October 18

And he called the name of that place Bethel. - Genesis 28:19.

THAT is, the house of God; and wherever God meets with his people, that place may be thus very appropriately designated. There was no temple nor any edifice at hand, and yet, says Jacob, “This is none other than the house of God.” This is confirmed by Jehovah’s own declaration: “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? for all those things hath mine hand made, saith the Lord; but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite Spirit and that trembleth at my word.” It is also confirmed by the conversation of our Lord with the woman of Samaria.

Her countrymen imagined that God must be worshipped at Samaria, or nowhere, while the Jews supposed he must be worshipped at Jerusalem or nowhere; but our Saviour takes this opportunity to teach her that his services are not confined to a particular place. How does this condemn bigotry, which induces men to say, “The temple of the Lord! the temple of the Lord are we;” while nothing makes a people dear to God but their conformity to him, and that which makes a place of worship sacred is the Divine presence. As to external and intrinsical holiness, we cannot attach any to wood and stone. There were no material temples before the flood; the patriarchs had altars, but no temples; and till near the close of the third century there were no places for Christian worship and preaching expressly reared. The Apostles preached and prayed where they could find a place; and our Saviour preached from on board a vessel, and in private houses, and on the sides of the mountains, and on the wayside; and now

“Where’er we seek thee thou art found,

And every place is hallowed ground.”

There are several cases in which this remark will afford encouragement. First, When by sickness, or accident, or distance, we cannot repair to the sanctuary of God. It is our duty to go there whenever it is in our power, and a real Christian will feel it to be a privilege to be there. His past experience enlivens and encourages him when he thinks of it; he has seen his power and his glory in the sanctuary, and he remembers this, and therefore he is glad when they say to him, “Come and let us go into the house of the Lord.” But we may be the Lord’s prisoners; and when so, and deprived of the means of grace, we may remember there are three things to which we have access-access to the word of his grace, access to the throne of his grace, and access to the Spirit of his grace, even when by his providence we may be deprived of public ordinances.

Secondly, It should encourage those whom Providence may have placed at a distance from a gospel temple. But if from vanity, discontent, or avarice, a person moves from a neighbourhood where the privileges of religion may be enjoyed, and have chosen a situation regardless whether the gospel ministry is to be found there, then they are not in their duty; but if in the providence of God a person is stationed in a land, as to the means of grace, of Spiritual barrenness, they may hope that the presence of the fountain will make up for the streams, and that the God of all grace will be with them though they may be deprived of some of the means of grace.

Thirdly, It will also encourage us in the intervals of the Sabbath. The Sabbath does not last always; we cannot be always in the temple of God; but we can be with God in the closet as well as in the sanctuary. The Spirit of devotion may influence us in the absence of forms. Any place, by prayer and meditation, may become to us the house of God, and thus we may sanctify every situation, and render it sacred and happy.