20S APPEARANCE BEFORE GOD. faces towards heaven, and blush even whenour litets are never so sincere ; but there we shall come near to God, even to God in glory, and notbe afraid of him ; there we shall see a Godunde- filed, ourselves also being undefiled ; a God of spotless purity, and ourselves without blemish before the throne; our garments washed white in the bloodof the Lamb, and never, never to be de- filed again ; that is the glory and pleasure of a christian. Then we shall appear without spot, or wrinkle, or any suchthing; with- out 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 heavyburdens, sor- rows and sins; but then with everlasting songs and joy on our heads; Is. xxxv. 10. If we had a painful and living sense of these things, of the wanderings, temptations, burdens, and defile- ments, that mingle with our worship here, we should cry aloud, and say, How long, O Lord, how long? 6. Lastly, Nowwe appear and depart again, but then we shall abide with God for ever. Now we go down from the mount of conversewith God, into the world of temptation, and sin, and business, and care : We appear upon mount Horeb, or Pisgah, andwe 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 are in the valley, our mighty sins, our strong cor- ruptionS. In this valley of tears we must have a conflict before we get to the promised land ; there every worshipper has in his hand a palmof complete victory ; Rev. vii. 9. and lie is for ever discharged from fighting : Him that overcometh will I snake a pillar in the temple of myGod; andheshall go no More out Rev. iii. 12. Sonecessary is the presenceof the saints in heaven, that our Lord Jesus Christ has represented them as pillars of that building. God dwellingin the midst of his saints, counts him- self dwelling in one of his glorious heavens : and every saint there is, as it were, a pillar, and a support of it ; We are livelyt stones in that building in which Godwill for ever inhabit. Now we come to the house of God as visitants ; but there ás inliabi- tants, as the children of God, who abide for ever in the house; There every saint obtains what holy David wished for, and that in the literal perfection of it, that he might dwell in the hauseof the Lordfor ever; Ps. xxvii. 4. and xxüi. 6. Use. The only reflection I shall make on the second part of my discourse, is this, that we should raise our hope, ourconso- lation, and our joy, by a meditation of such future worship in heaven as this is, when,we lie finder many weaknesses; restraints, And defilements, in our best worship on earth. Q ! how would
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