SEAM. XIV.] HERE AND HEREAFTER. 241 . mind away, and it is lost from God and devotion again : We appear before God, and disappear again; we wan- der into the world, and return to God, twenty times in an hour. Our eyes and our ears are constant witnesses of this painful weakness; and unhappy instruments they are to draw off our souls from the divinest meditation. Every thing around us is ready to disturb and divert our feeble nature in the most heavenly acts of worship : Poor broken worship ! Poor frail estate of human nature ! But there is a blessed assembly of better worshippers above : Awake our faith and desire to join them ! and let each of us say, " O when shall I go to that bright company, and appear amongst them before God." SERMON XIV. APPEARANCE BEFORE GOD HERE AND HEREAFTER. PSALM xlii. 2. When shall I come and appear before God? THE SECOND PART. By an appearance before God, in the text, we are to understand4our attendance upon him in the publicordi- nances of worship; and the longing desire the. Psalmist had to draw near unto God in his ordinances, represents to us the character of every sincere christian, when he enjoys his own right frame, and heavenly temper ofsoul: He longs, he breathes after those seasons of divine im- provement and comfort. I shall make no further repetition of any thing before delivered ; but considering that all our appearances be- fore God in this world in his sanctuary, are but means to prepare us to stand before God in the world that is to come; I shall not think myself at all to wander from the text, if I spend my whole time, at present, in shewing the difference that is between our appearance before God on earth here, and our appearing before him in the VOL. I. R
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