USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Salem > Memorial of the old and new Tabernacle, Salem, Mass., 1854-5 > Part 4
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By his direction there had been placed in the midst of the court of the temple, a " brazen scaf- fold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high." Upon this, doubtless, he was
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standing, when the appalling manifestation of the " cloud " filled the house of the Lord. His face was towards the " cloud." The whole congrega- tion may be imagined, lying prostrate with their faces to the earth. And what utterance of mortal lips could have been, at that moment, more ex- pressive of humble and confiding adoration, than that which was now heard ! The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. But I have built a house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling forever.
The darkness was thus interpreted and hailed as God's own chosen symbol of presence, in ra- diant mercy no less than in terrible majesty ; and as if now the sure harbinger of his coming in very deed to the dwelling-place, which had been built at his command and for his service. After this, Solomon turned his face, and " the congregation of Israel all stood,"-having risen up, as is intimated, or having been re-assured and re-animated,-to receive the address which he then delivered, intro- ductory to the prayer of dedication.
When he had closed, he "kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven. And said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth ; which keepest cove- nant and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts; Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy
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hand, as it is this day. Now, therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel ; yet so that thy children take heed to their way, to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me. Now then, O Lord God of Israel: let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David."
Having acknowledged the faithfulness of God to all his promises, and implored a continuance of his rich mercies, the grateful monarch, whose glory was never greater than in that hour when thus on the bended knee,-was apparently arrested in his thoughts, and rendered well nigh speechless. Con- ceive of a pause, accompanied by the breathless. silence and suspense of the whole immense con- gregation. Then listen ! BUT WILL GOD IN VERY DEED DWELL WITH MAN UPON THE EATTH? BE; HOLD, HEAVEN AND THE HEAVEN OF HEAVENS CAN- NOT CONTAIN THEE ; HOW MUCH LESS THIS HOUSE WHICH I HAVE BUILT ?
If there were any worshippers of idols within sight and hearing, they were thus admonished, that the sanctuary before them was not for a graven image, or the embodiment of any device of a superstitious imagination. There was no thought of the infinite Jehovah, as if he could be there in such a local and limited presence or inhabitation, as the heathen conceived of their "vanities." It was not for human hands to build for the King eternal and invisible a house or mansion capa-
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cious or magnificent enough ; since even the very earth itself, in all its grandeur and goodliness, is but as the footstool of his feet.
In another view, we may here see the over- whelming effect of the conscious immensity, and excellency, and glory of the Divine Being .- Is it possible, that the High and Holy One, who inhab- iteth eternity, can stoop so low, as in any con- ceivable manner to commune, and to dwell with men ?- How can God dwell with such creatures ?- O amazing condescension !
In yet another, and perhaps, the largest view, we perceive the deepest humility blended with un- utterable rapture of gratitude. The God of David had not only performed his promise, in respect to the building of the temple, but had actually come to take possession by his glorious presence, and to record his name, as he had dwelt, and had re- corded his name, in the venerated tabernacle of the days of old. The cloud was already filling the whole house within ; and out of it was to break the Shekinah, the abiding resplendence above the cherubim over the mercy-seat. And in token of God's acceptance of the work, and his real pre- sence, in his holiness and his love, there was no need in that hour of intense and sublime devotion, that a voice should be heard from "the excellent glory," saying, " I have chosen this place to my- self, for a house of sacrifice."-The heart of the royal suppliant must have felt beyond all power of expression, what would have been indicated, if he had said, OUR GOD HAS COME! JEHOVAH IS HERE!
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I thus interpret the words,-" Will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee ; how much less this house which I have built ?"-This interpretation is in evident harmony with the whole of the prayer, as it was continued. What is first in order may be taken as an example for the whole.
" Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord MY God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee : That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said, that thou wouldest put thy name there ; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place. Hearken, therefore, unto the supplications of thy servant and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling-place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive." (2 Chr. vi : 19-21.)
" When he had made an end of his supplica- tion, he arose from before the altar, and from kneeling on his knees, with his hands spread up to heaven, and stood and blessed all the congre- gation with a loud voice." He recognized the truth and mercy of that covenant God, of all whose good promises not one word had failed ; and invoking anew his blessing upon all the peo- ple, he exhorted them to be "perfect with the Lord their God,-to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments."
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" Fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. * * And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. * * Mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sancti- fied this house, that my name may be there for- ever ; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there continually."
Important conditions were annexed to these promises. If these should not be fulfilled by the kings, the priests, the prophets, and the people, then no power on earth, and no compassion in heaven above, would preserve that house from utter demolition and desolation.
" If ye turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land, which I have given them ; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a by-word among nations. And this house which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and unto this house ? And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and wor- shipped them, and served them ; therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them." (2 Chr. vii.)
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To the temple of Solomon, where the visible glory, the Shekinah, appeared above the mercy- seat, the tribes went up; and as they went, " old men and children, young men and maidens,"- singing the songs of Zion. Mount Moriah, like Mount Zion, was "beautiful for situation," and unspeakably dear to the hearts of the thousands, who from generation to generation worshipped their fathers' God in spirit and in truth.
Long did Jehovah of hosts dwell between the cherubim, and commune with his people Israel, and with strangers that came from a far land. But in the lapse of ages of eventful and most in- structive history for all coming time, the measure of iniquity was filled ; the destroyer came from beyond " the great river, the river Euphrates ;" and " the holy and beautiful house," where the children's children of the ancient "fathers worshipped, was burned up with fire, and all their pleasant things laid waste." And there was fulfilled the saying of the Lord, so solemnly uttered four hundred years before ;- for that house did become an " astonish- ment" to the " passing " traveller.
Upon the return from the captivity in Babylon, where their harps hung for seventy years upon the willows by the river,-the first object of attention with Ezra, Zerubbabel, and their associates, was the rebuilding of the house of God. Its dedica- tion was a festival of joy and thanksgiving. While in exile, as is supposed, the devout captives had of necessity provided for themselves those places
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of prayer, known to us by the name of synagogues. It is certain, that not long after the return, such buildings were erected even in different parts of the holy land ;- a natural consequence of the habit and the pleasure of worshipping socially and regularly every Sabbath-day.
God had fulfilled his word of prophecy and of promise : " Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. * * I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel." (Eze. xi : 16, 17.)
It is probable, that their houses of worship in different places of their exile, greatly promoted personal piety among the captive Hebrews ; and were of invaluable service in aiding them to main- tain the institutions of true religion against the seductive encroachments and abominations of idol- atry. After the return from Babylon, the Hebrews of the land of promise, no more worshipped, as a community or a nation, any of the gods of the heathen.
In the synagogues, our adorable Lord and Sa- vior preached, in his own person, " the grace and truth," which he was preparing to seal with "the blood of the everlasting covenant." It was his custom to go into them, every Sabbath. Wherever his apostles found Jews, they found also these
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houses of worship, of which it could then be said, " Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day." And it cannot be doubted, that they were always set apart for religious purposes, by some form of solemn consecration.
Those who were first called Christians at An- tioch, amidst the countless temples and altars of that splendid Syrian capital, probably had not a synagogue, or any kind of public building for prayer and praise, hearing of the word, and the celebration of the ordinances of "the glorious Gospel of the blessed God." Every where spoken against and persecuted, they and their kindred in the bonds of Christ Jesus worshipped as they could in private houses, or in the open air, per- haps at midnight ; and often " in dens and caves of the earth," to which they would resort, both in summer's heat, and winter's cold.
At the beginning of the third century, there were some houses of Christian worship, in certain parts of the Roman empire. There could not have been many. Such as there were would have poorly compared with the temple of Solomon, or even this new Tabernacle, in which we are now assembled. In brief periods of toleration, or rather of sufferance, Christians were allowed to have public services, until the fourth century. The emperor Dioclesian, A. D. 303, ordered all their sacred buildings to be razed to the earth.
Under Constantine, who soon after ascended
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the throne of the Cæsars, the demolished churches were rebuilt, and such as had been closed, were again opened. In some instances, it appears, but not many, Pagan temples were purified and dedi- cated to the true and the triune God.
Justinian, in the sixth century, far exceeded all his predecessors in his zeal for the erection of magnificent and colossal churches. Of these, the Church of St. Sophia, at Constantinople, was the most remarkable and renowned. It was erected at an expenditure of $5,000,000. The perpendic- ular height, from the summit of the grand arch to the pavement was one hundred and eighty feet,- just the height of the spire which stands in front of this building. " Such was the splendor of this work that, at the consecration of it, Justinian ex- claimed, ' I have exceeded thee, O Solomon !' "
In Christian countries, both Papal and Protes- tant, there are, at this day, some edifices of great magnitude and splendor ;- capable of containing from 5,000 to 10,000 worshippers. Formerly, there was no provision of seats for the congregation ; and in some cases, the preacher sat, while the as- sembly stood to hear. Thus did Chrysostom, " the golden-mouthed," sometimes preach.
In general, however, the buildings for Christian worship, have been constructed at very moderate cost, and have been designed for hearers of the word, who might without disrespect or irreverence keep their seats, during the sermon ;- seats, which I am inclined to think, would not have been pro-
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vided, in any age before ours, if it had been imag- ined, that ever such a custom would arise, as that of an assembly of professed worshippers of God sitting in prayer !
Our present usage in the dedication of churches, or as we often rightly say, meeting-houses, has been ascribed to Constantine. But if the buildings for worship, among the Redeemer's disciples, had previously been occupied without any public so- lemnities of dedication, it is to be accounted for, chiefly if not solely, by the circumstances of the periods of martyrdom.
In conformity, then, with ancient and sacred,- and at present, almost universal usage, in such cases,-we, of the Tabernacle Church and Society in Salem, have met together, with our friends and neighbors-whom we rejoice to see with us-that we may dedicate, most cordially and truly, this new and beautiful house. It has been erected for the honor, and in hope of the gracious, and the glorious presence of the same God, who, during so many generations, dwelt in the sanctuary, which Solomon built, and so memorably dedicated. The service is fitting in itself, irrespective of time-hon- ored usage.
A dedication imports a solemn appropriation of an edifice to the purposes for which it is erected, or to which it is to be devoted. And this house we have built, that it may be to us " none other but the house of God and the gate of heaven !" As, therefore, we have built this house, and are to
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dedicate it to the service of the same God, have we any less reason to expect that he will dwell in it, with a real presence, than Solomon had to ex- pect that presence, which was vouchsafed to the temple, as it had before been to the tabernacle ?
In the sense of the Scriptures, God is present, when by his agency or influence he makes any peculiar manifestations of himself, to the eyes of the body or of the soul ; or when such objects of sight or contemplation are brought into view, as impart to us vivid and impressive conceptions of his being and of his perfections.
God's essence is every-where. Absolutely con- sidered, he is in all space and in all existence. He is in the cottage as in the palace,-in the open field as in the temple. But in places set apart for his service, and consecrated to his praise, we are accustomed, and we believe, with the high- est reason, to say, that he is both really and pecu- liarly present.
The Shekinah, sometimes called "the cloud," " the pillar of fire," "the glory of the Lord," and " the excellent glory," was not God's presence ; but merely the visible sign of that presence, by the Holy Spirit's agency and influence. Some have thought it a prefiguration of the personal appear- ance of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Brightness of the Father's glory, in the second temple. Others, and I judge more correctly, have interpreted it as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, through whom the godly become living temples of God, in their own
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persons, and the church universal is a habitation of God.
The purpose of Solomon in building the temple was no better expressed, than in his message to the king of Tyre : " Behold I build an house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shew-bread, and for the burnt- offerings, morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord our God." As Christians, we, in our advanced condition of spiritual knowledge, have built this house for purposes, to all intents corres- ponding with those of Solomon, as described by himself.
In Christ, we are Abraham's seed, and heirs ac- cording to promise, heirs of salvation through the blood of " the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." And on the gates of the New Jerusa- lem, the emblematic city of the visions of Patmos, were the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; and on the foundations the names of the twelve apos- tles of the Lamb ;- thus signifying, that the true members of the Jewish and the Christian churches are one,-and are built together "on the founda- tion of the prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone."
In place of the seventh day for a Sabbath, we have the Lord's day,-the first day of the week. For circumcision, which was before Moses, and was to Abraham a seal of the righteousness that is
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by faith, we have the ordinance of baptism. For the Passover, commemorative of the triumphant deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, we have the Sacrament of the Supper, in which his follow- ers are enjoined to show our Lord's atoning death, and his victory over death and hell, until he shall come "to be glorified in his saints and admired in all them that believe."
In place of burnt-offerings and sin-offerings, we have the Lamb of God, who offered himself, with- out spot or blemish, once for all. We need not a succession of priests to burn incense ; for we have access to the Holy of holies, through the Mediator of a new and better covenant. And if we have the New and the Old Testament,-the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Comforter, with the love of God, even the everlasting Father,-what need have we of any of those appliances of worship, those typical or ritual ordinances and ceremonies, which were all super- seded or abolished, when Christ-THE END OF THE LAW FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS-accomplished his de- cease at Jerusalem ?
Of the distinguishing articles of our doctrinal belief, who here is ignorant ? Who does not know, if he knows anything of this city, and of history, that, as the doctrine of Christ, we hold the faith of the founders of the First Church in Salem, and of all the venerated churches of New Eng- land; the faith of the martyrs in our father-land,- of the Reformers of the sixteenth century, and pre-
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eminently of John Calvin,-of the Waldenses and Albigenses,-of Athanasius and Augustine, and the hundreds of thousands, who in the first three centuries " loved not their lives unto the death ?" (See Appendix G.) And this faith, or the doc- trines so admirably defined in the Westminster Confession, we hold, not because we have received them by tradition, or in virtue of any human au- thority ;- but because in our sincere and honest judgment and persuasion, the Bible teaches them unequivocally and infallibly. With us, there lies no appeal from God's testimony.
We believe, that whatever the Gospel once was, it is now and ever will be. We believe, that what- ever discoveries may be made among the stars, or in the depths of the earth, and whatever may come forth from the speculations or the researches of the wisest of the wise of this world,-there will never be any other way to be saved, than that which by the Gospel is here to be preached. The faith ONCE delivered to the saints, can no more be changed, or be modified by any human power or device, than the sun can become the moon, and the earth become both the moon and the sun. Truthfully and eloquently has it been said,- " Remember that as the stars, shining over us, are the same that let down their light upon Adam ; so the great star-like truths in the firmament of Revelation, must remain the same; and Jesus Christ, the great Truth of all revelation, the one Decree of heaven, and the one Hope of earth,
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must remain in our theology, as in that of our fathers, unchanged and unchangeable, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Far in this matter of the soul's salvation, be from us and our church- es, the spirit of restlessness and self-sufficient in- novation, that seeks something vaster than heaven, newer than Truth, and better than God !"
We desire not to be as those, who set up a golden calf, even at Bethel, where Jacob saw the gate of heaven ;- and of whom it was said,- " Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples." Whether it may be thought to be our honor or our reproach, we seek to walk in "the old paths," and "the good way,"-in which a countless multitude have walked and "found rest to their souls." Whoever in our Massachusetts or New England, may be accounted innovators, and whoever may glory in a progress beyond " the simplicity that is in Christ,"-be it our humble and holy joy, that we have no aspirations for such progress, and no ambition for such glory. If any assert the liberty of following in the line of their present convictions,-we accord it to them most fully. But we ask that in their turn, they will ac- cord to us the liberty of following in the line of both our present and our past convictions ; and by the grace of God, we trust, our future convictions, even to the hour when we hope to depart and to be with Christ, and to dwell with him, forever- more.
With the truth as it is in our Lord Jesus Christ
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and him crucified, and the faith which through his blood is imputed to us for righteousness unto life eternal, we may well be content. It is written that "the Angel of the Lord,"-in whom we re- cognize the Angel-Jehovah,-the Angel of the covenant, Christ Jesus,-" appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush ; and he looked and behold the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed." In that emblem of the bush and the flame of fire, we read the inde- structibleness of " the Church of God, which he purchased with his own blood." And "the ashes of that fire," we never expect and never desire to see !
We have built this house, neither from divisions among ourselves, nor in envy or in jealousy of our neighbors. As we have done nothing in "strife," so we trust, we have done nothing "in vain glory." Should a people dwell in better houses, than they build for their God ? We have built this house, with "strength and beauty,"-because the God of heaven and earth is worthy of all that we can do to impart dignity to our worship ; and because we would have the impressions of taste rendered sub- sidiary to the promotion of the highest of all beauty, the beauty of holiness. Why are the heavens so garnished ? Why the inimitable col- oring of the flowers of the field ? Why the rich and gorgeous plumage of the birds of the air ? Why such plans and models of surpassing beauty and grandeur in the tabernacle and the temple ?
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Why did God furnish these,-but for his own praise, in the true moral effect upon the heart of the beholder ? There is no waste, no extravagance in what is honorable and acceptable to God.
We had no pattern for this structure, revealed from heaven to the architect, as Moses had for the first tabernacle, and Solomon for the first tem- ple. But we believe that He, who furnished those patterns, and so endowed with extraordinary and wonderful skill and taste such as were needful for the work, will not be displeased with us,-if by his favor upon us, and out of that which he hath given us, we have built for him a house, which in the eyes of all is beautiful ; and which we would dedicate to him, with one heart and voice, that it may be Holiness to his Name !
Our God did not rebuke his ancient people, when they poured in their treasures for the taber- nacle and the temple, far beyond the necessity, great as was the expenditure from the richness of the material and the workmanship. We shall worship here with none the less of heavenly thought and aspiration, because we make no con- cealment of our pleasure and satisfaction in a house so much more comely, than might easily have been erected and furnished. And if any shall think, that the small pecuniary valuation of the seats here, below or above, is too great,-let me inquire of them, whether it be not a noble charity for others, as well as for themselves, to have a liberal part in providing such a house of God ?-
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