The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1871-10-14
Sermon by Rev. II. H. Ball, d. D.,
OF WASHINGTON, d. c.,
At tile dedication Of Ebenezer N. e. Church.
Cecil County, October 1st, 1871.

At tile dedication Of E6enezer M E. Church
Cecil County, October 1st, 1871.
"Holiness becometh thine house, o Lord
forever. Psalm 90: 5.
In all tho ages of the past, the places
where men have been accustomed to assem-
BILE to worship the almighty, have beer
invested with sacredness peculiar tt
themselves, whether they were only the
majestic groves, Goods first temples" or
magnificent structures of marble and pre-
cious stones, adorned with all the ingenuity
of highest human skill. Instructive in the
heart of man is the feeling of reverential
awe, in the presence of the Divine Majesty
Even the records Of Nature where God
has displayed his mighty power-the tow
ering mountain, the deep gorge of the val
ley, the mighty ocean, the starry heavens,
the earthquake, the storm cloud-affect
the mind and heart with sentiments of sub
Unity and awfuln.sss, because of the i'm
press of Deity! Put off thy shoes from
off thy feet, for the place wherein thou
standest is holy ground must ever be the
spirit of the Divine requirement, when
man would approach into the presence OF
his maker.
The solemnities Of the Tabernacle SER
vice in the wilderness, ever hallowed by
the visible pillar Of cloud, by day, and the
pillar of fire by night, are familirly known
to all attentive Bible readers, even at this
remote period of time. And the ARK of God,
with the tables of the law, and the pot of
mama, and Aaron's rod, how sacred and
holy were the people, by Divine judgments
and mercies, taught to est Gem it! No
thoughtless hand might touch it! 1t was
the visible symbol of Divine Majesty!
1t is no unmeaning enterprise to build a
house for God. The money and materials
contributed for this sacred purpose, are
offerings to jehovah; and if made in the
proper spirit, are accepted by him. So
that the wood and the stone, the bricks
and the mortar, the iron and the brass, and
all the materials employed in its structure,
and in its suitable adernments, become
sacredly the Lords. There is covenant
on the part of the people, who build the
edifice, or cause it to be built, that it is
for God-for his glory in the salvation OF
men, in the conversion of sinners, and the
covenant on the part of God, that He will
there. record His name, and will there meet
with, and bless His people. Jesus will
never be absent, beloved from this sacred
place, when even two or three meet in his
name. In fair weather Or foul, cold or
warm, you may be sure to meet Him here.
The Sanctuary is for the soorship Of the
Lord, to the utter exclusion of everything
that does not pertain, directly Or indirectly,
thereto. No schemes of doubtful propriety
for raising money in the name of the Lord,
should be tolerated, for moment:-no
rafting, no gambling, no over-roaching, no
trifing! Reverence my sanctuary: am
the Lord lis an unrepealed, and an I'M
repealable mandate, through all the ages!
The money changers were present in the
Temple under the pretence of accommo-
dating those who bought and sold oxen,
sheep, and doves, for the purposes of Sac
rifice, when Jesus drove them all out with
a scourge of cords, saying; "My House
shall be called house of prayer: but We
have made it a den of thieves!''
No, no, my brethren. Let not this sane
tuary be desecrated by the sale of indul-
gences in any form! Leave such catch
penny tricks for those who imagine that
money thus wrenched from the grasp of
avarice, will abate the fires of purgatory.
You have not learned Christ. Let us do
evil that good may come" is no part of
your creed: nor would you adopt it, though
the infallible Plus the Ninth should pro-
claim it afresh, as a dogma, from the ven
cradle vatican! "The love of Christ con-
straineth us - must ever remain the test of
the true christian, in the bestowment of
his means, as steward of the manifold
grace of God. The cause Of Christ will
always find proper means for its support
if his servants will but strive to do their
duty, without any aid from these devises
of the devil. The earth is the Lords, and
the fulness thereof; and He can turn the
hearts of men, as the rivers of water are
turned.
The church of Christ scarce knew cor
ruption until the Pirit of pride invaded
its sacred precincts. Its first centuries
were characterized by simple and fervent
devotion, amid the tiercest fires of persecu-
ton. "All for Christ" was their record,
living and dying. A Nero, Decius, Or
Diocletian, might vainly decree the utter
of christianity: but centu-
ries before, the spirit of prophecy had pro-
pounded the significant question: "Why
do the heather rage, and the people imag-
inc vain thing? The kings of the earth
set themselves, and the rulers take counsel
together, against the Lord, and against his
saying, Let us break their
bands asunder, and cast away their cords
from u.s." And the same spirit of proph-
ecy had declared: "Thou shalt break them
with rod Of iron; thou shalt dash them
in pieces like a potters vessel" And the
blood thirsty emperors of Rome were
taught that "the blood of the martyrs
was the seed of the church,"
The Sanctuary is -eminently the place
for the dispensation of Divine Truth
Here is light, and life, and liberty, and
love. 1t is a Light House on the shore of
time, built under the order of the Cover
nor of the universe, to warn the mariner
on the ocean of life of impending danger,
to save him from shipwreck and destruc-
ton. High above the roar of the turbu-
lent pillows, its steady, cleaning light
burns, and is seen afar, shining
on the dark rock of sin, and the dreadful
breakers of damnation, and flashing its
even to the very port of glory!
And o, illuminated by its blessed radiancy,
what multiplied millions have weathered
the storms Of life, and have safely made
the harbor of eternal repose!
The Sanctuary has the pulpit, which
should be, which MUST be, which is, the
hottest spot in all this world! Over it is
inscribed in living characters: "Holiness