what God hath affigned you, and for these, and these alone, you are to be called to an account. The less important they are, the duties are the more eafily fulfilled, and the neglect, in one respect at leaft, (though I cannot fay in all,) more criminal and inexcufeable. To conculde, Let the wife and powerful magiftrates, minifters, parents, and heads of families, be diligent in discharging the duties incumbent upon them, and join earnest prayer to God, that he would arife and effectually plead his own caufe. Amen.

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.

Με

Y brethren, however great a degree of corruption prevails at present in the visible church, the very profeflion of every Christian, implies a renunciation of the world, and a fixed hope of a better ftate. His attendance upon the ordinances of God on earth, is in order to secure the poffeffion, and prepare himself for the enjoyment of the heavenly inheritance. He confeffeth that he is a ftranger and pilgrim on the earth; that he lives by faith, and not by fight. And, therefore, nothing can be more fuitable to his character; nothing more conducive to his comfort, than frequent views of the employment and happiness of the fpirits of juft men made perfect.

And, furely, this is a fubject highly proper for our meditation on the evening of a communion Sabbath. In this ordinance, you have had the price paid for this glorious inheritance fet before you by fymbolical reprefentation, that your faith in, and hope of the poffeffion of it, might be the more confirmed. In the inftitution itself, as recorded by the apoftle Paul, you find he connects the commemoration of the fufferings and death of Chrift, with his second appearance in glory, 1 Cor. xi. 26. "For, as often as ye

eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do fhew the Lord's "death till he come." Nay, our Lord himself feems to have had his heart and his thoughts in heaven, when he left this memorial of his prefence on earth, as appears from Matth. xxvi. 29. "But I fay unto you, I will not drink "henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when "I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." And, indeed, we have his own example in this first communion, wherein he himself was the adminiftrator, for following or concluding it with a meditation on the heavenly happiness; for before he rofe from it, he begins his excellent confolatory difcourfe in this manner, John xiv: 1, 2. "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, "believe alfo in me. In my Father's houfe are many "manfions; if it were not fo, I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you."

tention.

It is true, indeed, my brethren, our knowledge of the future glory of the faints, is at prefent, extremely imperfect, and must be fo, for wife reasons, while we continue in the body. There are, however, feveral different views of it given in the word of God, highly worthy of our atAmongst others, this in our text, that they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in bis temple. That these words are to be underflood of the faints in heaven, and not of any glorious period of the church on earth, or, if of this laft, manifeftly in allufion to the former, I think is plain, both from what goes before, and what follows them; which I fhall read in connexion, as all the explication of the text that is necessary, from verse 13. "And one of the elders anfwered, faying "unto me, what are thefe which are arrayed in white "robes and whence came they? and I faid unto him, "Sir, thou knoweft. And he faid to me, these are they "which came out of great tribulation, and have washed "their robes, and made them white in the blood of the "Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, "and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that "fitteth on the throne fhall dwell among them; they "fhall hunger no more, neither thirft any more; neither "fhall the fun light on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb,

"which is in the midft of the throne, shall feed them, and "fhall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and "God fhall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

What I propofe from this paffage, at prefent, is, through divine affiftance, to illuftrate a little to you, the happiness of the faints in perpetual communion with God in his temple above; and then to make some improvement of the fubject, for your inftruction and direction while you continue here below.

I. In the first place, then, I am to illuftrate a little to you the happiness of the faints in perpetual communion with God in his temple above. And, here, observe, that though I have faid perpetual communion with God, and did mean it of his immediate worship and fervice, I did not intend to affert, that they are at no time employed in a different manner, or in work which may be called by a different name. What variety of exercises may be provided for their noble and vigorous faculties, in the nature or works of God, we cannot pretend to know. As the angels are called "miniftring fpirits, fent forth to minifter "to them who are heirs of falvation;" fo we know not how far he may blefs and dignify his faints, by employing them in the adminiftration of fome part of his extenfive dominion. But it is furely juft to call their communion with God in his worship perpetual, both because of their frequent actual application to it, and because of that conftant adoration of foul which we muft fuppofe will accompany either an investigation of the nature and works, or an execution of the will of God. It is alfo well warranted by the expreffion in the text, and serve him day and night in his temple. Now, in order to illustrate the worship of the faints in heaven, we may confider it in two different lights: Firft, As it is internal and spiritual.— Secondly, As it is external and sensible.

First, Let us confider the happiness of the faints, in that part of their celeftial worship, which is internal and spiritual; and, in general, we muft frequently recal to our minds the imperfection of our prefent difcoveries, and remember, that "eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, nor

"hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive what "the Lord hath laid up for them that love him." There may, for any thing we know, be difcoveries, and by confequence, acts of worship, and difpofitions of mind correfponding to them, totally different in kind from any thing we are now capable of, as well as higher in degree. Of these we must be abfolutely filent: therefore, all that fhall follow upon this fubject, is founded upon the following remark, that whatever acts of worship we have now any experience of, and by which we are initiated, fo to fpeak, into, and trained up for the employment of heaven, fhall then be performed to far greater perfection, and with infinitely greater joy.

In order to the more diftinct confideration of this fubject, you may obferve, that all the acts of worship, of which we are now capable, may be reduced to the four following kinds: Firft, Acts of adoration. Secondly, Of gratitude. Thirdly, Of defire. And, Fourthly, Of trust and fubjection.

In the first place, Acts of adoration. By thefe, as dif tinguifhed from the others mentioned, I understand the immediate contemplation of the glorious excellence of the divine nature, and the exercise of thofe affections of foul which correspond to it. The nature of God is discovered, and his glory exhibited to view, in all his works, and in all his ways. And he is the proper object of the highest efleem, the deepest admiration, and moft ardent love of every reasonable creature, for what he is in himself, independent of any intereft they may have, or hope to have in his favor. Therefore it is the firft duty and chief end of man to give unto the Lord the glory that is due unto his name. I know this is what worldly men, who live in fin, cannot understand, and therefore are apt to deride; which is indeed the cafe with refpect to all the truths of God, confidered in their full extent, and as refting upon their proper foundation; the natural man cannot receive them. But as it is the firft commandment of the law, "Thou fhalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only "fhalt thou ferve;" fo it is the leading and the capital truth taught and repeated in the facred oracles, that all