Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1889-05-15

approaches to the throne of grace. Moses, who
had always shown himself great leader, was
thenceforward to be known as a great law
eiver also. The great doctrine of redemption
| by vicarious sacrifce-which is the central
doctrine of Christianity. the only religion on
earth that fully meets the wants of the fallen
and guilty, was to be kept continually before
| the minds of the Israllites by the faithful CD,
servance of the requirements OF the Levltlcai
| system: and that sy stem was to be connected
inseparably with the Tabernacle and It's Court.
| AS the one sole sanctuary for all the tribes II
were SEEN the Holy Tent of God, with its
canopy of cloud by day and IRE by night, was
also to be seen in the center OF the camp.
| This frail and perishable structure, however,
which could be easily taken down ana move9
| from place TO place, though admlrapiy aoaptea
to the needs Of an unsettleu }hs peo
ple became rooted to the soil ana dwelt ID
| liked habitations. 1t is no matter OF surprise.
| therefore that when David, the 1st tneocrat1c
King fonnd himself in secure possession OF his
crown he conceived the idea of substituting
| the time honored Tabernacle with magnlh
cent Temple And when we recall the fact
that he "had been man of war; and a profuse
shedder of human blood, 1t is as little surpr1s.
| Ing that God held him back from carrying out
mis- purpose and assigned tie task OF building
the sacred edifice to Solomon, his son and sue
cessor,-a man of pacific temperament, whose
very name was sgnif1cant ana sfR tx as MN am
scribed by prophecy as "The Prince OF Peace, y
| and to preach with his own lips that Gospel
which Is the "Gospel of peace"
Several years of unbroken labor passed. an q
the dream of David's life WIS realized. The
splendid pile that glorited Mor1ah's Suminlt
was complete in all its appointments. Ine uay
that had SO long been anticipated, and with
ever growing longing, by every plous lsraelite,
had at last arrived. The Holy Land seemed 10
have emptied all its Inhabitants INTO the
streets of Jerusalem. Young men shouted, ano
old men wept with tears of JOY. me great
brazen altar smoked with hecstonos Oh sde III
the congregation of Israel" the ark was borne
from Zion. the city of David, ana depositea
the Shekipah-the visible sym Dol of the divine
presence, filled the whole house, and The
priests "could not stand to minister
because of the cloud; for the glory OF the Loru
had filled the house OF the Lord"
It would not seem to have been out of place,
had the impressive services in Whlch the klng,
thu priests the Levites, the elders and the
people had all participated. terminated with
Gods formal acceptance OF the temple. ana the
mute wonder and awe upon the scene they
had Just witnessed-the symbol1cal entrance OF
the Great King into bis earthly palace. But
imposing as this was. 1T did not complete the
dedication Of the sacred edifice. The king
would not send the people to their MONIES
until he had stood before the altar, where ne
could be seen by the whole of the vast as
sembly and in their presence and on their
behalf spread forth his hands towards heaven.
praisiug God for His infinite exaltat1on and
Everlasting mercy and faithfulness, and sup.
plicating His favor towards the mouse which
he had built to the glory of His name: Have
shown respect unto the prayer of thy servant,
and to his supplicatfon. o Lord my God, to
hearken unto the cry and to the prayer. which
thy servant prayeth before thee to-day. that
thine eyes may be open towards this house
night and day, even toward the place of
which thou hast said my name Shall be
there"
Our service this morning has none of the i'm
posing display that marked the dedication OF
the LIST temple and overawed the minds OF
those who witnessed it, It is none the less &C &C,
ceptable however. to Christ If we are moved
by His Holy Spirit to offer it, nor any the less
delightful to us; for we are settlng apart ex.
cusyey for tine ye WG ospe al budng whiee
was begun and has been finished by willing
hearts and hands. 1t may not be improper or
improbable then in following out the train OF
thought suggested by the text and context,
l. To dwell for a while, in the first place, On
the sacred character that attaches TO every
church edifice. No one will claim that in
strict proprety of speech holiness can be at
tributed to any inanimate object. NOT only
must there be life, there must also pc a ration
al and moral nature created originally in the
image of God and continuously true In us de-
velopment to its divine original, to Justify the
claim of any creature to be esteemed holy; and
vet the Old Testament writers nowhere shrink
from calling the temple, as whole, Gods
Sanctuary, or Hoy House. 1t does not seem
ever to have occurred TO them that they were
usfne a false misleading, and dangerous phrase
ology when they so wrote; or that they were
likely to be misunderstood ana become propa-
gators OF a perilous superstition, When lhey
thought and spoke Of the inner chamber
which was regarded as pre-eminently the
abode of the invisible GodMas the holy OF
by divine authority, first TO the tabernacle of
Moses and then to the temple of Solomon, why
may it not be appmed with an equaLy oiVi ne
What more unquestonable right had the TOM
pie walls to be considered sacred than those in
VIII CHI Christians gather TO remember lhelr
cavern ant-keeping Goa, to receive the truth
at the hands of His accredited ambassadors,
and to pour out their hearts before him. in
supplication, Thanksgiving, and confession, in
tina name of Jesus? Because we have no
mercy. seat of gold to be approached by one of
Aaron's sons and sprinkled with symbolically
atoniny blood, have we therefore no mercy
seat at all? Which is better, the mercy seat of
old bearing upon its shining surface the marks
of blood that could not purge the conscience
ofthe Worshiper, or that, in every Christian
church on which the eye of faith dlscerns the
blood of the Lamb of God which taketh away
tha sin of the world? We have no Levitical
priesthood ministeripg before a braZen altar;
but why should we mourn the absences of the
shadow when we have the substance, Jesus,
the Son of God, our great High Priest VINO has
passed into the heavens? And although the
glory Of the Shekinah has long since been
withdrawn from earth, has not Jesus given US
in its stead the promise of his gracious,
strengthening and refreshing presence when
we assemble for His worship whether in
Cathedral, Church, or SNAPPER henceiortn
new character. It may not be legitimately
used for furtheripg any mere secular schemes,
however laudable in themselves considered.
ri should never be opened for purely festive
gatherings for the wranglings of political
debate Tor the discussions of agricultural
IS,
religious purpose. By a solemn act of dedica-
ton it becomes to day what it has not been
before-a house of God; His, In the sense that
1t Is to be appropriated only TO the worship of
His most glorious name and the promotion of
the spiritual good of those who assemble here;
Ours, in no other sense than that 1t is per-
petual reminder to us of His presence, and
that He is here always to be approached, in
the ordinances of His appoint tine Mt, in peni-
tent trustful, loving, reverential, and docile
spirit. / have no sympathy with the senti-
ment that attaches peculiar sanctity to any
relic of the hoary past or to any mis-named
miracle working shrine of the present day;
and have only feeling of pity for the mus
guided Crusaders of the middle ages who
famed with an intenser zeal to wrest the
Holy Sepulcher from the Moslem than to
purge the Church of the pernicious dogmas
and immoral practices thatwere eating away
the heart of her piety; there Is danger how
ever that in recoiling from superstitious
veneration for consecrated stone and mortar
we shall go to the opposite extreme, ana lose
that spirit of reverence which should always
be cherished towards sanctuary like this,
and be felt as a Christening presence upon cur
thoughts and emotions whenever we are in
the House of God, helpful in heightenng our
conceptions of the glory of His grace and slim
u lating to our hearts IN their efforts to hold
unbroken communion with Him. Knowing
it, may q guard against 1t and resist 1t!
2 IL is matter for dsvout congrstulatinn
and rejoicing whenever g congregation pro-
vides Itself with commodlous. conf irLab g
and tasteful house of worship The detica ion
| of the temple was the signal for ii eeue.a
jubilee among the chosen people. For Ii
consecutive days tDo jstuu udu resi- HOH lOil.
! For IA consecutive days the streets of Jerusa-
! lem were thronged with thousands of happy
worshipers occupied with the one delightful
thought, that their holy temple was at last
complete and that the God OF their fathers, in
accepting 1t at their hands for a visible and
| permanent dwelling place, had given them
| the assurance that He was their God also, and
| the God of those who should come after them
| And when Zerubbabel laid the foundation of a
! new temple some $50 years later, sub
| stsntially the same scene was repeated
| The priests a their sacer dotar0b IS were sta
| toned with trunipets aud the LeviteS with
| symbols to praise j enovuh aft'r the Cril afcc
OF David: and all the people shouted with a
| great shont, Lecause the foundation stones
| " err ID their place. When they realized that
the God, whose frown hal been resting GA
| them for seventy years, was again to have aio
cal hahi lation at Jerusalem, and that the holy
lites oftheir religion. SO long interrupted by
| the captivity. were again to be celebrated ac-
cording to the diVinely prescribed order, their
| Joy was irrepressible.
No less cause have we to congratulate one
another and lift our hearts in glad thankssiv-
| ing to the God of ali grace for what our ey es
| behold to-day. the completion of this enter