the publican, God be merciful to me a sinner, then it is that the swift winged messengers fly to the portals of the sky, seizing their golden harps, and attuning them to their loftiest strains, and all heaven rings with joy; For there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth on earth.

But with whom does the Christian associate when he comes into the house of God? Why talks the preacher about good men? Why does he speak about the holy angels? The Lord himself is there; it is the place, says David, where thine honor dwelleth. With what pleasure do you go to any place to meet a friend, who has been absent from you for a long period? But with far greater pleasure does the good man come to meet the Lord in his house : thus he exclaims with holy joy and with reverential awe, Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth.

5. The believer loves the habitation of God's house and the place where his honor dwells, because of the valuable blessings which are there dispensed. But let me not be misunderstood; let no man go from this place, saying, the preacher meant to confine the blessings of God to his tabernacle; for nothing can be further from my intention. God is everywhere; wherever we are, there he is; whenever and wherever we have a heart to pray, he has an ear to listen and a hand to help; for if we are lawfully detained at our dwellings by afflictions, or any other circumstance, he has promised to be there; but I maintain that we shall not enjoy the same blessings if we willingly and negligently absent ourselves from the house of the Lord. I confess to you, I understand not that dispensation of which some people speak. Some tell us they have no need of going to hear sermons, and that they can enjoy as much at their dwellings as at the house of God. But who does not perceive that this sentiment impeaches the wisdom of the Most High; and not only his wisdom, but his goodness also. God, in his wisdom and goodness, has established the services of the sanctuary; but such persons contend that these services may be safely omitted, and that Christians may enjoy greater advantages in the omission, than in the performance of these services. Banished from your hearts be this impious thought! What, my brethren, is it in vain that God has appointed the institution of the sabbath to be observed? What, is it in vain that he has said to Zion, There will I command my blessings, even life for evermore? What, is it in vain that our adorable Saviour has declared, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. I ask again, is it in vain that the apostle has said, Forget not the assembling yourselves together as the manner of some is? But let us forbear, for I trust I am addressing those who perceive and who know the mercies they have received in the sanctuary of the Lord. When was it, my dear brother, that you came into the sanctuary of the Lord, a poor benighted sinner? perhaps you had not spent

five minutes of all your preceding life in seriously reflecting on the state of your immortal soul, which must exist for ever and ever. Perhaps, you scarcely knew that you had a soul; or, if you knew you had a soul, you had been unmindful of its true interests all your life long. But, led by some motive of novelty or curiosity, you came into the sanctuary of the Lord; the truth, as it is in Jesus, was there proclaimed, and it came home to your heart; your transgression began then to stare you full in the face, and you then saw yourself a condemned criminal before God. When was it, you came to the sanctuary, bowed down beneath a load of guilt and misery, urging the momentous question, What must I do to be saved? Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me? When was it, that the servant of the Lord declared unto you the way of salvation; saying, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. And now you have obtained redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. When was it you came to the house of God, buffeted by the enemy? Then did you hear of Jesus Christ, Who was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Then it was that your soul escaped like the bird from the snare of the fowler, and you had a happy release. Or when was it, that you came to the sanctuary of the Lord, and you had a painful struggle against sin? happy was it for you that you came to the house of God; for there the joyful truth was proclaimed, The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin; and here your soul was blessed with peace. Or when was it that you came to the sanctuary, the subject of some painful bereavement; having lost, perhaps, a son, a sister, a brother, an indulgent father, a tender mother, a kind husband, or a sympathising wife; and your spirit was quite overwhelmed with trouble and distress? But there, the providence of God was considered; there the equity of his conduct was demonstrated; there you was reminded that he doeth all things well; and your attention was directed to that approaching period, when the moral government of God shall be fully illustrated and explained; and you were enabled to say, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, and blessed be the name of the Lord. Or when was it, that you came to the sanctuary of the Lord, contemplating the hour of your dissolution? Then did you not only hear of Jesus, but of his resurrection; how he burst the bars of death asunder, started from the gloomy vale in triumph, and opened a door at the other end of the valley, and let in a flood of immortal day; and then it was, that you could join with the apostle, and exclaim, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God that giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Or when was it, that you came into the sanctuary, and your heart was anything but devout? What darkness covered your mind! How cold was the atmosphere that surrounded your heart! But, soon the enlightening influences of the Holy Spirit were imparted.

Soon did the frozen heart begin to melt. You were led to say, like Jacob at Bethel, This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. Nay, did you not see, through this gate, the blossoms of Paradise, and feel their refreshing fragrance? and cry out, with Peter on the mount of transfiguration, Master, it is good for me to be here?

III. We pass, in the third place, to consider the practical operations of these devotional feelings. It must be obvious to every one, that a mere profession of religion is but of little value. It produces no practical results. Would you give me credit for attachment to any particular house, if, possessing an opportunity, I never frequented it? If you love the house of God, you will make it manifest by attending there; nor will you suffer yourselves, by every trivial circumstance, to be prevented from attending on divine worship. I am aware, that persons may go from custom; but custom is a very mutable thing, and may soon change from the house of God to the house of wickedness. I know that every man ought to engage in the services of the sanctuary, from the convictions of duty; but it should not only be a duty: there should be affection also. Again, if we really love the house of God, this love will discover itself in the way we seek to worship him. He has forfeited. every legitimate claim to everything that is called good breeding, who does not behave himself in a decent and becoming manner, in the sanctuary of the Lord. I refer to that state and temper of mind, to that spirit of devout reverence, which should be always manifested, when we come before God, in the place where his honor dwelleth. Holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, forever. Is the word of God preached? Such an one will take heed how he hears, that he may receive the truth with the love of it. Are the praises of God sung? If we have a voice, shall we not employ it in singing the praise and glory of God? And if we love the house of God, we shall be glad to see it filled. We shall not only attend ourselves, but use our influence to bring others with us. We shall say to our neighbors and friends, come and let us go up to the house of the Lord. If we are parents, we shall bring our children. If we are masters, we shall bring our servants. And thus we shall do what we can to give to the word of the Lord free course, that it may be glorified.

Lastly, if we really love the house of God, we shall manifest our love by giving a portion of our property to its support. It is an easy thing to say, I love the house of God; but we are not to love in word and tongue, but in deed and in truth. Were I to say to a person in great distress, Be ye warmed, be ye clothed, and make no effort to furnish him with these necessary articles to his comfort, how dwelleth the love of God in me? Now, with reference to the instruction of men, and the evangelizing the world, if I merely say, Be instructed; if I merely pray that God would send out his light and his truth, but refuse, if I am able, to give my pecuniary aid to

the support of the cause of Christ-what is the worth of my prayers and my admonitions? You, my friends, have acted a consistent part. You have looked around you, and discovered what the cause of truth demands; and, I trust, are determined not to withhold for its accomplishment. You are come, this morning, not only to join with us in the worship of God-not only to hear his praises sung, but to give an additional proof of your affection and love. I know it is proverbial to say, such and such things are as cold as charity. And is charity a cold thing? No; but I know what is. Avarice is a cold thing. It is always winter there; it is always in the frigid zone. But charity is a heavenly fire; it is always summer there.

We end as we begun, by dedicating this house to God, the Father Almighty, the only living and true God. We dedicate it to his undivided unity, to his supreme and unrivalled majesty. We dedicate it to his paternal love, to his free grace, to his supreme worship. We dedicate it to his Son Jesus Christ, the only Mediator between God and men; to the memory of his love, to the celebration of his moral perfections, to the preaching of that gospel which he sealed with his blood, and confirmed by the resurrection from the dead. We dedicate it to the Holy Spirit, the regenerating and sanctifying power of God; to those heavenly influences which bring back the rebellious sons of men to the smiles of their heavenly Father; to those celestial visitations which communicate peace, joy, and strength to the devout soul. We dedicate it to the sacred cause of Christian liberty, to the rights of individual judgment. We dedicate it to social worship, to religious intercourse, to the communion of saints. We dedicate it to Christian morals, to social order, to diffusive benevolence, to universal good will. We dedicate it to those solemn warnings, to those affectionate entreaties, to those persuasive arguments, by which a perishing sinner may be arrested and brought back to God. We dedicate it to the precious promises of the gospel, which pour consolation into the devout heart, and lighten the burden of human wo. We dedicate it to the hope of a blessed immortality, in that brighter world of glory, where reigns one eternal day of rest, and peace, and joy. Finally, we dedicate it to the great work of preparing the soul for that state of blessedness, and for nearer approaches to God, its Maker. Here, in this house, may heart meet heart. Here may man meet God. Here may devout gratitude, may fervent prayers, may songs of praise, as fragrant incense, ascend to heaven. Here may the blessings of God descend upon his people, and the dews of heaven water generations to come. May parents bequeath to their children, down to the latest posterity, this sacred spot, this holy temple, where they have met the smiles of their heavenly Father, and received pledges of his everlasting love.

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DISCOURSE XXI.

The Fall and Recovery of Peter.

"And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.' And Peter went out and wept bitterly."-Luke xxii., 61–62.

THERE is scarcely an incident recorded in the gospel history, more remarkable, more affecting, or more instructive, than the fall and recovery of Peter. It is remarkable, that one of his character and standing, should fall at all into known sin, but especially, into a sin of such a black and aggravated character. Peter had been a disciple and an apostle of Jesus Chirst during the whole of his public ministry, and had been an eye witness of the most of his distinguished and shining miracles. He attended him in his secret retirements, as well as in his public exhibitions; he was present at his transfiguration upon the mount, when his face shone like the sun in his meridian glory, and his raiment became whiter than any fuller on earth could whiten it. He, himself, had been the subject of the miraculous power of Christ, in being rescued from the devouring jaws of death, when sinking in the midst of the angry waves-yet he declared, and reiterated the declaration, and finally confirmed it with an oath, that he knew not the man.

We can but pause and mourn over the weakness, the fickleness, and the frailty of human nature. Peter had been honored by his Lord and Master in receiving from him the appellation of Petros, which, in Greek, signifies a stone; a title, pointing out his firmness and stability; but, alas! how weak, how irresolute, and how easily overcome; and such are the best of men when left to themselves, and exposed to the assaults of the great adversary. We should take the example of Peter as a warning, and, remembering our weakness, ever live a watchful and prayerful life, lest we fall into the condemnation of the devil. In the discussion of the subject before us, we propose to speak of the occasion of his fall, the aggravation of his sin, and his restoration to the divine favor.

I. We are, in the first place, to notice the occasion of his fall. The fall of St. Peter was occasioned by a concurrence of circumstances all combining to depress his spirits, and to fill him with fear and terror. The first thing which operated to produce his fall, was his self-confidence, arising from too high a sense of his firmness and stability. The source of this mistake was the vehemence of his own natural temper. Persons of warm and ardent temperament are subject to higher elevations and lower depressions, than those who are more cold and phlegmatic. We are in danger from those very elements of mind, which lay the foundation of all true great