Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-03-19

Oop0n0 on lOcdtlOn Win respect to
population. People who want to give
God as little time as possible are
likely to begrudge space for worship.
People who say that any time
will do for worship are likely
to say that any space will do
for a place of worship. Now.
worship may te individual. personal
and isolated, or it may be in the SO
ciety OF our fellows. In the first case
it is titting that we go apart into some
desert place, into some secludet spot,
and there, free from the distractions
of society, commune with the Father
OF Spirits, the source of all life. 1t is
good to seek solitude sometimes, for
worship. To go to some distant
mountain top and there, alone with
God and his holy angels, pour out
the soul in prayer, and listen to the
voices that breathe upon the soul in
sacred solitudes. The poor. whose
time is pledged to others, whose h oil
days are few and far between. cannot
afford to spend days in journeys to get
away from their fellows and alone
with God. For their sakes solitudes
are made in the midst Of the most
solid masses of population, great
churches open and free for prayer
at all hours of ] he day; places VIII re
weary men and heart sore women
may come into the cool
shade, rest awhile and pray
before going out to battle
i'll the world. Many souls need such
places for private prayer. Some souls
are strong enough by Gods grace to
realize Divine presence in almost any
surroundings, and by recollection to
God, that nothing can break. Happy
are such souls. They are very few,
and excel their fellows in personal
holiness. Such a soul never says
that any place will do for Divine wor-
ship. Man is gregarious animal.
His activities are best exercised in
community life. His religious senti-
ments are strengthened and stimu-
lated by associations with his fellows.
There is no necessary antagonism be-
tween personal religion and common
prayer and praise. The man who
offers God a broken and q contrite
heart, who communes with his own
heart at home andis still, will be seen
in the Lords House on the Lords
day worshipping among the Lords
people. The man who goes out into
the fields on the Lords day morning
ostensibly to be alone for worship,
generally has a gun under his arm
and game-bag on his flank. His
anthem is the explosion of powder
and his litany the means Of beasts
and birds as they sob their lives ut
for his sport. A definite place and a
definite time is necessary to secure
the completion of definite work.
This general proposition is as true of
worship as Of any other activity.
Now the resurrection day fixed the
time of Christian worship. The
worship ON the Lords day and not
on the Sabbath gives evidence to the
world of our faith in the resurrection
OF the body. The will OF God that
one-seventh OF our time should be
given up to rest and worship is made
quite plain in sacred scripture and the
voice of the universal undivided
church. But what is the will of God
with regard to place of worship? Is
he entirely Indifferent to the matter :?
King David "sware unto the Lord to
take no rest until he found place for
the temple of the Lord" 1t was to be
an "habitation for the mighty God of
Jacob" After this tenn lie was built
King Solomon on his bended knees
declared unto the Almighty, Behold
the heaven, and the heaven of heav-
| ems cannot contain thee, how much
less this house that l have builded."
All old religions, false as we'll as true,
have temples where a person is wor-
SHIPPED with sense of his presence.
Modern meeting-houses hardly differ
from opera houses in their interior
appointments or the places they fill
in the popular affections. Amuse-
ments and pleasure are the objects
arrived at and secured. The minis
ter OF the most high is to-day
the pet Of the populace and to morrow
is forgotten, like the actor who
strutted his brief hour upon the stage.
What is the will of God with regard
to thu place of worship? Under the
old dispensation place was chosen
Wy oOu w pun AAiS HduC Gitlc.
There was a definite place that He
had appointed for His service, a holy
place, and most holy place. Has
God changed His mind? There is a
value set by some people upon places
of worship and the permanency of the
locations of the same. Temple block
is somewhat valuable because it is the
centre of the city. Its rents bring in
a snug income to some one. Suppose
we propose to buy it, tear it down and
erect upon it's site q cathedral for
the future Bishop of Southern Cali
fornia. OF course such proposition
would be hooted at. The property 8
too valuable. Too valuable for what ?
Too valuable for worship. Business
is of more importance than prayers.
The Syrian god, Mammon, pays bet
ter wages than does the crucifed Ma
zarene. Saint Athanasius stands de-
serted half way up the hill, and Christ
Church covers in rented hall over
the Opera House. This is the esti-
mate of the City of the Angels of the
value of location with respect to wor-
ship. A man would be considered a
maniac who should propose that the
city devote to worship the whole tri-
angular space bounded by Spring and
Main streets and extending from Tenn
pie Block to First street. The pres.
ence of 1000 people pressing towards
the center makes the space too valua-
BILE for worship. Trinity Church
stands at the head of Wall street, New
York. 1t is fine site for bank.
Try to buy it and see if location in
worship has no value in the estima-
ton of the people. There is value in
location for worship. No property is
SO permanent as that over which the
cross is lifted high in air. A place of
worship ought to be the very best that
the community can offer.
Card of Thanks.