entered it to Myriads have

in their sins,

sively composed of saints; nor is it desirable that they should be so, as long as there are any unsaved sinners in the world. For they are intended to be ordinances of salvation, as well as means of edifying grace. This Man receiveth sinners :—who else will receive them, to love them, and pray for them, and bring them back to God and to peace, but the Lord Jesus and His united saints? Christ's house is called “a house of prayer for all people;" and many who have trifle, or even to scoff, have remained to pray. come in sinners, either careless or miserable and have gone away saints in Christ Jesus. We welcome all comers, then, from whatever motive they come. Nevertheless, let us for ourselves always repair to God's house with an express and pure intention to glorify God, to learn His ways and His will, and to enjoy that communion with Him which is carried on by the exercises of prayer and praise on our part, and, on His, by the manifestations of His cheering and hallowing presence. With these right objects let us labour to connect the true spirit of worship. Let us cherish a reverent and recollected frame; and earnestly implore the grace of God the Comforter to help our infirmities, especially in holy things.

And let us look forward to the general assembly in heaven, for which these earthly assemblies, when thus sanctified and improved, have a blessed tendency to prepare us. All the saints, of every age and clime, a multitude which no man can number, will be there collected, to laud and magnify God, and to spend a never-ending sabbath with each other and with Christ the Lord. And in the heavenly assembly there will be none but saints, and saints without fault before the throne. No sinner, and no sin, will be found in all that blest society.

"And, if our fellowship below

In Jesus be so sweet,

What heights of rapture shall we know,

When round His throne we meet!"

In the mean time, let us prize these earthly tabernacles of our God; frequent them, with our families and households; and cheerfully bear our part of the expenses of their maintenance. Let us emulate the zeal of ancient Israel, in response to the call of Moses, as we read in Exodus xxxv. :— "They came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord's offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all His service, and for the holy garments." May God grant us this grace!

ence to the command of the Gospel, we are to lay hold by faith on the sacrifice of Christ, pleading its all-availing merit, and confidently expecting pardon and salvation for its sake. Let me admonish you, my brethren, that you make as great a mistake as ever men can commit, if you think you have nothing to do in the house of God but to sit and hear,-even though what you hear be ever so scriptural and excellent. You come hither to transact a very serious business :-you come hither to tender your confessions to Almighty God, to offer up your prayers for His mercy, to put Him in mind of His own covenant, and to claim humbly what only through Christ can become yours, the blessings of that covenant. The feelings which should actuate you in this transaction are beautifully described in the following verses :—

"With solemn faith we offer up,

And spread before Thy glorious eyes,
That only ground of all our hope,

That precious bleeding sacrifice,

Which brings Thy grace on sinners down,
And perfects all our souls in one.

"Father! behold Thy dying Son,

And hear the blood that speaks above:

On us let all Thy grace be shown,—

Peace, righteousness, and joy, and love;

Thy kingdom come to every heart,

And all Thou hast, and all Thou art."*

This leads me to remark,

(4.) Sincere worshippers are about the Lord, as beggars crowd about a well-known benefactor, to solicit and receive a supply of their wants.-We all want many things beside the pardon of sin and deliverance from wrath; and public supplication, grounded on the sight and sense of these wants, is an essential part of public worship. Of this we have impressive illustration in various passages of Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple.† We come hither to † 2 Chronicles vi.

* Charles Wesley.

pray for blessings temporal, and especially for blessings spiritual; for the daily renewing of the Holy Ghost; for wisdom and consolation, for power and victory, for grace and glory. We have likewise many family wants, and many social and collective ones: we have wants and solicitudes for our friends, for our country, and for our kind. No man should come to the house of God with all his thoughts centred on himself. We come hither as fellow-creatures; and draw near to our common Creator with intercessions for each other, and for all sorts and conditions of men. And we have no want, for ourselves or others, which He is not both able and willing to supply, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. May we never neglect this branch of our devotional duty! This house is not likely to want a hearing congregation: may it always have a praying congregation!

(5.) Sincere worshippers are about the Lord, as children are wont to be about their father and friend, in the intercourse of domestic society, to express their affection and gratitude, and to hold delightful communion with him.-Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him; and, in His gracious dealings toward them, connects with the majesty of the supreme Potentate all the winning sweetness and all the condescending familiarity of the indulgent Parent. This intimacy of endearing intercourse, this freedom of unfettered access, they peculiarly experience in many of the ordinances of His house. Then, by the Spirit of adoption which dwells in them, they cry, "Abba, Father;" and come even to His seat, and order their cause before Him. Filled with holy admiration and gratitude, they appeal to Himself for the sincerity of their devotion; and exclaim, "Lord! Thou knowest all things: Thou knowest that I cannot praise Thee as I would, nor serve Thee as I ought or as I desire to do; Thou knowest much that is amiss in me, in these and other respects. But Thou knowest all things; and this, therefore, Thou knowest-Thou knowest that I love Thee!" He accepts with complacency the overflowings of their filial love, and

meets them with renewed expressions of His paternal tenderness and favour. He manifests Himself unto them as He does not unto the world; and truly their fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.-Finally,

(6.) Sincere worshippers are about the Lord, as servants are about their master, or soldiers about their commander, to receive his orders, and to execute his pleasure.-Perhaps there is some allusion in the text to the encampments of the Israelites in the wilderness. The several tribes were stationed in a particular order round about the tabernacle, which was the special residence of Jehovah's glory at that period of the legal dispensation. Now, one great purpose of their being thus about the Lord was, certainly, the prompt and effectual regulation of their marches and their halts. They looked to the tabernacle, and the Cloud which covered it, for direction, and implicitly obeyed the direction thus received. Of this you will find plain proof in the ninth chapter of the Book of Numbers, from the fifteenth verse to the end. Thus, at v. 17, we read: "When the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents." And at v. 23: "At the commandment of the Lord they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed: they kept the charge of the Lord, at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses." In imitation of the Israelites, we, my brethren, should make a practical use of the tabernacle of our God, and of all the instructions and ordinances with which we are favoured. Our attendance is not to terminate in the acceptance of Divine truth, nor in that mere temporary enjoyment which is the immediate result of devotional feelings. When we have heard, and understood, and approved, and enjoyed, we must then prepare ourselves to obey. Thus our profiting will appear unto all men; and by the increased purity of our tempers and conduct, and by our visible improvement. in all holy living, our families and neighbours will take