faithful people meet together in His Name, to serve and This therefore is that which I shall now demonstrate to you, and for that purpose shall consider, first, the persons who are always glad to go into the house of the Lord; and then, the reasons why they are so. First, as to the persons; we must not think that all sorts of people delight in going to church, the house of God. For we see the contrary by daily experience: even that many, yea, most of these too who profess the faith of Christ, choose rather to go any where else than thither. Some had rather go to an alehouse, or tavern, or playhouse, where they may please their flesh or their fancy. Others are for a shop, a warehouse, or the exchange, where they may buy, or sell, and get gain: like those in the Prophet, who said, "When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? Amos, s. 5. And the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, falsifying the balances by deceit;" that is, in plain terms, they had rather be cheating their neighbours, than serving God. Nay, there are many, too many, who choose to sit still at home, and do nothing, rather than go to church, and do the work that is there required of them. Such as these are not glad, but sorry and troubled, when any say unto them, "Let us go into the house of the Lord;" and will look upon them as their enemies, for offering to make such an impertinent and troublesome motion to them. And it is no wonder. For such people know not what to do at church, nor can take any pleasure in what is there done they care not for praying or praising God; neither doth "the word preached, any way profit them, not being Heb. 4. 2. mixed with faith in them that hear it." The church is no more to them than an ordinary house; and the whole service that is there performed, seems to them an insipid business, LVIII. SERM. which they can no way relish or delight in. And the reason is, because their minds being taken up with the affairs of this life, they are altogether incapable of all things belonging 1 Cor. 2. 14. to their everlasting peace; for as the Apostle observes, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Hence it is, that such men, when they are at church, they are restless and uneasy all the while, and long to be out again, that they may follow the business, or enjoy the pleasures their hearts are set on as for what is done there, they know not what to make of it; and therefore it is no wonder that they care not how seldom they come thither; and if they ever do, it is not a pleasure, but a grief and a trouble to them; which notwithstanding they are forced sometimes to bear with, to keep up their credit and reputation in the world; lest their neighbours should think them to be what they are, mere natural and carnal men, that have no sense at all of religion, but live as without God in the world. 1 Sam. 13. 14. But although these be not, there are other persons that are glad, as David was, to "go into the house of the Lord." But they are such as David was, of whom it is said, that "he was a man after God's own heart;" that is, he was a truly good and virtuous man, one that loved God with all his heart, and lived constantly in His true faith and fear, making it his chief care and business to obey, and serve, and please, and honour Him. His heart was wholly inclined to God, and set to obey His Commandments, and to glorify His Holy Name, and so was such a one as God would have him to be, a man after His own heart: who therefore took great delight in every thing that tended to the glory of God: particularly, what vast preparations did he make for the building and adorning the house of God, where He might be served and worshipped; and all because he had set his affection upon it, as he himself said, 1 Chron. xxix. 3. What a mighty love and zeal had he for it! "Lord," said he, "I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Ps. 69. 9. Thy honour dwelleth." "The zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up." How earnestly did he desire to go thither! How was he grieved when any thing hindered him from Ps. 26. 8. going to the house of God! Envying the very sparrows and swallows that could get thither, when he could not. Ps. 84. 3. How much did he prefer the time he spent there, before all the rest of his life! and the lowest place in the house of God before the highest in all the earth besides! "A day in ver. 10. Thy courts," saith he, "is better than a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." And therefore he might well say, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." And so may all good men as well as he: for they are all of the same temper, all acted by the same spirit as he was. And therefore cannot but delight as much in going to the house of God as he did; and that upon several accounts. First, because of the great comfort they find in doing their duty to God, in worshipping and serving Him that made them, and so answering His end in the making of them: for being conscious to themselves of the duty they owe to God, they can never be at rest in their own minds, without paying it, as far as they can, to Him. But when they are doing that, their consciences are quiet, and their minds satisfied, and pleased with the thoughts of their doing what God would have them, and that He is therefore well pleased with them. And whatsoever some may think, this is certainly the greatest comfort that any man can have on this side Heaven; in comparison of which, all the seeming pleasures of this world are nothing but fancy and delusion. "Our 2 Cor. 1. 12. rejoicing," saith the Apostle, "is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, we have had our conversation in the world." This is the rejoicing of every good man, when he goes into the house of God; that his conscience bears witness with him, that he is going about the works of God, the works that he was made for, even to serve and glorify his Maker: hence it is, that they whom God hath sometimes stirred up to go to church, if they afterwards leave it off again, or neglect it upon any slight occasion, their consciences usually fly in their faces, and torment them for it: whereas they who, like Anna the prophetess, never depart from the house of God, but serve Him there with fastings and prayer day and night; that is, Luke 2. 37. I LVIII. SERM. never, or very rarely, omit either morning or evening sacrifice, their consciences have nothing to say against them for that, but bear witness for them that they do their duty, and please God, and so always live under His favour and protection; and how great a pleasure that is, none can tell but they who feel it but they find and feel it to be the greatest pleasure of their lives, the only true joy and comfort of their hearts, and therefore must needs rejoice and be glad at all opportunities they can get of going into the house of the Lord. And so they are too, because of the good company they meet with there for there they do not only meet with their fellow Christians, ready to join with them in the work they go about, but there they meet also with the best friend they have in the world, with Almighty God Himself; not as He is their Creator only, but as He is their Saviour also and Matt 18.20. Redeemer. For as such, He said, “Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them." But whensoever we go to perform our devotions in the house of God, we always do it in His Name. And therefore whatsoever other company we may chance to meet with there, we are sure of His. He is certainly among them, in the midst of them; for we have His own word for it, which is infinitely more than as if we saw Him there with our eyes, or heard Him speaking to us, as Moses sometimes did in the Tabernacle; for our eyes and our ears might deceive us, but God cannot: "He cannot lie." And therefore He having said that He is in the midst of us, when we meet together in His Name, He cannot but be there. And we may and ought to be as confident of it, as we are or can be of any thing in the world besides; so as never to doubt, but that as it is His house where we meet, so we always meet with Him there. Tit. 1. 2. But may we meet with our Lord and Saviour Christ, whensoever we go into the house of God? Is He always there in the midst of us? Who then would not go thither as oft as he can? Men generally delight in nothing so much as in the company of one they love. But all good men, all true Christians, love Christ Jesus above all the things and persons upon earth. And therefore cannot but long to be where He is, and enjoy His company, "Whom having not 1 Pet. 1. 8. seen, they love; in whom though now they see Him not, yet believing, they rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory;" though they see Him not with their bodily eyes, yet by faith, which is the "evidence of things not seen," they Heb. 11. 1. are fully assured that He is there, and therefore cannot but delight and rejoice in being there, more than in any other place or company upon earth besides. And they that do not, have too much cause to suspect that they have not that love and value for their Saviour which a Christian ought to have, and without which no man can truly be called a Christian: if they had, they could never think much of spending an hour or two in a day in His presence, but would look upon the time they are with Him, as the best spent of any part of the day; would joyfully embrace all opportunities of meeting with Him, and would be glad when any put them in mind of it, saying, "Let us go into the house of the Lord." 24. Especially considering in the next place, that He is there in the midst of them, not only as a spectator, auditor, and observer of what they do, and speak, and think together; but He is there as their Saviour and Redeemer, to assist them in what they do; to sanctify it to them, and to bestow His manifold favours and blessings upon them, according to their several necessities and occasions. Heark what He Himself saith, “In all places where I record My Name, I Exod. 20. will come unto thee, and I will bless thee." But wheresoever we meet together in His Name, there His Name is recorded or remembered; and therefore He doth not only come thither, but He comes on purpose to bless us. But what blessings doth He bestow on those who meet together in His Name? In general, all sorts of blessings which they are capable of and want: they were all purchased by Him, with the price of His blood; and therefore are wholly at His disposal. And He usually distributes them in His own house, to those who meet there in His Name, and so come thither for them; for when they are there, He, according to His word, comes to them and blesseth them; He blesseth them with spiritual blessings in heavenly places; He gives [Eph. 1.3.] them a true sight of their sins, with an hearty sorrow and |