You know, Reverend Sir, who it was, that when those who were bidden in a regular way refused to come to the wedding-supper, without asking any one’s leave for so doing, sent forth some irregulars into the lanes and streets of the city, into the highways and hedges, with that glorious encouraging commission, not by fines and imprisonments, not by threats and expulsions, not by killing the body for the good of the soul, but by filling their mouths with gospel arguments, backed with the all-powerful energy of the Holy Ghost, to compel poor, wandering, weary, heavy laden sinners to come in. Armed with this panoply divine, and, as they think, authorised by the same LORD, some few of us continue to this day, amongst small and great, high and low, rich and poor, in church or chapel, in commons, streets, fields, whensoever or wheresoever divine providence opens a door, “to testify repentance towards GOD and faith in our LORD JESUS CHRIST;” and this not from contempt of, or in opposition to the godly admonitions of our ecclesiastical superiors, but because “the love of CHRIST constraineth us;” and we think that a wo, a dreadful wo, awaits us if we preach not the gospel. Not that we are enemies to a decent or even episcopal consecration, or setting apart churches and chapels for divine and holy worship: but we are more indifferent about the reputed outward sanctity of places, because our LORD, with great solemnity, said unto the woman of _Samaria_, “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at _Jerusalem_, worship the Father: but the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.” Hence we infer, that every place is then, and only then properly called holy, when like the ground around the burning bush, it is made holy by the divine presence of Him who spake to _Moses_ out of the bush; or like mount _Tabor_, which by the Apostle _Peter_ is called, by way of emphasis, the holy mount, because himself and _James_ and _John_, not only had upon that mount a visible outward manifestation, but also a blessed inward heart-felt sense of the Redeemer’s excellent glory. It was undoubtedly this which made _Peter_ to break out into that exclamation: “Master, it is good for us to be here.” And it was this that warmed, and not only warmed, but constrained the enraptured Patriarch _Jacob_, when he had only the ground for his bed, the stones for his pillow, and the open firmament for his curtains and furniture, to break forth into that extatic language, “How dreadful is this place! this is no other than the house of GOD, this is the gate of heaven.”
If then, Reverend Sir, for this and such like things we are accounted irregular and disorderly, we are truly sorry for it: sorry, but not upon our own accounts, having the testimony of a good conscience that we act with a single eye, and in direct conformity to the authority of the word of GOD: but we are sorry, barely on account of our impeachers and condemners, especially for those, who being set apart for the ministerial office, and loaded with ecclesiastical preferments, preach very seldom, or not at all; or, if they do preach now and then, preach only as though they were barely reading wall-lectures, and seldom or ever so much as mention or quote the homilies of our church, though they have subscribed to an article which says, that “they contain godly and wholesome doctrine, and which judges them to be read in churches by the ministers diligently and distinctly, that they may be understood of the people.” It is to be feared, that it is owing to such irregularity and disorder as this, that when our people hear of our articles or homilies quoted by some few in the pulpit, that they are ready to cry out, “What new doctrine is this? Thou bringest certain strange things to our ears:” At least if it is not so at home, I am sure it is abroad. Hence it was that about three years ago, after I had been preaching to a very large auditory in one of the most polite places on the continent of _America_, and in preaching, as is my usual custom, had strongly been recommending the book of homilies, numbers were stirred up to go to the stores to purchase them: but upon enquiring after the book of homilies, the storekeeper, surprized at the novelty of the word _homilies_, begged leave to know what muslins they meant, and whether they were not _hummims_.