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BERM.
XIIL]
HERE
AND.
HEREAFTER.
239
do something
for
his
service, this awakens
our
zeal.
Now,
is
our
faith
active? Is our
zeal lively
in this
mat-
ter?
Some
christians have one
of
these, some
the
other
most
in
exercise:
Some
look most
at
honouring God in
a
public profession, some
at
obtaining
some sensible
be-
nefit and delight to
their
own
souls
:
But
it
is
best when
both
of
these invite us to the
sanctuary, and make
us
long after the presence
of
God.
(Some
of
us,
it
may be,
have
found the
work
of
grace
and salvation begun
on
our
souls
at
public
worship;
there
we
were first
awakened and convinced
of
sin,
there
we
were first led to the knowledge
and faith
of
Christ,
and
pardoning
grace
was
revealed
with
power
by
the mi-
nistry
of
the
word; therefore
we
long after the sincere
-milk
of
the
word,
in
the
same
public dispensation
of
it,
that
we
may grow
thereby.
Others
have been
favoured,
it
may
be,
with
the presence
of
God
more
abundantly
in secret;
and reading, and
meditation, and secret
pray-
er, have been
the. chief
sensible
instruments
of
their
conversion, sanctification, and
peace;
these
therefore,
sometimes have
not
the
same
earnest
longing
after public
preaching
as
others have; yet
they do
continually
attend
on
the ordinances
of Christ
in public,
to
maintain
reli-
gion,
in the profession
of
it,
among men
;
and they ought
to
do
it.
But
these persons
are
most
in
danger of
grow-
ing
cold and indifferent')
I
grant
it
is
a
glorius
and self
denying temper, to
maintain
a
warm zeal to do much
for the
honour of God
in
the world, even though
we
enjoy
but
little
of him;
but
this
is
not
so
frequent
among
men
:
For
we
are
usually drawn to
God
by
the
blessings
we
hope
to
re-
ceive
;
and
we
should consider,
that
an
utter
neglect
of
all
those enjoyments
of
God
in
the sensible increase
of
grace and
joy, which are to be
found'in
public worship,
is
a
sign
that our
faith
runs
too
low
:
We do
not expect
to
receive much from God, even
in his own
appointed
methods
;
and
therefore
we
grow
negligent
whether
we
worship
him in
public or no. O let
the
soul who feels
nothing
of
this negligence,
but
maintains
a
warm desire
of
ordinances under
long
restraint, rejoice and
bless
the
Lord
!
However, while any
of
us
are
confined,
our
desires
'after
God
ought
to
appear
in this,
that
we
often seek