his building, Israel, Jacob, and the body of Christ. In all these respects God claims it as his own work. "Have I not created thee, Ó Jacob," said he, "and formed thee, O Israel?"-" This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise."-" Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker," &c.-" Thy Maker is thy husband, the Lord of Hosts is his name"-" Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building ;"-" are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God, through the Spirit."-" For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ:Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”—“We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works."

4. That the institution of the Church is the work of God, we have this farther testimony, that in all its features, it bears marks of being the production of superhuman agency. God's work is distinguished from the works of art in at least these three respects:-it shows infinite goodness in the design, infinite wisdom in the mysterious connection and harmony of its parts, and infinite power in the execution of it. All these we see in the simplest forms of nature. In the grass which clothes the field, the goodness, wisdom, and power of God are displayed in a way which no human art can imitate. Man may paint a landscape, but he cannot cause a spear of grass to grow. He may, by duly observing the operations of nature, discover the uniform succession of events; but, the mysterious ligament which binds causes and effects together lies deeply and necessarily concealed from his view. He can never know it, and therefore, never be able to imitate the works of God. These are some of the strong marks which characterize the Divine agency in material existence. And is it too much to say, that where the same marks are discoverable in things of a spiritual nature, the same decision should be formed respecting them? Goodness, wisdom, and power, such as no purely human being ever possessed, appear in the establishment of the Church, and the economy of salvation as revealed in the Gospel. In confirmation of this, we have the testimony of infidels themselves. The first and most formidable objection they urge against the Gospel is, that it is incomprehensible, and full of mysteries; while, at the same time, they acknowledge that if it be a truth it is a momentous one, involving the deepest interests of man. And what is paradoxical in all this is, that they withal pronounce upon it as a human invention, by stigmatizing it with the epithets of "priestcraft," and "imposture."

5. Let us examine then a little more minutely these evidences of the Divinity of its institution.

The FOUNDATION of the Church is of God:-"Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone."-"The stone which the builders rejected the same is become the head of the corner."-" This is the Lord's doings, and it is marvellous in our eyes." "-"For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus the Lord."—"Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name given under heaven among men whereby we must

be saved."--"To him all the prophets gave witness;" and in him all the saints repose their trust. As the object of their faith, he is "God manifested in the flesh." He is, in the language of inspiration, their "light and their salvation." And without him they have no hope. That Christ is the acknowledged foundation of the Church, is equally evident from the spirit and conduct of all descriptions of its enemies. In his character and claims is contained the secret antagonist principle against which their malignity is united. "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his anointed." For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together." Such has been the spirit of opposition to the true Church of God from the beginning. Christ, its foundation, has been the object of the deadly hate of all its enemies, as he has been the object of the supreme trust of all its friends. As the foundation of the Church, he is the mighty God-God manifested in the flesh, who by the sacrificial offering of himself, purchased it with his own blood. What is there in this economy of redemption which bears marks of human device? To the Jews, the preaching of the cross was a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks it was foolishness. To infidels of all descriptions it has ever been the one or the other. "Their rock is not our rock, our enemies themselves being judges." The Church is not founded then "in the wisdom of men, but in the wisdom of God, in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom" of God."For eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." Through Christ and him crucified we enjoy all spiritual blessings. And without this foundation there is no Church.

6. Again, let us view the agency and instrumentality employed in the institution and edification of the Church. Are there marks of human invention here? "Holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."-" God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will." These powers men could not impart, nor yet that of predicting future events. They were of God. The instruments employed were in themselves feeble and fallible. Would worldly policy have dictated to the choice of unlearned and ignorant men to build up an institution of such magnitude in the earth? And could such have succeeded? But God chose the weak of this world to confound the mighty, that his power might be mani. fest in the work. Moreover, what is there in the ordinances and economy of the Church, which human reason would suggest to secure respect for the institution, and give it perpetuity? They can have such an effect only in consideration of their being instituted by him who harmonizes all his works in infinite wisdom.

7. But we have yet another view to take of this subject. It is a consideration of the power of the Gospel, and the direct influences of the Spirit, by which sinners are awakened and converted, and saints edified together. In nothing does the work of Christ appear more interesting, so far as the establishment of his kingdom upon earth is concerned, than in the provision he made for the preaching of the Gospel, and its efficacy in reforming guilty man. The first

ministers of the Gospel were themselves partakers of its spirit. "The love of Christ constraineth us," was the rational account they gave of the strong impulse of feeling which carried them forward in their labors, "through evil as well as through good report." They preached "the Gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." It was "not in word only, but in power and in much assurance." The profligate were reformed, and whole communities, brought under its influence, were changed from all that was vile and degrading to all that was lovely and of good report. This evident effect, which was everywhere witnessed, was triumphantly urged as testimony of its Divine efficacy. "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ," said the Apostle Paul, "for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." The same preaching of the cross which was" to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness," to those who believed became "the power of God, and the wisdom of God." Here the friends of the Gospel may take a triumphant stand. Little of human skill as skeptics are willing to award to the ministers of Christ, they must acknowledge that an influence attends the Gospel which the sublimest eloquence cannot produce. Respecting religious excitements, pretending philosophers take it upon themselves to speculate, and pronounce many an unphilosophical and foolish judgment. But we ask them to produce a similar excitement, -one which will show the same state of feeling, and result in the same consequences. They may call it moving of the passions; so be it. Let them so move the passions, and carry forward the subjects of their exciting efforts to the enjoyment of those strong consolations and manly hopes which will enable them to brave the storms of persecution, and rejoice in death. Here we rest the issue, and challenge the trial. "The God that answereth by fire, let him be God." The evidences of the power of religion on the heart, and the direct influences of the Spirit in producing it, will ever stand as incontrovertible testimony that this work is of God, and not of man. This is "the Spirit which giveth life." Hence the apostle says, "You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and in sins."" He that believeth, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” The Church is built of "lively stones," and therefore, to use another figure, the members of Christ's body are living members. "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." It is this mysterious principle of spiritual life which gives animation and energy to the Church.

8. This thought carries us back to first principles, namely, that the Church has its foundation in the Messiah, according to the promise. He is the source of life to the living members of his body. This life they enjoy through faith. "The just shall live by faith." This truth is illustrated by the Saviour himself in various figures and forms of expression. "I am the vine," said he, "and ye are the branches; as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me."-"If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered." St. Paul applies this to the Jewish Church, showing thereby, that that Church was not an independent institution, but only a branch, of which Christ is the root, according to the terms of the Abrahamic covenant; and that it enjoyed life only while it continued in union

with him by faith; but was rejected when it became separated by unbelief. "If the root be holy, so are the branches; and if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree, boast not against the branches; but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee;-because of unbelief they (the Jews) were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high minded, but fear; for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee." How awful are these declarations! they show the work of God in the constitution of the Church as embracing the mysterious union of the principle of life with the external organization, by which the branches are made to live, and flourish, and bear fruit, and that too by faith in Christ. In every view of it, how interesting does the Church appear as God's own work?

II. The Church is an object of interest to the pious heart, in consideration of the value which God himself has set upon it.

1. It is represented in the Scriptures as distinct and separate from all other institutions, to manifest the glory of God among men. Its friends and its enemies, or, in other words, its true spiritual members, and those who are not, form the two great opposing parties in the world. No distinctions of moral character and feeling are more strongly marked than those by which these great parties are discriminated. "He that is not with me," said the Saviour," is against me.""If ye were of the world the world would love its own; but because I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."-" Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." Such too was the testimony of the prophets. From the days of wicked Cain, unregenerate men have shown their deep and deadly hostility against the scriptural worship of the true God. Hence idolatry and will-worship have been substituted in its place; or infidelity has abjured it altogether. With both the pious and the profane, the Church of God and the cause of God have always been deemed the same, and their interests so identified, that in common language they are convertible terms. The pious, having declared. in favor of God and his cause, and made an unqualified surrender of their affections and their lives to him, cannot but feel a deep and lively interest in the success of that institution whose prosperity is calculated above every thing else to restrain the current of vice, and in whose adversity the wicked malignantly triumph. The shouts and triumphs of the enemy render them inconsolable, even when their own unfaithfulness is the cause of their calamities. "They that carried us away required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth; saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion."-"How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?”— Thus oppressed Israel wept, and said, "By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion: we hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof." They wept because they still loved Zion. Deep and deadly must be the depravity of that apostate who can prefer the profane scoffings of the wicked to the tender sensibilities which a remembrance of the house of God is calculated to inspire. "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning," said the psalmist, "if

I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy."

2. These feelings of affectionate regard which the people of God cherish for his cause, especially in times of oppression and adversity, are as rational as they are sincere and pungent. They love God, and they love his Church on his account. Viewing it as the object upon which he has set his love, and for whose defence he has pledged his name and his honor, their sensibilities are alive to every thing calculated to expose it to scandal, or impair its energies.

It was with special reference to his worship upon earth, as established by himself, and for the honor of his name, that he wrought wonders among his ancient people, to the terror and dismay of their enemies. For this he brought them up out of the land of Egypt with a high hand, and overthrew their enemies with a mighty arm. For this he gave them bread and water in the wilderness, and subdued their more powerful enemies before them-enemies who, dismayed at what they saw and heard of the wonderful doings of the God of Jacob, were seized with fear, and covered with confusion. "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob," said Balaam to terrified Balak, "neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel; the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them; God hath brought them out of Egypt. He hath as it were the strength of a unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel; according to this time shall it be said of Jacob, What hath God wrought!" For this too God gave commandment to his people to avoid idolatrous communion with the profane, and to destroy false worship out of the land. "Thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire; for thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth."

3. The illustrious worthies of ancient times manifested their strong affection for the work of God in the institutions of his worship, by openly observing his ordinances in the face of danger and of death. Elijah boldly challenged the pampered hosts of national idolatry to a trial of their conflicting systems of worship by an appeal to miraculous interposition, knowing that his life was the forfeiture of a failure. Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, in open defence of the institution of his worship, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Daniel prayed to his God, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, thereby professing his unshaken attachment to the holy place; while he knew that for so doing he should be cast into the den of lions. So also did the three Hebrews, many of the prophets, the apostles, and an army of holy martyrs, boldly adhere to the worship of the true God, in defiance of the persecutions and tortures with which they were everywhere menaced. With such examples of firm and unshaken attachment to God and his worship, in conformity to his own institutions, the Scriptures and the early history of the Church abound. These examples we would earnestly recommend to the serious consideration of those who think they can serve God ac