heart and life? What! fear God and be proud, and covetous, a
wine-bibber, and a riotous eater of flesh? How! fear God and a liar,
and one that cries for mercies to spend them upon thy lusts? This would
be strange. True, thou mayest fear as devils do, but what will that
profit? Thou mayest by thy fear be driven away from God, from his
worship, people, and ways, but what will that avail? It may be thou
mayest so fear at present, as to be a little stopped in thy sinful
course; perhaps thou hast got a knock from the Word of God, and are at
present a little dazzled and hindered from being in thy former and full
career after sin; but what of that? if by the fear that thou hast, thy
heart is not united to God, and to the love of his Son, Word, and
people, thy fear is nothing worth.[26] Many men also are forced to fear
God, as 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 over-mastered like an
hypocrite, thou subjected thyself by feigned obedience, being forced, I
say, by mere dread to do it (Psa 66:3).
It is said of David, “that the fame of him went out into all lands, and
the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations” (1 Chron 14:17). But
what, did they now love David? did they now choose him to be their
king? no verily; they, many of them, rather hated him, and, when they
could, made resistance against him. They did even as thou dost—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 these countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought
against the enemies of Israel” (2 Chron 20:29). But, I say, was this
fear, that is called now the fear of God, anything else, but a dread of
the greatness of 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 still, 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, before I leave thee, let me warn thee of. 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 them 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 5:23,24). 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 to say
yet, “Let us fear the Lord?” O! 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?” (v 29). Sinner, why shouldest thou
pull vengeance down upon thee? why shouldest 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. O! pull no longer; why
shouldest 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.
[A few things that may provoke thee to fear the Lord.]
Before I leave this use, let me give thee a few things, that, if God
will, may provoke thee to fear the Lord.
1. The man that feareth not God, carrieth it worse towards 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,”
yea, “and upon every fowl of the air,” and “upon all that moveth upon
the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea” (Gen 9:2).
Mark, all my creatures shall fear you, and dread you, says God. None of
them shall be so hardy as to cast of 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 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, a swine,
should better observe the law of his creation, than thou dost the law
of thy God?
2. Consider, he that will not fear God, God will make him fear him
whether he will or no. 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 (Eccl 12:5). “I will bring their fears upon them,” saith
the Lord (Isa 66:4).
3. He that fears not God now, the Lord shall laugh at his fears then.
Sinner, God will be even with all them 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 their destruction; I will mock when their 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 1:27-29).
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,” he is “snared by the transgression of his lips” (Psa 9:16; Prov
12:13).
Sinner! what wilt thou do when thou comest into this snare; that is,
into the guilt and terror that thy sins will snaffle[27] 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 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 them that hast cast off fear? poor man, what
wilt thou do when these three things beset thee? whither wilt thou fly
for help? And where wilt thou leave thy glory? If thou fliest from the
fear, there is the pit; if thou fliest from the pit, there is the
snare.
[USE SECOND, an exhortation to fear God.]
SECOND USE. 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.” Not but that every saint doth fear God,
but as the apostle saith in another case, “I beseech you, do it more
and more.” 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.
It is said of Obadiah, that he feared the Lord greatly: every saint
fears the Lord, but every saint does not greatly fear him. O there are
but few Obadiahs in the world, I mean among the saints on earth: see
the whole relation of him (1 Kings 18). As Paul said of Timothy, “I
have none like-minded,” so it may be said of some concerning the fear
of the Lord; they have scarce a fellow. So it was with Job, “There is
none like him in the earth, one that feareth God,” &c. (Job 1:8). There
was even none in Job’s day that feared God like him, no, there was not
one like him in all the earth, but doubtless there were more in the
world that feared God; but this fearing of him greatly, that is the
thing that saints should do, and that was the thing that Job did do,
and in that he did outstrip his fellows. It is also said of Hananiah,
that “he was a faithful man, and feared God above many” (Neh 7:2). He
also had got, as to the exercise of, and growth in, this grace, the
start of many of his brethren. He “feared God above many.” Now then,
seeing this grace admits of degrees, and is in some stronger, and in
some weaker, let us be all awakened as to other graces, so to this
grace also. That like as you abound in everything, in faith, in
utterance, in knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us,
see that ye abound in this grace also. I will labour to enforce this
exhortation upon you by several motives.
First. Let God’s distinguishing love to you be a motive to you to fear
him greatly. He hath put his fear in thy heart, and hath not given that
blessing to thy neighbour; perhaps not to thy husband, thy wife, thy
child, or thy parent. O what an obligation should this consideration
lay upon thy heart greatly to fear the Lord! Remember also, as I have
showed in the first part of this book, that this fear of the Lord is
his treasure, a choice jewel, given only to favourites, and to those
that are greatly beloved. Great gifts naturally tend to oblige, and
will do so, I trust, with thee, when thou shalt ingeniously consider
it. It is a sign of a very bad nature when the contrary shows itself;
could God have done more for thee than to have put his fear in thy
heart? This is better than to have given thee a place even in heaven
without it. Yea, had he given thee all faith, all knowledge, and the
tongue of men and angels, and a place in heaven to boot, they had all
been short of this gift, of the fear of God in thy heart. Therefore
love it, nourish it, exercise it, use all means to cause it to increase
and grow in thy heart, that it may appear it is set by at thy hand,
poor sinner.
Second. Another motive to stir thee up to grow in this grace of the
fear of God may be the privileges that it lays thee under. What or
where wilt thou find in the Bible, so many privileges so affectionately
entailed to any grace, as to this of the fear of God? God speaks of
this grace, and of the privileges that belong unto it, as if, to speak
with reverence, he knew not how to have done blessing of the man that
hath it. It seems to me as if this grace of fear is the darling grace,
the grace that God sets his heart upon at the highest rate. As it were,
he embraces the hugs, and lays the man in his bosom, that hath, and
grows strong in this grace of the fear of God. See again the many
privileges in which the man is interested that hath this grace in his
heart: and see also that there are but few of them, wherever mentioned,
but have entailed to them the pronunciation of a blessing, or else that
man is spoken of by way of admiration.
Third. Another motive may be this: The man that groweth in this grace
of the fear of the Lord will escape those evils that others will fall
into. Where this grace is, it keepeth the soul from final apostasy, “I
will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me”
(Jer 32:40). But yet, if there be not an increase in this grace, much
evil may attend, and be committed notwithstanding. There is a child
that is healthy, and hath its limbs, and can go, but it is careless;
now the evil of carelessness doth disadvantage it very much;
carelessness is the cause of stumblings, of falls, of knocks, and that
it falls into the dirt, yea, that sometimes it is burned, or almost
drowned. And thus it is, even with God’s people that fear him, because
they add not to their fear a care of growing more in the fear of God,
therefore they reap damage; whereas, were they more in his fear, it
would keep them better, deliver them more, and preserve them from these
snares of death.
Fourth. Another motive may be this: To grow in this grace of the fear
of God, is the way to be kept always in a conscientious performance of
Christian duties. An increase in this grace, I say, keeps every grace
in exercise, and the keeping of our graces in their due exercise,
produceth a conscientious performance of duties. Thou hast a watch
perhaps in thy pocket, but the hand will not as yet be kept in any good
order, but does always give the lie as to the hour of the day; well,
but what is the way to remedy this, but to look well to the spring, and
the wheels within? for if they indeed go right, so will the hand do
also. This is thy case in spiritual things; thou art a gracious man,
and the fear of God is in thee, but yet for all that, one cannot well
tell, by thy life, what time of day it is.[28] Thou givest no true and
constant sign that thou art indeed a Christian; why, the reason is,
thou dost not look well to this grace of the fear of God. Thou dost not
grow and increase in that, but sufferest thy heart to grow careless,
and hard, and so thy life remiss and worldly: Job’s growing great in
the fear of God made him eschew evil (Job 1, 2:3).
Fifth. Another motive is: This is the way to be wise indeed. A wise man
feareth and departeth from evil. It doth not say a wise man hath the
grace of fear, but a wise man feareth, that is, putteth this grace into
exercise. There is no greater sign of wisdom than to grow in this
blessed grace. Is it not a sign of wisdom to depart from sins, which
are the snares of death and hell? Is it not a sign of wisdom for a man
yet more and more to endeavour to interest himself in the love and
protection of God? Is it not a high point of wisdom for a man to be
always doing of that which lays him under the conduct of angels? Surely
this is wisdom. And if it be a blessing to have this fear, is it not
wisdom to increase in it? Doubtless it is the highest point of wisdom,
as I have showed before, therefore grow therein.
Sixth. Another motive may be this: It is seemly for saints to fear, and
increase in this fear of God. He is thy Creator; is it not seemly for
creatures to fear and reverence their Creator? He is thy King; is it
not seemly for subjects to fear and reverence their King? He is thy
Father; is it not seemly for children to reverence and fear their
Father? yea, and to do it more and more?
Seventh. Another motive may be: It is honourable to grow in this grace
of fear; “When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel”
(Hosea 13:1). Truly, to fear, and to about in this fear, is a sign of a
very princely spirit; and the reason is, when I greatly fear my God, I
am above the fear of all others, nor can anything in this world, be it
never so terrible and dreadful, move me at all to fear them. And hence
it is that Christ counsels us to fear—“And I say unto you, my friends,”
saith he, “be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that
have no more that they can do.” Aye, but this is a high pitch, how
should we come by such princely spirits? well, I will forewarn you whom
you shall fear, and by fearing of him, arrive to this pitch, “Fear him,
which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say
unto you, fear him” (Luke 12:4,5). Indeed this true fear of God sets a
man above all the world. And therefore it saith again, “Neither fear ye
their fear,”—but “sanctify the Lord God” in your hearts, “and let him
be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Isa 8:12,13).
Your great ranting, swaggering, roysters,[29] that are ignorant of the
nature of the fear of God, count it a poor, sneaking, pitiful, cowardly
spirit in men to fear and tremble before the Lord; but whoso looks back
to jails and gibbets, to the sword and burning stake, shall see, that
there, in them, has been the most mighty and invincible spirit that has
been in the world!
Yea, see if God doth not count that the growth of his people in this
grace of fear is that which makes them honourable, when he positively
excludeth those from a dwelling-place in his house, that do not honour
them that fear him (Psa 15:4). And he saith moreover, “A woman that
feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” If the world and godless men
will not honour these, they shall be honoured some way else. Such,
saith he, “that honour me I will honour,” and they shall be honoured in
heaven, in the churches, and among the angels.
Eighth. Another motive to grow in this fear of God may be: This fear,
and the increase of it, qualifies a man to be put in trust with
heavenly and spiritual things, yea, and with earthly things too.
1. For heavenly and spiritual things. “My covenant,” saith God, “was
with [Levi] of life and peace, and I gave them to him, for the fear
wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name” (Mal 2:5).
Behold what a gift, what a mercy, what a blessing this Levi is
intrusted with; to wit, with God’s everlasting covenant, and with the
life and peace that is wrapped up in this covenant. But why is it given
to him? the answer is, “for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was
afraid before my name.” And the reason is good, for this fear of God
teaches a man to put a due estimation upon every gift of God bestowed
upon us; also it teaches us to make use of the same with reverence of
his name, and respect to his glory in most godly-wise, all which
becomes him that is intrusted with any spiritual gift. The gift here
was given to Levi to minister to his brethren doctrinally thereof, for
he, saith God, shall teach Jacob my statutes and Israel my law. See
also Exodus 18:21 and Nehemiah 7:2, with many other places that might
be named, and you will find that men fearing God and hating
covetousness; that men that fear God above others, are intrusted by
God, yea, and by his church too, with the trust and ministration of
spiritual things before any other in the world.
2. For earthly things. This fear of God qualifies a man to be put in
trust with them rather than with another. Therefore God made Joseph
lord of all Egypt; Obadiah, steward of Ahab’s house; Daniel, Mordecai,
and the three children, were set over the province of Babylon; and this
by the wonderful working hand of God, because he had to dispose of
earthly things now, not only in a common way, but for the good of his
people in special. True, when there is no special matter or thing to be
done by God in a nation for his people, then who will (that is, whether
they have grace or no) may have the disposal of those things; but if
God has anything in special to bestow upon his people of this world’s
goods, then he will intrust it in the hands of men fearing God. Joseph
must now be made lord of Egypt, because Israel must be kept from
starving; Obadiah must now be made steward of Ahab’s house, because the
Lord’s prophets must be hid from and fed in despite of the rage and
bloody mind of Jezebel; Daniel, with his companions, and Mordecai also,
they were all exalted to earthly and temporal dignity, that they might
in that state, they being men that abounded in the fear of God, be
serviceable to their brethren in their straits and difficulties (Gen
42:18, 41:39; 1 Kings 18:3; Esth 6:10; Dan 2:48, 3:30, 5:29, 6:1-3).
Ninth. Another motive to grow in this grace of fear is, Where the fear
of God in the heart of any is not growing, there no grace thrives, nor
duty done as it should.
There no grace thrives, neither faith, hope, love, nor any grace. This
is evident from that general exhortation, “Perfecting holiness in the
fear of God” (2 Cor 7:1). Perfecting holiness, what is that? but as
James says of patience, let every grace have its perfect work, that ye
may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing (James 1:4).
But this cannot be done but in the fear of God, yea, in the exercise of
that grace, and so consequently in the growth of it, for there is no
grace but grows by being exercised. If then you would be perfect in
holiness, if you would have every grace that God has put into your
souls, grow and flourish into perfection; lay them, as I may say,
a-soak in this grace of fear,[30] and do all in the exercise of it; for
a little done in the fear of the Lord is better than the revenues of
the wicked. And again, the Lord will not suffer the soul of the
righteous, the soul that liveth in the fear of the Lord, to famish, but
he casteth away the abundance of the wicked. Bring abundance to God,
and if it be not seasoned with godly fear, it shall not be acceptable
to him, but loathsome and abominable in his sight; for it doth not flow
from the spirit of the fear of the Lord.
Therefore, where there is not a growth in this fear, there is no duty
done so acceptably. This flows from that which goes before, for if
grace rather decays than grows, where this grace of fear is not in the
growth and increase thereof, then duties in their glory and
acceptableness decay likewise.
Tenth. Another motive to stir thee up to grow in the increase of this
grace of fear is, It is a grace, do but abound therein, that will give
thee great boldness both with God and men. Job was a man a none-such in
his day for one that feared God; and who so bold with God as Job? who
so bold with God, and who so bold with men as he? How bold was he with
God, when he wishes for nothing more than that he might come even to
his seat, and concludes that if he could come at him, he would approach
even as a prince unto him, and as such would order his cause before him
(Job 23:3-7, 31:35-37). Also before his friends, how bold was he? For
ever as they laid to his charge that he was an hypocrite, he repels
them with the testimony of a good conscience, which good conscience he
got, and kept, and maintained by increasing in the fear of God; yea,
his conscience was kept so good by this grace of fear, for it was by
that that he eschewed evil, that it was common with him to appeal to
God when accused, and also to put himself for his clearing under most
bitter curses and imprecations (Job 13:3-9, 18, 19:23,24, 31).
This fear of God is it that keeps the conscience clean and tender, and
so free from much of that defilement that even a good man may be
afflicted with, for want of his growth in this fear of God. Yea, let me
add, if a man can with a good conscience say that he desires to fear
the name of God, it will add boldness to his soul in his approaches
into the presence of God. “O Lord,” said Nehemiah, “I beseech thee, let
now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and servants,
who desire to fear thy name” (Neh 1:11). He pleaded his desire of
fearing the name of God, as an argument with God to grant him his
request; and the reason was, because God had promised before “to bless
them that fear him, both small and great” (Psa 115:13).
Eleventh. Another motive to stir you up to fear the Lord, and to grow
in this fear is, By it thou mayest have thy labours blessed, to the
saving of the souls of others. It is said of Levi, of whom mention was
made before, that he feared God and was afraid before his name—that he
saved others from their sins. “The law of truth was in his mouth, and
he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn away many from
iniquity” (Mal 2:6). The fear of God that dwelt in his heart, showed
its growth in the sanctifying of the Lord by his life and words, and
the Lord also blessed this his growth herein, by blessing his labours
to the saving of his neighbours.
Wouldest thou save thy husband, thy wife, thy children, &c., then be
greatly in the fear of God.