underlings are forced to fear those that are by force above them.

If thou only thus fearest God, it is but a false fear; it flows not from love to God. This fear brings not willing subjection, which indeed brings the effect of right fear; but being overmastered, like an hypocrite, thou subjectest thyself by feigned obedience, being forced, I say, by mere dread to do it, Psa. lxvi. 3.

It is said, "The fame of David went out into all lands; and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations," 1 Chron. xiv. 17. But what did they now love David? Did they now choose him to be their king? No, verily; many of them rather hated him; and when they could, made resistance against him. They did even as thou dost ; they feared, but did not love; feared, but did not choose his government that ruled over them.

It is also said of Jehoshaphat, when God had subdued before him Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, that "the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel,” 2 Chron. xx. 29. But, I say, was this fear, that is called now the fear of God, anything else but a dread of the greatness and power of the king? No, verily, nor did that dread bring them into a willing subjection to, and liking of his laws and government; it only made them, like slaves and underlings, stand in fear of his executing the vengeance of God upon them.

Therefore, notwithstanding this fear, they were rebels to him in their hearts, and when occasion and advantage offered themselves, they showed it by rising in rebellion against Israel.

This fear, therefore, provoked but feigned and

forced obedience; a right emblem of the obedience of such who, being still enemies in their minds to God, are forced, by virtue of present conviction, to yield a little, even of fear to God, to his word, and to his ordinances. Reader, whoever thou art, think of this, it is thy concern, therefore do it; and examine, and examine again, and look diligently to thy heart in thine examination, that it beguile thee not about this thy so great concern, as indeed the fear of God is.

One thing more let me warn thee of before I leave thee. Take heed of deferring to fear the Lord. Some men, when they have had conviction upon their heart that the fear of God is not in them, have, through the overpowering of their corruptions, yet deferred and put off the fear of God from them, as it is said of those in Jeremiah, "This people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone: neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord," Jer. v. 23, 24.

They saw that the judgments of God attended them, because they did not yet fear God; but that conviction would not prevail with them to say, Let us now fear the Lord. They were for deferring to fear him still; they were for putting off his fear from them longer. Sinner, hast thou deferred to fear the Lord? Is thy heart still so stubborn as not yet to say, "Let us fear the Lord ?" Oh, the Lord hath taken notice of this thy rebellion, and is preparing some dreadful judgment for thee. "Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this ?" ver. 29.

Sinner, why shouldst thou pull vengeance down from heaven upon thee? Look up; perhaps thou hast already been pulling this great while, to pull it down upon thee. Oh, pull no longer. Why shouldst

thou be thine own executioner? Fall down upon thy knees, man, and up with thy heart and thy hands to the God that dwells in the heavens; cry, yea, cry aloud, “ Lord, unite mine heart to fear thy name, and do not harden mine heart from thy fear." Thus holy men have cried before thee, and by crying have prevented judgment.

Before I leave this use, let me give thee a few things that, if God will, may provoke thee to fear the Lord.

The man that feareth not God carrieth it worse toward him than the beast, the brute beast doth carry it towards that man. "The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes in the sea," Gen. ix. 2.

Mark, all my creatures shall fear you, and dread you, says God. None of them shall be so hardy as to cast off all reverence of you. But what a shame is this to man, that God should subject all his creatures to him, and he should refuse to stoop his heart to God! The beast, the bird, the fish, and all, have a fear and dread of man, yea God has put it in their hearts to fear a man, and yet man is void of fear and dread, I mean of godly fear, of Him, that thus lovingly hath put all things under him. Sinner! art thou not ashamed that a silly cow, a sheep, yea, swine, should better observe the law of creation than thou dost the law of thy God?

Consider, he that will not fear God, God will make him fear him whether he will or not. That is, he that doth not, will not now so fear him, as willingly to bow before him, and put his neck into

his yoke, God will make him fear him when he comes to take vengeance on him. Then he will surround him with terror, and with fear on every side; fear within, and fear without; fear shall be in the way, even in the way that thou goest when thou art going out of this world; and that will be dreadful fear. God says, "I will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them,” Isa. lxvi. 4.

He that fears not God now, the Lord shall laugh at his fears then. Sinner, God will be even with all those that choose not to have his fear in their hearts; for as he calls, and they hear not now, so they shall cry, yea howl then, and he will laugh at their fears. "I will laugh," saith he, "at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord," Prov. i. 26—29.

Sinner! thou thinkest to escape the fear; but what wilt thou do with the pit? Thou thinkest to escape the pit; but what wilt thou do with the snare. The snare, say you, what is that? I answer, it is even the work of thine own hands. "The

wicked is snared in the work of his own hands," Psa. ix. 16. "The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips," Prov. xii. 13.

Sinner! what wilt thou do when thou comest into this snare; that is, into the guilt and terror that thy sins will bind thee with, when they, like a cord, are fastened about thy soul? This snare will bring thee back again to the pit, which is hell; and then,

N

how wilt thou do to be rid of thy fear? The fear, pit, and the snare shall come upon thee, because thou fearest not God.

Sinner! art thou one of those that hast cast off fear? Poor man, what wilt thou do when these three things beset thee? Whither wilt thou flee for help, and where wilt thou leave thy glory? If thou fleest from the fear, there is the pit; if thou fleest from the pit, there is the snare.

..

II. The second use is an exhortation to fear God. My next word shall be an exhortation to fear God; I mean an exhortation to saints. "O fear the Lord, ye his saints for there is no want to them that fear him," Psa. xxxiv. 9.

Not but that every saint doth fear God; but, as the apostle saith in another case, “I beseech you that ye would abound more and more," 1 Thess. iv. 1. The fear of the Lord, as I have showed you, is a grace of the new covenant, as other saving graces are, and so is capable of being stronger or weaker, as other graces are. Wherefore, I beseech you, fear him more and more.

saint

It is said of Obadiah, that he "feared the Lord greatly." Every saint fears the Lord, but every does not greatly fear him. Oh there are but few Obadiahs in the world; I mean among the saints on earth: see the whole relation of him, 1 Kings xviii. As Paul said of Timothy, "I have no man likeminded," Phil. ii. 20; so it may be said of some concerning the fear of the Lord; they have scarcely an equal. So it was with Job; 66 There is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil," Job i. 8. There was even no one in Job's day that feared God like him; no, there was not one like him in all the earth but doubtless