252 APPEARANCE BEFORE GOD [SERA!. XIe'. ing ; no trifles there to divert us, and separate one tart of our worship from the other: there all the powers and faculties of nature shall perpetually be engaged in the business and blessedness of that state. Glorious wor- ship, arid blessed wor hippers ! fit for the presenceof the Ma of heaven I might say, e come with very little comfort, and any discouragements, to appear before God on earth ; but there with everlasting consolation: We corne now to the word, and we go away again, hardly hearing the voice ofGod in his word, or seeing his countenance, but there we shall be for ever near him; no, wall of flesh, or of sin, to divide us. . . Now we are defiled with guilt, and ashamed to lift up our faces towards heaven, and blush even when our hearts are ever so sincere ; but there we shall come near to God, even to God in glory, and not be afraid of him ; there we shall see a God undefiled, ourselves also being undefiled ; a God of spotless purity, and our. selves without blemish before the throne; our garments washed white in the blood of the Lamb, and never, never to be defiled again; that is the glory and pleasure . of a christian. Then we shall appear without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; without guile in our mouths, or vanity in our hearts; without fault before God, and therefore without pain ; without sorrow, and without fear for ever, even though we stand before God in all his majesty; for we .are assured of his mercy. Now we worship with prayers and tears, because of many and heavy burdens, sorrows, and sins; but then with ever- lasting songs and joy on our heads, Is. xxxv. 10. Ifwe had a painful and living, sense of these things, of the wanderings, temptations, burdens, and defilements, that Mingle with our worship here, we shou d cry aloud, and say, " How long, .0 Lord; how long 6. Lastly, Now we appear And depart again, but then we shall abide with God for ever. Now we go down from the mount of converse with God, into the world of temptation, and sin, and business, and care: We ap -. pear upon mount Horeb, or Pisgah, and we take a little view of the promised land ; but we.go down again as the children of Israel did, to fight with the Canaanites, the giants that aré in the valley, our mighty sins, our strong .5
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