favour. He is a God of spotless holiness, and I am defiled with a thousand sins, who shall make me appear lovely in his sight! he is a God of inflexible justice, and I a guilty wretch, a criminal, a malefactor, already condemned; who shall plead for me, and obtain a pardon?" O beg of Christ to introduce you with acceptance; in him alone can we appear well-pleasing to God: He is the beloved of the Father, and if we are ever accepted, it must be in the beloved; Eph. i. 6. Christ appears now in the presence of God for us, in the virtue of his blood and spotless obedience; Heb. ix. 12, 24. He who once appeared with sin imputed, was made sin for us, and was treated as a sinner in the world for our sakes, now appears before God, without sin, in heaven, as our great High Priest and Surety, to make us acceptable to God there. Nor should our warmest devotions, nor our highest praises, dare to appear there without him.

Remember that the high priest himself among the Jews, was in danger of death, whensoever he went into the holy of holies, to appear before the tokens of the divine presence, if he had not proper garments upon him, and the blood of atonement with him; see Ex. xxviii. 35, 43. Lev. xvi. 2, 13, 14. Let Aaron be clothed, and the blood so sprinkled, saith the Lord, lest he die. How much more may we fear destruction, if we rashly, or carelessly, come near and speak to God himself, and yet neglect, the garment of righteousness, and the blood of sprinkling, and Christ our great Mediator.

Remember, O christian, that for a sinner to appear before God without the Mediator, is a thing of infinite terror, and not of comfort. A traitor would keep at the farthest distance from the prince, if he hath no friend to speak a word for him there. To come and present yourselves before God as sinners, without a Saviour, would be but to awaken his wrath, and put him in mind of your guilt, and his righteous vengeance. Remember therefore to take Christ with you when you come near to God. See Eph. ii. 3, 13, &c. "We are by nature children of wrath, and afar off from God," it is he only can bring us near:cometh to the Father but by me;" John xiv. 6.

"No man

And as this is the only appointed way for sinners to appear before God, so it has been the sweet experience of ten thousand souls that they have drawn near to God, in this manner, with acceptance and delight. Hear what many a child of God can tell you in this case: "When I had the first sight of my guilt and defilements, and beheld God in the terrors of his holiness and justice, as a consuming fire, I was affrighted at the thoughts of appearing before him; every threatening that I heard, I thought it was pronounced against me, nor could I delight myself in the blessings of his gospel, for they were not mine. But when he was

pleased to lead and draw me to Christ, I saw such an all-sufficiciency of atonement and righteousness in him, that would answer all the demands that divine justice had upon me; I joyfully accepted of this salvation, I surrendered myself as the subject of his saving grace: And though now I behold God in the same glorious and dreadful attributes as before, and behold myself still defiled and sinful, yet I humbly dare appear before him daily and hourly, for Jesus is my intercessor, he is my propitiation, he is the Lord my righteousness, and my God sits upon a mercy-seat sprinkled with the blood of this heavenly sacrifice. My sins are many and great, and the matter of my daily groaning; I hear the threatenings and curses of his holy law, but they affright me not from his presence; for in the name of my Mediator I come, who hath borne the curse for me: With humble penitence, and with a lively faith, I draw near to a reconciled God, and give eternal thanks to the Reconciler.”

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IV. Remark. What a blessing it is to have many houses of God in the nation where we dwell, and those houses of God near us! God may say to us, as to Israel; Deut. xxx. 12. Say not who shall ascend into heaven to bring the word to us, that we may hear it? Or, who shall go over the sea, &c. for the word is very nigh to us." We need not travel so far as the Jews, three times every year, to public worship; and yet they "went from strength to strength, till they appeared before God in Zion ;" Ps. lxxxiv. 7. Consider some nations where God is not worshipped aright, and hath no dwelling-place; consider how far some poor creatures come even in this island, many miles from their own dwelling, to appear before God in his ordinances; but God seats his throne, as it were, at our doors: there are many synagogues of God in our land, for us to appear before him, and many near us in the city where we dwell, and near us too in this place of retirement.

How valuable a privilege is it to dwell in a religious family, in a house of God, where there is a church in the house, as Phil. verse 2. where we often appear before God? How gladly would many persons (who are in better circumstances in the world than some of us enjoy) exchange those better circumstances for spiritual advantages such as we have: But some of you perhaps may say, "We may be saved without so much religion, without so much ado about the worship of God in families or in churches." Let me tell you, if a religious family be not a pleasure to you, heaven itself cannot afford you pleasure; for that is but one great religious family, of which Jesus Christ is the head: And if the business of that place be not your delight, you shall never have a place there.

Shall I ask the servants of this house, when you are called

favour. He is a God of spotless holiness, and I am a thousand sins, who shall make me appear lovely he is a God of inflexible justice, and I a guilty wi nal, a malefactor, already condemned; who shall and obtain a pardon?" O beg of Christ to introd acceptance; in him alone can we appear well-ple He is the beloved of the Father, and if we are ev must be in the beloved; Eph. i. 6. Christ appears sence of God for us, in the virtue of his blood and ence; Heb. ix. 12, 24. He who once appeared wi was made sin for us, and was treated as a sinner i our sakes, now appears before God, without sin our great High Priest and Surety, to make us ac there. Nor should our warmest devotions, nor o ses, dare to appear there without him.

Remember that the high priest himself an was in danger of death, whensoever he went int lies, to appear before the tokens of the divine pr not proper garments upon him, and the blood o: him; see Ex. xxviii. 35, 43. Lev. xvi. 2, 13, 1ì clothed, and the blood so sprinkled, saith the! How much more may we fear destruction, if we lessly, come near and speak to God himself, an garment of righteousness, and the blood of Christ our great Mediator.

Remember, O christian, that for a sinner God without the Mediator, is a thing of infinite comfort. A traitor would keep at the farthest prince, if he hath no friend to speak a word fo come and present yourselves before God as sin viour, would be but to awaken his wrath, and y: your guilt, and his righteous vengeance. Re to take Christ with you when you come near t ii. 3, 13, &c. "We are by nature children off from God," it is he only can bring us cometh to the Father but by me;" John xiv.

And as this is the only appointed way for before God, so it has been the sweet experien souls that they have drawn near to God, in acceptance and delight. Hear what many a c you in this case: "When I had the first sigh defilements, and beheld God in the terrors of tice, as a consuming fire, I was affrighted at 1 pearing before him; every threatening that I was pronounced against me, nor could I de blessings of his gospel, for they were not mine

and praise; but now God seems to have forgotten me, ver. 9. How earnestly doth he breathe after the sanctuary? Psalm lxiii. and lxxxiv. to see thy power, O God, and thy glory, as he had seen it there. He borrows metaphors and similitudes from some of the most vehement appetites of nature to signify his strong desires after God; my flesh thirsteth for thee, even fainteth for the courts of the living God.

And this is the blessed temper of a christian, when in his right frame; he is never satisfied when quite restrained from divine ordinances, whether by persecution, by banishment, by the unreasonable laws of men, or by afflictions and weaknesses laid on him by the hand of God. He thinks over again those seasons wherein he enjoyed the presence of God in worship, and the recollection of them increases his desires of their return. He watches every turn of providence, and hopes it is working towards his release: When he sees the doors of his prison begin to open, he is ready to break out of confinement, and seize the pleasure of public worship: He thinks it long till he appears before God again. "I have chosen God, saith he, for my highest good, for my everlasting portion, and I would willingly often resort to the place where God hath promised to communicate his blessings, and where I have so often tasted that the Lord is gracious."

Remarks on the second head.-I. How very different are they from the temper of David, who enjoy public ordinances continually, and are weary of them? Who appear before God frequently on the Lord's day, and yet cry, what a weariness is it, when will the Sabbath be gone; Mal. i. 13. and iii. 14. Amos viii. 5. When shall we return to the world again?

What is the reason of this great aversion to divine worship among those who call themselves christians? Truly the greatest part have nothing of christianity besides the mere name: Some are stupid sinners, and have no sense of divine things; and they think it is all lost time: They have no need to come before God, but that it is the custom of their country, or of the family where they live, and they must do it; they do not know how to spend the hour elsewhere without reproof and censure: Or they come merely to see, and to be seen, as is the fashion of the land.

Some perhaps have a sense of religion, and yet they cannot look upon God any otherwise than as their enemy, and so they come before him without any love or delight in his company; and then no wonder if they are weary of it. They do not come as friends to take pleasure in his presence; they would be well enough pleased, if they could live for ever in this world, and never

have any thing to do with God: Their chief motive is the fear of hell, and therefore they drudge on in toilsome and undelightful religion.

And indeed this is one great reason why so many true christians feel no more longing after God, either in public or in private worship; because, though they have some faith and some cold hope, yet they are contented to abide in this state of uncertainty, without joy or assurance, and do not make it their business to advance in christianity: They cannot rejoice in God as their father, or their friend, with a lively soul; and they find but little pleasure in his house. But it is a divine pleasure, and a-kin to heaven, when a child of God, with a lively faith and joyful spirit, comes before God as his God, and entertains himself with all the blessed discoveries that he makes of his wisdom and grace in his churches, with all the promises of the covenant, with all the words of love that God hath written in his book, or publishes in his ordinances by the ministry of men. He feeds upon heavenly provisions in his Father's house; and when he departs, he maintains on his soul a sweet savour of heaven. But alas! there is a great withdrawment of the Spirit of God from his churches; a deadness of heart has seized believers in our day, and they grow carnal: O pray that the Spirit may return to the sanctuary again!

II. Remark. How comfortable a thing would it be, to feel our souls longing for divine ordinances more earnestly after restraint! We should learn the language of Jonah, when in the belly of the whale; Lord, I am cast out of thy sight, yet I will look again toward thy holy temple; Jonah ii. 4. I will look while I am at a distance, and pray toward the mercy-seat, in hope and desire to come near the sanctuary.

We are too ready to grow indifferent, and think we can do well enough without this appearing before God? We grow, as it were strangers to him by long absence; and though the sacred correspondence in public be lost, yet sometimes it is not much regretted: This is a frequent distemper of the soul. When fasting increases a regular appetite, it is a sign of a healthy constitution; but weakly natures are so overwhelmed with a little fasting, that their appetite is gone too. Many christians may complain of this, and say, "Though I find some relish of pleasure when I am in the house of God, and amongst his saints; and though it was very painful to me to endure the first months of confinement, yet a long restraint has brought me under the spiritual disease, that my appetite and desire grow feeble, and my heart too indifferent to public worship.

New in order to enquire into the temp rof our spirits, and to awaken us to greater longings after divine ordinances, let us con