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SUNDAY I. PART II.

V. The fourth duty to God is FEAR. Though love cafteth out all fervile fear, yet it doth not exclude fuch a fear as a dutiful fon fhews to a very affectionate, but a very wife and prudent father: and we may rejoice in God with reverence, as well as ferve him with gladness. For love, if not allayed and tempered with fear, and the apprehenfions of divine justice, would betray the foul into a fanguine confidence and ill-grounded fecurity: Fear, on the other hand, if not sweetened and animated by love, would fink the mind into a fatal despondency. Therefore fear is placed in the foul, as a counterpoife to the more inlarged, kindly, and generous affections. There are two bridles or reftraints, which God hath put upon human nature, fhame and fear. Fear of God Shame is the weaker, and hath place only in why neefthofe in whom there are some remains of virtue. Jary.

Fear is the stronger, and works upon all, who love themselves, and defire their own prefervation. Therefore, in this degenerate state of mankind, fear is that paffion which hath the greatest power over us, and by which God and his laws take the fureft hold of us: our defire, and love, and hope, are not fo apt to be wrought upon by the reprefentation of virtue, and the promises of reward and happiness, as our fear is from the apprehenfions of divine difpleasure. For, tho' we have loft in a great meafure the relish of true happiness, yet we still retain a quick fenfe of pain and mifery. So that fear is founded on a natural love of ourselves, and is interwoven with a neceflary defire of our own preservation. And therefore religion ufually makes its first entrance into us by this paffion. Hence perhaps it is, that Solomon more than once calls the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom.

To fear God is to have fuch a due fenfe of his majesty, and holinefs, and juftice, and goodness, as fhall make us not dare to offend him; for each of thefe attributes is proper to raife at fuitable fear in every confidering mind: his majesty, a fear lest we affront it by being irreverent; his holiness, a fear, left we offend it by being carnal; his justice, a fear, left we provoke it by being prefumptuous; and his goodness a fear, left we forfeit

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it by being unthankful. So that this fear of God is not the fuperftitious dread of an arbitrary or cruel being, but that awe and regard which neceffarily arifes in the mind of every man who believes and habitually confiders himself as living and acting in the fight of an omniprefent Governor, of perfect juftice, holiness, and purity; who fees every thought, as well as every action; who cannot be impofed upon by any hypocrify; who, as certainly as there is any difference between good and evil, cannot but approve the one, and deteft the other; and whofe government confifts in rewarding what he approves, and punishing what he hates. This fear of God is the foundation of religion; for the great fupport of virtue among men is the fenfe upon their minds of a fupreme Governor and Judge of the universe, who will finally and effectually reward what is in itfelf effentially worthy of reward, and punish what is worthy of punishment. And confequently fear brings us into fubjection to God's authority, and inforces the practice of our duty: for the fear of the Lord is to depart from evil. Yet It with forrow be obferved, that the fear of men, or may dread not to provoke them, is too often stronger than the fear of God; tho' God is infinitely more to be dreaded than man: Which is the leffon we are taught by Chrift himself, who fays, Fear not them that can kill the body; that is, fear not men fo much as God; fear him infinitely more. It is very lawful for us to fear men, and to ftand in awe of their power, becaufe they can kill the body; and death is terrible: but when the power of man comes in competition with omnipotency, and what man can do to the body in this world, with what God can do to the body and foul in the other; there is no comparison between the terror of the one and the other. God can do all that man can do, he can kill the body, and that by an immediate act of his divine power. He can blaft our reputation, ruin our eftate, and afflict our bodies with the fharpeft pains, and finite us with death. And God doth all that with eafe, which men many times do with labour: they use the utmost of their wit and power to do us mifchief; but God can do all things by a word, if he do but fpeak, judgments come; we are but a little duft and the leaft breath of God can difperfe it: he hath all crea

The folly of fearing men more than God.

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tures at his command, ready to execute his will. So that whatever man, or any creature can do, that God can do alfo, and infinitely more. His power is not confined to the body, but he hath power over the fpirit: he can not only make body and foul miferable in this world, but in the other also; and that not only for a few years, but for all eternity. Therefore, The fear of men will not be a fufficient plea and excufe for men; it will not be enough to fay, This I was awed Its danger. into by the apprehenfion of danger, or by the fear of fufferings; Or, that I chose rather to trust God with my foul, then men with my estate; to fave my life, I renounced my religion, was afhamed of Chrift, and denied him before men: tho' our Saviour hath told us plainly, Whofoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and finful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with his holy angels. Thus they who out of fear of men offend God, are guilty of this folly; they incur the danger of a greater evil; for, whilft they are endeavouring to escape the hands of men that shall die, they fall into the hands of the living God. Do we fear the wrath of man, whofe breath is in his noftrils, who can but afflict a little, and for a little while; and is not the wrath of the eternal God much more dreadful? for, as we are finners, our fear is juftly increased from the holiness of his nature, the justice of his government, and the threatenings of his laws. But to conclude: as our offences refpect men, it is poffible we may tranfgrefs against them, and they not know it; one may fteal his neighbour's goods, or defile his wife, yet keep it fo privately as not to be fufpected, and so never to be brought to punishment for it. But this can never be done in regard to God, who knows the moft fecret thoughts of our hearts; and confequently, tho' we fin never fo privately, he is fure to find us out, and will as furely, except we repent in time, punish us for it eternally.

VI. A fifth duty to God is that of TRUST: For the homage due to God in all our wants and dangers is of trust in to trust in him, whereby we declare our conftant God. dependence upon God for the relief of all our wants and dangers, whether spiritual or temporal, and to fupport as under

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all afflictions and temptations, founded upon a perfuafion of his all-fufficiency, and of his inviolable faithfulness to perform his word and engagements. As far as I trust a man, I suppose him able to do what I trust him for; that he hath given me fome encouragement to believe his willingness, and that he will not deceive me: and it must be fo in any regular In his pow- trust in God, who is able to do for us, exceeding abundantly above all that we can afk or think. But then it is of the utmoft concern to us, that we have no expectation from God for things which he hath never promised. Where he has been pleafed pofitively to declare what he will do, we should firmly depend, whatever difficulties or discouIn his truth ragements may lie in the way of our hope. But and promi- where his promises are made with a referve for his Jes. own fovereignty, or the fuperiority of his divine wisdom, as he knows far better than we what is good for man in this life; there we fhould not allow ourselves to be pofitive in our expectations of particular events, but caft our care upon him in a more general manner; relying upon this, that, in the way of duty, he will do that which, upon the whole, is beft for us to be done.

In all our

In all conditions that befall us we must repofe ourselves upon God, in confidence of his fupport and delidangers and verance, of his care and providence, to prevent and avants both divert the evils we fear, whether fpiritual or temSpiritual and tempo- poral; or of his gracious help to bear us up under ral. them; and of his mercy and goodness to deliver us from them, when he fees beft; providedal ways we be careful to do our duty to him. *Every man that believes this of God, as every man must do that believes there is a God, will first apply himself to God, and befeech him with all earneftnefs and importunity, that he would permit him to refer his affairs to him, and be pleased to undertake the care of them; and he will, without any demur or diffihould truft culty, give up himself wholly to him, to guide and govern him, and to dispose of him as to him should feem beft. Therefore, if God hath prevented us herein, and, without our defire, taken this care upon himself, we ought

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cee Chriftian Fortitude and Patience in Sunday 16. Sect. 5.

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to rejoice in it, as the greateft happiness that could poffibly have befallen us; and we should, without any further care and anxiety, using our own beft diligence, and ftudying to please him, chearfully leave ourfelves in his hands, with the greatest confidence and fecurity, that he will do all that for us, which is really beft; and with a firmperfuafion, that that condition, and thofe circumftances of life, which he fhall chufe for us, will be the very fame, which we would chufe for ourfelves, were we endued with the fame wisdom. Therefore let it be confidered how great a mischief we frequently do ourselves, by loading our minds with a multitude of yexations and tormenting cares, when we may fo fecurely caft our burthen upon God. And let us earnestly beg of God, that his watchful and merciful providence would undertake the care of us; that he would fit and prepare us for every condition which he hath defigned to bring us into; and that he would teach us to demean ourselves in it as we ought; that he would confider our frailties, and lay no greater load of affliction upon us, than he will give us grace and ftrength to bear; that, if he fees it good to exercife any of us with afflictions and fufferings in any kind, he would make us able to ftand in that evil day, and when we have done all, to ftand.

And let us be fure to keep within the bounds of our duty, trying no unlawful ways for our cafe and prefer- Not fecking vation, and rescue from the evils which we fear to deliver and lie under; for we may affure ourfelves, that ourselves by God is never more concerned to appear for us, any fin. than when, out of confcience of our duty to him, we are contented rather to fuffer, than work our deliverance by undue means. Let us commit ourselves to him in well-doing, and do nothing, no not for the cause of religion, which is contrary to the plain rules and precepts of it. Should we, instead of vain murmurings, and complaints, and terrifying ourselves with fears of what may never happen, follow the example of holy David, betake ourselves to prayer, and by this means engage the providence of God for our protection from evil, or for our fupport under it; we should certainly do much better for ourselves, and contribute much more, than we can do any other way, to the prevention of any evil that we can fear,

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