But be it remembered, it must be a divinely real thing. It is of no possible use to profess to be gathered in, or to, the blessed Name of Jesus, if we are not really so. The apostle's word as to faith may apply with equal force to the question of our centre of gathering.--"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man _say_" he is gathered to the Name of Jesus? God deals in moral realities; and while it is perfectly clear that a man who desires to be true to Christ cannot possibly consent to own any other centre or any other ground of gathering but His Name, yet it is quite possible--alas! alas! how very possible--for people to profess to be on that blessed and holy ground, while their spirit and conduct, their habits and ways, their whole course and character, go to prove that they are not in the power of their profession. The apostle said to the Corinthians that he would "know, not the speech, but the power." A weighty word, most surely, and much needed at all times, but specially needed in reference to the important subject now before us. We would lovingly, yet most solemnly, press upon the conscience of the Christian reader his responsibility to consider this matter in the holy retirement of the Lord's presence, and in the light of the New Testament. Let him not set it aside on the plea of its not being essential. It is in the very highest degree essential, inasmuch as it concerns the Lord's glory and the maintenance of His truth. This is the only standard by which to decide what is essential and what is not. Was it essential for Israel to gather at the divinely appointed centre? Was it left an open question? Might every man choose a centre for himself? Let the answer be weighed in the light of Deuteronomy xiv. It was absolutely essential that the Israel of God should assemble around the centre of the God of Israel. This is unquestionable. Woe be to the man who presumed to turn his back on the place where Jehovah had set His Name. He would very speedily have been taught his mistake. And if this was true for God's earthly people, is it not equally true for the Church and the individual Christian? Assuredly it is. We are bound, by the very highest and most sacred obligations, to refuse every _ground_ of gathering but the one body, every _centre_ of gathering but the Name of Jesus, every _power_ of gathering but the Holy Ghost, every _authority_ of gathering but the Word of God. May all the Lord's beloved people every where be led to consider these things, in the fear and love of His holy name. We shall now close this section by quoting the last paragraph of our chapter, in which we shall find some valuable practical teaching.