SERMON V.

THE ADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.

PSALM V. 7.

"AS FOR ME, I WILL COME INTO THY HOUSE IN THE MULTITUDE OF THY MERCY; AND IN THY FEAR WILL I WORSHIP TOWARD THY HOLY TEMPLE."

MAN is roused to action by motive; it has, therefore, been well observed, "When we are solicitous to engage our friends in any particular pursuit, we should probably endeavour to convince them, not only of its excellency, but of its tendency to promote their honour, their interest, or their happiness. In addition to this, we might observe, that if we were able to show that there was no alternative between engaging in the pursuit we propose, or sustaining a serious loss, and in. flicting upon themselves a deep injury, then we should feel ourselves armed with arguments the most convincing, and furnished with inducements the most likely to prevail.

And with such arguments and inducements are we in the highest degree supplied, when we

appeal to a professing Christian community, on behalf of public worship, and urge them to a diligent attendance upon its ordinances; for not only are such ordinances the most excellent, and their tendency the most beneficial, but the consequences of their neglect are most dangerous and injurious.

We have already considered the evil effects resulting from the neglect of public worship. We now proceed to notice

I. THE ADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.

II. THE MOTIVES WHICH SHOULD LEAD TO ITS OBSERVANCE.

III. THE SPIRIT IN WHICH ITS ORDINANCES SHOULD BE ATTENDED.

I. THE ADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 1. We may form some idea of the general advantages of the services of the sanctuary, from the estimation in which they have always been held by the best and wisest of men. The resolution expressed in our text, affords a proof of the high value David set upon divine ordinances"As for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy; and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple." This resolution was not formed merely under the pressure of sorrow or affliction; or like those secret vows made in the time of trouble and the hour of danger, much less from a blind attachment to that temple in which his fathers worshipped. It sprung from an intelligent and realising appre

hension of the blessings which flowed from its ordinances, and the high privilege of being permitted publicly to worship God in the assembly of his people. It was this which called forth that lively expression of joy-"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord:" and that feeling of devout attachment"Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth." And while the minds of many are agitated by various desires, or bewildered by the multiplicity of their pursuits, he concentrates all his wishes, and sets before him one object worthy of his most strenuous efforts—" One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple." To be debarred from such privileges, he deemed his greatest privation and severest trial: nor can we conceive language more touchingly descriptive of the mingled emotions of deep reverence, strong affection, and ardent desire, than that which he employs with regard to the house of his God-"How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! my soul longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is, to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary." It is impossible to enter

into the import of these passages, and the resolution expressed in the cxxxii. Psalm—“Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob," without admiring his unabated zeal and attachment for the house of his God, when forbidden to build the temple in honour of the God he loved, and for those services in which he delighted. As far as he was permitted, he gladly contributed towards its erection, "because he had set his affection to the house of his God." "And in contemplation of the greatness of the work, and the majesty of his God, he prepared with all his might, and consecrated all his treasures, and all his service, for the house of his God. Nor did his illustrious son devote less preparation of heart and consecration of service to the building of the spiritual temple, than to that of the magnificent material temple, which was the glory of his nation, and the wonder of the world." And the sublime prayer which he offered at the dedication of the temple, affords a proof of the high estimation in which he held public worship; nor can we read the following passages, without obtaining more than a general view of its advantages"Have respect, therefore, to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord, my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: that thine eyes may be open upon this house day

and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said, that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place." And, after he had beautifully individualized the various classes of petitioners, whether suffering under outward trouble, or inward conflict, and besought God that his "priests" might "be clothed with salvation, and his saints rejoice in goodness," "the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: 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 perpetually." 2 Chron. vi., and 1 Kings ix. 3.

But we have a higher example than David or Solomon of attachment to the house of God, and zeal for its services, manifested by him who "holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, and walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks," which forcibly recalled to the remembrance of his disciples the prophetic declaration, "The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up." And all his followers, in proportion as they have been animated by the same spirit, have manifested the same zeal for the public duties of religion, and delight in the services of the sanctuary; and we greatly mistake the mind of the Spirit in dictating the book of Psalms, if we regard those strong expressions of attachment and esteem for the house of God as merely expressive of the feelings and sentiments of the Psalmist, and not equally