THE

NATURE AND NECESSITY

OF

GODLY FEAR

BY

THE REV. RICHARD ALLEIN.

Heb. 12: 28.

Let us have grace, whereby we may serve GOD acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

THE

NATURE AND NECESSITY

OF

GODLY FEAR.

Prov. 28: 14. Happy is the man that feareth always.

You will not expect that I should spend time in inquiring after the connection of these words with the foregoing or with the following parts of this chapter, if you consider the book in which they are found, “ The Book of Proverbs;”' wherein many precious truths are laid together, but not connected together;-this book being rather a golden mine than a golden chain. The words of the text are an entire proposition, which may be resolved into,

1. A Subject, “ The man that feareth, “ together with the circumstance of time, “always.”

2. An Attribute, or something affirmed concerning this man;” Happy;” he is a happy man. For the opening of these words briefly. “ Happy, “ or”Blessed, “ as it is in the original.-” The man that feareth;” that is, say some, The man that feareth all the evil that is before him, the misery that is before him, the danger that he is in. Others say it means, The man that feareth GOD; and others, He that walks warily, with counsel and care, that he neglect not his duty nor fall into danger. Put all these interpretations into one, and you have the full sense of the words:-He that, walking under an awe and reverence of GOD, and a sense of the danger he is in, wisely and warily orders his steps, that he be not surprised by sin or by wrath.

“ Always: “ The Chaldee renders it, Omnia, That feareth all things; that feareth himself, his eyes, his ears, his tongue, his table, his estate, his business, his company, his friends, and his enemies;-that is, as far as they may be inlets, or instruments, or temptations to sin. But the word is” always, “ that feareth at all times, that is never secure.

The Doctrine that I shall hence insist upon is this: A life of holy fear is a blessed life. In the opening hereof. I shall more particularly inquire, 1: What that Fear is, to which blessedness is pronounced. 1. What that Blessedness is; which is pronounced concerning this fear. In handling these points, I shall together give the Proof of the Doctrine.

I. What that Fear is concerning which blessedness is pronounced. There is a fear that is our Weakness: as, 1. The Fear of the faint-hearted, a natural cowardice. There are spirits in whom every little danger, or but the shadow of a danger, shakes their hearts, and puts them into anxieties. In what perpetual bondage do some live! How restless are their hearts, like the troubled sea! In what a daily and hourly succession of vexing disquietudes do they live! 2. The Fear of the Scrupulous, about some supposed moral evils which concern their practice; who, through weakness of understanding, or the abounding of melancholy, often fancy that to be sin which is no sin, and thereby fright themselves from the use of their liberty, and sometimes from their very duty. They are afraid lest every morsel which they eat, and every garment which they wear, should be too much, or too good; and thereby scruple themselves out of their convenient food, and all comely apparel. In this tear there is a mixture of good and evil. There; something mood an aversion from sin and tenderness of running into it: and there is something evil; a mistake, counting that evil which is not evil. And this weakness, as it is evil, so it is mischievous too. It leads us into sin: we may sometimes sin for fear of sin. And it brings us into bondage: we may say concerning this fear of sin, as the Apostle cloth concerning the fear of death, there are some, “who through fear of” sin”are all their life time subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2: 15.) Yet of the two, it is much a less evil than the other extreme; a scrupulous conscience is better than a dissolute conscience; it is better to strain at a gnat than to swallow a camel. Yet this groundless and mistaken fear is an evil, and to be suppressed.

Again, there is a fear which is men's great Wickedness; a Fear of Religion and Righteousness; a fear of the labors and severities of religion, and of those sufferings to which it may expose them. Sometimes men fear the yoke of CHRIST; they dare not be his disciples; his yoke, they doubt, will be too heavy for their necks. The foresight cf being tied up so short from every sin, and of being held so close to constant duty, scares them back from CHRIST; they dare not be his disciples. “I would be a Christian, but I am afraid how I shall ever be able to bear his yoke.” But mostly they fear the cross of CHRIST; they have heard what CHRIST expects, “ If any will come after me, let him take up his cross;” (Matt. 16: 24;) and they see that it so falls out, that no sooner is the yoke taken upon the neck, but the cross is presently laid upon the back. He that will be a sincere Christian must be a suffering Christian. “All that will live godly in CHRIST JEsus must suffer persecution.” (2 Tim. 3: 12.)”Must they so Then serve CHRIST who dare for me.” They dare not be followers of TII1: LAMB, for fear of being a prey to the wolves.

There is a fear which is men's Punishment; the Fear of the Guilty. A guilty heart is a terror to itself, and makes almost every thing else a terror to it.-These fears are men's misery: and it may be said, with respect to these, “ Happy is the man that never feareth.” But what is it the ”Blessed Fear” Or, what is there in it In short it is this. It is such an aversion of the heart from all manner of future evils, whether of sin or of misery, of which we apprehend ourselves in danger, as puts the soul upon making the best provision it can for its security against them.

The object of this Fear is sin, together with all the fruits of it. The proper nature of it is an aversion or starting back from it. The effect of it is to put the soul to provide for its security against it. There are implied in it these following particulars.

1. There is Understanding in it.” The fear of GOD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have they that do it.” (Ps. cxi. 1O.) They are wise and understanding men that fear. As we love not, so neither do we fear, but whom or what we have some apprehension of; our affections follow our apprehensions; as our love (we cannot love but what we apprehend to be good) so our fear; we cannot fear but what we apprehend to be evil. Our mistakes are the ground of the inordinate workings of our affections; when we apprehend that to be good which is not good, we love what we should not love; when we apprehend that to be evil which is not evil, we fear what we should not fear; when we apprehend that to be good which is evil, we love what we should fear; and when we apprehend that to be evil which is good, we fear what we should love.

The reason of our sinful fear is our ignorance. Ignorance both causes us to fear when we should not, and leaves us without fear of what we should fear.

(1.) Ignorance is the reason why we fear what we should not. How is it that there is so much fear of men in the world It is, because we understand them not, what a vain thing, what a weak thing they are, how short their power is, and how little it is that man can do. Did we know more, how great the power of God is, and how terrible the wrath of God is, surely there would be more fear of' GOD in the world: and did we know how little

there is in-the power of man, and in the wrath of man, we should ease ourselves of much of that fear which now torments our spirit.

(2.) Men's ignorance is the reason why they fear not what they should fear. Why is it that the ungodly fear no sin Because they know it not.” Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge” (Ps. 14: 4.) Sure enough they have none;” for they eat up my people as they eat bread; “they would not dare to be such persecutors of the people of GOD, they would be afraid to touch them, if they did but know what they did.

How bold are sinners upon sin How venturously do they run on They lie, they swear, they commit adultery, they covet, they defraud, they oppress, they persecute. But how is it that they are not afraid to do thus They know not what they do.

They are the men of understanding, that fear to transgress. Christians, those whose minds are enlightened, dare not do as others do; they see what sin is; they see it to be abominable in the sight of GOD; they see it to be dangerous and deadly. They know God, and thereby understand sin, which is contrary to Him. They know the kindness of God, and “the terrors of the LORD, “ and see that sin is an abusing of kindness, and a' disobliging of goodness, which makes us forfeit GOD's love, and exposes us to his wrath and indignation.

They know the worth of a soul; they have learned from their LORD, (111-att. 16: 26,) that the whole world is not a price for it,-neither sufficient to be its ransom, nor to recompense its loss. They live in the invisible world; and have taken a view both of that life which is the reward of the righteous, and of that death which is the recompense of sinners.

They see that sin is the loss and the death of the soul, the only poison that can kill that immortal part: by this alone immortality is swallowed up of death. They understand that sin, as it is the worm that gnaweth at the root of all their hopes for hereafter, so it is the wormwood which embitters all their comforts here: this is the rust that eats out all their treasures, the moth that frets out all their garments, the stain that mars all their beauty: in fine, this it is that has filled the world with vanity and vexation of spirit, and hell with torment. And hence it is that they fear it and fly from it.

2. There is Faith in this Fear. It is but a little that we can see of the evil of sin; our understandings at the best have much dimness upon them; but the weakness of our sight is helped by faith. Faith helps us to see with GOD's eyes: it looks on all things as GOD looks on them. The LORD has told us what he sees in sin, what a snare it is, what a plague it is, and what a womb it is, big with all manner of miseries and mischiefs. GOD'S mouth is eyes to faith: by faith we understand that it is even as it has been told us of the LORD.

Faith helps us to a present view of sin, and to a foresight of all that is behind; of all those floods which this serpent is casting out of his mouth to devor the soul; of that woe and that wrath which it is bringing upon sinners, both here and hereafter. GOD says,’1 The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezek. 18: 2O.) He speaks it of sin in specie, the whole kind of it, little or great,-the least sinful words- even vain words, and the least sinful thoughts; yea, even of sin in semine, the inward brood of sin that lies in the heart, the evil dispositions and inclinations of the soul, which have not broken forth into act. The word is general;” The wages of sin is death;” (Rom. 6: 23;)-believe God, believe and tremble.

3. There is Love in it. This fear has love lying in the bottom of it, from whence it arises; both the love of GOD, and that innocent self-love which GOD has planted in us, and which it is not our sin but our duty to maintain. There is a fear concerning which the Apostle says, “Perfect love casteth out fear;” (1 John 4: 1S;) but of this it may said, Sincere love worketh fear. Fear is love's servant, whose office it is to preserve what and whom we love, from being offended, hurt, or lost. He that loves, will fear to lose or grieve what and whom he loves. Dost you love GOD You wilt fear to displease or offend GOD. Dost you love thy soul You wilt fear to lose it. As in good things temporal, if you love thy friend, you wilt fear to disoblige him, and if you love your estate, or thy name, or thy health, you wilt fear whatever may prejudice thee in them; so in good things spiritual, our love will set our fear to be a guard about them. It cannot be, but where there is love, and a hazard of losing what we love, there will be fear.

Our love sets all our affections on work. What we love, if it be absent, we desire it; if it be possible to be had, we hope for it; if we have it, we joy; if we lose it, we grieve; if we be in danger of losing it, we fear.

4. There is in it an Aversion from evil, both from sin, and all the fruits of sin. The three former particulars are the causes of this fear, but this is in the nature of it. The understanding discovers sin; (1.) To be an evil, a corrupting evil, that will pollute the soul, a destructive evil that will undo it: (2.) To be an evil hard to be escaped. It sees the soul to be in danger of it every day and every hour. Evil, as evil, is the object of hatred, not of fear; there is no fear of sin in heaven, because there is no danger of it. To hear of plague, or sword, or famine, or earthquakes, or fire, in the Indies, or any other remote parts of the world, doth not move fear; we are in no danger of it: but when the plague is in the town, when the next house is on fire, then we are startled: (3.) To be an evil not to be endured, an intolerable evil: hereupon the heart shrinks back from it, and is in pain till it can be secured against it.

5. There is Foresight in it. Fear is of future evil, apprehended to be corning on. u A prudent man foreseeth the evil.” (Prov. 22: 3.) This prudent man is the very same with this fearing man, as appears by the next words,’~ and hideth himself, “ for it is fear that makes men hide.

A bold sinner is blind, and cannot see afar off, (1 Pet. 1: 9,*, purblind, one that can see things very near, but through the weakness of his eyes cannot see at a distance'; he is but short-sighted. Sinners are men for the present, and they look not to what comes after. But says the Apostle, “ = We look on the things that are not seen;” (2 Cor. 4: 18;) as on the good things, so on the evil things not seen.-He that fears God, sees what is out of sight to the blear-eyed world. He sees evils in the beginning of them; he sees midnight in the evening; he sees the winter in the autumn; he sees evils in the causes of them; he sees the storm in the LORD, the birth in the conception.

Sinner, how is it that you art so secure Friend, what seest thou Some it may be will answer, as the Prophet's servant when he first went up to Carmel, “ I see nothing.” (1 Kings 18: 43.) Others will answer as he did at his last going up, “I see a LORD, “ but it is but a little one, no bigger than a man's hand. But the Prophet saw a great rain in that little LORD. Sinner, you that yet seest nothing, nothing to trouble thee, nothing to make thee afraid, look again, and again, even unto seven times: dost you yet see a LORD rising Do not say it is a little one; take heed, lest, if thy foresight do not, thy sense should quickly tell thee what a storm there is in it.

Christian, how is it that you art so secure Art you blind also Dost you not see the spark in the thatch Dost you not see the thief at the door Hast you a treasure within Hast you a GOD, a conscience, a soul Hast you grace, hast you peace, hast you hope And dost you not see the thief breaking in, and the fire breaking out,-that lust that is in your heart, and the temptations that are at the door, ready to steal away or burn up every good thing you hast How is it that there is no cry heard within thee, “ Fire, fire; Thieves, thieves Look to thyself, save thyself, O my soul, from the mischiefs and miseries that are coming upon thee.”

O my friends, when you see what sin and the temptations thereof have done to others, is it not to be feared what it may do to you May I not say to you as PETER did to SAPPRIRA, (if you look not more carefully to it,)” The feet of those that have buried thy husband, are at the door to carry thee out.” (Acts 5: 19.) The same sins, the same temptations that have slain your friends and buried them, behold, their feet are at the door waiting for your souls also!

You are men of like passions, and subject to the like temptations with other men; there is the same pride, the same love of pleasures, the same fear of sufferings, rooted in your natures: and do you not feel these evil roots sometimes budding, these fires kindling And have you not often suffered loss by them Yet you hope you have a little faith, and some affections for things above; but let lust alone awhile, venture on temptations awhile, and O what leanness of soul, yea, what sickness, yea, what death, may it bring upon you! What carcasses may these living souls quickly become! Lift tip your eyes, and look before you foresee the evil, before you be surprised and swallowed up by it.

6. It has Forecast in it. Fear will make us to beware: it will set us on considering, and contriving, and casting about how we may best escape the danger. Fear has care going along with it. The fearless ones are the careless and the heedless ones. A fearing Christian will be a circumspect Christian: he looks to his steps, and takes heed to his ways that he sin not: he will keep his enemy in his eye, that he fall not upon him at unawares. He is tender of transgressing, and therefore keeps his watch, and stands upon his guard continually. He sees that he walks among temptations and snares, and therefore looks diligently to his foot that it be not taken: be sees how loose and heedless ones smart for their folly; he sees that prevention is better than repentance; and therefore though he will repent when he is fallen, yet lie would rather make as little work as may be for repentance: that he has been kept from iniquity, he prizes at a higher rate than repenting of iniquity.

A prudent man is a provident man. “I see, “ says the fearing soul, 11 I see I am in danger; my soul is in danger; my life is in danger; I stand in jeopardy every hour. Evil is before me, and it may come upon me ere I am aware. And what if it should come upon me Put the case that I should be overtaken, overtaken of sin, and overtaken of wrath, how bitter will then my folly be unto me Nay, evil will come upon me, and I shall not escape, if I look not better to it. But is there no way to prevent it Is there no security from the snare; no refuge from the storm, no shadow from the heat Must I fall Must I sin and be miserable, and perish, and is there no remedy How may I escape 2” These are the forecastings of the fearing soul. And when they have found him out his way, they hold him to it; when they have discovered a refuge, they hasten him into it. The manslayer needed no other monitor;-the avenger of blood at his back, and the fear in his heart, made him hasten to the city of refuge.

Let me here by the way address a word or two to this age and nation. Doth faith see nothing of a flood coming upon us Is there such a deluge of sin amongst us; and doth not that prophesy to us of a deluge of wrath Lift up your eyes, stand and look through the land, eastward, and westward, northward and southward, and tell me what you see. Behold, a flood cometh! A flood of sin is already broken forth upon us; the fountains of the great deep are broken tip; the windows of hell are opened; and is there not a mighty stream of iniquity running down, even from all parties among us From one party, the openly profane, behold a flood of atheism and infidelity: amongst those that still bear the name of CHRIST upon their foreheads, what multitudes are there that are Pagans in heart and life: a flood of oaths and curses, and blasphemies: are not many men become like that beast which arose out of the sea, having” the name of blasphemy” upon their heads (Rev. 13: 1:)-a flood of” filthy lusts and stupendous adulteries: “ what a new Sodom is sprung up out of the old-a flood of fury and rage is broken forth, such a flood as the Serpent cast out of his mouth after the Woman, (Rev. 12: 15,) persecutions raised upon those that separate themselves from the fill yours of the land. And besides these streams that come by the way of the wilderness, behold another stream that rises even in the garden of the LORD! The waters of the sanctuary are become a muddy stream and a troubled sea, that cast up mire and dirt. A mixed stream comes forth,-divisions, contentions, unrighteousness, unmercifulness, with but very little truth and righteousness among it. The waters of grace and peace, the still waters, are but low waters, and run so softly, as if the fountains were quite dried up; and instead thereof, pride, haughtiness, headiness, and uncharitableness, how do they swell amongst us, and rise higher every day!

In this flood of sin, how easy is it, for him that has eyes, to see a flood of wrath even running in upon us! But all this while, where are the Noahs amongst us What preparation is there making for an ark against the flood How is it that we are so secure Many amongst us are crying, “ A flood, a flood cometh! Can our land any longer bear the iniquities of it Can the soul of GOD but be avenged of such a people as this” But how few of us are heard crying, “An ark, an ark, to save us from the flood!” And of those that cry, An ark, how very few are there that are preparing an ark How is it that we are not every one shifting for ourselves, and hiding ourselves from the evil to come I do not mean shifting, to hide ourselves by our wits, much less by our wickedness:-woe to such shifters, who make shipwreck of faith’and a good conscience, to save themselves from drowning; who choke themselves in the mud, to save themselves from the waters! But how is it that there is no more care taken to hide ourselves in GOD, and to lodge ourselves in the ark of the covenant What hiding-place have we but CHRIST What ark can we have, that will bear us above the waters, but the ark of the covenant There we may be safe in with God, and out of fear of the wrath of God.

How is it that there is no more inquiring, “Am I in CHRIST Have I broken my covenant with death, and disannulled my agreement with hell Am I no longer in league with my sins and this evil world Have I broken with them all, and am I gotten within the bond of the covenant of GOD If I think I have, yet am I not mistaken Many souls have thought themselves within, yet died without; and am not I mistaken also Is the thing sure Is CHRIST mine indeed”

How is it that there is no more asking the way to the city of refuge O how is it that we do not awaken our slumbering spirits, and call upon our careless hearts “Come on, my lingering soul, make haste, get thee up to the rock, to the sanctuary: awake, you sleeper, carest you not that you perish Come, my soul, enter you into thy chamber, and hide thyself till the indignation be overpast.”

How is it with you Are you busy in considering, and forecasting, and inquiring bow you may escape What is it that your fear of a deluge has put you upon Is there any more circumspection in your goings Any more tenderness of sin Are you throwing off those weights that will sink you with the multitude Are you busy in breaking down your sins, and building up yourselves in hope of the salvation of GOD Behold how generally other matters still take up our time and thoughts! We are building houses, and planting vineyards, and buying and selling, and marrying and giving in marriage, seldom giving ourselves leave to think of the flood that is coming to take us all away. O fear, and let your fear set you at work to save yourselves from misery and ruin

By this time you may see What this Fear is, or Who is this man that feareth. The man of understanding, that so knows God, his goodness and severity; that so knows sin, its malignity, and the misery that it exposes to;-that so believes GOD;-that has such a love for God and his own soul, and such an aversion from sin;-that so foresees the danger he is in, of running into sin, and falling into misery, that he wisely and warily looks to himself, keeps himself from iniquity, and hides himself from those miseries, which the rest of the world foolishly venture upon, and are destroyed by;-this is the man that feareth, this is the happy man.

II. What is that Blessedness that is pronounced concerning him that feareth” Happy is the man that feareth.” To Happiness two things are required: 1. Sufficiency. 2. Security.

1. Sufficiency. He that is in want is in misery: whatever lie has, if he has not all he needs, yea, all that he desires, in the fulness of its sufficiency, he is in straits. The pain of what he desires and has not, embitters the pleasures of what he has. No sufficiency, no satisfaction; and short of satisfaction, so far short of happiness. He must have all things that would find rest in any thing. He that possesses whatever he can desire, that is a happy man. Only to this must be added,

2. Security. What we have to-day, may be lost tomorrow. He that has most, and holds it by an uncertain tenure, may be in greater perplexity than he that has nothing. Therefore can there be no happiness in any thing under the sun: for besides the insufficiency of these worldly things, (the whole earth is too little to fill the soul, all this great world is not enough to fill the little world, man,) besides this, were they sufficient, what security can be had for the continuance of them to us They are all but casualties; they come and go; they have all their wings, and who knows how soon they may take their flight At the best, “the things that are seen are but temporal: “ Whereas there must be durableness in the matter of our happiness: it must be durable riches, an enduring substance, an inheritance that fadeth not away. Now this is the Happiness of him that feareth, he has sufficient; and what he has is in safety.

1. He has a sufficiency. This fear, as appears from what has been spoken, is a religious fear. The fear of GOD is sometimes taken for all religion; here only for one particular branch of it, yet such as argues the truth of religion, and entitles the soul to the whole revenue of religion. He that knows, believes, and loves GOD, and therefore fears and flees from sin and wrath, is certainly a good man, and shall have his inheritance with the just.

This is the man who “shall inherit all things, “ (Rev. 21: 7,) and “shall want nothing.” (Ps. xxxiv. 1O.) He is provided for, for soul and for body, for this life, and that to come. The promise is his portion, and in the promise there is all things. There is bread in the promise, and clothes, and houses, and lands, and friends; there is grace and glory in the promise. And to have an inheritance in the promise is to him as good as to have it in hand, and in some respects better. You art a fool, who say with the prodigal, “Give me my portion;” it is better where it is; GOD will look better to thee, than you to thyself.

2. He has security. All that he has is in safety. He that has most, and is in danger of losing all, (as I said before,) is in greater perplexity than lie that has nothing to lose. The poor man sleeps in more quiet than he that has his house full of treasure, if he be in danger of the robber. Enough is not enough, it will never content, whilst there is hazard of losing all. The man that feareth path enough, and all he has is in safety: “ Whoso hearkeneth to me shall dwell safely, he shall be quiet from fear of evil.” (Prom. 1: 33.) He that feareth shall be most free from fear: the fear of Go n will fortify him against the fears of the world.

Particularly consider these two things.

(1.) The matters wherein hishappiness lies are sure. The mercies of God are sure mercies, that will never fade, nor can be taken away. If there be uncertainty in what a Christian has of this world, he is well enough notwithstanding;; these are not his happiness; he may be as happy in his greatest penury, as in his greatest plenty.

The matters- of a Christian's happiness are sure and certain things. The portion of the world is not capable of being made sure. As MR. GOUGE says well; “The world flies; sometimes it pitches upon one family, and then how happy do they account themselves; shortly after it takes it flight thence, and away to another, and thence to another, and another; and who knows whither The world runs upon wheels. The wheel of Providence is ever turning; now one is at the top of the wheel, and then another comes up; and he that was just now at the top, by and by tumbles, and the wheel runs over him. How often do rich men break, and poor men get up for a while in their room, and then tumble down after them! To-day you hast an estate, and dwellest at ease in your own ceiled house; but who can tell where he may find thee to-morrow To-day you livest, and art in health, and nothing ails thee; to-morrow you mayest die, the grave may cover thee, and worms may be feeding upon thee. Such an uncertain world this is, and at such uncertainties are the things thereof; and there is no preventing of it. It cannot be otherwise: the wisest, the wariest, the most industrious man in the world, do what he can, can never be at a certainty for two days together. The thief, the moth, the fire, sickness, and death, may quickly divide betwixt him and his portion, and take away either him from it, or it from him. But the treasure of the man that fears GOD is a treasure that faileth not, an enduring substance.”

(2.) His very fear is a means to keep what he has in safety.” I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.” (Jer. xxxii. 4O.) GOD holds us by certain cords, which should they break or give way, we should certainly be lost. One of these cords is Faith.” We are kept by the mighty power of GOD, through faith, unto salvation.” (1 Pet. 1: 6.) Another is this Fear: “I will put my fear into their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.” Whereupon we may say also, “ We are kept by the mighty power of GOD, “ through fear, “unto salvation.” God makes use of our fear of losing all, to prevent our loss. As if we should cease to believe, so if we should cease to fear, we should be undone at last. Upon a little - loosening of this cord, how often do we suffer great loss! When we take head, and grow bold and venturous; when we forget our danger, and so lay by our armour; how much mischief do we run ourselves into! Hast you never lost thy peace and sense of the love of GOD Hast you never lost thy delight in God Hast you never fallen by thy folly into sin, into a vain and carnal frame, into a dead and barren state, and thereby provoked the LORD to withdraw and hide his face from thee Dost you not often see this to be thy case Why, you shouldest have feared in time, and all this mischief might have been prevented. Whilst fear stands centinel, the enemy has the less hope of making an invasion upon thee. But where this fear is not, that soul dwells like the wealthy nation, “ without care, and having neither gates nor bars, “ (Jer. xlix. 31,) and so becomes a spoil to the enemy. Where care is the gate, and fear has bolted the gate, ti_ere all is in safety.

This fear may expose to temporal evils. How much do Christians often lose by this fear! They lose their friends, their estates, their liberties, and sometimes their lives, upon this very account, that they are afraid to sin against GOD. And yet all this while they are in safety; and when they have cast up their accounts, they are no losers, though they have lost all they had! Their souls are in safety; and that is enough to save themselves harmless under all their sufferings.

He whose face is filled with the contempt of the proud, whose back is bowed down that the ungodly may go over it, whose name is made a scorn and derision, whose goods become a spoil, and his very life a sacrifice to the rage of the cruel,-if he does but come off with the safety of his soul, that makes him abundant recompense for all. As CHRIST says, “What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul” (Matt. 16: 26,)-so may it not be said, What shall it prejudice a man to lose

all the world, if he save his own soul You knowest not what a soul is, or what the salvation of a soul is, thou knowest not what eternity, or what that life and death

means, who cant not say, Let me escape that death, let me obtain that life, and it is enough! O study the world to come more, and secure to thyself the eternal inheritance; and then, whatever thy condition be here, you wilt say with the Psalmist, “ I will lay me down in peace, and take my rest: for thou, LORD, makest me dwell in safety.” But more of this hereafter.

By what haul been said, it appeareth, that the man who feareth is a happy man; and it has been shown wherein this happiness lies. There is no happy man in the world, if this be not he: when he is at the lowest, it is better with hint than with the best of sinners. Some sinners will grant that lie who fears God will have the best of it in the other world; but yet they conclude, that themselves have the better of it here. But they are mistaken: even in this life a godly man has the better of sinners. He knows little of GOD, he has little understood tire joy of faith, the pleasure of love, the ease of sincerity, the peace of conscience, the gain of godliness, that would exchange lives with the best of sinners in this world. The very hopes of the saints fill them with more joy than die greatest possessions of the ungodly.

He that is otherwise minded is guilty of one of those absurdities,-either to think that GOD is not better than his creatures, or that the ungodly enjoy as much of God as those that are godly. If God be better than the world, and if GOD be the present portion of the godly, and of them alone, then lie that feareth GOD is the happiest man even in this life. But O what will his blessedness hereafter be! What advantage will he have of sinners in the other world! When the comparison shall no longer be betwixt GOD and the creatures, betwixt the fullness of heaven,. and the fatness of the earth; when the question shall no longer' he which is best, peace of conscience, or the prosperity of the world,-the hopes of glory, or the pleasures of sin; but which is the best, the pleasures of the saints, or the plagues of sinners,-the fruition of God, or reprobation from God,-the joys above, or the pangs beneath;-then shall it be considered, then shall it be discerned, who are the happy persons, those that fear GOD, or those that fear him not.