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<DATE>2010-12-06</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P>The Fear of God: VVhat it is, And EXHORTED TO As one of the Great Le&s;&s;ons God calls upon men to learn by his great Di&s;pen&s;ations in the la&s;t days.</P>
<P>In a Sermon Preached unto the Church of Chri&s;t meeting in <HI>Petty France</HI> London, the Tenth day of the Sixth Month. <HI>Anno</HI> 1656.</P>
<P><HI>By that faithful Servant of Chri&s;t</HI> John Pendarves <HI>a little before his Death.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed by <HI>R. I.</HI> for <HI>Livewell Chapman,</HI> and are to be &s;old at the Crown in Pope&s;-head Alley. 1657.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
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<HEAD>TO THE Church of God, WHICH He hath purcha&s;ed with his own Bloud, meeting at ABINGDON</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Precious and Beloved:</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_THis Sermon is e&s;pecially commen|ded to your view, as being tho&s;e which I judge have mo&s;t right unto it, becau&s;e of that near relation which was be|tween you and the Author of it, a ta&s;te of who&s;e &s;avoury &s;pi|rit you may here behold, near his Death, which you have often heard and &s;een in his
<PB REF="3">
Life; it is doubtle&s;s a lo&s;&s;e, yea a very great lo&s;&s;e, as to <HI>Sion</HI> in general, &s;o e&s;pecially to you in particu|lar, to have &s;uch a painful Labourer taken out of the Vineyard, but I hope you have learned as in other things, &s;o in this, to &s;ay,<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Act. 21.14.</NOTE> the Will of the Lord be done; this is our comfort, that God<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Mal. 2.15.</NOTE> hath a re|&s;idue of the Spirit, and hee will never want In&s;tru|ments to doe his work by; if he take away <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> hee will rai&s;e up a<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 1.1, 2.</NOTE> <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> and if he take away an <HI>Elijah,</HI> he will<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">2 King. 2.9:</NOTE> double his Spirit upon &s;ome <HI>E|li&s;ha;</HI> and who knows but God may take away &s;uch tall Cedars, that &s;ome low Shrubs may grow up, and be active for God, in their generation. Surely, every &s;uch Di&s;pen&s;ation, as it is a &s;pectacle of our Mortali|ty, &s;o it loudly calls us to our duty to<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">Joh. 9.4.</NOTE> <HI>work whiles it is day,</HI> that with <HI>Paul,</HI> wee may have<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 4 7.</NOTE> fought our fight before we &s;hall fini&s;h our cour&s;e; and with <HI>David,</HI><NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">Acts 13.36.</NOTE> we may &s;erve our generation, (by the Will of God) before we fall a&s;leep.</P>
<P>As touching the Work it &s;elf, which you are here pre&s;ented with, it treats concerning the fear of God, (a Subject) which I de&s;ire may be as profitable, as it is &s;ea&s;onable in this our day; wherein though Gods Judgements<NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 26.9</NOTE> have been abroad in the earth, yet the inhabitants of the World will not learn Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s,<NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 36.1</NOTE> and the tran&s;gre&s;sions of the wicked doe plainly declare, that <HI>there is no fear of God be|fore their eyes;</HI> and if wee look into the Lives of Profe&s;&s;ors, we have cau&s;e to fear that there is but little of this filial fear to be found among them, which &s;hould cau&s;e them to<NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 4.4.</NOTE> &s;tand in awe, and not &s;in; and too many there are that profe&s;s to fear God, that yet
<PB REF="3">
fear not to &s;in, again&s;t him; but how much &s;oever, this being neglected, yet it appears to bee our duty, and that which God calls for from us, by vertue of his Supremacy over us: <HI>If I bee a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a ma&s;ter, where is my fear? &s;aith the Lord of Ho&s;ts,</HI> Malachy <HI>1.6.</HI> but I &s;hall not Expatiate upon this point, but referre you to the Di&s;cour&s;e it &s;elf; for further information, con|cerning which the Reader is to bee further premoni|&s;hed, that this Sermon being not intended by the Au|thor for the Pre&s;s, nor his Notes left behind him, neither being alive to correct it, it may want &s;ome|what of that lu&s;tre, which otherwi&s;e might have atten|ded it; yet however, to &s;atisfie the de&s;ire of &s;ome god|ly Friends, as al&s;o for the general profit, it is here pre&s;ented to Publick view, as fully as it could be taken out of one Short-hand Copy, written from his mouth, and I de&s;ire that the<NOTE N="l" PLACE="marg">Deut. 33.16.</NOTE> ble&s;sing of him that dwelt in the Bu&s;h, may goe along with it; that the fear of God may hereby be wrought where it is not, and in|crea&s;ed where it is, that tho&s;e that fear not God, may be made to fear him, and tho&s;e that doe fear God, may fear him more, and more.</P>
<P>And now (Dear Brethren) I &s;hall leave it with you, as the words of your dying Pa&s;tor, not doubting but it will be of weight upon your &s;pirits, and &s;ome &s;atisfaction to you, to read his Works, when you can|not hear his words; this only I &s;hall adde, as my de|&s;ire to you, and of you, that you would not on|ly read the words, but doe the works, that his words may be read in your works, and your Lives may bee as &s;o many Volumes of his Labours;
<PB REF="4">
that as on Earth you were his joy, &s;o in Heaven you may bee his Crown; and as hee is gone be|fore, you may follow after, and at la&s;t meet toge|ther, and &s;it down together in the Kingdome of Glory; to which place, and portion, that you with my &s;elf may have a &s;afe Conduct, is the ardent de&s;ire, and prayer of</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Yours in our Head Chri&s;t, <HI>JOHN COX</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="4">
<HEAD>The Fear of God: Opened, and exhorted too, from <HI>Revel.</HI> 15. the former part of the fourth ver&s;e. <HI>Who &s;hall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorifie thy name!</HI></HEAD>
<P>_BEfore I come to &s;peak more particularly to the&s;e words, I &s;hall offer &s;omething in a more general way in relation to this Book of the <HI>Revelations;</HI> which wee finde com|mended e&s;pecially, to the Churches of Chri&s;t, as you may &s;ee in Chap. 1. ver&s;. 11. <HI>What thou &s;ee&s;t write in a Book, and &s;end it to the &s;even Churches, &amp;c.</HI> You may take notice of the <HI>way,</HI> and <HI>order,</HI> wherein the Spirit of God walked in the di&s;covery of Truth to the Saints under the Go&s;pel: and it is worthy your ob&s;erva|tion, how that fir&s;t the Spirit of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, being poured out upon the Apo&s;tles, did in the fir&s;t place by them, in&s;truct the people to whom they preached, touching tho&s;e <HI>foundation truthes</HI> (as I may &s;o call them) which did e&s;pecially &s;et forth Go&s;pel-faith; and you may ob&s;erve, how the Wi&s;dome of God is very glori|ous in this <HI>way,</HI> and <HI>method,</HI> wherein the Lord did lead forth the Apo&s;tles, tho&s;e Primitive Preachers of the Go&s;pel, and tho&s;e that were under the conduct of the Apo&s;tles in their days.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The Lord made known to them, the Doctrine
<PB N="2" REF="5">
of Grace, in order to their beleeving in the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t: And then,</P>
<P>Secondly, They were in&s;tructed in the Doctrine of Bapti&s;me, and after this,</P>
<P>Thirdly, They were gathered into Church Order, to waite upon God for further di&s;coveries of truth.</P>
<P>Fourthly, After God had by the Apo&s;tles, and o|thers in their days, &s;et the Churches of Chri&s;t in order; then Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;ends this Book of the <HI>Revelation</HI> to them, and I finde it not given to them till then; and doubtle&s;s that confu&s;ion that over-&s;pread that part of the World called Chri&s;tendome, hath &s;prung very much from tho&s;e that have preached truth, in that they did not fir&s;t lay down tho&s;e foundations, truths of <HI>Faith,</HI> and <HI>Order.</HI></P>
<P>And though I would not a&s;cribe over much to order, yet you mu&s;t know it is not without infinite wi&s;dome in God, which di&s;pen&s;eth his Truths in &s;uch an order to the Sons of men.</P>
<P>And though I would not hold you long (in the Pre|face) yet I would &s;peak a little further to this, becau&s;e I &s;ee many in this day at a great lo&s;s, for want of ob|&s;erving the order of truth, that God hath layed down in his Word; &s;ome are very much troubled about Bap|ti&s;me, before they are really &s;etled upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and &s;ome are very much bu&s;ying them&s;elves about the matters of Wor&s;hip, before they clo&s;e with Chri&s;t, the foundation; and &s;o having not clo&s;ed with Je&s;us Chri&s;t, they build as men without a foundation; Others againe, when they come to be in&s;tructed in matters of Faith, are apt to minde other Ordinances that are further off, as <HI>Breaking of Bread;</HI> whereas the order of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in the Go&s;pel, is, that the very next thing after <HI>beleeving,</HI>
<PB N="3" REF="5">
is, to be <HI>Baptized,</HI> in the Name of the Lord Je&s;us; which per&s;ons not ob&s;erving, but mi&s;&s;ing the true way of God, they are to&s;&s;ed to and fro, and know not where to fix, not taking notice of the due order: wherein the Lord lays down truth in his ble&s;&s;ed Word.</P>
<P>And po&s;&s;ibly &s;ome (al&s;o) may be under the tempta|tion, of neglecting tho&s;e truthes, which concerne the foundation in matters of Faith, and Order (nay it is frequently &s;o &s;een of many (of whom I de&s;ire to &s;peak tenderly, &s;uppo&s;ing they do it weakly) that they are bu&s;ying them&s;elves in the under&s;tanding of the highe&s;t di&s;coveries of God in this Book of the <HI>Revelations</HI>) and yet are not &s;etled upon the foundation of the Go&s;pel, nor brought into the order of it; and therefore as to many that are &s;oaring high in the&s;e things, I de&s;ire they would con&s;ider, whether they have not unadvi&s;edly leaped over tho&s;e foundation truthes, which they &s;hould have minded in their going on to tho&s;e <HI>glorious Truths,</HI> revealed in the <HI>Revelation.</HI></P>
<P>I will not &s;ay God is tied up to this order, but yet I &s;ay, this is the way, God would have his people waite upon him in; and God bringing his people out of <HI>Babylon,</HI> will (I doubt not) lead them, to ob&s;erve truth in that order wherein it was laid down, in the fir&s;t di&s;pen|&s;ation of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>And (therefore) I being now to &s;peak unto a Church of Chri&s;t already planted in the Faith, and order of the Go&s;pel, I hope none will bee offended at my making choyce of a portion of Scripture in this Book of the <HI>Revelations,</HI> if any be, I may make my Apology from the eleventh ver&s;e of the fir&s;t Chapter, which holds forth unto us: that this Book, with the things therein re|vealed, is &s;ent unto the Churches; <HI>I Je&s;us have &s;ent
<PB N="4" REF="6">
mine Angel to te&s;tifie the&s;e things in the Churches, and hee that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit &s;aith unto the Churches;</HI> which you have &s;everall times repeated in the &s;econd and third Chapters of this Book, &s;o that you &s;ee, the things held forth in this Book, are &s;uch as the Churches of Chri&s;t are &s;pecially to hearken unto, be|cau&s;e Chri&s;t hath in a &s;pecial manner commended the&s;e things to the Churches.</P>
<P>And let me adde, that this Book hath a glorious ble&s;&s;ing annexed to the reading and hearing of it, and the keep|ing tho&s;e things which are written therein, you have not &s;uch a Ble&s;&s;ing annexed to every Book as to this; and oh! that it were not the Sin of many Churches, that they are &s;o backward in looking into the things writ|ten in this Book of the <HI>Revelations,</HI> when as God &s;ends it e&s;pecially, and particularly unto them.</P>
<P>And indeed, I judge it is a matter of duty, e&s;pecially for the Angels, Me&s;&s;engers, and Pa&s;tors of Churches, to be diligently &s;earching into (in order to the finding out of) tho&s;e Truths that are written therein, and according to the mea&s;ure of the gift of Chri&s;t, to hold them forth to the Churches; for truly, I grieve to think how much Church-members are unacquainted with many things written therein, as what the Bea&s;t is, what is his Mark, and the Number of his Name, when as &s;uch dreadful Judgements are pronounced again&s;t &s;uch as wor&s;hip the Bea&s;t, or his Image, or receive his Mark in their fore-heads, or in their hands; yet alas! how few Members in Churches are there, that labour to bee in|formed in the&s;e things, &s;urely hee that knows not of a danger, where it is, and how it lies: is in danger of fal|ling into it unawares.</P>
<P>But to come to my Text, in this fifteenth Chapter
<PB N="5" REF="6">
you read of a Victory obtained over the Bea&s;t, and not only &s;o, but over his Image, Mark, and the number of his Name, by a Party &s;tanding on the Sea of Gla&s;s, having the Harps of God, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 2. their Song follows; and they &s;ang the Song of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> the Servant of God, and the Song of the Lamb, &s;aying, <HI>Great and marvellous are thy Works, Lord God Almighty, ju&s;t and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints, who &s;hall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorifie thy name?</HI></P>
<P>Before I come to the words them&s;elves, I would in a general way lay down &s;omething for your informati|on from the Context; that which I &s;uppo&s;e will bee the great inquiry upon the view of this Scripture, is, what the Bea&s;t is, and who they are that get the victory over him, his Mark and Image? and therefore I &s;hall briefly hint &s;omething concerning this Bea&s;t, and the conquering Party that &s;hall prevail over him.</P>
<P>That which to me is the be&s;t help to di&s;cover the Bea&s;t, his Mark, and Image: e&s;pecially the Bea&s;t, what he is, are the &s;everal qualifications of tho&s;e which get the victory over him; you may partly know the Bea&s;t by his oppo&s;ites, tho&s;e which rejoyce at the over|coming of him, now who they are that have had, and maintained a controver&s;ie with this Bea&s;t, you may &s;ee de&s;cribed in the &s;econd, third, and fourth ver&s;es of this Chapter, and their frames, and qualifications may be judged, by &s;everal Characters given to them.</P>
<P N="1">1 They are a People attained to &s;ome mea&s;ure of purity, therefore &s;et forth &s;tanding upon a Sea of Gla&s;s.</P>
<P N="2">2 They are a People bent to prai&s;e God for his great Works, they have the Harps of God, and they &s;ing, &amp;c. They are a people that dare not &s;light Gods great Works, if God bring them out of <HI>Egypt</HI> they have it
<PB N="6" REF="7">
much upon their hearts, and they &s;ing the Song of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and the Song of the Lamb, like tho&s;e in <HI>Exod.</HI> 15. and you know upon what account it was that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;ang that Song, it was when Gods <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was brought out of <HI>Egypts</HI> bondage, and the <HI>Egyptians</HI> de&s;troyed; whence it appears,</P>
<P N="3">3 That the&s;e are a people &s;eriou&s;ly minding of, and much affected with Gods wonderful Works, in their deliverance from Spiritual <HI>Egyptian</HI> bondage, and there|fore they cry out, <HI>Great and marvellous are thy Works, Lord God Almighty.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4 They are a People that a&s;cribe all to God, and give him the prai&s;e of all his Works. I &s;uppo&s;e all will grant, that the great Works God is to doe in the World, will be done by In&s;truments, yet this people doe not extoll man in this work, but cry out, <HI>Great and marvellous are THY Works, Lord God Almighty.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5 They are a People that ju&s;tifie God in all his Works, and ways, both of deliverance to his People, and judgement upon his enemies; which &s;hews that they are &s;uch as compare Gods Word, and his Works to|gether, and have al&s;o been &s;eriou&s;ly exerci&s;ed in the ob|&s;ervation of the &s;ins of the Enemy, that they thus ju&s;ti|fie God in his Judgements towards them, it being what they had de&s;erved, and hee had &s;poken, and therefore they cry out <HI>[Ju&s;t and true] are thy ways.</HI> But,</P>
<P N="6">6 They acknowledge Chri&s;t to bee King of Saints, <HI>Thou King of Saints.</HI></P>
<P N="7">7 They are a People truly fearing God, and &s;tanding up for the glory of his Name, and this you have in the Text, <HI>Who &s;hall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorifie thy name?</HI> they are a people of &s;erious &s;pirits, truly fearing God, and &s;uch as &s;tand for the glory of God, and not their
<PB N="7" REF="7">
own advantages in the world, but that God may have glory; this is that which they have mo&s;t in their eye, and upon their hearts, that God may have a great Name in the world; <HI>Who &s;hall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorifie thy name?</HI> So that you &s;ee, tho&s;e which &s;hall get the victory over the Bea&s;t, are not a People of a loo&s;e and wanton conver&s;ation; I take Antichri&s;t his Power, and fal&s;e Mini&s;tery, which have &s;tood up in Chri&s;tendome, (&s;o called) for many Generations, to be the Off-&s;pring of tho&s;e, which <HI>Peter,</HI> and <HI>Jude</HI> &s;pake of in their Epi&s;tles, which you have there de&s;cribed, but tho&s;e that &s;hall get the victory over them are per&s;ons of a contrary &s;pirit&mdash; But againe</P>
<P N="8">8 It appears they are a People of great Light, and much Faith in the Prophe&s;ies, concerning the coming in of the Nations to Wor&s;hip God, and own Je&s;us Chri&s;t, for this is a part of their Song, <HI>All Nations &s;hall come and wor&s;hip before thee, for thy Judgements are made manife&s;t;</HI> they are not a narrow &s;pirited People (which conte&s;t with the Bea&s;t) &s;uch as only de&s;ire that Chri&s;t &s;hould bee exalted in the Nations, Cities, or places wherein they live, or in their own Church, but through|out all the earth; &s;o zealous are they for the honour of Chri&s;t above their own private, and per&s;onal intere&s;ts: The&s;e are their qualifications.</P>
<P>And therefore if you con&s;ider where the&s;e qualifica|tions are mo&s;t to be found, and who they are that op|po&s;e them, it may help you to finde out the <HI>Bea&s;t,</HI> in his mo&s;t <HI>Refined Habit.</HI></P>
<P>But to return to that part of the Song that I pro|pounded to &s;peak unto, in the&s;e words, <HI>Who &s;hall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorifie thy name?</HI></P>
<P><PB N="8" REF="8">Two things there are which are very much upon the heart of this People, that get victory over the Bea&s;t; the</P>
<P>Fir&s;t is, to <HI>Fear the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, To <HI>exalt the greatne&s;s of his name,</HI> and this upon the account of his Judgements being made manife&s;t; &s;o that the ob&s;ervation I &s;hall give you from the words is this:</P>
<P>Ob&s;. <HI>That the two great Le&s;&s;ons that God calls upon men to learn by his great Di&s;pen&s;ations in the la&s;t days, when hee brings his Judgements upon the wicked, is, to fear God, and give glory to his name.</HI></P>
<P>This may be concluded from this holy Expo&s;tulation of theirs, in their Spiritual rejoycing, this they had learned them&s;elves, and this they rejoyce in, that o|thers &s;hould learn to <HI>fear God, and give glory to his name;</HI> &s;o that I &s;ay, the&s;e are the two Le&s;&s;ons God would learn the Sons of men, when he is bringing Judgements upon his enemies, namely, to fear him, and glorifie his name.</P>
<P>That this is &s;o, you may &s;ee clearly in <HI>Revel.</HI> 14.6, 7. <HI>And I &s;aw another Angel fly in the mid&s;t of Heaven, having the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth, and to every Nation, and Kindred, and Tongue, and People, &s;aying, Fear God, and give glory to him.</HI> (Why &s;o) <HI>for the hour of his Judgement is come;</HI> &s;o that you &s;ee the&s;e are the two great Le&s;&s;ons that God calls upon men to learn, when his Judgements are going forth in the earth; as if (indeed) in the&s;e two things were &s;ummed up the whole duty of man in the la&s;t days.</P>
<P>But I &s;hall briefly lay before you &s;ome things further to clear this truth, that the&s;e are the two Le&s;&s;ons God calls men to learn, from the Di&s;pen&s;ation of his great Works in the la&s;t days; and it may further appear upon this ground.</P>
<P><PB N="9" REF="8"><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> 1. Becau&s;e the&s;e are the two Le&s;&s;ons, which being learned, doe very much &s;erve to fit and prepare men for tho&s;e great de&s;ignes which God hath to bring to pa&s;s in the la&s;t days; now, tho&s;e qualifications God e&s;pecially looks after, and requires of the Sons of men, (at any time and &s;ea&s;on) which may be&s;t fit them for the Work God hath to doe at &s;uch a &s;ea&s;on: Now, what qualifications are there that more fitly &s;erve for the car|rying on of Gods great Works, than to fear God, and have re&s;pect unto his name?</P>
<P N="1">1 For the fear of God, you &s;hall finde, when God had any Work to doe of old, this was one chief qualifi|cation that God looked at, if it were but to a Civil Office, between men and men, God requires this, that they &s;hould be men fearing God; con&s;ider that coun&s;el that was given by <HI>Jethro</HI> (the Prophet of the Lord) to <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> Exod. 18, 21. <HI>Moreover, thou &s;halt provide out of all the people, able men, &s;uch as fear God, men of truth, ha|ting covetou&s;ne&s;s, and place &s;uch over them, Rulers of hun|dreds, of fifties, and tens, and let them judge the people</HI> [to wit, <HI>I&s;rael] at all &s;ea&s;ons;</HI> (and oh that men would walk after the Laws of this ble&s;&s;ed people, who&s;e Laws were extolled by God above all Laws given to any Nation un|der heaven, <HI>Deut.</HI> 4.8. <HI>What Nation is there</HI> (&s;aith God) <HI>&s;o great that hath Statutes, and Judgements &s;o righteous, as all this Law which I &s;et before you this day</HI>) and the truth is, men of great abilities, that have not the fear of God in their hearts, they are but the greater enemies to the great De&s;ignes, and Works of the God of heaven.</P>
<P>And therefore this is a &s;weet and ble&s;&s;ed qualification, that God would have in every one that &s;hall bee &s;et up for him; &s;ee 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 23.2, 3. which are the words of the Spirit of the Lord by his &s;ervant <HI>David,</HI> and this is
<PB N="10" REF="9">
often inculcated, <HI>The Spirit of the Lord &s;pake by mee, and his word was in my tongue; The God of I&s;rael &s;aid, the Rock of I&s;rael &s;pake to mee, hee that ruleth over men, mu&s;t be ju&s;t, ruling in the fear of God.</HI></P>
<P>And this hath been (formerly) much &s;et upon the hearts of many, that have been great in&s;truments, in the work of God in this Nation, that if they put any in place or office in the Nation, they &s;hould bee men fear|ing God; And hath not God made way for &s;uch to Rule, having converted &s;o many in the Nation.</P>
<P>But again, con&s;ider, That this glorious qualification of the fear of God, fitted Chri&s;t for the great work of his Mediator&s;hip, <HI>Mal.</HI> 2.5. <HI>My Covenant was with him of life and peace, for the fear wherewith he feared mee, and was afraid before my Name:</HI> And in <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 11.2, 3. which is a Prophe&s;ie of Chri&s;t, it is &s;aid, <HI>The Spirit of the Lord &s;hall re&s;t upon him, the Spirit of wi&s;dome and under&s;tanding, the Spirit of coun&s;el and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord:</HI> And doubtle&s;s this is a mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed qualification, to fit a man for any work for God, hee that hath the fear of God in his heart, dares not take the gain of oppre&s;&s;ion, nor do any thing that is evill, and unrighteous: See it in good <HI>Nehemiah,</HI> Chap. 5. ver&s;. 15. &s;peaking of the former Governors, how they oppre&s;&s;ed and tyrannized over the people; but (&s;aith he) <HI>So did not I, becau&s;e of the Fear of God:</HI> That man that truly fears God, trembles before him, and &s;tands in awe of the Great God continually: And thus you &s;ee how this Fear of God, fits men to &s;erve Gods de&s;igns, in their generation, and therefore this is one le&s;&s;on, that God would have men to learn, by his great works in the&s;e la&s;t dayes. &mdash; But,</P>
<P>Secondly, The other is like to this, <HI>viZ.</HI> To have re|&s;pect
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to the glory of Gods Name; God hath alwayes laid a&s;ide a people that were &s;elfi&s;h and did not minde the advancement of his Name: See <HI>Mal.</HI> 1.10, 11. &s;aith God, <HI>Who is there even a|mong you, that would &s;hut the door for nought, nei|ther do you kindle a fire on my Altar for nought,</HI> [What follows?] <HI>I have no plea&s;ure in you, &s;aith the Lord of Hoa&s;ts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand,</HI> [Why &s;o] <HI>For from the ri&s;ing of the Sun, to the going down of the &s;ame, my</HI> NAME <HI>&s;hall bee great among the Gentiles, &amp;c.</HI> as if God &s;hould &s;ay, The&s;e are not a people, which will bee &s;eeking my Name, and my glory, and will do nothing in my &s;ervice, without a pre&s;ent re|ward, therefore I will &s;hake them off, and will not accept an offering from their hand.</P>
<P>A narrow hearted &s;elf-&s;eeking man, is unfit to follow God in his great works, for tho&s;e which will honour God, and give glory to his Name, they mu&s;t tru&s;t God for their daily bread, and above all things minde the hallow|ing and advancing of Gods Name, and if they will make it good in earne&s;t, that they are fol|lowers of Chri&s;t, they mu&s;t be ready to follow the Lord, to the lo&s;s of ALL. For &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>He that hates not father and mother, wife, and chil|dren, brethren and &s;i&s;ters, yea and his own life al&s;o, he cannot be my di&s;ciple,</HI> Luke 14.26.</P>
<P>And this is made by God, the di&s;tingui&s;hing difference between tho&s;e that fear God, and tho&s;e that fear him not, <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.14, 15, 16. you may there read of a people, that though they gave God &s;ome outward &s;ervice, yet they look|ed
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not at the glory of God, but their own ad|vantage, and therefore they cry out, <HI>It is in vain to &s;erve God, and what profit is it that wee have kept his Ordinances? &amp;c.</HI> And this is that which a hypo|crite looks at, in his &s;erving God, even his own profit and advantage: And here I would a little note to you the practi&s;e of this Nation, e&s;peci|ally their Mini&s;try, that Ordinances which brings no profit to the Mini&s;ters, as namely the great Ordinance of Excommunication, which tends to vindicate the Name of God in the earth, and to di&s;tingui&s;h the precious, from the vile; yet becau&s;e this Ordinance of ca&s;ting out, brings them no profit; how have they ca&s;t it out from among them, whiles other things that bring them in profit, they appear zealous for. And are there not many that &s;eem ready to &s;erve God, and his cau&s;e? but if wee look thoroughly upon them, is not their Eye rather upon their own profit, than Gods glory?</P>
<P>But to return to <HI>Malachy,</HI> you have al&s;o men|tion there made of a people that Feared the Lord, and what they did in that day, ver&s;e 17. of which one thing is, <HI>That they thought upon Gods Name.</HI></P>
<P>And you may &s;ee what notice God takes of it, and how hee will reward them for it; and this is the di&s;tingui&s;hing difference between the righteous, and the wicked, between him that &s;erveth God, and him that &s;erveth him not, ver&s;. la&s;t.</P>
<P>And thus you may &s;ee how the&s;e ble&s;&s;ed qualifications of the Fear of God and Re&s;pect to
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his Name, will fit per&s;ons to bee u&s;ed in the great works God hath to do in the la&s;t dayes; and therefore they are the two great Le&s;&s;ons he requireth of them.</P>
<P>I might for further demon&s;tration of the truth of the point, adde a</P>
<P N="2">2 <HI>Rea&s;on,</HI> Grounded upon Gods &s;everity again&s;t per&s;ons for the neglect of the&s;e things; Gods great controver&s;ie with men all along, hath been upon this &s;core, for not fearing him, and giving glory to his Name, becau&s;e they did not fear God before all, and honour God above all. See <HI>Jeremiah</HI> 5.24. &amp;c. <HI>Neither &s;ay they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God,</HI> &amp;c. And at the 29. ver&s;e, &s;ee what God &s;aith, <HI>Shall</HI> I <HI>not vi&s;it for the&s;e things, &s;aith the Lord, and &s;hall not my &s;oul bee avenged on &s;uch a Nation as this?</HI> So <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.5. I <HI>will be a &s;wift witne&s;s again&s;t Sor|cerers and Adulterers, and fal&s;e &s;wearers, and tho&s;e that turn a&s;ide the &s;tranger from their right, and Fear not mee, &s;aith the</HI> LORD <HI>of Ho&s;ts.</HI></P>
<P>And that the judgements of God in the lat|ter dayes &s;hall come upon men for this, &s;ee that forecited text, <HI>Rev.</HI> 14.7. <HI>Fear God, and give glory to him, for the Hour of his Judgement is come;</HI> and therefore the way to e&s;cape the ju&s;t Judge|ments of God that are coming forth, Is <HI>to fear God, and give glory to his Name.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But &s;ome may ask, as to the fir&s;t thing God requires, <HI>What this fear of God is, which is &s;o often &s;poken of in the Scriptures, as that which God doth &s;o much delight in.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="14" REF="11"><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I &s;hall at pre&s;ent, tender you with &s;ome de&s;cription of it, according to that light, and experience, (which I hope I may truly &s;ay) the Lord hath communicated to me; and you may take it as followeth.</P>
<P><HI>De&s;cription,</HI> It is a precious effect of the Spirit of Chri&s;t, in the heart of a Beleever, whereby (through the di&s;covery of the glory of God in his word, and works by Chri&s;t, and in con&s;ideration of the va&s;t di&s;proportion between God and the creature) he is made to think highly of God in all his Attributes, and to have re&s;pect unto all his Commandements.</P>
<P>The definition is &s;omething long, but I &s;hall prove the particulars to you, and</P>
<P N="1">1 I &s;ay, It is a precious effect of the Spirit of Chri&s;t in the heart of a Beleever, hee is the &s;ubject of it, and there is none el&s;e, that hath this fear of God in him, the Apo&s;tle &s;peaking of the wicked, <HI>Rom.</HI> 3.18. &s;aith, <HI>There is no fear of God before their eyes;</HI> And <HI>David</HI> tells us the like, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 36.1. they have not this true Son-like fear, natural men are unacquainted with it.</P>
<P N="2">2 That this fear comes by union with Chri&s;t, and his Spirit, that is the cau&s;e of it, you may &s;ee, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 86.11. <HI>Vnite my heart to fear thy name;</HI> this fear of God it comes by vertue of an union with Je&s;us Chri&s;t by faith, for the &s;pirit of the fear of the Lord it is given to Chri&s;t, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 11.2. And he received of that an|noynting to &s;hed it abroad among&s;t his Mem|bers,
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and to give it to tho&s;e that are united to him, and no further then we live in union with Chri&s;t by faith, can we bee partakers of this gracious frame of &s;pirit, to fear the Lord in truth; this is a Le&s;&s;on which the Spirit teaches, and therefore it was by the Spirit that <HI>David</HI> cries out, <HI>Come yee children and hearken unto mee, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord,</HI> P&s;a. 34.11, and this God hath promi&s;ed to give to his peo|ple, <HI>Jerem.</HI> 32.40. <HI>I will put my fear in their hearts, and they &s;hall not depart from me.</HI> But if you ask me, how the Spirit works this in the heart of a Beleever?</P>
<P N="3">3 I &s;ay, it is through the di&s;covery of the glory of God, in his Word and Works by Chri&s;t; by the Glory of God I under&s;tand his Attributes; when <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> de&s;ired to &s;ee Gods Glory, he &s;hews him his Attributes, in <HI>Exod.</HI> 34.5, 6. he proclaimed the Name of the Lord; and what is it? why, <HI>The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long &s;uffering, and abundant in goodne&s;s and truth.</HI> This is the di&s;covery of Gods Glory, the di&s;covery of his Name.</P>
<P N="1">1 Hee begins with his Attribute, that denotes his Soveraignty, and Dominion [The Lord] <HI>Salomon</HI> tells us, <HI>The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wi&s;dome;</HI> and [indeed] until a Soul under&s;tands &s;omething of the Soveraignty and Dominion of God over him, hee never comes to make a right u&s;e of Gods love, and goodne&s;s, for until the Soul comes to &s;ee, that God orders all things in Heaven and
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Earth, and that he is in the hands of the great God, to di&s;po&s;e of him as he will, and that he can de&s;troy him, and ca&s;t him to Hell if hee plea&s;eth; he cannot finde any &s;weetne&s;s in the tenders of Grace in the Go&s;pel, nor apply his Soul in reality to them; and therefore I finde that when the Prophets of God, of old time, brought Gods Me&s;&s;age to the Sons of men, they u&s;ually &s;pake to them as from the Lord, &s;aying, <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord;</HI> you have it &s;ometimes twice in a ver&s;e, &s;etting forth Gods right of Soveraignty over them to whom they delivered their Me&s;&s;age; and this is that which is excee|ding needful to bee &s;et upon the hearts of the Sons of men, when they come to hear Gods Word, or have any thing to doe in his Works; when the Soul con&s;iders Gods Soveraignty over him, it cau&s;es him to &s;tand in awe, and fear be|fore him; and therefore by this you may try your &s;elves, whether this fear of God be in you or no; Did the Lord ever &s;hew him&s;elf to you, as the Soveraigne Lord? and make you to lye at his feet as du&s;t and a&s;hes? and as clay in the hands of the Potter? for if ever God have wrought this fear in your heart this was your frame, I know many have a notional knowledge of Gods Soveraignty, and are able to write Books of it; but are your hearts really affected with it, &s;o as to lye low before the Lord in the apprehen&s;ions of it; I finde it hard in every action, to know this God to be the Soveraigne Lord of all, and that he ruleth in all things, and
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wee are to obey him in thought, word, and deed, and to fear continually before him. But,</P>
<P N="2">2 There is Gods goodne&s;s, which is another thing wherein his glory appears, he is the Lord God, merciful, and gracious, and this follow|ing the former, much conduces to fear him, when the Soul con&s;iders, that the great God (that made the Heavens, and the Earth, and before whom all Nations are but as the drop of a Bucket) &s;hould offer tenders of Grace and Mercy, to be reconciled to &s;uch a poor &s;infull Creature; this inclines the heart to hearken to him, and fear before him, knowing this, that <HI>he is the Lord that exerci&s;eth loving kindne&s;s, judgement, and righteou&s;ne&s;s in the earth,</HI> Jerem. 9.24. and that <HI>he is good to all tho&s;e that fear him, P&s;al.</HI> 34.9, 10, 11. this brings the heart over to God indeed, when Gods greatne&s;s and good|ne&s;s is di&s;played before the Soul together, this works up the heart in reality towards God; O how doth <HI>David</HI> admire Gods love, when he con&s;iders the great Works of God, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 8.3. <HI>When I con&s;ider the heavens, the works of thy fingers, the Moon, and the Stars which thou ha&s;t made, what is man that thou art mindful of him? and the Son of man that thou vi&s;ite&s;t him?</HI> and at ver&s;. 9. <HI>O Lord! how excellent is thy name in all the earth.</HI> he could not but admire, and fear; and fear, and admire Gods great name: &mdash; But again,</P>
<P N="3">3 Let us al&s;o con&s;ider Gods power, which much conduces in the hand of the Spirit, to
<PB N="18" REF="13">
work this fear of God, in our hearts, and there|fore you &s;hall finde when God calls upon his people to hearken to him, hee u&s;eth &s;uch kinde of expre&s;&s;ions as the&s;e, <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord, that made the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, that they cannot bee moved:</HI> And what a &s;trong influence it hath, you may &s;ee in <HI>Jer.</HI> 10.6.7.10, 12, 13. <HI>There is none like unto thee, Oh Lord, thou art great, and thy Name is great in might, Who would not Fear thee, thou King of Na|tions, the Lord is the true God, and the everla&s;ting King, at his wrath the earth &s;hall tremble, and the Nations &s;hall not be able to abide his indignation, he hath made the earth by his power, he hath e&s;tabli&s;hed the world by his wi&s;dome, and hath &s;tretched forth the heavens by his di&s;cretion, hee maketh lightning with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his trea&s;ures.</HI> Very gloriou&s;ly you &s;ee the Prophet &s;ets forth the greatne&s;s of Gods power, when he comes to declare a me&s;&s;age to the people from him.</P>
<P>So al&s;o the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> in the 40. Chap. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. &s;ets forth Gods Power, as he hath <HI>mea&s;ured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with a &s;pan, and comprehended the du&s;t of the earth in a mea&s;ure, and weighed the Mountains in &s;cales, and the Hills in a ballance; Behold the Nations before him, are but as the drop of a bucket, and as the &s;mall du&s;t of the ballance, he taketh up the I&s;les as a very little thing, and all Nations before him are as nothing:</HI> And (if that bee not enough) he tells you, <HI>They are
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counted to him le&s;s than nothing, and vanity.</HI> So ver&s;. 22. <HI>It is hee that &s;itteth upon the Circle of the earth, and the Inhabitants thereof are as gra&s;hoppers, that &s;tretcheth out the Heavens as a curtain, and &s;preadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; That bring|eth Princes to nothing, and maketh the Judges of the earth, as vanity.</HI> Thus you &s;ee Gods Power which is another of his Attributes; and did but per&s;ons con&s;ider this, who would not fear and tremble before him.</P>
<P>Again, This fear of God is very much kept in the hearts of the children of God, by eying the Providences of God, and the Works of God (as it is in the de&s;cription) there is a hand of God in all things that come to pa&s;s in the world: But oh, how many are there that live in the world like Athei&s;ts, not eying God at all, or el&s;e perhaps a little at morning and evening (I do not &s;peak again&s;t this) but their fault is, they do not eye God continually, and therefore if they have got a little of the fear of God upon their hearts after prayer in the morning, they quickly lo&s;e it by going out into the world; and therefore it is of excellent u&s;e to keep the fear of God alive in the heart, to &s;ee God in every bu&s;ine&s;s wee are imployed in, with <HI>David, to &s;et the Lord alwayes before us;</HI> and you may &s;ee in that 107. <HI>P&s;alm</HI> at large, how excellently the Provi|dences of God are &s;et forth, relating to various conditions, to rai&s;e up the hearts of per&s;ons to fear him, and love him, and prai&s;e him: Oh then, what's the rea&s;on that Profe&s;&s;ors are found
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&s;o light and vain in their conver&s;ations, but be|cau&s;e they do not eye God in his Providences, the fear of the Lord is not really in their hearts, and continually before their eyes: if it were, they dur&s;t not bee &s;o light and vain in their &s;pi|rits, as oft-times they are; and &s;o al&s;o the great work of Redemption, is that which cau|&s;eth &s;ouls indeed to fear God, as I might abun|dantly &s;hew you; but I mu&s;t ha&s;ten, and there|fore &s;hall pa&s;s on to a</P>
<P N="4">4 Thing in the de&s;cription, which (further) relates to the manner how this fear of God is wrought in the heart, and that is by the con&s;i|deration of the va&s;t di&s;proportion which is be|tween God and the Creature, this is that which tends much to the begetting of the fear of God in the heart, con&s;ider tho&s;e expre&s;&s;ions u&s;ed by that Servant of the Lord, <HI>Abraham,</HI> in his drawing nigh to God, in <HI>Gen.</HI> 18.27. <HI>Be|hold! now I have [taken upon me] to &s;peak unto the Lord, which am but du&s;t and a&s;hes;</HI> he did not look upon it as a &s;mall matter, to come and pray to God, and &s;peak to God, as too many poor Creatures do, that come to God without that reverence of him in their hearts, and &s;uch a ge&s;ture in their bodies (both publickly and in their Families, and Clo&s;ets) as becomes per|&s;ons in their drawing nigh to God by prayer, and &s;o <HI>Salomon</HI> pre&s;&s;eth us to reverence, and fear, upon this account, <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 5.2. <HI>Be not ra&s;h with thy mouth, nor let thy heart be ha&s;ty to utter any thing before God, for God is in heaven, and thou art
<PB N="21" REF="14">
upon earth, therefore let thy words be few;</HI> and al&s;o that fore-mentioned place, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 40. &s;ets forth the di&s;proportion between God and the creature, <HI>Behold all Nations before him are but as the drop of a bucket, and as the &s;mall du&s;t of the ballance, hee ta|keth up the I&s;les, as a very little thing:</HI> And there|fore if men, did but con&s;ider, what this great God is, they dur&s;t never walke proudly before him, nor &s;peak proudly again&s;t him, but would even ca&s;t them&s;elves upon the ground, as tho&s;e of old did, when they &s;pake to God. And oh! that the con&s;ideration of Gods greatne&s;s, and that va&s;t di&s;proportion that is between him &amp; us, were more upon our hearts, that &s;o we may fear before him continually, and &s;o I &s;hal come in the</P>
<P>Fifth place to &s;peak to this fear of God, with re&s;pect to the nature of it, and the fruits and effects of it, which is &s;et forth in the De&s;|cription by two things,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, A thinking highly of God in all his Attributes.</P>
<P>Secondly, A having re&s;pect to all his Com|mandements.</P>
<P N="1">1 This fear of God is that whereby the &s;oul is made to think highly of God in all his Attributes, it brings a &s;oul to thinke highly of Gods Name, which is his Attributes; &s;ee it in <HI>David,</HI> a man fearing, God, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 111.9, 10. <HI>Holy and Reverent is his Name,</HI> and hee &s;ubjoyns, <HI>The fear of the Lord,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P N="2">2 This fear of God cau&s;es the &s;oul to have re&s;pect to all Gods Commandements, the man
<PB N="22" REF="15">
that truly fears God, he trembleth at the word of God, hath God &s;aid it, it &s;hall be done, &s;aith the poor humble &s;oul, what ever it bee, that God commands, though it bring never &s;o much lo&s;s, or &s;hame, or &s;uffering upon mee, yet if the fear of God be in my heart, I &s;hall do it: A &s;oul that truly fears God, will endeavour to avoid in thought, word, or deed, what ever offends God, and di&s;honours God, as hee would avoid hell: And therefore <HI>Solomon</HI> tells us, <HI>The fear of the Lord is to depart from evill,</HI> Prov. 3.7. <HI>Yea to hate evill,</HI> Prov. 8.13. And therefore take a &s;oul that hath the fear of God upon his heart, and hee looks upon it as a dreadful thing to &s;in again&s;t God, and to di&s;honour God in thought, word, or deed, and therefore as much as may bee, &s;uch a &s;oul will avoid the occa&s;ions of &s;in; you may &s;ee it in <HI>Agur,</HI> in <HI>Prov.</HI> 30.8, 9. &s;aith he, <HI>Give me neither poverty, nor riches;</HI> and why? becau&s;e both tho&s;e &s;tates were dange|rous temptations to &s;in again&s;t God, and the be&s;t way to avoid the &s;in, is to avoid the temptation: But alas! How many are there in this our day, that are bold and venterous upon temptations, that will ru&s;h in upon them without fear; How few are there that have this in their prayers to God, <HI>Lord give mee not riches,</HI> but on the con|trary, how do many run into multitude of bu|&s;ine&s;s in the world, which &s;o takes up their time, and hearts, that they are not fit to &s;erve God in their Generation: Not con&s;idering that of our Saviour, <HI>How hardly &s;hall they that have riches,
<PB N="23" REF="15">
enter into the Kingdome of Heaven?</HI> But the fear of God it teaches the &s;oul to avoid the occa&s;i|ons of &s;in, and to ab&s;tain from all appearances of evill, according to that of <HI>Paul,</HI> in 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5.22. And &s;urely, if wee are to pray, <HI>Not to bee led into temptation,</HI> then wee are not to lead our &s;elves into temptation; <HI>But fir&s;t to &s;eek the King|dome of God, and the righteou&s;ne&s;s thereof, and all the&s;e things &s;hall be added unto you:</HI> And thus the Fear of God teaches to ab&s;tain from what God hath forbidden, and to do what God hath re|quired, to thinke highly of God in all his Attri|butes, and to have re&s;pect to all his Comman|dements.</P>
<P>And thus you have the De&s;cription opened, and proved, concerning the fear of God, I can|not come to the other duty of giving glory to his name, and therefore &s;hall make &s;ome Ap|plication of what hath been &s;poken to our own &s;ouls.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e.</HI> If it be &s;o that the fear of God is one of tho&s;e great Le&s;&s;ons God calls upon men to learn by his great Works in the latter dayes, Then let mee exhort, and be&s;eech you all to learn this ble&s;&s;ed Le&s;&s;on of the Fear of God: It is &s;urely a very de&s;irable thing; It may bee many of you will take it in &s;corn to bee taught this, and bee ready to &s;ay, What, are wee yet to learn this? Let mee tell you, it is much to bee feared, That many that have made a long pro|fe&s;&s;ion of God, are yet void of this true filial fear of the Name of God; and therefore to
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help you a little in it, I &s;hall give you but &s;ome Motives, and &s;ome Directions, and &s;o con|clude.</P>
<P><HI>Motive</HI> 1. Con&s;ider the excellency of the fear of God, it is Prov. 1.7. P&s;al. 111.10. <HI>the be|ginning of wi&s;dome;</HI> and it is good for per&s;ons to ob&s;erve a method and order in what they doe; whiles thou art void of this fear, thou art void of true &s;piritual wi&s;dome; and therefore <HI>Job</HI> al&s;o telleth us, <HI>That the fear of the Lord, that is wi&s;dome, Job</HI> 28. la&s;t v. And therefore you that are void of &s;piritual wi&s;dome, and have not the fear of God imprinted upon your hearts, the fir&s;t le&s;&s;on you are to learn, is the fear of God, and as you would bee wi&s;e men, and women, take heed of light and vain &s;pirits, for <HI>Solomon</HI> tells us, <HI>A fool is known by much laughter,</HI> Eccle&s;. 7.6.</P>
<P><HI>Motive</HI> 2. Con&s;ider that this fear of God, is that which will fit Saints for that glorious &s;tate God will bring them into; and by the &s;ignes of Chri&s;ts coming it &s;eems to bee nigh; that di&s;tre&s;s that is upon the Nations, &s;peaks &s;ome|thing to it: Oh friends, wee are not fit for that familiarity, Saints &s;hall then have with God if this fear of God be not upon our hearts. Notions of love will but lead to vanity, and lightne&s;s, without they bee ballanced by this fear, and therefore to fit, and prepare per&s;ons for Chri&s;ts appearing, and that familiarity, wee &s;hall have with him at his coming, this fear of God is ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary; and therefore
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tho&s;e that profe&s;s to bee mo&s;t inlightned in the truth of Chri&s;ts appearing, and Kingdome, ought much to live in this fear; for you &s;hall finde this is the u&s;e <HI>David</HI> makes of it in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 2. Having treated of the Kingdome of Chri&s;t, and the &s;ubjection of the Nations to him, hee con|cludes with this, ver&s;. 11. <HI>Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoyce with trembling.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Motive</HI> 3. Con&s;ider, <HI>The Lord taketh plea|&s;ure in them that fear him,</HI> P&s;al. 147.11. Gods de|light is in &s;uch a man, and hee reckons &s;uch a|mong his Jewels, <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.17, 18. So when God would triumph of a man, as hee did of his &s;er|vant <HI>Job,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>There is none like him in all the earth, one that [Feareth God] and e&s;cheweth evill,</HI> Job 1.8. But on the contrary, God takes no|tice of light, and proud, and vain profe&s;&s;ors, they are not worthy of a name in his book by way of Approbation: And when that di&s;cerning time comes &s;poken of in <HI>Malachy</HI> 3.18. When God makes up his Jewels, then &s;hall men di&s;cern between them that fear God, and tho&s;e that fear him not; The fear of God, and the love of his Name, are the two great things, by which &s;ouls &s;hall then be di&s;tingui&s;h|ed; that &s;oul that can tru&s;t God for his daily bread here, and for eternal life, and glory here|after, and the carnal Profe&s;&s;or &s;hall then, bee di&s;tingui&s;hed, each from other; and when Saints come to have a more di&s;cerning &s;pirit, they &s;hall &s;ee that none are rightly &s;pirited for God, but tho&s;e which have this Fear of God,
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and can look at Gods glory above all things; and the people of God &s;hall be much known by this, that they are willing to forbear any thing that tends to their own advantage, when it may di&s;honour Gods Name, becau&s;e they fear God, and love Gods Name; and I beleeve God will put &s;uch a difference between <HI>I&s;hmael</HI> and <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> and their children, between Profe&s;&s;ors and Pro|fe&s;&s;ors, that they &s;hall bee much di&s;cerned, and di&s;covered by this very thing, the one of &s;eek|ing alone Gods glory, and the advancement of his Name above all; and the other &s;eeking the inriching them&s;elves, and onely minding their own advancement in the earth, &s;uch as the&s;e, God will manife&s;t his di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t; <HI>But hee taketh plea&s;ure in them that fear him.</HI> &mdash; Again as a</P>
<P N="4">4 <HI>Motive,</HI> To pre&s;s you to this fear of God, con&s;ider the judgements threatned again&s;t tho&s;e that fear him not; for let mee tell you, That notwith&s;tanding all your outward Profe&s;&s;ion of the Name of God, yet if this fear of God, bee not in your hearts, you will not bee able to e&s;cape, the great judgements of the great God again&s;t tho&s;e that fear him not, <HI>I will be a &s;wift witne&s;s again&s;t them that fear not mee, &s;aith the Lord,</HI> Mal. 3.5. <HI>But to this man will hee look even to him that trembles at his word,</HI> I&s;a. 66.2. And therefore as a</P>
<P N="5">5 <HI>Motive,</HI> Con&s;ider the many precious pro|mi&s;es God hath made to them that fear him, <HI>They &s;hall bee mine, &s;aith the Lord, and when hee
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makes up his Jewels, he will remember tho&s;e that fear him;</HI> Yea he hath his book of remembrance for &s;uch &s;ouls, hee will be &s;ure not to forget them, <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.16, 17. <HI>And ble&s;&s;ed is the man that fear|eth alwayes,</HI> Prov. 28.14. And you may finde <HI>David</HI> pre&s;&s;ing to the fear of God upon this account, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 34 9, 10. <HI>O fear the Lord, all yee his Saints, for there is no want to them that fear him, the young Lions &s;hall lack and &s;uffer hunger, but they that fear the Lord &s;hall want no good thing.</HI></P>
<P>And you may further note, That the great reward that will bee given at the la&s;t day, is promi&s;ed unto tho&s;e that have this fear: See it in <HI>Rev.</HI> 11.18. <HI>Hee will reward his &s;ervants the Pro|phets, and tho&s;e that fear his Name, &s;mall and great;</HI> And it is for &s;ome &s;ingular goodne&s;s manife&s;ted to them that they are called upon to prai&s;e God, in <HI>Rev.</HI> 19.5. <HI>Prai&s;e our God all yee his &s;ervants, and tho&s;e that fear him both &s;mall and great:</HI> And &s;o God hath promi&s;ed to hear the prayers, yea to fulfill the de&s;ires of them that fear him, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 145.19. And are not the&s;e great priviled|ges, which are promi&s;ed to tho&s;e that fear God? And therefore let all the&s;e Motives bee u&s;efull to work the fear of God where it is not, and to increa&s;e it where it is.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But perhaps &s;ome may &s;ay, <HI>This fear of God is an excellent thing, but how &s;hall wee come by it, wee are not able to plant this plant in our owne &s;ouls.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> It is true, This fear of God is a flower that doth not grow in Natures garden; but it
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is a precious effect of the Spirit of Chri&s;t in the heart, as I &s;hewed you in the De&s;cription, but let mee &s;ay this to you, That &s;ince the fear of God is &s;o excellent a thing, take heed that you do not &s;leight it, that you are not like tho&s;e that in <HI>Prov.</HI> 1.29. <HI>hated knowledge, and did not chu&s;e the fear of the Lord.</HI> But if you do really de&s;ire to fear God, to help you forward in it, I &s;hall give you &s;omewhat by way of Direction, which if you ob&s;erve, and practi&s;e, may bee u&s;eful by Gods ble&s;&s;ing to work this fear in your hearts.</P>
<P><HI>Direct.</HI> 1. Then bee much in the con&s;idera|tion of Gods Sovereignty, and power over thee, and his great Works of Creation and Redemption, and Pre&s;ervation, what a God hee is with whom you have to do, and the va&s;t di&s;|proportion that is between you and him; con|&s;ider his ab&s;olute Power, and Authority over you, how you are in his hands, who can do with you what he plea&s;es; and as &s;oon as thou ha&s;t had any vain thought, or &s;poke any vain word, or done any &s;infull action, hee can, if he plea&s;es, &s;end thee immediately to Hell, without giving thee leave for one moment longer to breathe in the world; and therefore con&s;ider this, and this may cau&s;e you to &s;tand in awe of him, and to fear to offend him. But again,</P>
<P><HI>Direct.</HI> 2. That which will further conduce to the working of this fear is the &s;erious con|&s;ideration of Gods goodne&s;s, <HI>For there is mercy with him that he may be feared,</HI> P&s;al. 130.4. And in|deed
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the &s;oul cannot have a true filial fear with|out this, but when the &s;oul &s;eeth the great God in who&s;e hands he is, to invite him to be recon|ciled to him, and tendring grace to his &s;oul, promi&s;ing him forgivene&s;s if hee will but fear him, this melts the heart. Oh! to con&s;ider that the great God of Heaven and Earth, &s;hould offer to give him&s;elf to poor &s;ouls with all his fulne&s;s for a &s;upply of their wants, if they will but fear him; &s;urely this, if beleeved, and con&s;idered, will cau&s;e you to love God, and &s;erve God, and fear to offend this God, which is &s;o good and gracious unto you.</P>
<P><HI>Direct.</HI> 3. Again, If thou woulde&s;t have the fear of God wrought in thy heart, Go to the Word of God, bee much in reading, and hear|ing, and meditating of it, that will &s;hew you your duty, and the many arguments to it; and po&s;&s;ibly hereby God may work this fear.</P>
<P><HI>Direct.</HI> 4. Be al&s;o much in the ob&s;ervation of Gods hand of Providence abroad, and at home, labour to eye God in every di&s;pen&s;ation that befalls our &s;elves or others; &s;ee God in mercies, and eye God in afflictions when his cha&s;ti&s;ing hand is upon us, for were our hearts in &s;uch a frame, as to eye God continually, it would much work, and increa&s;e this fear; But then,</P>
<P><HI>Direct.</HI> 5. In the next place, go to God for this fear, cry to him, and pray to him to work, and increa&s;e this holy fear; This was <HI>Davids</HI> prayer, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 86.11. <HI>Unite my heart to fear thy Name:</HI> And therefore all you that have any bud|dings
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of the Spirit in you, in any mea&s;ure make it your continual reque&s;t to God, to put this fear in your hearts, and therefore be diligent in the u&s;e of all the&s;e means, in order to the begetting and increa&s;ing of this fear, and I &s;hall conclude with that of <HI>Salomon,</HI> Prov. 2.4, 5. <HI>If thou &s;eeke&s;t her as &s;ilver, and &s;earche&s;t for her as for bid trea|&s;ures, then &s;halt thou under&s;tand the fear of the Lord, and finde the knowledge of God.</HI></P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>But perhaps &s;ome tender hearts that have the fear of God, in truth, may bee apt to &s;ay, I much que&s;tion, whither yet I have the fear of God in my heart in truth?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Now, as this que&s;tion may proceed from &s;ome tender hearts, and con&s;cientious &s;ouls that have the fear of God in them, I would apply that word in <HI>Nehemiah,</HI> which I have found much comfort in, to my own &s;oul, and would commend it unto you, it is in the fir&s;t of <HI>Nehem.</HI> the la&s;t ver&s;e, <HI>Let now thy ear be at|tentive unto thy Servant, that [de&s;ires] to fear thy name; Nehemiah</HI> a good man, yet when hee comes before the Lord, he dur&s;t not own that he feared him, but his de&s;ires was that he might fear him; and therefore if thou can&s;t not take the comfort of &s;uch Promi&s;es as are made to tho&s;e that fear the Lord, yet if thou ha&s;t de&s;ire in thy &s;oul to fear him, and pre&s;&s;e&s;t after this fear of God, thou mai&s;t take comfort in the &s;aying of this good man <HI>Nehemiah,</HI> who was one that had a de&s;ire to fear Gods name.</P>
<P>But let none deceive him&s;elf with this, for
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every common Prote&s;tant will &s;ay that hee de|&s;ires to fear God; but if you de&s;ire it in truth, your &s;ouls will bee much in &s;eeking to God for it, and endeavouring after it, and to &s;uch &s;ouls, I would commend that word in <HI>Jer.</HI> 32.40. <HI>I will put my fear in their hearts, and they &s;hall not depart from mee;</HI> which promi&s;e belongs not to the <HI>Jews</HI> onely, but to the <HI>Gentiles</HI> al&s;o, who are fellow heirs with them, and partakers of the promi&s;e in Chri&s;t by the Go&s;pel, <HI>Eph.</HI> 3.6. and therefore apply this promi&s;e to thy &s;oul: It may bee thou ha&s;t a light vain &s;pirit, and art apt to forget what thou heare&s;t, and to turn a&s;ide and depart from God; but God hath pro|mi&s;ed to put his fear into the hearts of his people; and then (&s;aith hee) <HI>They &s;hall never de|part from mee.</HI></P>
<P>The fear of God, it will keep a &s;oul from a back&s;liding &s;pirit, and therefore if thou woulde&s;t have this fear, look upon this promi&s;e, and pray over it, as <HI>David</HI> did upon a word of God, as you may &s;ee, 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 17.25. <HI>For thou, Oh my God, ha&s;t told thy &s;ervant, that thou wilt build him an hou&s;e, therefore thy &s;ervant hath found in his heart to pray before thee.</HI> And if wee would have our hearts brought into a praying frame, wee mu&s;t fa&s;ten upon the promi&s;es, and &s;ee what promi&s;es God hath made, that &s;uit our condition, and plead the promi&s;e with him; and when you finde free promi&s;es made through Chri&s;t with|out any worth on merit in the creature.</P>
<P>Oh come to God by faith in tho&s;e promi&s;es,
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and plead them with God; ask God what his wayes are, wherein hee will make good his promi&s;es, and wait upon him therein, and par|ticularly as to the matter in hand concerning the feare of God, &s;ay as <HI>David</HI> did in another ca&s;e, <HI>Lord thou ha&s;t promi&s;ed to put thy fear into my heart, and therefore thy &s;ervant hath found in his heart to pray unto thee; Good Lord, let it bee accord|ing to thy word: Wilt thou put thy fear in my heart, that I may never depart from thee?</HI></P>
<P>And now let mee be&s;eech you, to receive this Exhortation, as in the fear of God; and apply your hearts with all your might, to learn this great Go&s;pel Le&s;&s;on of the Feare of God. Con&s;ider that Promi&s;e and Prophe&s;ie in <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 3. la&s;t. where it is &s;aid of a people, <HI>They &s;hall fear the Lord and his goodne&s;s in the latter dayes:</HI> And oh that the fear of the Lord may re&s;t up|on every heart that hears before him this day: Surely his judgements call upon us to fear him, and his mercies call upon us to fear him, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 12.24. <HI>Onely fear the Lord and &s;erve him, in truth, and with a perfect heart, for con&s;ider how great things hee hath done for you.</HI></P>
<P>Oh that you might now go away with &s;eri|ous &s;pirits, weighty &s;pirits (for God weigheth the &s;pirits) that you may bee no more light, and vain, but may make this your fir&s;t prayer to God, how you may mo&s;t honour God, and bring glory to him in your Generation.</P>
<TRAILER>But &s;o much for this time.</TRAILER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
