Hereon and herewith we shall be affected with a sense of our infinite distance from him ; which is another means to stir up faith unto its due exercise in reverence and godly fear. So Abraham was affected, Gen. xviii. 27. [This is that] which the wise man directs us unto, Eccles. v. 2.
Carnal boldness in the want of these things ruins the souls of men, rendering all their duties of worship unacceptable unto God, and un- profitable unto themselves.
2. Affect your hearts with a due sense of the unsuita])leuess of our best duties unto his holiness and majesty, and of his infinite condescen- sion in the acceptance of them. Suppose there is in any of our duties the best and the most lively exercise of grace that we can attain unto,
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the most fervency in prayer, with the most dihgent attendance of our minds, the most humiUty and contrite trembhng in hearing the word, the most devout affection of our minds in other parts of wor- ship; alas! what is all this to God? how little doth it answer his infinite holiness! See Job iv, 18, 19, xv. 15, 16. Our goodness extends not unto him, Ps. xvi. 2, There are no measures, there is no proportion, between the holiness of God and our best duties. There is iniquity in our holy things; they have need of mercy and pardon, of cleansing and justification, by the blood of Christ, no less than our persons: and an infinite condescension it is in God to take any notice of us or them ; yea, it is that which we must live in all holy admira- tion of all our days.
Now if it be thus with our best duties, in our best frames, what an outrage of sloth and negligence is it, if we bring the carcase of duties unto God, for want of stirring up faith unto its due exercise in them ! how great is this folly, how unspeakable is the guilt of this negligence ! Let us, therefore, keep a sense hereof upon our hearts, that we may always stir up ourselves unto our best in duties of re- ligious worship. For, —
3. A negligence herein, or the want of stirring up faith unto a due exercise in all duties of worship, is the highest affront we can put upon God, arguing a great regardlessness of him. Whilst it is so with us, we have not, we cannot have, a due sense of any of the divine perfections, of the divine nature ; we turn God what lies in us into an idol, supposing that he may be put off with the outside and appear- ance of things. This the apostle cautioneth us against, Heb. iv. 12, 13, and [is that] which God detests, Isa. xxix. 13; and he pronounceth him a deceiver, and cursed, who offereth unto him the lame and blind while he hath a male in the flock, Mai. i. 14. Yet thus is it with us, in some degree, whenever \ve are negligent in stimng up faith into its proper exercise in holy duties : that alone renders them the male of the flock; without it they are lame and blind, — a corrupt thing.
It is a sad thing for men to lose their duties, to be at charge and trouble in the multiplication of them, and attendance unto them to no purpose. Oh, how much more sad is it when they are all provo- cations of God's glory ! when they tend to increase the formality and hardness of their hearts, towards the ruin of then' souls !
" Stand in awe," therefore, " and sin not ; commune with your own hearts;" — cease not, until on all occasions you bring them into that exercise of faith wherein you may glorify God as God, and not deal with him as an idol.
4. Unto the same end, keep your souls always deeply affected with a sense of the things about which you are to treat with God in all the duties of his worship. They are referred imto two heads: —
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(1.) Those which concern his glory; (2.) Those which concern our own souls. Without a constant due sense of these things on our hearts, faith will not act itself aright in any of our duties. Without this intimate concern and deep sense, we know not whether we need faith in our prayers, or have an exercise of it ; formality will drown all. The best of our prayers is but an expression unto God of what sense we have of these things. If we have none, we pray not at all, whatever we say or do; but when these things dwell in our minds, when we think on them continually, when our hearts cleave unto them, faith will be at work in all our approaches to God. Can you not pray ? charge your hearts with these things, and you will learn so to do,
5. Watch diligently against those things which ye find by experi- ence are apt to obstruct your fervency in duties. Such are indispo- sitions through the flesh, or weariness of the flesh, distracting, foolish imaginations, the occasions of life revolving in our minds, and the like. If such impediments as these be not removed, if they be not watched against, they will influence the mind, and suffocate the ex- ercise of faith therein.