last small ones, small in grace, small in gifts, small in esteem upon
this account, yet if thou fearest God, if thou fearest God indeed, thou
art certainly blessed with the best of saints. The least star stands as
fixed, as the biggest of them all, in heaven. “He will bless them that
fear him, small and great.” He will bless them, that is, with the same
blessing of eternal life. For the different degrees of grace in saints
doth not make the blessing, as to its nature, differ. It is the same
heaven, the same life, the same glory, and the same eternity of
felicity that they are in the text promised to be blessed with. That is
observable which I mentioned before, where Christ at the day of
judgment particularly mentioneth and owneth the least—“Inasmuch as ye
did it not to one of the least.” The least then was there, in his
kingdom and in his glory, as well as the biggest of all. “He will bless
them that fear him, small and great.” The small are named first in the
text, and are so the first in rank; it may be to show that though they
may be slighted and little set by in the world, yet they are much set
by in the eyes of the Lord.
Are great saints only to have the kingdom, and the glory everlasting?
Are great works only to be rewarded? works that are done by virtue of
great grace, and the abundance of the gifts of the Holy Ghost? No:
“Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of
cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he
shall in no wise lose his (a disciple’s) reward.” Mark, here is but a
little gift, a cup of cold water, and that given to a little saint, but
both taken special notice of by our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt 10:42). “He
will give reward to his servants the prophets, and to his saints, and
to them that fear his name, small and great” (Rev 11:18). The small,
therefore, among them that fear God, are blessed with the great, as the
great, with the same salvation, the same glory, and the same eternal
life; and they shall have, even as the great ones also shall, as much
as they can carry; as much as their hearts, souls, bodies, and
capacities can hold.
Thirteenth Privilege. Dost thou fear God? why, the Holy Ghost hath on
purpose indited for thee a whole psalm to sing concerning thyself. So
that thou mayest even as thou art in thy calling, bed, journey, or
whenever, sing out thine own blessed and happy condition to thine own
comfort and the comfort of thy fellows. The psalm is called the 128th
Psalm; I will set it before thee, both as it is in the reading[23] and
in the singing Psalms—
“ Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord, that walketh in his ways.
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and
it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the
sides of thine house; thy children, like olive plants round about thy
table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the
Lord. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion; and thou shalt see the
good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy
children’s children, and peace upon Israel.”
AS IT IS SUNG.
Blessed art thou that fearest God,
And walkest in his way:
For of thy labour thou shalt eat;
Happy art thou, I say!
Like fruitful vines on thy house side,
So doth thy wife spring out;
Thy children stand like olive plants
Thy table round about.
Thus art thou blest that fearest God,
And he shall let thee see
The promised Jerusalem,
And her felicity.
Thou shalt thy children’s children see,
To thy great joy’s increase;
And likewise grace on Israel,
Prosperity and peace.[24]
And now I have done with the privileges when I have removed one
objection.
Object. But the Scripture says, “perfect love casteth our fear”; and
therefore it seems that saints, after that a spirit of adoption is
come, should not fear, but do their duty, as another Scripture saith,
without it (1 John 4:18; Luke 1:74,75).
Answ. Fear, as I have showed you, may be taken several ways. 1. It may
be taken for the fear of devils. 2. It may be taken for the fear of
reprobates. 3. It may be taken for the fear that is wrought in the
godly by the Spirit as a spirit of bondage; or, 4. It may be taken for
the fear that I have been but now discoursing of.
Now the fear that perfect love casts out cannot be that son-like,
gracious fear of God, that I have in this last place been treating of;
because that fear that love casts out hath torment, but so has not the
son-like fear. Therefore the fear that love casts out is either that
fear that is like the fear of devils and reprobates, or that fear that
is begot in the heart by the Spirit of God as a spirit of bondage, or
both; for, indeed, all these kinds of fear have torment, and therefore
may be cast out; and are so by the spirit of adoption, which is called
the spirit of faith and love, when he comes with power into the soul;
so that without this fear we should serve him. But to argue from these
texts that we ought not to fear God, or to mix fear with our worship of
him, is as much as to say that by the spirit of adoption we are made
very rogues; for not to fear God is by the Scripture applied to such
(Luke 23:40). But for what I have affirmed the Scripture doth
plentifully confirm, saying, “Happy is the man that feareth alway.” And
again, “It shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before
him.” Fear, therefore; the spirit of the fear of the Lord is a grace
that greatly beautifies a Christian, his words, and all his ways:
“Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed, and do
it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of
persons, nor taking of gifts” (2 Chron 19:7).
I come now to make some use and application of this doctrine.
THE USE OF THIS DOCTRINE.
Having proceeded thus far about this doctrine of the fear of God, I now
come to make some use and application of the whole; and my
[USE FIRST, of Examination.]
FIRST USE shall be a USE OF EXAMINATION. Is this fear of God such an
excellent thing? Is it attended with so many blessed privileges? Then
this should put us, every soul of us, upon a diligent examination of
ourselves, to wit, whether this grace be in us or not, for if it be,
then thou art one of these blessed ones to whom belong these glorious
privileges, for thou hast an interest in every of them; but if it shall
appear that this grace is not in thee, then thy state is fearfully
miserable, as hath partly been manifest already, and will further be
seen in what comes after. Now, the better to help thee to consider, and
not to miss in finding out what thou art in thy self-examination, I
will speak to this—First. In general. Second. In particular.
First. In general. No man brings this grace into the world with him.
Every one by nature is destitute of it; for naturally none fear God,
there is no fear of God, none of this grace of fear before their eyes,
they do not so much as know what it is; for this fear flows, as was
showed before, from a new heart, faith, repentance and the like; of
which new heart, faith, and repentance, if thou be void, thou art also
void of this godly fear. Men must have a mighty change of heart and
life, or else they are strangers to this fear of God. Alas, how
ignorant are the most of this! Yea, and some are not afraid to say they
are not changed, nor desire so to be. Can these fear God? can these be
possessed with this grace of fear? No: “Because they have no changes,
therefore they fear not God” (Psa 55:19; Psa 36:1; Rom 3:18).
Wherefore, sinner, consider whoever thou art that art destitute of this
fear of God, thou art void of all other graces; for this fear, as also
I have showed, floweth from the whole stock of grace where it is. There
is not one of the graces of the Spirit, but this fear is in the bowels
of it; yea, as I may say, this fear is the flower and beauty of every
grace; neither is there anything, let it look as much like grace as it
will, that will be counted so indeed, if the fruit thereof be not this
fear of God; wherefore, I say again, consider well of this matter, for
as thou shalt be found with reference to this grace, so shall thy
judgment be. I have but briefly treated of this grace, yet have
endeavoured, with words as fit as I could, to display it in its colours
before thy face, first by showing you what this fear of God is, then
what it flows from, as also what doth flow from it; to which, as was
said before, I have added several privileges that are annexed to this
fear, that by all, if it may be, thou mayest see it if thou hast it,
and thyself without it if thou hast it not. Wherefore I refer thee
thither again for information in this thing; or if thou art loath to
give the book a second reading, but wilt go on to the end now thou art
gotten hither; then
Second and particularly, I conclude with these several propositions
concerning those that fear not God.
1. That man that is proud, and of a high and lofty mind, fears not God.
This is plain from the exhortation, “Be not high-minded, but fear” (Rom
11:20). Here you see that a high mind and the fear of God are set in
direct opposition the one to the other; and there is in them, closely
concluded by the apostle, that where indeed the one is, there cannot be
the other; where there is a high mind, there is not the fear of God;
and where there is the fear of God, the mind is not high but lowly. Can
a man at the same time be a proud man, and fear God too? Why, then, is
it said God beholdeth every one that is proud, and abases him? and
again, He beholds the proud afar off? He therefore that is proud of his
person, of his riches, of his office, of his parts, and the like,
feareth not God. It is also manifest further, for God resisteth the
proud, which he would not do, if he feared him, but in that he sets him
at such a distance from him, in that he testifies that he will abase
him and resist him, it is evident that he is not the man that hath this
grace of fear; for that man, as I have showed you, is the man of God’s
delight, the object of his pleasure (Psa 138:6; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5;
Mal 4:1).
2. The covetous man feareth not God. This also is plain from the Word,
because it setteth covetousness and the fear of God in direct
opposition. Men that fear God are said to hate covetousness (Exo
18:21). Besides, the covetous man is called an idolater, and is said to
have no part in the kingdom of Christ and of God. And again, “The
wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom
the Lord abhorreth” (Eze 33:31; Eph 5:5; Psa 10:3). Hearken to this,
you that hunt the world to take it, you that care not how you get, so
you get the world. Also you that make even religion your stalking-horse
to get the world, you fear not God. And what will you do whose hearts
go after your covetousness? you who are led by covetousness up and
down, as it were by the nose; sometimes to swear, to lie, to cozen, and
cheat and defraud, when you can get the advantage to do it. You are
far, very far, from the fear of God. “Ye adulterers and adulteresses,”
for so the covetous are called, “know ye not that the friendship of the
world is enmity with God? whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the
world, is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
3. The riotous eaters of flesh have not the fear of God. For this is
done “without fear” (Jude 12). Gluttony is a sin little taken notice
of, and as little repented of by those that use it, but yet it is
odious in the sight of God, and the practice of it a demonstration of
the want of his fear in the heart: yea, so odious is it, that God
forbids that his people should so much as company with such. “Be not,”
saith he, “among wine-bibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh” (Prov
23:20). And he further tells us, that they that are such, are spots and
blemishes to those that keep them company, for indeed they fear not God
(2 Peter 2:13; Rom 13:13; 1 Peter 4:4). Alas! some men are as if they
were for nought else born but to eat and to drink, and pamper their
carcasses with the dainties of this world, quite forgetting why God
sent them hither; but such, as is said, fear not God, and so
consequently are of the number of them upon whom the day of judgment
will come at unawares (Luke 21:34).
4. The liar is one that fears not God. This also is evident from the
plain text, “Thou hast lied,” saith the Lord, “and hast not remembered
me, nor laid it to thy heart: have not I held my peace even of old,”
saith the Lord, “and thou fearest me not?” (Isa 57:11). What lie this
was is not material; it was a lie, or a course of lying that is here
rebuked, and the person or persons in this practice, as is said, were
such as feared not God; a course of lying and the fear of God cannot
stand together. This sin of lying is a common sin, and it walketh in
the world in several guises. There is the profane scoffing liar, there
is the cunning artificial liar, there is the hypocritical religious
liar, with liars of other ranks and degrees. But none of them all have
the fear of God, nor shall any of them, they not repenting, escape the
damnation of hell—“All liars shall have their part in the lake which
burneth with fire and brimstone” (Rev 21:8). Heaven and the New
Jerusalem are not a place for such—“And there shall in no wise enter
into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination,
or maketh a lie” (v 27). Therefore another scripture says that all
liars are without—“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and
whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and
maketh a lie” (Rev 22:15). But this should not be their sentence,
judgment, and condemnation, if they that are liars were such as had in
them this blessed fear of God.
5. They fear not God who cry unto him for help in the time of their
calamity, and when they are delivered, they return to their former
rebellion. This, Moses, in a spirit of prophecy, asserteth at the time
of the mighty judgment of the hail. Pharaoh then desired him to pray to
God that he would take away that judgment from him. Well, so I will,
said Moses, “But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not
yet fear the Lord God” (Exo 9:30). As who should say, I know that so
soon as this judgment is removed, you will to your old rebellion again.
And what greater demonstration can be given that such a man feareth not
God, than to cry to God to be delivered from affliction to prosperity,
and to spend that prosperity in rebellion against him? This is crying
for mercies that they may be spent, or that we may have something to
spend upon our lusts, and in the service of Satan (John 4:1-3). Of
these God complains in the sixteenth of Ezekiel, and in the second of
Hosea—“Thou hast,” saith God, “taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of
my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images” &c.
(Eze 16:17). This was for want of the fear of God. Many of this kind
there be now in the world, both of men, and women, and children; art
not thou that readest this book of this number? Hast thou not cried for
health when sick, for wealth when poor, when lame for strength, when in
prison for liberty, and then spent all that thou gottest by thy prayer
in the service of Satan, and to gratify thy lusts? Look to it, sinner,
these things are signs that with thy heart thou fearest not God.
6. They fear not God that way-lay his people and seek to overthrow
them, or to turn them besides the right path, as they are journeying
from hence to their eternal rest. This is evident from the plain text,
“Remember,” saith God, “what Amalek did unto thee by the way when ye
were come forth out of Egypt; how he met thee by the way, and smote the
hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast
faint and weary, and he feared not God” (Deut 25:17,18). Many such
Amalekites there be now in the world that set themselves against the
feeble of the flock, against the feeble of the flock especially, still
smiting them, some by power, some with the tongue, some in their lives
and estates, some in their names and reputations, by scandals,
slanders, and reproach, but the reason of this their ungodly practice
is this, they fear not God. For did they fear him, they would be afraid
to so much as think, much more of attempting to afflict and destroy,
and calumniate the children of God; but such there have been, such
there are, and such there will be in the world, for all men fear not
God.
7. They fear not God who see his hand upon backsliders for their sins,
and yet themselves will be backsliders also. “I saw,” saith God, “when
for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery, I had
put her away, and given her a bill of divorce, yet her treacherous
sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also” (Jer 3:8,
2:19). Judah saw that her sister was put away, and delivered by God
into the hands of Shalmaneser, who carried her away beyond Babylon, and
yet, though she saw it, she went and played the harlot also—a sign of
great hardness of heart, and of the want of the fear of God indeed. For
this fear, had it been in her heart, it would have taught her to have
trembled at the judgment that was executed upon her sister, and not to
have gone and played the harlot also: and not to have done it while her
sister’s judgment was in sight and memory. But what is it that a heart
that is destitute of the fear of God will not do? No sin comes amiss to
such: yea, they will sin, they will do that themselves, for the doing
of which they believe some are in hell-fire, and all because they fear
not God.
But pray observe, if those that take not warning when they see the hand
of God upon backsliders, are said to have none of the fear of God, have
they it, think you, that lay stumbling-blocks in the way of God’s
people, and use devices to cause them to backslide, yea, rejoice when
they can do this mischief to any? and yet many of this sort there are
in the world, that even rejoice when they see a professor fall into
sin, and go back from his profession, as if they had found some
excellent thing.
8. They fear not God who can look upon a land as wallowing in sin, and
yet are not humbled at the sight thereof. “Have ye,” said God by the
prophet to the Jews, “forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the
wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives,
which they have committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of
Jerusalem? They are not humbled to this day, neither have they feared,
nor walked in my law” (Jer 44:9,10). Here is a land full of wickedness,
and none to bewail it, for they wanted the fear of God, and love to
walk in his law. But how say you, if they that are not humbled at their
own and others’ wickedness are said not to fear, or have the fear of
God, what shall we think or say of such that receive, that nourish and
rejoice in such wickedness? Do they fear God? Yea, what shall we say of
such that are the inventors and promoters of wickedness, as of oaths,
beastly talk, or the like? Do they, do you think, fear God? Once again,
what shall we say of such that cannot be content to be wicked
themselves, and to invent and rejoice in other men’s wickedness, but
must hate, reproach, vilify and abuse those that they cannot persuade
to be wicked? Do they fear God?
9. They that take more heed to their own dreams than to the Word of
God, fear not God. This also is plain from the Word—“For in the
multitude of dreams, there are also divers vanities, but fear thou
God”; that is, take heed unto his Word (Eccl 5:7; Isa 8:20). Here the
fearing of God is opposed to our overmuch heeding dreams: and there is
implied, that it is for want of the fear of God that men so much heed
those things. What will they say to this that give more heed to a
suggestion that ariseth from their foolish hearts, or that is cast in
thither by the devil, than they do to the holy Word of God? These are
“filthy dreamers.” Also, what shall we say to those that are more
confident of the mercy of God to their soul, because he hath blessed
them with outward things, than they are afraid of his wrath and
condemnation, though the whole of the Word of God doth fully verify the
same? These are “filthy dreamers” indeed.
A dream is either real, or so by way of semblance, and so some men
dream sleeping, and some waking (Isa 29:7). And as those that a man
dreams sleeping are caused either by God, Satan, business, flesh, or
the like; so are they that a man dreams waking, to pass by those that
we have in our sleep. Men, when bodily awake, may have dreams, that is,
visions from heaven; such are all they that have a tendency to discover
to the sinner his state, or the state of the church according to the
Word. But those that are from Satan, business, and the flesh, are
such—especially the first and last, to wit, from Satan and the flesh—as
tend to embolden men to hope for good in a way disagreeing with the
Word of God.[25]
These Jude calls “filthy dreamers,” such whose principles were their
dreams, and they led them “to defile the flesh,” that is, by
fornication and uncleanness; “to despise dominion,” that the reins
might be laid upon the neck of their lusts; “to speak evil of
dignities,” of those that God had set over them, for their governing in
all the law and testament of Christ, these dreamt that to live like
brutes, to be greedy of gain, and to take away for it, as Cain and
Balaam did by their wiles, the lives of the owners thereof, would go
for good coin in the best of trials. These also Peter speaks of (2
Peter 2). And he makes their dreams, that Jude calls so, their
principle and errors in life and doctrine; you may read of them in that
whole chapter, where they are called cursed children, and so by
consequence such as fear not God.
10. They fear not God, who are sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers,
and that oppress the hireling of his wages. It is a custom with some
men to keep back by fraud from the hireling that which by covenant they
agreed to pay for their labour; pinching, I say, and paring from them
their due that of right belongs to them, to the making of them cry in
“the ears of the Lord of sabaoth” (James 5:4). These fear not God; they
are reckoned among the worst of men, and in their day of account God
himself will bear witness against them. “And I,” saith God, “will come
near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the
adulterers, and against the false swearers, and against those that
oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and
that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the
Lord” (Mal 3:5).
11. They fear not God, who instead of pitying of, rail at God’s people
in their affliction, temptations, and persecutions, and rather rejoice
and skip for joy, than sympathize with them in their sorrow. Thus did
David’s enemies, thus did Israel’s enemies, and thus did the thief, he
railed at Christ when he hanged upon the cross, and was for that, even
by his fellow, accounted for one that feared not God (Luke 23:40; Psa
35:1,22-26. Read Oba 10-15; Jer 48:2-6). This is a common thing among
the children of men, even to rejoice at the hurt of them that fear God,
and it ariseth even of an inward hatred to godliness. They hate you,
saith Christ, because they hated me. Therefore Christ takes what is
done to his, in this, as done unto himself, and so to holiness of life.
But this falls hard upon such as despise at, and rejoice to see, God’s
people in their griefs, and that take the advantage, as dogged Shimei
did, to augment the griefs and afflictions of God’s people (2 Sam
16:5-8). These fear not God, they do this of enmity, and their sin is
such as will hardly be blotted out (1 Kings 2:8,9).
12. They fear not God, who are strangers to the effects of fear. “If I
be a master, where is my fear?” That is, show that I am so by your fear
of me in the effects of your fear of me. “You offer polluted bread upon
mine altar.” This is not a sign that you fear me, ye offer the blind
for sacrifices, where is my fear? ye offer the lame and the sick, these
are not the effects of the fear of God (Mal 1:6-8). Sinner, it is one
thing to say, I fear God, and another to fear him indeed. Therefore, as
James says, show me thy faith by thy works, so here God calls for a
testimony of thy fear by the effects of fear. I have already showed you
several effects of fear; if thou art a stranger to them, thou art a
stranger to this grace of fear. Therefore, to conclude this, it is not
a feigned profession that will do; nothing is good here, but what is
salted with this fear of God, and they that fear him are men of truth,
men of singleness of heart, perfect, upright, humble, holy men;
wherefore, reader, examine, and again, I say examine, and lay the Word
and thy heart together, before that thou concludest that thou fearest
God.