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SERMON IV.

THE FEAR OF GOD

PSALM CXi. 10.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do thereafter.

I AM going to speak to you of the fear of God. Every one knows what fear is. Every one of us must have felt it in one shape or other. We may not all have been afraid of the same thing: but we have all at some moment of our lives been afraid of something; and that has been enough to teach us what fear is. Most of us must have known, when children, what it is to be afraid of being punished by our parents. Many must have felt what it is to be afraid of offending those we love. Others again have probably been afraid of death, either of dying them

selves, or at least of losing some very dear relation, a sister, a wife, or a child. Every one too is naturally afraid of pain, and would be loth to put himself in the way of being much hurt without some great need. Every one in his senses is afraid of disgrace, and would be sorry to do any thing by which he would forfeit the good opinion. of his friends and neighbours. And even those who care for nothing else, care for the law, and fear its punishments, and would gladly escape them. Pain, in a word, and punishment, and shame, and death, are the things which men fear most. There is no virtue in fearing these things. God has made us so that naturally we cannot help fearing them. We may harden ourselves against the fear of them, just as some men have hardened their flesh till they were able to bear the sharpest tortures without flinching. But this hardness is not

natural to man: it is not the state in which God made us. Take us as we are by nature, and it is as natural for our souls, when we know what pain and punishment and disgrace and death are, to fear them, as it is natural for our bodies to be burnt with heat, and to be frostbitten by cold.

Now to all these natural objects of fear the Bible would have us add another. It would have us fear God, and fear him too most of all. And why are we thus to fear God? For the best of

all reasons. Because we can do nothing, without his seeing it for "his eyes are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." Because we cannot escape from him: for even if we tried to hide ourselves in a cave on some desert shore, even there would his right-hand be upon us. Because, if we offend him and resist him, he is certain to punish us in the end: for he has plainly declared that he "will by no means clear the guilty." Because his punishments are so dreadful and endless: for it is written, "The wicked shall be turned into hell;"" they shall have no rest day or night;" or night;""the smoke of their torment shall mount up for ever and ever." Such are some of the chief reasons why we ought to fear God. Because he sees everything; so that he is sure to see every wicked deed we do. Every act of chambering and wantonness that you have ever been guilty of, every act of rioting and drunkenness that you have ever been guilty of, every act of unkindness and cruelty that you have ever been guilty of,- God saw you do it as plainly as I see you now. But the wrong we do is far from all. God has ears as well as eyes and every bold word, every bad word, every loose and filthy word, every false word, every harsh, uncharitable word we may ever have spoken,-God was by and heard it. Nay, though

we were to keep from evil deeds and evil words, and only to indulge in evil thoughts, God can look into our hearts and read our thoughts. He can mark, and does mark, all the bad feelings and bad wishes, that we are harbouring and cherishing in our bosoms. Moreover, as God is sure to see and hear and mark all our wicked deeds, and wicked words, and wicked thoughts, so is he quite sure to punish us for our wickedness. For he has said over and over and over again in the Bible, that he will punish the wicked: and God cannot lie: he cannot change his mind: what he has said, he will certainly bring to pass: what he has once purposed, he will purpose for ever.

Such

is the God with whom the wicked and the disobedient are bold enough to enter into controversy; a God whom there is no deceiving, a God whom there is no escaping, a terrible God, a God of truth and purity and might, a God who has seen all their sins, and has written them all in his book, a God whose punishments are most grievous, most painful, and, what is worst of all, will never end. If they could look forward to a time, however far off, when God's anger would burn out, so to say, and cease to consume the wicked, some little room would be left them to hope and to be comforted. They would have something to look forward to, which would lighten their sufferings. But, as it

is, the last hope, the last gleam of comfort is shut out; for God has said of the wicked, "They shall go into everlasting punishment." (Matt. xxvi. 46.) Such, my brethren, is the God whom the Bible would have us fear; and such are some of the chief reasons why it is folly and madness not to fear him.

we have not so If this be so,

Of this fear of the Lord the text says, that it is the beginning of wisdom: not wisdom, observe, but only the beginning of it. Till we have attained to a fear of the Lord, much as begun to be wise. brethren, what fools must numbers of men be! For assuredly there are very many men,God alone knows how many,-who have no fear of God before their eyes. Many never think of God at all. Many, when the dread of his anger crosses them, push it aside, and hush their consciences with some such thoughts as these: "God will not be extreme to mark what is done amiss. If I were a robber, or a murderer, he might perhaps condemn me. But he is too merciful to notice every little failing. It is true, I swear a little at times, and get drunk now and then, and do not think of God and pray to him as often as I could wish, from having a family to

provide for,

and so much business on my hands. But after all, these are mere trifles; and it is not to be