THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM. THEREFORE, yet further I find a beautiful description of the heavenly state in the statement of St. John, that "he saw no temple therein." It tells me that there is no keeping of the earthly Sabbath, for all its days alike are “holiness to the Lord." And telling me this, it also tells me, that if once admitted within its gates of pearl, and privileged to tread its streets of gold, I shall be free from every remainder of corruption; I shall no longer need external ordinances to remind me of my allegiance, and strengthen me for the conflict, but that being made equal to the Angels, I shall love God without wavering, and serve God without weariness. It tells me that Eternity is one unbroken Sabbath, and one unbroken Sabbath it could not be to me, if I were not endowed with the noblest powers, immeasurably removed from all that hath intercourse with sin, and circled by scenery, and mingling with companions, and presenting no impress but that which burns and breathes of Deity. It could not be, that every day and every moment, throughout unnumbered ages, should be one of that perfect dedication to our Maker which is faintly imaged by the holiest services of the earthly Sabbath; if it were not that I should be imperishable and spiritual, myself a temple, immortality oneness with a Saviour. Therefore, however a human pencil, striving to delineate the heavenly Jerusalem, might have mingled sanctuaries and palaces, and have crowned the city with that diadem of towers which tells of dwelling-places, reared by Him whom the universe cannot contain, there is more, far more to me, in the total want of sacred architecture, than the rich profusion of dome and steeple with which man would have crested the heavenly metropolis. And though poetry, if bidden to pour its melodies on the home of the saints, might have drawn its imagery from what is most celestial on earth, and have spoken of the courts of the Lord's house, and the tabernacles crowned with the mystic insignia of a present Deity-nothing could have been so eloquent to me of the deep tranquillities and purities of heaven; and nothing could have so told me of one uniform cloud less and blessed Sabbath as the simple announcement of St. John," And I saw no temple there." We cannot find words in which to express our thoughts of the grandeur and the imagery which represent the Almighty as the temple of the city-a temple filled with Godhead-its walls his Attributes!-its roof his Majesty !—its gates his Eternity!-and to worship in this temple, to live in this temple-to worship God in God! Oh! there is a wonderfulness here which is not to be overcome in all our strivings. For, who can imagine to himself the everlasting Creator condescending to become, as it were, a sanctuary to the children of men; the gorgeous Cathedral into whose recesses we may penetrate, and at whose altars we may do homage. We can feel, O God! that the universe is thy temple; we are overwhelmed by the thought that thou wilt be the temple of the universe; yet, let not the majesty of the statement prevent our taking to ourselves its comfort and instruction. In place of going up to the house of God, I am hereafter to go up to God himself— the house of God is to be God. This is the grand change in passing from the terrestrial to the celestial, and I cannot hear of such change without feeling that I shall no longer be taught through the ministry of my brethren, or the instrumentality of ordinances; but that I shall be privileged to gather in good from as much of actual inspection, and immediate communing with heaven, as consist with the difference between the finite and the infinite. If, indeed, the mind can ever entertain such thought, what a mysterious and thrilling alteration would be made in the face of this present assembly if the preacher's voice were suddenly hushed, and in its stead were heard a sound whose might and melodiousness proclaimed it not of this earth; and if yet further the structure within which we are gathered, losing all aspects of material, perishable matter, were converted into one brilliant manifestation of Godhead; its walls composed of the sapphire and the cloud, and the solemn and splendid coruscations of righteousness and truth, and justice, and love, and kindness, mingling themselves for its roof; who shall tell me the emotions of every heart whilst in the temple it saw nothing but Deity embodied, and the voice of the Eternal One make mention of solemn things! and august! and mighty! and magnificent! Who among those who are following on with all diligence to know the Lord, would not feel, even after the trials of this present estate, the coldness and the poverty of the best earthly ministrations, and long with an ardour, such as had never yet glowed within his breast, to be again, as it were, enshrined in Deity, and again taught immortality by him "who was, and is, and is to come.' Ye shall not long in vain! if there be faithfulness in the delineations which Scripture gives of the heavenly Jerusalem, the Almighty himself, and the Lamb, shall be the temple of that glorious city, and, therefore, the inhabitants, instead of assembling as now in churches built with hands, will be for ever encircled and occupied by fresh displays of Divinity, and the Mediator, moving continually through their ranks, shall unravel the intricate, and unfold the mysterious. MELVILL. PRIDE OF INFIDELITY. The wicked, says the Psalmist, through the pride of their countenance will not seek after God: God is not in all their thoughts. When we consider the incredible vanity of the atheistical sect, together with the settled malignity and unrelenting rancour with which they pursue every vestige of religion, is it uncandid to suppose that its humbling tendency is one principal cause of their enmity; that they are eager to displace a Deity from the minds of men, that they may occupy the void; to crumble the throne of the Eternal unto dust, that they may elevate themselves on its ruins; and that, as their licentiousness is impatient of restraint, so their pride disdains a superior?-R. HALL. London: Printed by C. Roworth & Sons, Bell Yard, Temple Bar. THE LAYING OF THE FIRST STONE OF THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY, Pemberton Row, Gough Square. ON Tuesday (Oct. 3, 1837) the Lord Mayor laid the first stone of the new church, which is to be called the Church of the Holy Trinity, in New-street-square, in the parish of St. Bride. The church is to contain 1,100 sittings, of which 700 will be assigned at a very low price, or left altogether free. It is about to be erected in a necessitous and densely-peopled neighbourhood, and in order to the support of a resident minister who may devote himself exclusively to the pastoral charge of the surrounding population, subscriptions are earnestly solicited towards providing a suitable endowment. The Lord Mayor, attended by the city and parochial authorities, went in procession from St. Bride's Church at one o'clock, and upon reaching the ground, addressed the assembled multitude in the following words : "Christian Friends,-Numerous and diversified as are the duties necessarily incumbent upon the chief magistrate of this great city, none has been more gratifying to myself than that which I have the honour of performing this day. I feel it to be not only a pleasing duty, but one of a sacred character, that of laying the first stone of an edifice intended to be devoted to the service of ALMIGHTY GOD. No sooner had your vicar ascertained by accurate inquiry how large a portion of those whose spiritual care is intrusted to him were destitute of the opportunity of public worship, than the inhabitants of this extensive parish and their friends responded to his appeals, and their generous and Christian contributions, aided by her Majesty's commis[No. 21.] vol. 11. I sioners for building churches, and also by grants from the Metropolis Churches' Fund, have furnished the means of erecting a temple for divine worship according to the form established in our National Church, of which it is not too much to say that it is built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, JESUS CHRIST himself being the chief corner-stone. The great design of all her ministrations is to promote the cause of truth and piety in the land. The Liturgy is for the most part expressed in the very words and phrases of Holy Scripture, while the remainder is composed of the devotions which were used in the past and present ages. Simplicity, pathos, and devotion, are so happily united in it, that the most learned, equally with the humblest Christian, may unite in the use of it to offer their devout adorations to the MOST HIGH. Fruitless, however will be the labour of man; 'except the LORD doth build the house, they labour in vain that build it.' And I may here apply the words of the late excellent divine, Dr. Coomber, in one of his sermons on the Liturgy : May the GOD of peace reconcile us to these prayers, and to one another, giving us pious and zealous priests, decent and well-disposed people, that we may have full churches, frequent prayers, and fervent charity, than which nothing would more conduce to the public happiness of this nation, and the salvation of all our souls.' And I sincerely hope that the present generation, and future ages, may gratefully own the benefits which they will derive from this house of prayer, and may the bounty of the LORD Our GOD be upon us, and establish Thou the work of our hands. Yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it.' His Lordship then proceeded with the ceremony amidst the applauses of the assembled multitude. COPY OF THE INSCRIPTION ON THE STONE. The foundation stone of this church, dedicated to the Blessed Trinity, was laid by the Right Honourable Thomas Kelly, Lord Mayor of the City of London, on the 3rd October, 1837. Churchwardens. Rev. Thos. Dale, M.A. Vicar. Sidesman. |