ame of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my
father, saying, Thy son, {12} whom I will set upon thy throne in thy
room, he shall build a house unto My name." Our Lord confirms this
practice as one of sound and true religion. He called the Temple "My
Father's house," and by cleansing it of buyers and sellers showed that
it was to be used for no other purpose than the worship of God.
Christians from the earliest days have had consecrated places which
were held in reverence as distinct from the home. And so the
Prayer-Book says, "Devout and holy men, as well under the Law as under
the Gospel, moved either by the express command of God, or by the
secret inspiration of the blessed Spirit, and acting agreeably to their
own reason and sense of the natural decency of things, have erected
houses for the public worship of God, and separated them from all
unhallowed, worldly, and common uses, in order to fill men's minds with
greater reverence for His glorious Majesty, and affect their hearts
with more devotion and humility in His service; which pious works have
been approved of and graciously accepted by our heavenly Father."

It is an ancient custom to dedicate churches to the glory of God and in
honor of some special saint. This custom probably arose from the fact
that in early days churches were commonly built over the {13} graves of
martyrs, or in the place of their martyrdom, and hence were called by
their names. Sometimes the church is named from some fact in the
sacred history of our redemption, as the Incarnation, the Annunciation,
the Nativity, the Epiphany, the Transfiguration, the Crucifixion, the
Resurrection, the Ascension. Or it may take its name from the Holy
Trinity, or from some title of our Lord or of the Holy Ghost. Or it
may be named for one or all of the holy angels. It must be felt to be
a decided advantage to have the place of the worship of God designated
by a dignified name, and one non-secular and religious in its
associations.

The word "church," by which we designate the place of divine worship,
being derived from the Greek _kuriakon_, the Lord's house, embodies the
idea of its sacred character.

A canon, or law, of the Church forbids consecration so long as a debt
remains on the building. It may, however, before consecration be used
for worship.

As consecrated and set apart for the holy offices of religion, the
church is the proper place for the ministration of the Sacraments,