Here let thy Holy Days be kept,

And be this place to Worship given,
Like that bright spot where Jacob slept, –
The House of God, the Gate of Heaven.

Here may thine honor dwell; and here,
As incense, let thy children's prayer,
From contrite hearts and lips sincere,
Rise on the still and holy air.

Here be thy praise devoutly sung;
Here let thy Truth beam forth to save,

As when, of old, thy Spirit hung,
On wings of light, o'er Jordan's wave.

And when the lips, that with thy name
Are vocal now, to dust shall turn,
On others may Devotion's Flame
Be kindled here, and purely burn.

V. SERMON.

BY THE PASTOR.

VI. DEDICATION CHANT.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of Glory may come in.

For except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

But will God indeed dwell upon earth? Behold the Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain Him. How much less this house that we have builded!

For thus saith the Lord — the Heaven is my throne, and the Earth is my footstool. Where is the house ye build for me, and where is the place of my rest?

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation, that keepeth the truth, may enter in. Lord! who shall abide in thy tabernacle; who shall stand in thy holy hill?

He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

For the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.

God is a Spirit, and they who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. O! worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; fear before Him, all the earth.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts. with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations.

AMEN.

Minister.

Infinite and Eternal Spirit, Thou dwellest not in temples made with hands, neither art worshipped by men's hands, as though Thou needest anything.

Congregation. Behold! the Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain Thee-how much less this house that

we have builded. Thou dwellest in light, inaccessible and full of glory; above all height, below all depth, surrounding, embracing, penetrating all being.

Minister. Thou art not far from any one of us; for in Thee we live, and move, and have our being. Yet, when we meet together, we more fully feel thy presence. Be with us now, and help us, whose lives are rooted in Thee, to turn to Thee our souls, to give to Thee our hearts.

Congregation. For without Thee we are nothing; away from Thee we can do nothing; forgetting Thee, all our work is empty, and will come to nothing.

Minister. We have built this house to be a House of Prayer, a House of Thought, a House of Love and United Action. May we enter it with right intentions and wise aims. We now consecrate it, by solemn prayer and earnest purpose, to highest uses and universal ends.

Congregation. It is no more ours it belongs to Thee and to thy Son. Separated forever from private, selfish, sectarian, and party ends, may it be ever used to advance the cause of all Truth, all Love, all Goodness.

Minister. We dedicate it to the Love of God-to pure worship, to sincere prayer, to a free and joyful piety, to a service of the Father, without formality, superstition, or hypocrisy.

Congregation. When we here confess our sins, then hear Thou in Heaven, and be merciful to us sinners. When we gratefully bless thy goodness, accept Thou the love of thy children. In sorrow, in need, in darkness, in weakness, when we draw near to Thee, give to us, O our Father, light, strength, and peace.

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Minister. We dedicate this House to the Love of Manactive goodness, to practical Christianity, to all that may bless and elevate human hearts and lives.

Congregation. May we learn here to love one another, not in name and word only, but in deed and in truth. May the distinctions and prejudices which separate man from man never enter these walls. May we call no man common or unclean, but here learn to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Minister. We dedicate this house to free and earnest thought to the study of truth, to an ever increasing insight, to an ever advancing knowledge.

Congregation. Here may we learn to know Thee, the Uni

versal Father-to know Christ, the Saviour and Friend - to know ourselves, our needs and capacities to know the Aim of Life, the law of duty, the bliss of the present, and the hope of the future.

Minister. We dedicate this house to the Culture of the Soul to its renewal, its elevation, purification, and redemption. We dedicate it to the Church, to brotherly love and Christian Union.

Congregation. May this be the home of the highest aspiration and the largest love.

Minister. Universal Father, we consecrate this place to Thee.

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Congregation. Our Father, bless this offering of thy children. Minister.-Jesus, friend of Man, we devote this place to thee. Congregation. Teacher, Master, Saviour, be here to thy disciples the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Minister. To the Holy Spirit of purity and love, to the sweet breathing of God in our hearts, to the spirit of Christian communion, we devote this place.

Minister and Congregation, together. Here may the little child be brought to Jesus-here may the young be helped to resist temptation-here may manly strength be given to goodness - here may the pathway of the aged be made smooth to the tomb - may the solitary, the friendless, the bereaved find here friendship and solace may the mourner here be comforted-may the poor have the Gospel preached to them- may the rich be made rich toward God-may the sinner be awakened and find pardon — may many souls be born out of darkness into light, out of death into life. And while this house shall stand, may it be the home of that Divine Glory, which dwells in hearts filled with love, joy, and peace.

Minister. Now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God,

Congregation. Be honor and glory, through Jesus Christ, forever and ever. AMEN.

VIII. — HYMN. HEBER.

Holy, holy, holy, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;

Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!

All thy works shall praise thy name in earth, sky, and sea.

Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore Thee,

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and Seraphim, falling down before Thee,
Which wert, and art, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity!

The CHURCH OF THE DISCIPLES, in Boston, was formed in April, 1841, by the adoption of the following Declaration of Faith and Purpose, by a unanimous vote, as the basis of the Church.

"We, whose names are subscribed, unite together in the following faith and purpose:

Our Faith is in Jesus, as the Christ, the Son of God.

And we hereby form ourselves into a Church of his Disciples, that we may cooperate together in the study and practice of Christianity.'

We called ourselves "Disciples," to express our wish to become scholars in the School of Christ, to sit at his feet, and learn what he had to teach us. We united as a Church, not as a congregation of worshippers. Our object was to have but one organization, and that a religious organization. It should be large enough to include every one who, with faith in Christ, was seeking to know and to obey him, as the great object of life.

We adopted the Social Principle, desiring to study, and work, and pray in company; to know each other; to commune together, and to make one family of brethren and sisters in the Lord. For this purpose we have had social meetings of different kinds, constantly. We have met to examine questions of religion and morality. We have had Prayer and Conference Meetings. We have meetings for benevolent purposes. We have united, as a Church, in a Protest against the Mexican War. We have published and circulated tracts, to show the evils and wrong of slaveholding, and in other ways have endeavored to carry out the principle of social Christian coöperation.

The Worship of this Church has for seven years been strictly Congregational. The whole congregation have taken part in the prayers. The sing

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