the gospel of Jesus Christ, for all people. And may it please the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, to grant to the builders of this house, to the worshippers therein, and especially to our Brother who may labour in holy things in this place, clear manifestations of the everlasting covenant, of Jesus its divine mediator, of the doctrine and spirit of his love, that this house may be to old and young, to male and female, none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven. Here may the gentle reproofs of the spirit of truth seasonably check impure desires, and the admonitions of righteousness be successfully dispensed. May the faithful word of reconciliation, the doctrine of God our Saviour, drop as the rain, and distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the gentle dews upon the mown grass. Here may the church of God flourish, and those who hear and know the joyful sound of the gospel walk in the light of the divine countenance.

When prayer is offered up in this house, may it be offered in faith, and in conformity to the will of God; and may it please our Father in heaven to hear and give assurances of peace.

SERMON XVI.

THE CHARACTER AND WORSHIP OF GOD.

DELIVERED IN CAMBRIDGE-PORT, ON WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18, 1822.

DEUTERONOMY XIV. 23.

"And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tythe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and of the firstlings of thy herds, and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always."

THE wisdom and goodness of God are clearly manifested in the religious institutions which owe their origin to divine authority. Man, being not only a religious, but also a social being, requires for the promotion of his rational happiness, relig ious institutions which, while they give a proper direction to devotion, at the same time make a wise and profitable improvement of his social feelings. Agreeably to these principles our indulgent and kind Creator gave to the people, whom he chose of all the nations of the earth, to preserve the knowledge and worship of the Divine Unity, such ordinances as were wonderfully calculated to remind them of his goodness, and at the same time to make the best possible use of all their social sympathies and affections.

If we duly contemplate a whole nation assembling, by divine command, and bringing together the tithes of the corn, the wine and the oil, with which a bountiful Providence had blessed them, together with the firstlings of their flocks, the increase of which they owed to the giver of every good and perfect gift, and in a most religious and

devout manner freely eating and drinking before the Lord, who not only requires but accepts this kind of devotion, we are led to view that Being, who is the object of these religious services, as one, who not only designs the best good of his creatures, but as one who employs the wisest means to promote his gracious designs. As often as these religious feasts occurred, the congregation of the commonwealth of Israel were privileged with an opportunity of realizing the goodness of the dispenser of all needful favours, and at the same time of cultivating and improving their acquaintance with each other, by which their social affections were reciprocated and strengthened.

In these solemn and joyful assemblies the twelve tribes would be led to forget any local prejudices, which an absence from each other had permitted to germinate, while the social affections would be called into action by all those natural means by which they are excited. But that which mostly contributed to unite that ancient people, and to render their religious convocations of special interest, was the condescension of the Divine Being in choosing to place his name among them.

In applying this subject to the happy occasion which has invited this solemn and joyful assembly, the following particulars will be briefly noticed.

1. The true doctrine of the divine name, the establishment of which in a certain place consecrates and renders it a proper place for religious assemblies and the solemn exercises of divine worship.

2. The true nature and spirit of devotion: and, 3. The design or object to be promoted by the worship of God.

The true doctrine of the divine name is thus expressed; Exodus 34. "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty."

It will not be necessary, at this time, and on this occasion, to be particular in setting forth the meaning of the words Lord and God, as it is well known' these words signify the possessor and ruler of all things, who alone is worthy of supreme worship; but what seems to be of special importance is, that we understand the nature of those attributes which are attached to the words, Lord God, and their due agreement. The attribute of mercy is most strongly expressed as follows: "Merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin." Hear this, O sinful man, and let the goodness of God lead thee to repentance! Stronger language could not have been used to express God's fixed, unchangeable favour towards sinners. Here let it be distinctly understood, that the true name of the Lord God can never be separated from that divine mercy which forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. Any doctrine, therefore, which excludes the sinner from the favour and forgiveness of God is opposed to the name of the Lord, and renders any place unfit for the convocation of those, who would approach their God, thro' the mediation of Jesus, to obtain the remission of sin. The law dispensation and the temple worship were true figures of the gospel, and that spiritual worship of which the Saviour spake to the woman of Samaria. But the legal covenant made no provision for the worship of a people who had no sin; for they found the way to the sanctum sanctorum of their temple, where the sacred NAME was deposited, through the medium of that blood which made an atonement for their sins; nor is the spiritual worship of the true tabernacle ever offered until by the blood of the everlasting covenant the conscience is purged from dead works to serve the living God.

But my christian brethren, let us, with a godly jealousy cautiously avoid the awful error; an error which has constituted a leading doctrine of an

apostatized church for ages, the error of supposing, that the atonement which a merciful God designed as a commendation of his love to man, was designed to reconcile himself to the objects of his grace. This error has defiled the christian sanctuary, polluted the name of the Father of Mercies, converted the God of boundless love into a Moloch, and the christian church into the mother of harlots, drunk with the blood of saints! Let it be kept in mind, that the name of the Lord is established by that doctrine which acknowledges him to be "merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin."

It is essential to the nature of God to forgive sin, for God is love, and love always forgives. This doctrine is clearly maintained by the commands of the Saviour, in which it is enjoined on us to forgive those who transgress against us; and we know this is the never failing dictate of the spirit of God within ourselves, when we are guided by it; and it should be deemed an egregious error for professed christians to allow themselves to believe that they are more ready to forgive the faults of their fellow sinners, than he is, whose grace hath forgiven them, and whose spirit alone can lead them to forgive others. We must furthermore consider it a fault to be lamented in the conduct of the pious of many denominations, that they fervently pray for the forgiveness of all men, while they pertinaciously maintain a creed that excludes millions of the subjects of their prayers from the mercy for which they ask! But while we cautiously and gratefully maintain and defend the sacred NAME, as displayed in the doctrine of divine forgiveness, we must not forget the attribute of retributive justice, which is as strongly expressed in our quotation from Exodus 34th, as is that of mercy and forgiveness. The truly awful words in which this subject is expressed, are the following:- "And that will by no means clear the guilty." Hear these words, O sinful man,