DISCOURSE IIT. 577 And this is the sense of the primitive christian churches, as you may see in the writings of the ancient fathers. Clemens Alexandrinus saith thus " Every place in truth is holy, where we receive any knowledge of God ;" and Justin Martyr, who was before him, writes, " All the sacrifices that are offered to God through the name of Christ in every place of the earth by the christians, God accepts them, and witnesses that they are well -pleasing to him :" And therefore, though in times of peace they had convenient and fixed places of public worship, yet in times of persecution, as Dionysius of Alexandria saith, " Our place of assembly is a field, a desart, a ship, a public inn, or a prison," or wherever they could securely,join together in reli- gious service. When God appointed a church for himself in one nation, he appointed a general place of worship there, to which all the males of the tribes Of Israel were obliged to resort, and pay theirhomage to him three times a year. But our LordJesus Has now sent his apostles through the nations to gather a church to himself from among all the inhabitants of the world; and he has appointed, shall I say, a large and extensive temple for him- self, that is, the whole earth, wheresoever any true worshippers are found in it. Our divines generally suppose that glorious prophecy; Is. lxvi..1, 2. must refer to the days of the gospel, because of many plain expressions in the context relating to that state : And we think that all the holiness that belonged for- merly to places of worship, is foretold to be abolished there. Tins saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: Where is the house that ye build unto me; and where is the place of my rest? All these heavens and earth hathmy hand made, and those things have been, that is, houses and tem- ples for me to rest in ; they have been, saith the Lord, but their time is finished now ; and to this man Will I look, and regard this worshipper, who is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word, wheresoever he shall call upon me and worship me." 7'he first martyr, Stephen, when he cites this very place of the prophet in his speech to the Jews ; Acts vii. 49. designs to let them know, that the holiness of their temple, in which they boasted, was just at an end : The Most High dwelleth not its temples made with liando; his habitation is not confined to ma- terial buildings. The gospel, in its religious worship, comes much nearer tonatural religion in this respect, that thereare very few special rites and ceremoniesthat belong to it: And God sees there is no need of appointing any particular place for christian worship, since we have but these two plain ceremonies to per. form, baptism, and the Lord's supper. Since the great Çod has been pleased to put down and, Vox.. III. O o
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=