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VOL.TV. /T ^ RICHMONt
Reverence
? 5i
Leviticus 19: 30:?Ye shall... .reverence my
sanctuary.
THE term sanctuary originally applied to
the Most Holy Place in the temple. In
? me iuost xioiy Jfiace, or lioly of Holies,
was kept the Ark of the Covenant, containing
the two tables of stone on which the ten commandments
were written with the finger of God.
"Above the Ark of the Covenant was the Mercy
Seat and on ea<jh end of it was a cherub, rising
above it, and overshadowing it with wings
stretched forth on high. Between these cherubim
dwelt the uncreated glory of God. 'There,'
he said to Moses, 'I will meet with thee, and
commune with thee from above the mercy seat,
from between two cherubim which are upon .
O" * *
are Ark of the Testimony.' " When the old
dispensation closed, this form of worship- ;;
ing God passed away. Jesus indicated that ;;
this change was imminent in the statement | q
which he made to the Samaritan woman,
when he said, "But the hour cometh, and !! I
now is, when the true worshipers shall worship
the Father in spirit and in truth; for
the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit; and they that worship him ^
must worship him in spirit and in truth."
The change was in form and not in sub- "
stance. When under the old dispensation
the Jew brought his offering with his heart 1 S
far away, his worship was of a purely formal C
character; when a Jew, like David, brought ||
with his offering a broken and a contrite ' |
heart, he worshiped God in spirit and in 11
truth. It was heart-worship during the old ! ^
dispensation, and it is heart-worship under
the new or gospel dispensation, which God !!
requires. Hence, the change in form has not
in the least altered the principle involved in
worship. The absence of the heart in either ' >
dispensation rendered the worship unaccept- 1 ^
able to God. The reverential feeling with & ++
which the devout Jew contemplated the sanctuary?the
Holy of Holies?in the temple should
be maintained unimpaired by the Christian towards
the sanctuary in the present dispensation.
As in the Holy of Holies of old, so in the sane
tuary now, God manifests himself to the true
worshiper. The sanctuary is God's meeting place
with his people. In view of the high and sacred
character of the sanctuary, it will be regarded
with reverent and holy esteem by all who have
any rightful claim to the name of Christian.
ATTENDANCE UPON THE SERVICES.
1. In the first place, the Christian will love to
attend upon its services. This was eminently
characteristic of the devout Jew. David gave
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), NEW ORLEANS, ATLANTA, JANU;
: For The
Rev. Wm. R. Henderson, D.
touching expression to this feeling when he said,
"IIow amiable are thy tabernacles, 0 Lord of
hosts. My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth, for
the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh
crieth out for the living God." His heart and
soul fervently desired communion with God
through the temple of worship. This is the feeling
of every true Christian, and a feeling that
flnds expression in action. The sanctuary has
always been dear to the Christian heart. It is
to him a hallowed place. He welcomes the relief
from the cares and vexations of life which the
weekly recurring Sabbath brings to him; his
heart yearns for the worship of the sanctuary,
for in it his soul finds both nourishment and
delight. Rather would such an one forego any
Cbe Call of tEift JHeto Sear.
in? L
tun jruu iikc lueu, ue strong;
There's a burden to bear,
Jut fare ye forth with a song.
There's a heart that breaks 'neath a load of
care?
There's a grief to share.
iuit you like men, be strong;
There's a battle to fight,
There's a wrong to right,
There's a God who blesses the good with
might?
io fare ye forth with a song.
iuit you like men, be strong;
There's work to do,
There's a world to make new,
There's a call for men who are brave and
true?
)n! with a song.
iuit you like men, be strong;
There's a year of grace,
mi >_ - /i -j x. *
xuere s a vxoa to iace,
There's another heat in the great world
race?
Ipeed! speed with a song!?Selected.
pleasure that might appeal to him at another
time, than absent himself wilfully and deliberately
from the worship of the sanctuary. He
feels that God is his portion. His Christian life
does not move upon the low plane of escaping
hell at last; but he realizes that the sanctuary
is the place where God meets with his people;
that from him comes the light which will illu
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imxxe ms pamway mruugn mis worm; irom mm
comes the strength which will enable him to endure
the trials and sustain him under the responsibilities
of life; from him comes the grace
which will impart to his character more of the
beauty of holiness; and he finds in the whole
worship an influence and power which lift him
BMAM
WESTERNPRESBYTER/Aflh
3al Presbyter/an ?
rHERN Presbyterian
\RY 10. 1912. MH ?
\
Sanctuary
D.
J
above the atmosphere of earth so that he, in company
with all true worshipers,
"Forgets the trifles here below,
The shining heap, the gaudy show,
Vain mirth and worldly cares;
On wings of strong devotion rises,
Passes every cloud, passes all the skies,
And soars above the stars."
It is certainly strange how any one who claims
to be a Christian can regard the sanctuary with
feelings of indifference. Do such people realize
that God has instituted the Church with its worship
for the promotion of our spiritual welfare
and the advancement of his kingdom and glory?
That there is a solemn and imperative obligation
resting upon every one who professes to be a
Christian not to neglect the public worship
J of God's house? But, alas! how mnnv
; ( are who have made a profession of religion
' | who are wilfully irregular in their attend!
I anee upon the worship of the sanctuary, and
!! who undertake to persuade themselves that
!l they are not guilty of sin in so doing? They
attempt to excuse themselves by saying,
" The weather was too cold," or *' It was too
X hot," or "It was too wet," or, "I was not
feeling well." Any sort of an excuse seems
? /
to serve the purpose of people who, if they
honestly desired to attend the church services,
would undoubtedly do so. They know
full well that the weather whether cold, or
hot, or wet, will not for a moment stand in
their way of their going to a picture show,
or attending a social function; that it will
not keep a man away from his place of busi|
ness. It is undoubtedly true that a person
will do whatever his heart prompts him to
'; do. Wherever '' his treasure is, there will his
heart be also." This is the test propounded
11 by Jesus, who knew what was in man, and
it is a test which reveals a person's real attitude
towards Christ and his sanctuary. It
is an infallible touchstone of character.
Jesus looks beyond all the shallow excuses which
his professed people give for not attending
church services to the state of the heart, and his
ringing challenge to all such is embodied in the
old question, "How canst thou say I love thee,
when thine heart is not with me?"
Indeed, these people do not seem to realize
that in this matter they, while dealing outwardly
with the Church, are really dealing with God
himself. This was the appalling mistake of
Ananias and Sapphira. They supposed that in
the representation thev made recrardincr thpir
offering, they were dealing only with men. But
the Apostle Peter overwhelmed them with surprise
when he said to them. ""Why hast thou