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walk by faith, and not by sight, there will be no danger of your coming short of the prize of your high calling. One thing bear in mind-I need hardly occupy your time in its proclamation-bear in mind ever to ascribe the glory to Him to whom it is due. Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts; not unto us, but unto thy holy name, give the praise. As when the top-stone of the mighty temple was brought forth, there were shoutings of grace, grace unto it, so in all your present religious experience; and when in the temple of God the believer shall be placed a pillar of beauty, and ornament, and glory; and when on him shall be written the name of God, and the name of the New Jerusalem, and the new name of Jesus, then also will the whole vault of heaven, rejoicing in the triumphs of love, redeeming love and mercy, continue and prolong the shout, grace, grace unto it.

SERMON XXII.

LUKEWARMNESS IN RELIGION,

ILLUSTRATED IN THE

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH IN LAODICEA.

REVELATION iii. 14-22.

And unto the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spuc thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches.

In the course of our observations on the epistles to the Churches of Asia, we have been able, amidst all the censures which have been passed upon those

Churches, to find some consolatory circumstance. But in relation to the Church of Laodicea, now to pass under our review, we shall find a state of things of a totally different description; for in the epistle to this Church there is not one word of commendation; the whole of the address is in terms of the most severe and unqualified censure, without the acknowledgment of one redeeming principle, either of faith or of practice. And as was the character of this Church of Laodicea, so was its final catastrophe, and such is its present condition. The desolation is as complete as the imagination of man could have possibly conceived; and while I endeavour to give you some historical and topographic details, I shall scarcely find room to say any thing in relation to its present condition; for all that can here be said is,that Laodicea was, for Laodicea is not-and we may observe, the most awful expression of the Almighty's indignation, and the well established connexion between the sin by which they fell, and the catastrophe by which that sin was punished. But I must not anticipate. Let us proceed to give, as far as can be collected, all that is interesting in relation to the Church now under consideration.

In ancient geography there are four cities by the name of Laodicea, but the one which is alluded to in the text, was in that portion of Asia Minor called Phrygia. It was situated on the river Lycus, not far from the city of Colosse. Its ancient name was Diospolis, or the city of Jupiter. It was afterwards called Rhoas, and then Antiochus. It was rebuilt by Antiochus Theos, who called it Laodicea, from the name of his wife, Laodice. We learn from an incidental remark in Cicero, that Lao

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dicea was once one of the most commercial and wealthy cities of Asia. The city was once distinguished by the magnificence of its public edifices. It had three large theatres, one of which was said to be able to contain twenty or thirty thousand persons. There are many ruins of mighty fabrics which proclaim the former grandeur of this place, but time and earthquakes have defaced all things, and scarcely left one stone upon another. Tacitus says, that when Nero was fourth time consul, Laodicea was shaken by an earthquake, but by its own riches being rebuilt, it suffered the same judgment again; when it was deserted by its inhabitants, and lost, not only its opulence, but its name.

Laodicea is particularly remarkable in an ecclesiastical point of view. There was a Church here in the time of the Apostle Paul, but by whom it was founded has been utterly unknown. There is mention made of the Church at Laodicea in St. Paul's epistle to the Colossians, thus-" for I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;" by which though we learn both of the Churches at Colosse and at Laodicea, that St. Paul had not visited either of these places at this time. The angel or bishop of this Church of Laodicea is supposed to have been Epaphras, who is alluded to in Colossians, 4th chapter, verses 12-18: "Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved

Salute the breNymphas, and And when this

physician, and Demas, greet you. thren which are in Laodicea, and the Church which is in his house. epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen." In the Apostolical canons it is said that Archippus, alluded to in the above extract from Colossians, was ordained bishop by the Apostle. However all this may be, a large though lukewarm Church existed in this place towards the close of the first century, as is manifest from the epistle sent by Christ through the instrumentality of John, and a form of a Church continued here for a long time. We can trace it in history through several centuries, and the detail is interesting. There was a Church here in the second century, because we learn from the testimony of Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, that Sagaris, its bishop at that time, suffered martyrdom in the reign of Antonius Verus. I cannot find any particular notice of this Church in the third century, but in the fourth it was very distinguished for two eminent bishops, the one named Theodorus and the other Gregory. In the fifth century the Church of Laodicea had made such strides in temporalities, that it became the metropolitan Church of Phrygia. It continued so, as far down as the seventh century, in which age we are further told that Tyberius, its bishop, was present in the sixth synod of Constantinople. After this we lose the traces of this Church

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