the apostle says concerning them, "Are they not "all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to "them that shall be heirs of salvation?"

Lord, what is man, that thou art thus mindful of him, and causest him to be visited by celestial spirits? But, in the person of Christ, one far above all created spirits did not disdain to visit him; and the court of heaven is only attendant on its King: "Wherefore, "when he bringeth his first begotten into the world, "he saith, And let all the angels of God worship "him."

But-" are these things indeed so?" Do the holy angels take a decided part in our concerns? Let us, at length, take a part in them ourselves, and not continue wholly indifferent as to what we have been, what we are, and what we shall be. Some little time, surely, should be spent in the inquiry. Spirits above are active to save us; spirits below are active to destroy us; and we sleep, not to be awakened, perhaps, till it is too late.

At the creation of the world, did "the morning stars sing together, and all the sons of God shout for "joy?" And do men forget to be thankful for it? In a fit of spleen, do they say, they have no reason to be thankful for it? In a fit of infidelity, do they deny both the creation and the Creator? Such men, alas! there are shame on them-equal shame on those who have no more sense than to admire and en

courage them. "Praise the Lord, all ye works of "his, in all places of his dominion;" and all ye sons of men, for whom those works were wrought: "praise.

"the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, "praise his holy name.'

It is written, "When he bringeth his first begot"ten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels "of God worship him :" and have we lived to hear persons, calling themselves Christians, with Bibles in their hands, telling us, they find themselves obliged in conscience to quit the church, because she is guilty of idolatry in now doing--what she always has done -in paying divine honours to her Lord and Saviour? Such men likewise there are; and they too have their admirers and followers. The more is the pity! But marvel not: "it is the last time."

To conclude-Are angels "ministering spirits, "sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of "salvation;" rejoicing when we do well, and, consequently, grieving when we do otherwise? Have they been, in effect, under every dispensation, the guardians of the people of God? Let us duly reverence and respect them as such. When we consider them as "encamping round about us, to deliver us," let us no longer fear the power of the enemy; since "they "that are with us are more than they that are with "them." When we reflect that they are witnesses of our actions, let us do nothing that may make us ashamed before them; nothing but what we would do if we saw them. When we remember that they are to give an account of us, upon a return to him who sent them, let us take care that they may give it with joy, and not with grief. Let not our conduct be such, as shall oblige them to quit their charge before the

time. O terrible voice, that once heard at midnight in the temple at Jerusalem, foreboding its destruction-LET US GO HENCE! "Whoso defileth the

temple of God, him shall God destroy." Our bodies are such temples. May no unlawful desires, no irregular passions, ever so desecrate them, as that conscience shall ring in our ears the same dreadful sound; but may our heavenly friends and guardians continue with us to the end, to comfort us in our last sorrows, and support us in our expiring agonies; that, when breath shall forsake the body, the soul may be "car"ried by angels into Abraham's bosom."

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DISCOURSE XXVI.

THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN HOLY PLACES.

1 KINGS, VIII. 27.

Will God indeed dwell on the earth?

THE Occasion of this numerous and solemn assem-. bly calls upon us to consider well this question, and one which seems to have almost overwhelmed the vast and capacious mind of Solomon himself. "Will "God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the hea

ven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; "how much less this house that I have builded?" Certainly, that which is without bounds cannot be comprehended within that which has bounds, whether large or small; and, therefore, in a strict and proper sense, "the Most High"-as St. Stephen, alluding to this very passage, asserts in the seventh chapter of the Acts-"the Most High dwelleth not in "temples made with hands." But it is no less certain, that there is a sense, agreeably to which it may be truly said, that the Most High does dwell in temples made with hands. For this same king Solomon, in the same prayer at the dedication of the temple, has the following words: "Jehovah said, that he would "dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built

"thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee

to abide in for ever;" that is, during the old dispensation. And in one of the psalms, God is introduced as saying-" Jehovah hath chosen Sion; he "hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest " for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it." Accordingly we read, that "when the priests were come out of the holy place, the cloud filled the "house of Jehovah, so that the priests could not "stand to minister because of the cloud; for the “ glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah." The Master took possession of his house, and for a time displaced even his own servants, to show that he did so. As if he had said, "The house which you "have designed for my worship I have designed for

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your blessing; what you have dedicated, I have "accepted; what you have consecrated, I have hal "lowed; I have taken it for the purpose you in"tended." Or, to use the far more emphatical words of the sacred penman-" 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 perpe"tually."

Thus, notwithstanding the iniquities of mankind, and his own purity, as well as incomprehensible majesty, has God been pleased to dwell indeed on earth, and to vouchsafe an especial manifestation of his presence in holy places dedicated to his name, and set apart for his worship. A house designed for that end is therefore styled the house of God, or place of

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