Sometimes, through drowsiness, and want of natural spirits, we grow stupid and heavy in religious duties, and have but little sense of that God before whom we appear. Sometimes, through excess of spirits, our imagination grows vain and fluttering, and wanders far away from the God whom we worship. If we fix our thoughts one minute upon things of the highest importance and the most awful solemnity; the next flying idea catches the mind away, and it is lost from God and devotion again. We appear before God, and disappear again; we wander into the world, and return to God, twenty times in an hour. Our eyes and our ears are constant witnesses of this painful weakness; and unhappy instruments they are to draw off our souls from the divinest meditation. Every thing around us is ready to disturb and divert our feeble nature in the most heavenly acts of worship: Poor broken worship! Poor frail estate of human nature! But there is a blessed assembly of better worshippers above: Awake our faith and desire to join them! and let each of us say, “_O when shall I go_ to that bright company, _and appear_ amongst them _before God_.” SERMON XIV. _Appearance before God here and hereafter._ PSALM xlii. 2.—When shall I come and appear before God. THE SECOND PART. By an appearance before God, in the text we are to understand our attendance upon him in the public ordinances of worship; and the longing desire the Psalmist had to draw near unto God in his ordinances, represents to us the character of every sincere christian, when he enjoys his own right frame, and heavenly temper of soul; He longs, he breathes after those seasons of divine improvement and comfort. I shall make no further repetition of any thing before delivered; but considering that all our appearances before God in this world in his sanctuary, are but means to prepare us to stand before God in the world that is to come; I shall not think myself at all to wander from the text, if I spend my whole time, at present in shewing the difference that is between our appearance before God on earth here, and our appearing before him in the other world hereafter; and this in order to awaken the sinner, and to encourage the true christian. There are two great future appearances before God, the one at judgment, and the other in glory in heaven. The one belongs to all men, the other only to the saints. And now that I may divide my discourse aright and give to every one their portion, I would beg leave chiefly to apply our general appearance before God at judgment, to those who are unconverted, and in a state of sin; for we have reason to fear that there may be some such among us: And I will apply the blessed appearance before God in heaven to converted souls, to whom only it belongs: These are the persons who have faith and love, and are in some measure prepared to appear and worship there.