08-Order For Dedication Church

ORDER FOR THE DEDICATION OF A CHURCH. AND Solomon stood before the altar of th*

Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven; and said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart... Therefore, now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed, to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, 1 pray thee, be verified, which thou spakes M DEDICATION OF A CHURCH. 65 unto thy servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded! Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to-day: that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place, and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place: and when thou nearest forgive. 1 Kings 8:2230. And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication 66 MANUAL OF FORMS. that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that 1 have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house which I have hallowed for my name will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a by-word among all people: and at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done this to this land and to this house? And they shall answer, DEDICATION OF A CHUBCH. 67

Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshiped them and served them, therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil. 1 Kings 9:1-9.

PSALM xxiv. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

68 MANUAL OF FORMS. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.

[ Then the minister shall say:\

DEAR BRETHREN: Seeing that it has pleased Almighty God our heavenly Father to prosper us in our undertaking to build a house for his worship, and to enable us to bring it to completion, let us now reverently invoke upon it his abiding blessing, to the end that a pure apostolical doctrine and order may ever be maintained therein, and that the Holy Spirit may here ever give effect to his own ordinances. And in so doing let us reverently set it apart with prayer and invocation of the Holy Ghost, so that this house may hereafter be put solely to these sacred uses and preserved from all other associations whatsoever.

PRAYER, Almighty and everlasting God, Maker of DEDICATION OF A CHUKCH. 69 heaven and earth, who dwellest not in temples made with hands, we humbly adore thee for the revelation thou hast made of thyself through Jesus Christ, thy Son. We bless thee that from of old thy way has been in the sanctuary, and that thou dost seek those to worship thee who worship in spirit and in truth. We give thanks to thee that thou hast put it into the hearts of these thy servants to erect this house for thy public worship, that it may abide as a witness of thy presence and covenant faithfulness, and as the means of the edification of thy people in successive generations.

We know that by reason of our sins we are not worthy that thou shouldest come under our roof; yet, O God most high and most holy, whom the heaven of heavens can not contain, how much less the temple made with hands, bestow on these thy servants a readiness of heart in the consecration of this house to the honor of thy great Name. In thy name and to thy service, one God in three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, we dedicate it; for offering to thy adorable Majesty the sacrifices of prayer and thanks giving; for reading and hearing thy rnosi 70 MANUAL OF FORMS. holy word; for the proclamation of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; for the celebration of thy holy sacraments; and for the performance of all other offices of our Christian faith. Accept, O Lord most gracious, this free-will offering at the hands of thy servants, for the well-being of their souls and for the glory of thy most holy Name. Grant, we beseech thee, Lord, that when thy people assemble them selves together in this house for thy worship the Spirit of glory and of God may rest upon them, that with clean hands and pure hearts they may compass thine altars. Grant, O God 6f eternal love, when thy ministers here proclaim the gospel of thy grace, that sinners may be converted unto thee, and thy true servants quickened, edified and com forted. Grant that thy Holy Spirit may al ways accompany the administration of thy holy sacraments in this place, and with his saving influence make them effectual means of grace to thy people. And we also pray that thou wilt bless thy holy universal Church of all ages and of all nations, in which, through thy grace, these thy servants have their part in the fullness DEDICATION OF A CUUHCH. 71 of the one body. Bring us every day continually to a larger experience of the communion of saints. And finally, we beseech thee to bring us, and all who in coming days worship in this house, together with all thy redeemed, to that city of God where in there is no temple, and of which the Lamb is the light. And unto the King eternal, immortal and invisible, the only wise God, be glory, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world with out end. AMEN.