SERMON XIII. Appearance before God here and hereafter. PSALM xlii. 2.When shall I come and appear before God. THE FIRST PART. THE holy Psalmist was now absent from his usualplace of public worship, and restrained from coming near to the ark of God which was the token of the divine presence in the days of the Jewish church; and when he had been meditating on his past and present circumstancesin this respect, both what he en- joyed heretofore, and what he was deprived of now, he breaks out into a divine rapture : As the hart panteth afterthe water- brooks, sopanteth my soul after thee, O God. And he goes on to describe the frame of his spirit in this holy song : The sub- stance and senseof the whole psalm is, as it were, epitomizedand drawn up into these few words, whenshall I comeand appearbefore God? I shall not spend time to shew in how many senses man may be said to appear before God; but shall content myself to say, that in this place it signifies attendance on public worship, in the place where it was usually celebrated and performed. In the words of the Psalmist we may find the temper of his heart ex- pressed under these two generalheads. I. A belief of the special presence of God inhisordinances of public worship. II, An earnest longing after them on that account. I shall enlarge a little on, each of these, and make remarks as I go along, under each head. First, The words express David's firm belief of the special; presence of God in his ordinances, insomuch that he calls an at- tendance on them, an appearance before God. We are always in the viewof God, and every creature is naked andopen inhis sight, and for ever appears before him as the all-seeing andall-knowing Creator and Governor of all things ; but it is a peculiar, a gra- cious, and favourable presence of God that belongs to his sanctu- ary, Isis appointed worship : God is taking special notice of our carriage toward him, and manifesting his designs of special mercy towards us. Davidwell knew this, that thegreat end of appointing public
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