chron. xxix. 2, 8. 9, 10. 2 Chron. il. 7. 11.. Isa. lx. 17, 18; liv. 11, 1.
as much a fiure in thc Chureh, as the mention of it is such in Scripture; and it is surch" in itself dutiçul and pleasant thus to lnakc much of the words of inspired t-ruth; and, moreover, the mere eh'cumstanec tlmt, when the (;ospel came, Cristians did thus proeeed, and sanetified the preeious thin's of this world fo r.liq,us user, looks like the fitlfilment of the prophec)', and is the nature or",n authoritative eommand. ]I,»uever, if m:v be objeeted that ex-ery ttentive render «,f S«ripture will he ihmiliar with tbis eireumstmwe also, th:t sueh otttward splendour in the worship ," ¢od is spoken {" in terres of censure or jealousy by our L«,rd:md Svi«,ur. Thus IIe says, when enumeratin: he «,ll,nees of the Pharisees, " Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites for ye mnke elean the or[«;de oç the ettp and oç the platter, but within they are fidl of extortion nd. " exeess. And aain, "' Ye are like unto whited sepulehres, whieh iudeed appear beautififl outwurd, ])ut are within fidl of dend men's bones, and of all unelemness." And when ]Iis disciples pointed out fo out Lrd the reat size of the stones o' wh;ch the Temple was built,a Temple, let it be noted, thus ornamented lw the impious Ilerod,IIe nswered abruptly, "There shall hot be ]eft here one stone upon another, that shall hot be thrown down These passades eertalnlv should l_,e taken into aeeount; but what do they mean did out Saviour sav that mag'- nifieenee in worshippin Goal, magnificence in His hou, in its furniture, and in ifs deeorations, is wron, wronç since tic has corne into the world? Does IIe diseoura'e us from building" handsome Churches,.r 1,eautit)'ing the eeremonial.f religiou? l)id lle exhort us fo nig'g'ardness? did IIe pu a sli.ht, on arehitectm'al skill? did He imply we should 1,1case I[im the more, the less studv and trouble we g'ave fo the externals of worship rejeetiu# the otlbrin" of IIerod, did I[e fm'bid the devoti,,n of Christians This is wha manv persons think. I do hot exag'- gerate when I say, that thev thiuk the more homclv and thmiliar their worshi 1, is, thc more spiritual if beeomes. And thcv ara'ne, tlmt fo aire ai extcrnal beautv in the service of thc Sanctumç-, is t» bc likc the Pharisees, fo be fiir without and hollow within; that whercas the Pharisccs pretcndcd a. sanctitv and religi«nsness ontsidc which thev had hot inside, thercç,rc, cvcrv one who aires at outward religion sacrifices fo it inward. This is a consideration worth dwelling" on; hot indeed for ifs own weizht, but beeausc it wcig.hs with so manv people. The objection is this; becausc the holh,w Pharisees were outwardlv holy, thereforc every ont who shows anv outward holiness is, or is in daner of becomin, a. Phm-isee. Now, fo takc a parallel instance, most of us perhaps bave heard a proverb, that "eleanlincss is uext fo g'odliness;" which means, that the habit spokcn of is of a moral nature, af lcast aceidentally, and is a nmral excellence, and that those who arc defieient in if are eommonlv deficient also in other and more rclig'i,ms excellenees also. Who amonç us will not adroit that nothing" is more unwelcome, nay, under eircumstances, nothin
,3oo (7fcrizs f»r thc Sazcttary. raises more serious nnd anxious thoug'hts, than the absence of neatess nnd what is ealled tidiness, in appearanee:md dt,ss? We e:m often tell at once how youn pers, ms are tondre.tins" thcmselves bv the tirst glanee aL them.:klas wc rcad what is painfifl in thcir history; we read of « ehang'e in their rclig'ious state in the disorder of thcir l«,ok md the neg'lig'cnee of their gait. Or enter a viila'e sch«,ol: are we hot af once pleased with a ncat and bright-fiwed child? and do we hot a once take a dislike fo sueh as are hot so? But, n,w, suppose any one were to eome to us and say, "This i, all outside; what G«.d reqnires is a elean heavt, hot a. neat appearanee:" would this seem a pertinent objection? We should answer surely, that what ont duty requires of us is elemmess of hear¢ aml deeeney of «ttire also; that. the one poin of duty does hot interfere with the other; nay, on the eontravy, that inward exaetness and sanetity are likely to skow themselves in thi very w;y,in propriety of appearanee; and tha if persons who are exae in their lives are, notwithstanding, neglig'ent in their persons, this oug'ht hot to be so, and we wish i were otherwlse. Bu supposin the ol,jeetor went on fo say tha those who were nea.¢ and respeetahle in fleir persons and bornes had often ve 3" bad tempers, were ever makin a ])oint of bein" neat.,:md wha¢ is ealled "paoEieular," and quarvelled with every one who interfered with their own habits and ways. We should answer, tha i£ so, it was fo be lamented; lm still, in spire of this, i was a right thing to Le nêat, and a wrong thing to be slovenly; tha exaetness within bes showed itsel£ in exaetness without, and that cleanliness was the natural and most appropriate attendant on godliness. And ag'ain; supposing" the o]jector in question said that propriety in dress beeame love of finerv; that those who attended fo their persons beeame vain; that t was impossible tobe neat and respectable without g'oin on to dress gaily and makin show to attra(.t the attention of others. We shonld answer that a}l this ong'ht hot fo be, and was very wrong"; that vanitv was a great sin; that those who studied their dress disobeyed onr Lord's command not to think about raiment, and were exposing thelnselves fo temptations and were g'oin fovth they knew hOt whither, goin the way of death, g'oin the way fo beeome reekless, as al,ut greater matters, so alont dress itselL This we shouhl say; lut we should add, that sueh eonsiderations did hot prove that neatness and deeenev were hOt praiseworthy, but that love of finery was perilous, and vanité- sinful. But supposing" the objeetor supported what he said by Seripture: supposing" he said, for instance, that out Lord blamed persons who washed their hands before eatin bread, an(l that this proves that washin the hands before a meal is wrong'. I aih taking" no fietitious case; such objections really have been ruade belote now: yet the answer surely is easy, namely, that out 8aviour objeeted, hot to the mere washing of the hands, but fo the makin too mueh of sueh an observance; to out thinking if relig.ion, thinking that it @ould stand in ihe stead of inward religion, and would make up for slns of the heart. This is wha He eondemned, the show of great attention fo outward thins, «chi& inward thlngs, whieh were more important, wêre neglected. says Ilimselt; in IIis denuneiation of the "These ought, ye to have d, me," lIe says, o leave le other," the inward, «nmloue.'"
expressly ltev ought to do the ontward, buL they ouche to do more. They did the one and hot the other; they,,u.ht lo have donc both tbe one and the other. N,,w, al,ply this fo the case o[ beautifyin Churehes: as is nealness and deeeney in an individual, such is deeoralim in a Church; and as we should be offended at. sh,venliness in an individual, so ou'ht we fo be,fllendcd at disorder and neR'loet in out Churehes. If is quite truc, men «re so perverse (as the Pharisees were) that lhev sometimes attend onlv fo the outward forms, mad neglect the inward spirit; they may offer fo Him costly fiu-nitm-e and g'oodly stones, while thev are cruel,,r bigoted;iust as persons may be neat in their own persons and h,,uses, and yet be ill-tempered and quarrelsome. Or, aR'ain, they may earry their attention fo the,utward tbrms of religi, a too fir, and beeome superstitious;.iust as persons may t'arl'g on a love of neatness into love of finerv. And, moreover, Seriptnre speaks a'ains lhe hypoerisy of those who are religious,mtwardly, while they live in sin,jns as it speaks ag'ainst th,,se who wash their hauds, while their heart is defiled. But still, in spire of all this, propriety in appearanee and dress is a virtue,is next to godliness; and, in like manner, deeeney and reverenee are fo be,,bserved in the worship of God, and are next to devotion, in spite of its bein true that hot ail are holy who are grave and severe, hot all devout who are munificent.
O.ff«rh«gs for [hc Saizc/eta3,. 303 WhaL Scripture reproves is the co«is[eu, or w/mL it more solemnly eallcd the hffloeri. ff of bciug" ttir without, and foui wit.hin; of bein reliffous iii al»pea'anee, hot i truth. I was one ottbwe hot te» be religi«.us, i was:. second otlbnee fo pretend fo be relig'ious. "" Ye tbols," savs out Lord, "'did to tic tha ruade that. whieh is without, make that whieh is within also?" Sllcll;Is a lnan is outwardly, such should he be illwardlr. "" I[«.w eau Se, heillg" evil, Sl.Cal 'ood things? fi)r ou of the abuldace of the heart the mouth speaketh. _k good mau, out of the ffood treasure of the heart, bring'eth firth.g'od thinffs; :md an evil man, out,I" the evil treasure, brinffeth forth evil things .'" The ligh of Divine ruth, when in the heart, ough to beam forth outwardly; and when a. malX is dark 'ithin, well were i that he should show himself outwardly wlmt he is. Stach as a nmla is inside, sueh should be his outside. Well; but do vou no sec tlmt suelt a view of doctrine çoladelxmS hot, onlv those who altier, outward religio with«u inward, but those:lso wh« afl.e inward without outward? For, if i is an inconsisteaey fo pretend to religion outwardiy, while we neglee i inwardly, it is also aa ineosistency, srel3-, fo negleet, i outwardly while we pretend fo i inwardly. It is wrong, surely, to believe and ot, to protbss; wrong to pu out ligh under a bushel. St. Paul savs expressly, '" If thon shtd eoè «'i[ lb# ¢ltot[ the Lord desus, and shal believe in thine heart, that Gt, d hath raised Him ri'oto the dead, thou shal be saved ." Beliéf is no enoug'h; we mus eontbss. Nor mus we eonbss Lake xi. 40. Iat. xii. Bl, 35. Rom. x. 9.
3e4 Off«ri¢z2s fir the Sa¢zctztaO'. with out mouth only; but by word and by deed, by speêeh and by sileneê, by doiu and by no doing by walk and conversation, when in eompany and when ahme, iu rime and iu place, when we labour and when we test, when we lie down and when we rise up, in youIh and iu nge, in lit) and iu death,and, in like manner, in the world and in Church. 'ow, to adoru thc worship of Goal out Savi-ur, t,, make the l)eauty of holiness visihle, to brin otlbrins to the Sanetuary, to l»e eurious lu architecture, and reveren in cercmonies, all this external religion is a sort. of profession and eoufessi«n; i is noIhiug but wlmt is naIural, nothing bu wha is consistent, in those who are cultivatin the life of religim wihin. I is mos unbecoming, mos offensive, in those who are no religious; but mos¢ becomin, most necessary, in those who are so. Persons who pu aside gravity and comeliness in the wovship of God, tlm they may pray more spiritually, forffe¢ tha Goal is a Mnker of ail things, risib& as well as invisible; tha He is the Lord of out bodies as well as of out souls; ¢ha lle is fo be worshipped iu public as well as in soeret. OEhe Creator of this world is none other than the F;tther of ottv Lord Jesus Christ; there are no two Gods, one of malter, one of sl,irit; one of the Law, andone of the Gospel. OEhere is one God, and He is Lord ot all we are and ail we have; and, therefore, ail we do mus be stamped with His seal and signature. We mus bêgin, indeed, with thê heart; for ou of he heav proceed ail good and evil; but while we begin with the heart, we mus no end with the hear. We mus no give up this visible wodd, as if it ealne of the evil one. Itis out duty to change if into the king'doln of heaven. Ve must lnalfifest the kingdoln ofhea.ven upon earth. fhe lig'ht of Divine truth mus proeeed /}'ou out hearts, and shine out.,qou every thing" we are, and every thing" we do. If mnst bring the whole man, soul and body, inlo eaptivity fo Christ. 'fhey who are holy in spirit, are holv in bodv. They who sublni their wills to Christ, bow their hodies; they who oflbr the heart, bow the knee; they wh,) have fifith in I[is Naine, bow thc head; they who honour llis cross inwardly, are noL ashalncd of if belote lnen. They who rtoice wilh their bl'ethl'cl in their eolmnon salvat.ion, and desire fo worship together, bai[d a jd«ee to worship in, md they build iL as the jre«.s'ioa of their feelings, of their mutual love, of their comm,m reverenee. They build a building" which will, as i were, speak; whieh will protbss and eonfess Chris their Saviour; whieh will herald tbrth His death and passion aL firs sig'h; whieh will remind all who enter thaL we are saved hy IIis el'oSs, and must bear out cross after Hiln. 'fhey will build whaL lnay tell out their deepes aud mos saered thoughts, whieh they dare hot. utter in word: no a lnisshapel lmilding', no a sordid building, bu a noble dwelling', a palaee allglorious within; unfit, indeed, for God's hig'h 3[ajesty» whom even the heaven of heaveus cammL eontain, buL fit. fo express the feelings of the builders,a monumen which may stand and (as if. were) preach fo all the wofld while the world lasts; which may show how they desire fo praise, bless, and g'lorify their eternal Benefietor; how they desire fo gel others fo praise Him
:ds,; a Temple whieh mav erv m,t fo ail pas.ers "Oh, magnify the Lord oto" (,d, and fall d,)wn belote I lb.fstool, ti»r ][e is lI.l' ()h, ma'ni£y thc ]»)rfi oto' God, and worshi 1) l[im Ul)OU lIis l.»l" bill, for thc Lord out G,)d is ]h)]y '" Tlfis, tI)<.n, is the real state of the case; md when our Lm'd blamed the l']mrisees as hypoerites, if was nt attcndiu.;" t- the (,utside,»i" tle cup, l»ut rm" m)t attendin fo the inside a]so. Now, in answer t-o thc parallcl [ havc been drwin. oui, if may 1)e oliected, t]mt " iç the dccm-aiion of God's l>u],lic scr'ice l>e lil<c the personal dutv >f l)ropriety drcss and demeanonr, then decoration is wrong" when it is intentional and studicd. Those who are anxious how they 1¢,,)I¢, and what othcrs thinl¢ -f them, way fo 1)e win, if the" arc hot so alreadv; deeormn shonld be the q»o++t«t+teotts result of iuward exactness 'race in mamaeraud apparcl should be the mere outwm'd ima2"e of lmrmony and purity 0 soul. Therefore, hol- l>ersms ttire themselves wifl simplicity, sl>eak with modesty, behave with 'ravity. Their case, and their amiableness, and their g'entleness, and their composure, and their m:iest3", are as litfle known o themseh-es as the tïtm'es of their cmmtenance. ]ç, then, the parallcl ho]ds, exterual religion bceomes excessive as soon as if is ruade an object; and this, of coin'se, becomes l)rncticall" au argument )g-ainst ail consecration of wealth and of art fo the worshi 1) of God." One sin2"le renmrk, howcvcr, is sucient fo inv«didate this ol.ieetion; for, let if be o])served, in mnling" mueh of out own appear- Ps. xeix. 5. 9.
nnce, we are contelnl)latin ourselvcs; but in m.qkh lnueh of the eeremoMaI of relig'ion, we are contenlplatin another, and IIhn our Mal;er aud l{edeemer. This is so obvions and deeisive a distinction, lhat i should hot eare lo notice the objection lo whieh it is an answer, exeept lha if will open upon us a. fltrther eonsideration eonneeted with out su]jee. For if so happens that, a pl'esent, fitr ff'Oral aelcnowledg'hig ifs force, i is the wnv of the world fo be mos sensitively ienlous of over-eml,ellishmen in the worship of God, while i has no s«ruples or misivings whatever aL nu exeess of splendour and mag'nif]eenee in ifs own appnl'el, houses, thrniture, equipaes, and establishments. say s the way wth us ]n'hshmcn, w]m are the r]chest I»eOl»]e up«m carth, o ]a.y ou out wea]fi upon ourse]vos; and when i]e flou.h crosses out mhMs, if t over does, tiret such n application of God's bounfies s unworfly flose who re namcd nfer ][hn who ws born h a stable, aml dcd upon fle Cross, wc (lUCt fiem by asking, " Vhat is the use of all fhe preeious fhigs qfich God has given us, if we may hot enjoy them? The earth overflows with beauty and richness, and nmn is gifted with skill fo improve aml perfeet what he finds in if. AYha delicnte and eostly things do the streets of anv rieh town present fo ont eyes what hales of merehandize ] wlmt fine linen ] what silks ff'oto açnr! whnt preeious metn]s! what jewels! wha ehoice marb]es] a.nd wha exquisite worknmnship, makin what is in itself excellent, of double worth Xmt," if is inquired, "eait be done with all this bount.y of Provix dente? has IIe hot poured it all lnvishlv into out h:mds? was if given, exeept fo be used? And what is truc of thc more l>recious things, is truc of the less ln'eeious; it is truc tf sueh things as emne in the way of ordina D- persans; the Inxuries of opulem'e are, in their deçree, otlbred to all of us, as if we were opulent, for we partake in the emmuon olmleuee of out cmmtrv; why, lhen, may we hot eoy the girls of nature and arl, whi«h God has 'iven?" I bave alreadv sug'gesfed the truc answer fo this ditiieulty. The eartl is fidl of (h.l's wonderfid works, do vm say, and what are we fo de» wilh them? wha fo do with mm'Mes and pre«ious stmes, gold and silver, and thm liuen? Give them to God. l{ender them fo Him t¥om wh,mb md lhrough whom, and fo whom are alI fldngs. This istheir properdestinatian. Is if n better thing fo dress up out sinfld bodies in silk and jewele, or fo ornamen{, therewith God's House and God's ritunl? l)oes anv one dcmbt whaf ail these excellent fhings are meaut fir? or, ai least, tan he douht wha the- are nol meaut for? hot meant, surely, for sinners fo nmke themselves fine withal. Vha presumpfion would that l»e, what senselessness! Does hot the whole world speak lu praise of God? Does hot everv star in he sky, every tree and flowér upou earth, ail that grows, all that endures, the leafy woods, the everlasting mountains, speak of God? Do nof the pearls in the sea, and the jewels in the rocks, and the metals in he naine, and khe mari»les in the quarD',do hot ail rich and beautifld substances every where witness of Him who marie them? Are they hot His work, His token, His 'lory? Are thev hOt u portion ot" a vast natural Temple, the heavens, earth, and sca.,—a va.t Cathcdral tbr the Bisho 1) of out souls, thc All-suflicient Pricst., who first ercated all thing's, and thon:lg;lill» became, by 1)urchase, their Possessor? Does iL aloi strilc you, thon, ns cxtrcmc presuml)tion, aud a sort oç sacrilcge, to consecrate thcm to any onc's 'lory 1)ut (h)d's? 1[ wc saw things arig'ht, eouhl there ])e a more fl'i'htthl spectacle, m instance lnorc coml)lete sclt2worship, a more dctes¢alde i&)latry, than men and womcn lnaling thelnsclvcs fine that others mg'ht admire ¢hcm? lccpin¢ all ¢hcse for self, denyin" Chcm o ¢he rig'htfid Owner? viewiug" them as if mere works of "nature," as ¢hcy are somerimes called, aml incapal)le of any religious purpose Rccollect Herod; he was smit¢en by Che Angel and eaCen of worms, bccause hc gave n«,t G,)d lhc g']ory; and ow did he withhold if? By arrayiug himsclf in royal np1)arel, malin an ora¢ion, and bcin puisent of ¢he cry, "If is lhe v,)icc of a g'od and hot of a man." The l'Oyal ai,1)rel w::s iml:utcd lo him as a sin, because he used i, hot o remind himself that ho was God's miniser, but o impress upon ¢he 1)eople Chat he was a god. And every one, high aml low, who is in ¢he practlce of dressin os¢entatiously, whcther in sill¢ or in cortoi), ¢hat is, evc 3" ont who dresses o be looled at and admired, is USlg God's git's for an idol's service, and offering ¢hem up ¢o serf. No; let us mas¢er ¢his great and shuple ruth, ¢hat ail rich maCel'ials and produc¢ions of this world, leing God's property, are intended for God's service; and sin oly, no¢hing but sin, Curns ¢hem o a different 1)urpose.
All things are tlis; Ho in His bounty has allowed us to take fi'eely of all that is in the world, lbr food, clothin._g', and lodg'ing'; IIc allows us tt large range, Ho aNicts us not by harsh rcstrictions; IIc gives us a di;eretiona T use, tbr which wc arc answerable o Ilim ab»ne. Still, after all permission, ou the whole we must hot takc what we d» m»t lmcd. We may take fi»r lire, for eomfort, tbr ei«»yment; nt»t tbr luxury, hot fbr l»ride. Let us give lIim of llis own, as David speaks; let us houour Him, and n,,t oursclves. Let thc housc of God be riehly adorncd, for it is Ilis dwelling-place; priests, for they relwCscnt I[im; kings, magistrates, judges, heads of fi, milies, for they arc llis lnilfisters. These arc called gods in Scripture, and "all that is «dled God or that is worslnpl,ed, may rccelvc of His girls whose Naine they bear. Nothing', howcver rieh, is sinfifi, which has a religious meaning; which reminds us of God,or of the absent, whom we revere or love,or of rclations or fl'iends departed; or whieh is a g'ift, and hot a purchase. In 1)roportion as we diseng'a2'c if ri'oto the tllought of self, and assoeiatc if with picty towards others, do we succeed in sanctit)'ing if. ][ence it is that whilc Abl'aham sent jewels to Rebckah, and Jacob ruade Joseph a coat of many colours, St. aul givcs his judg'mcnt "that women adorn thcmselves with slmmcficedncss and sobriety, uot with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costlv array;" and St. Peter, that their "adorning " should not be "that outwu'd adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, but the hidden man of the heart ." Or again; compare the ]h,ol: of" Ezel;iel with the Apocalypse, aml y,m wi]l sec the rig'ht and Wroll@ use of earthlv nlailific'eliee iustimeed lu iii,, eity of Antie]n'ist lllld lh,lv el'llSillelll. (i,,d's jIldg'lllelltS are denoulieêd ullon Tvre ]ly tho Prqdiet, for ]Jeing" ll'Olid Of lier wealth iilid Sl/ending" if Oli herseltL "Tliou hast beell iii den, the 'll'l]ell o" (iodj evçl'}-pret'i«,us S{OllO IVIS thv cavering.; tlie s:u-dhls, hquiz, allll the diamond, the l,eryl, tho onyx, and the jasl,er, the sal,l»hire, Oie carlmncle, «lnd g',dd." And what fidhwed,,r was inv,,lved iii this? "Thine heart wils litted 1,eeause ofthy leauty; tll,,ll hast eorrul,ted t]l- wisd,mi by reasoli of tliv briR41tiless; I will c:st lhee fo the 'round.'" On the other hand, of new aerusalem we read also, tliat tho fimndatioiis of lier wall "were garliislied with all maimer of preei,ms stones. The tlrst tbundation was jasper, the second Silll,hire, the third a ehaleedony, the fourth nn emerald, the fiflh sardt,nyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh ehrysolite, the eighth bei5"l, the llilitli a tTaz, the tenth a chi5"SOl,rasus, tlie eleveiith a jaeinth, the twêltth an ilmethysf. And the tvelve gares wero twelve pearls; êvery several gare wa,»f one pearl, nnd the street,£ the eity was pure g'old as it were traiisparent g'lass.'" And all this suitab]y; i was God's eity, "and Oie g'lory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb was the ligh thereof=. '' Le us then, ff'oto what has beeu said, oii the whole, learn this lesson:to be af least as exact and ns decent in the service of God, as we nre in oilr own persons and our own homes; and if we are in possession of precious thin's besicles, let us rather devote them fo God than keep thcm for ourselves. And let us nevcr fi)rget that ail we ean give, thoug'h of Ilis crcation, is worthless in comparison of thc more prccious girls which IIe bestows on us in the Gospcl. Tlmu,h our Font and Altar were of eustly nmrldes, though our communion vessels were of gohl and jewels, ihou.'_4"h out walls were covered with rieh tal)cstrics, what is all this comparcd to Christ, the S)n of (lod and S(,n of man, prescnt hcre, but unseen! Let us use visil,lc things hot fo hidc, but to remind us of lhings invisil,le; and let us 1)ray IIim, that while we cleansc thc outsidc of the eup and of the platter, tte will give us thc Living" Brcad from heaven, and the Wiue, which is IIis Blood.