h over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over
thee."

But it is consistent and proper for a bride to adorn herself
preparatory to her marriage. But even for this occasion she should be
arrayed in modest apparel, as becometh saints. But God recognizes the
propriety of suitable ornamentation, and uses it as a figure in these
words: "My soul will greatly rejoice in the Lord, for he hath clothed
me with the garments of salvation, as a bride adorneth herself with
her jewels." The garments of salvation beautifully symbolize the holy
life of God's saints, and correspond to the fine linen, clean and
white, in which the bride, the Lamb's wife, is arrayed, as described
by John in the Apocalypse. Her jewels correspond to the divine truths
of the Word, which ornament a good life.

I will now offer some practical thoughts on what I have stated, so as
to draw the attention of your minds more closely to the subject. Some
people seem to think it a matter of small moment whether one makes a
public profession of religion or not. Such seem to satisfy their minds
by concluding that God knows what is in their hearts, and that the
church has no business to concern itself about them. They think they
can live as good and as pure lives out of the church as in it. This
last conclusion may be correct, for many do not live very pure or good
lives _in_ the church. But all this has nothing to do with God's
established order. A man might say: "I love that lady, and with her
consent I will live a virtuous life with her. But I do not intend to
marry her after the ceremonial style of most people. Marriage
ceremonies are useless, and with her consent we will just go together
as husband and wife, and so live; and whose business is it but our
own?" In the first place I have to say, that if two could be found who
were willing to go together and live in this way, if they were not in
some way severely punished, they might thank their good stars for it.
In the next place I have to say that such cohabitation would wholly
subvert the order of society by giving loose reins to lust which would
break in upon the legal relationships of the social compact to an
extent that would place us on a social level with the aborigines of
America.

And what would the Lord's kingdom be without a visible church? He
says: "My kingdom is not of this world." His kingdom being essentially
invisible, it remains a matter of necessity that there be some way for
making its subjects