and earth. And when, three years after, just before his sufferings and death, he found a return of that profane usage of that holy place, (as ill customs, especially where interest is concerned, are not easily destroyed, and will be too apt to spring up again, unless kept down by a repeated, constant care,) he treats the offenders as before, and would not suffer them so much as to make a thoroughfare of it, and rebuked them with greater sharpness, and said, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer to all nations, but ye have made it a den of thievesd. And so, which is remarkable, both the first and the last public act of his ministry was his vindicating the place of God's worship from the profanation of those irreligious people, and asserting the reverence that was due to it from all the world; which should teach us to keep our foot when we go into the house of God, and behave ourselves in it with the greatest reverential awe, and by no means, for our own private ease or convenience, do any thing that is unbecoming the dignity of that sacred place, or suffer any thing of that nature to be done by others, if we are able to prevent it. This is but to follow the example of our blessed Lord, to imitate his holy zeal for the honour of our God, and the places where he is graciously pleased to receive our most solemn prayers and praises, and give us his especial blessing; the awfulness of which places, and the serious devout behaviour of such as come there to worship, very much conducing to the increase of the inward awe and veneration of that tremendous Being in our minds, in whose especial

d Isai. lvi. 7. Matt. xxi. 13. Mark xi. 16, 17.

presence we then are, and prostrate ourselves before him.

What an unchristian zeal then is that which shews itself in vilifying, profaning, and even demolishing those sacred places! Does it not carry with it evident marks of its being set on fire of hell, when it reflects so much dishonour upon the God of heaven, and is so contrary to the spirit and the practice of the holy Jesus, and to the interest of true religion? to which the venerable, majestic gravity of public worship, in temples hallowed and set apart for the service of the Almighty, is no small advantage.

Now this zealous concern of our Saviour for the honour of God's house, expressed in so unusual a manner; and the profane carriage in it reproved and corrected with such an air of authority, and in so high a style, as, Make not my Father's house a house of merchandise, a den of thieves; and all this from a man of private and low condition, and mean appearance, not at all backed by those that had the power in their hands, but rather done in opposition to their base connivance; and yet so readily and quietly submitted to, more than once, that we read of no disturbance about it, nor repetition of the fault until three years after, and then but very little said to him for taking so much upon him, by the Jewish rulers this seemed so exceedingly strange to St. Jerome, that he says, "Of all the extraordinary things "which our Lord did, he thought this to be the "most wonderful;" and concludes, that igneum quiddam, et sidereum radiabat ex oculis ejus, et divinitatis majestas lucebat in facie: " a fiery bright"ness, like the rays of a star, beamed from his

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eyes, and a divine majesty shone around his face," which awed them into a ready compliance. And no doubt but they felt some very unusual impressions, when so many, to their great trouble and loss, so quietly withdrew at the shaking of the whip of a mean person, of no figure or authority, and, took so patiently, as they did, the throwing down their counting-tables, and pouring out their money on the ground.

It may well remind us of that passage in the prophet Malachi, chap. iii. 1—4, The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' sope: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

Now from this extraordinary occurrence, this zeal which our Lord twice expressed, in so public and remarkable a manner, for the honour of his Father's house, the place peculiarly dedicated to his service, I shall take occasion to shew, that there ought to be some structures consecrated and set apart for the exercise of public divine worship; and that those that are so, are blessed with God's more especial presence; and consequently, that we should behave ourselves in them with all possible awe and reve

e Hieron. in Matt. xxi. 12.

rence, and a religious fear and dread; and likewise keep and adorn them in such a decent manner, as befits what hath so peculiar a relation to God.

As for the setting apart, and consecrating or appropriating some particular places and structures for the more solemn and public worship of God, it seems to be a dictate of nature; for it was ever done, by all people, from the earliest ages of the world until now.

In the patriarchal state, the first instance that will come fully up to the case in hand, is that of good Jacob, who, after the extraordinary dream he had of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, and angels going up and down upon it, and the Lord standing above it, and giving him a promise of the land whereon he lay, to himself and his posterity, whom he would bless above all others, and make them his peculiar people, and that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed; and assured him of his protection wherever he should go, until he had made good his promise to him: when he awaked out of his sleep, he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And then, he rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of its, as the dedication of that place, for the future, to God's peculiar service; and called the name of that place Beth-el, which signifies, the house of God. And then he began to worship there, and vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, g Gen. xxviii. 16, 17.

f Gen. xxviii.

and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house. And moreover, as the endowment of this house of God, and a maintenance for those that should minister in it, he makes this further vow, and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee h

This is the first solemn dedication of a temple to God's service and consecration, or setting it apart for his use, that we meet with in scripture; and we see too, how early, (long before the time of Moses,) and that by one of the first patriarchs, who was a peculiar favourite of God, it was thought requisite to make a provision for those that should perform the service of such holy places, and that the tenth of men's possessions should be the settled proportion of it. And we may well believe that God, who gave Jacob that heavenly dream, did likewise put into his heart that resolution of his to build a house there for his worship, and endow it with the tithe. Which seems to me so strong an argument for the Divine original (some hundreds of years before the positive law of Moses in that case) of appropriating certain structures to religious uses, and maintaining those that shall officiate there in divine service, with the tenth part of what God shall bless men withal, as will not easily be answered.

And it is further observable, that some years after, God, in another dream that Jacob had, (which h Gen. xxviii. 20, &c.