3 How willing also, should we at all times, be to acquiesce in its precepts! Men, and especially men of the world, listen too much to the word of God, as if they had no interest in its tidings. In the language of inspiration, "hearing they hear, but understand not." Instead of coming to their hearts, with all the interest of a message of heavenly peace, it passes away like an idle tale, without leaving scarcely even a momentary impression. Yes, when, if suitably improved, it might become "the power of God unto their salvation;" by being so carelessly received, it is too often, a savour of death unto death. Hear as those who are to render an account. 4. How unvarying should be our attendance on the ordinances of the sanctuary! Here we are to meet the blessed Redeemer, and receive from him life and salvation. Here the hungry will be fed with spiritual meat-the thirsty refreshed-the weak strengthened the wanderer reclaimed-and to the guilty, but penitent soul, a pardon given, so full and free, as to fill it with everlasting gratitude. us enter upon the solemn act.As an evidence of your reverence for that God who dwells here, as well as in proof that you unite with us, in dedicating this house to his name, we request the congregation to rise, and join in the solemnity. Eternal Jehovah! Father, Son and Holy Ghost! notwithstanding thou dwellest not alone in the temples made with hands-for behold the heaven, and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee-but wilt that men should worship thee, every where, lifting up holy hands, we beseech thee to enter in, and record thy name in this house. Make these alters thy dwelling place, and come and manifest thy gracious presence to the souls of this people. Zion is precious in thy sight, and thou lovest well her gates. In thy providence, thou hast caused a record of thy name to be made here. We have built a house to thy name; and through thy good hand in prospering us, it is completed. This house we would, yea, Lord, we do now, publicly, and most solemnly, dedicate to thy service. Accept the humble offering at our hands. For with holy obedience, and the most ardent love we joyfully present it to thee. Brethren, with your attendance on the ordinances of this sanctuary, your eternal interests are intimately connected. If you are constant, humble, and devout worshippers before Oh! thou eternal God! bless us, these altars, you may expect that even at this time, with heavenly priviGod will replenish your souls with leges in Christ Jesus. Take, we grace; but if you habitually neg-pray thee, this house under thy prolect them, you will not only be with- tection. Preserve it from accidents. out the bread of life, but the wrath of God will abide on you for ever. Let it not be profaned by false doctrine, or unholy conduct.-May thy Spirit rest here, and may his graces distil in our hearts, as the dew from heaven. When we stretch forth our hands, and cry for mercy, then And on this occasion, the immediate object of which, is the dedication of this house, to the worship of the Triune Jehovah, how fervent should be our prayer, that he would make it hear thou in heaven, and answer our his abode, and say of it "this is my desires. Pour down upon us, we rest, here will I dwell," and "blessed beseech thee, the spirit of grace and shall he be, who findeth me, watch-salvation, that multitudes may be ing at my gates, and waiting born from on high, and thus the glory daily at the post of my doors."- of this latter house exceed the glory With such high and holy considera- of the former.* Meet us when we tions, and under the influence of desires so animating and heavenly, let' * See Note on the following page. assemble here, and replenish us with and to do good to them that hate you. every heavenly gift; until, from wor- This providence, although in the beshipping thee on earth, we shall beginning dark and afflicting, has alreatransported to serve thee in thy tem- dy shone forth upon us with beams of ple above. And fill us with thy pre-brightness and mercy. And the storm sence, until our assemblies in thy which arose so portentous with wrath, Church below shall be sweetly ex- has descended in drops of precious changed for the general assembly and love. Thus, though "no affliction, Church of the first-born, on high.- for the present, is joyous, but grievSo do thou answer and bless us, for ous; nevertheless, afterward, it yieldChrist's sake.-Amen. eth the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Permit me, Fathers, Brethren, and Friends, to congratulate you on this auspicious occasion. About seventeen months have elapsed, since we assembled on this spot, sheltered only by the heavens, to witness the solemnity of placing the corner stone of this building. Fondly anticipating the future, and moved by no ordinary joy on account of the auspicious present, with prayer and praise, we laid the foundation of this house. To-day, with still higher gratitude and rejoicing, we enter in, and see it completed. That the whole has been finished without a single accident of any kind, will be remembered as no trifling evidence of the approbation of heaven. Such an exhibition of mercy will surely call forth your fervent thanksgivings. And with this expression, let there not be mingled one unholy feeling of revenge or wrath, for that cruelty which drove you to seek an asylum of peace, in building another, when you were unrighteously driven from your own sanctuary.* In the exercise of Christian principles, remember to love your enemies, When we view this house in all its parts, so speedily, and yet so neatly finished, we cannot be unmindful of that hand, which has prospered the work. With his blessing, it will long remain a monument of your zeal, enterprise and resources. In it, there is preserved a proper medium between ostentatious parade, and despicable meanness. All is elegant, but nothing superfluous, or at variance with the rules of correct taste. Emulous of praise, so justly acquired, you may point the friend who visits you to this house, as a specimen of chaste, elegant and well proportioned architecture. Within, and without, the whole is judiciously designed, and tastefully finished. But I ought to specify, on this occasion, particularly, the indefatigable industry of the Building Committee. On you, gentlemen, has devolved, particularly, the labour of furnishing the materials, and superintending the work. Permit me, thus publicly to say, that the zeal with which you have surmounted all obstacles and discouragements, is such as every one will *The party of the secession retain-appreciate. Your time has been called for; and your daily avocations ined entire possession of the church terrupted; but we have always found belonging to this congregation, until after the plan for building this house had been matured, though it was not yet engaged in; and they still it one half of the time. occupy There was you willing to make whatever sacrifice of private interest was necessary for the public good. In building this house, you have reared a monument to your praise. While we give you this public acconsequently a necessity of building knowledgement of what you so just another church. ly deserve, you will indulge us in the prayer, that you may at last be found, not alone builders of an earthly sanctuary, but living stones in the temple above. If God, by manifesting himself to you in this house, shall make you trophies of his victorious grace; and from worshipping here, take you to serve him in his kingdom on high; then may you, through eternity, look back, with unmixed joy, to the agency which you have had, in bringing about the solemnities of this day. And to those who have contributed the means for the erection of this house, we would say, in conclusion, You have done well: go on in well doing. It is a noble privilege to have a heart to give, for the service of the Lord. together, as the manner of some is." -Neither let a pernicious spirit, on your part, ever be the cause of rendering them desolate. Remember, that he who ministers in the gospel, must also live by it. "The labourer is at all times worthy of his hire.”. Better never to have built a house of God, than, after it is finished, to suffer it to remain without a stated pastor. I charge you, as you value your own souls, and those of the generation to come-as you regard the wellbeing of society in this vicinity-and as you appreciate the happiness and moral culture of your children-see to this matter. Not that I am to reap any of its benefits-For, when these lips are stilled in death, and this body But, although through your liberal- moulders in the dust; or, perhaps, ity, the house has been completed, when these hands are called to labour your work is not done. It has, as in another vineyard; there will still yet, only commenced. The obliga- be a sanctuary here, and souls thirsttion of becoming habitual and humble ing for the bread of life. On the unaworshippers in this sanctuary, now nimous, and persevering efforts which devolves upon you. Here is your you shall henceforth make, depend, hill of Zion: Here are your altars of in a great measure, the growth and devotion. Refrain not, on any con- flourishing of this congregation. sideration, from seeking around them, the blessings of salvation, by "forsaking the assembling of yourselves May the Spirit of Almighty God influence us to seek his glory! Amen. REVIEWS AND CRITICISMS. CRITICAL EXPLANATION OF HEBREWS | in the Old Testament where this en XIII. 5. MR. EDITOR-The following beautiful Criticism was copied a few years since, from an old Periodical work.I hope, on reading it, you will be induced to make it more generally known, by giving it a place in your Magazine.-BEE. couraging promise is expressed in the same terms. These are, Deut. xxxi. 6-8. Josh. i. 15. 1 Chron. xxviii. 20. Of two of these, viz. Deut. xxxi. and 1 Chron. xxviii. the translation by the LXX is precisely the same, and corresponds with the words emJoshua, the Septuagint is somewhat ployed by the Apostle. In that from different, and less similar to the Apostle's expression. We may infer, that HEB. xiii. 5.-"For he hath said, I will the Apostle's allusion is made to one never leave thee, nor forsake thee." These words are introduced by the Apostle, as a quotation from the Old Testament, but without specifying the particular place. We find three places of the first two texts, and that he adopted the translation of the LXX. Or, if we suppose the quotation to be taken from Joshua, we must say that the Apostle rejects the version of the LXX, and translates for him ed to confirm this interpretation of the Greek verb, we have that of Homer, Iliad ii. v. 34; and Theocritus, Idyll xi. v. 23; to which we refer our learned readers. From these authorities we may conclude ourselves warranted in considering the divine promise in the text as giving this precious assurance-"I will never quit hold of thee, nor forsake thee." self. The Hebrew verb, which, in our version, is rendered 'fail,' signifies 'to loose or slacken.' [See Taylor and Parkhurst.] Buxtorf renders it remittere.' Sometimes it plainly signifies to slacken one's hold;' to let go;' as in Ex. iv. 26. Judges ii. 37. and especially in Canticles, iii. 4. where it is opposed to the Hebrew word, rendered to hold fast.' "I held him, and would not let him go." That it ought to be understood thus, in the above cited passages, alluded to by Another circumstance in the orithe Apostle, will appear, when we at-ginal is entitled to particular notice; tend to the meaning of the Greek i. e. the frequent repetition of the neverb, by which it is three times ren-gative, which greatly augments the dered in the Septuagint version, and force of the asseveration. There are which is adopted and sanctioned by two connected with the former verb, the Apostle, in the text under consi- and three with the last. The emphaderation. This verb is Avinμi. In the tic meaning of the whole might be few other places in which it is found, thus expressed in English:-" I will it signifies 'to slacken or loosen.’— not-I will not let thee go. No: I Acts, xvi. 26.-xxvii. 40. If the will never, never forsake thee." How authority of profane authors be want- refreshing! How consoling! MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. ON A MAN'S MARRYING HIS DECEASED is not contained in the New Testa WIFE'S SISTER. To the Elders and Deacons, who constitute the Consistory of the Protestant Reformed Dutch Church of New-York, this Essay is dedicated with respect and affection. ment --That it is laid down in the Old Testament, and distinctly recognised by the New Testament, as of perpetually binding obligation. This is clearly implied in the doctrines laid down by Paul to the Corinthians, in his decision in the case of the inces My Brethren-I have read a good tuous person. Moreover, that the deal lately on the Incest Question. law of incest is laid down in LevitiAnd I feel, as my Brethren through-cus, chap. xviii. That this law formout our Churches do, the necessity ed no part of the Ceremonial, or Juof having our minds made up on this dicial law. Because the nations of important question; that our decis-Egypt and of Canaan were condemnions may be according to the word of ed and "abhorred of God," [Lev. God, when that decision shall be xx. 23.] for the commission of crimes made in the highest court of the against it. But these nations were Church. On the following points, I never under the Ceremonial law, nor believe, we are all agreed; That the the Judicial. Hence, "their mansin of incest is not a sin against the ners" could not be charged with the law of nature. In the family of guilt of breaking them. And, moreAdam, brothers married sisters.--That over, if the positive law against incest incest, therefore, is a sin against a be not in this xviiith chapter, then it positive law of God. That this law is not found in the Book of God.have been given forth to the species And this law against incest must *We omit the Hebrew word, from design. We have no Hebrew types. before this recapitulation of it by himself always to the male sex, the Moses. This fact is distinctly assu-head of the woman. But yet the femed in Lev. xviii. For, if the Egyp- male is most evidently included.†tians and Canaanites did not know it This is an important principle, I think, to be a law of their Creator, (con- in this present discussion. Let each veyed to them by tradition probably,) of our readers just open his Bible, how could they be chargeable with and look into the laws of God, and the crime of breaking it? Hence we he will be forcibly struck with this.— arrive again at the same conclusion. Thus, to take an example out of maIt was a moral law. The same re-ny, the tenth Commandment says— "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife," &c. And surely the female is equally reached by this precept. It surely implies-and this implication, or inference, if you choose to call it, is just as strong as the positive words of the law-"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's husband," &c. Now let us apply to the present point these principles which we have here laid down. marks we make on the statement of And in the moral law of God, it is worthy of our notice, God addresses * Dr. Mason's Chr. Mag. vol. ii. p. 86. Ac we take up; and we request the special attention of our readers to it, as one in point, in the present debate. “A man shall not marry his deceased brother's widow." [Ver. 16.] cording to our principle laid down, the female is equally addressed, as being equally the subject of God's moral government. Hence the converse of this is equally binding on us as this law; namely, "Thou shalt not marry the brother of thy deceased husband." This is a plain and legitimate interpretation of the divine law. Now, if a female be forbidden by divine law to marry her deceased husband's brother; in other words, if she be forbidden to marry two brothers in succession, then it is on account of the principles laid down in See Albany Rel. Mon. vol. iii. p. 453, 454 |