Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God

5. Let us be deeply sensible of our present wants, and the supplies we may meet with in worship. Cold affections to the things we would have, will grow cooler: Weakness of desire for the communications in worship, will freeze our hearts at the time of worship, and make way for vain and foolish diversions. A Beggar that is ready to perish, and knows he is next door to ruin, will not slightly and dully began Alms; and will not be diverted from his importunity by every slight call, or the moving of an Atom in the Air. Is it Pardon we would have? Let us apprehend the blackness of sin with the aggravations of it as it respects God; Let us be deeply sensible of the want of pardon and worth of mercy, and get our affections into such a frame, as a condemned man would do: Let us consider, that as we are now at the Throne of Gods grace, we shall shortly be at the Bar of Gods Justice; and if the Soul should be forlorn there, how fixedly and earnestly would it plead for mercy? Let us endeavour to stir up the same affections now, which we have seen some dying men have, and which we suppose despairing Souls would have done at Gods Tribunal.^* We must be sensible that the life or death of our Souls depends upon worship. Would we not be ashamed to be ridiculous in our carriage while we are eating; and shall we not be ashamed to be cold or garish before God, when the Salvation of our Souls as well as the Honour of God is concerned? If we did see the heaps of sins, the eternity of punishment due to them; If we did see an angry and offended Judge; If we did see the riches of mercy, the glorious outgoings of God in the Sanctuary, the blessed Doles he gives out to men when they spiritually attend upon him; both the one and the other would make us perform our duties humbly, sincerely, earnestly, and affectionately, and wait upon him with our whole Souls, to ⟨p. 178⟩have misery averted and mercy bestowed. Let our sense of this be encouraged by the consideration of our Saviour presenting his merits: With what affection doth he present his merits, his blood shed upon the Cross now in Heaven? And shall our hearts be cold and frozen, flitting and unsteady, when his affections are so much concerned? Christ doth not present any Mans case and duties without a sense of hi• wants, and shall we have none of our own?