the Fear of god, Part 4
Of the grace of fear, more immediately intended in the text.
I shall now speak to this fear, which I call a lasting godly fear.
First, By way of Explication, by which I shall shew,
1. How, by the Scripture it is described.
2. I shall shew you what this fear flows from.
3. And then I shall also shew you what doth flow from it.
For the first of these, to wit, how by the Scripture this fear is described, and that,
1. More generally.
2. More particularly.
First, More generally.
1. It is called a grace, that is a sweet and blessed work of the Spirit of grace, as he is given to the elect by. Hence the Apostle saies, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear, (Heb. 12.) for as that fear that brings bondage, is wrought in the soul, by the spirit, as a spirit of bondage: so this fear, which is a fear that we have while we are in the liberty of sons, is wrought by him as he manifesteth to us our liberty; where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, that is, where he is as a Spirit of adoption, setting the soul free from that bondage under which it was held by the same spirit while he wrought as a spirit of bondage. Hence as he is called a spirit working bondage to fear, so he, as the Spirit of the Son, and of adoption, is called, The Spirit of the fear of the Lord, Isa. 11.2. Because it is that Spirit of grace that is the author, animater and maintainer of our filial fear or of that fear that is son-like, and that subjecteth the elect, unto God, his Word, and Waies; unto him, his Word and Waies as a Father.
2. This fear is called also the fear of God, not as that which is ungodly is, nor yet as that may be, which is wrought by the spirit, as a spirit of bondage; but by way of eminency, to wir, as a dispensation of the grace of the Gospel, and as a fruit of eternal love. I will put MY FEAR in their hearts, and they shall not depart from me, Jer. 32.38, 39, 40, 41.
3. This fear of God, is called Gods Treasure, for it is one of his choice Jewels, it is one of the rarities of Heaven, The fear of the Lord is his treasure, Isa. 33.16.
And it may well go under such a title, for as treasure, so the fear of the Lord is not found in every corner. It is said, all men have not faith, because that also is more precious than gold, the same is said about this fear. There was no fear of God before their eyes, that is, the greatest part of men are utterly destitute of this goodly Jewels this treasure, the fear of the Lord. Poor vagrants, when hey come straglling to a Lords house, may perhaps obtain some scraps and fragments, they may also obtain old shooes, and some sorry cast-off rags, but they get not any of his Jewels, they may not touch his choycest treasure, that is kept for the children, and those that shall be his heirs. We may say the same also of this blessed grace of fear, which is called here Gods treasure. It is only bestowed upon the elect, the heirs, and children of the promise, all others are destitute of it, and so continue to death and Judgment.
4. This Grace of fear, Is that which maketh men excell and go beyond all men, in the account of God; It is that which beautifies a man, and prefers him above all other; Hast thou, saies God to Satan, considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in all the earth, a perfect, and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Job. 1.8. chap. 2. ver. 4.
Mind it, There is none like him, none like him in all the earth. I suppose he means either in those parts, or else he was the man that abounded in the fear of the Lord; none like him to fear the Lord, he only excelled others with respect to his reverencing of God, bowing before him, and sincerely complying with his will, and therefore is counted the excellent man. 'Tis not the knowledge of the Will of God, but our sincere complying therewith, that proveth we fear the Lord; and it is our so doing that putteth upon us the note of excelling; hereby appears our perfection, herein is manifest our uprightness. A perfect, and an upright man is one that feareth God, and that because he escheweth evil.
Therefore this grace of fear is that without which no part or piece of service which we do to God, can be accepted of him. It is, as I may call it, The salt of the Covenant, which seasoneth the heart, and therefore must not be lacking there; it is also that which salteth, or seasoneth all our doings, and therefore must not be lacking in any of them, Levit. 2.13. For,
5. I take this grace of fear, to be that which softeneth and mollifieth the heart, and that makes it stand in AWE both of the mercies and Judgments of God. This is that that retaineth in the heart that due dread, and reverence of the heavenly majesty that is meet, should be, both in, and kept in the heart of poor sinners. Wherefore when David described THIS fear, in the exercise of it, he calls it an AWE of God. Stand in AWE, saith he, and Sin not; and again, mine heart standeth in AWE of thy Word; and again, Let all the Earth FEAR the Lord; whats that? or how is that? why? Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in AWE of him, Psal. 4.4. Psal. 119.161. Psal. 33.8.
This is that therefore, that is, as I said before, so excellent a thing in the eyes of God, to wit, a grace of the spirit, the fear of God, his treasure, the salt of the covenant, that which makes men excel all others: for it is that which maketh the sinner to stand in AWE of God, which posture is the most comely thing in us, throughout all ages. But,
Secondly, and more particularly.
1. This grace is called, The beginning of knowledge, Prov. 1.7. because by the first gracious discovery of God to the soul, this grace is begot; and, again because the first time that the soul doth apprehend God in Christ to be good unto it, this grace is animated, by which the soul is put into an holy AWE of God, which causeth it with reverence and due attention to hearken to him, and tremble before him. It is also by vertue of this fear that the soul doth enquire yet more after the blessed knowledge of God. This is the more evident, because, where this fear of God is wanting, or where the discovery of God, is not attended with it, the heart still abides rebellious, obstinate, and unwilling to know more, that it might comply therewith: nay, for want of it, such sinners say rather; As for God, let him depart from us, and for the Almighty, we desire not the knowledge of HIS waies.
2. This fear is called, The beginning of Wisdom, (Job. 28.28. Psal. 111.10) because then and not tell then, a man begins to be truly spiritually wise▪ what wisdom is there where the fear of God is not? Therefore the fools are described thus, For that they hated knowledg, and did not chuse the fear of the Lord, Prov. 1.29. The word of God is the fountain of knowledg, into which a man will not with godly reverence look, until he is endued with the fear of the Lord: Therefore it is rightly called the beginning of Wisdom. But fools despise wisdom, and instruction, Prov. 1.7. It is therefore this fear of the Lord that makes a man wise for his soul, for life, and for another world. 'Tis this that teacheth him how he should do to escape those spiritual and eternal ruins that the fool is overtaken with, and swallowed up of forever. A man void of this fear of God, whereever he is wise, or in what ever he excels, yet about the matters of his soul, there is none more foolish than himself; for through the want of the fear of the Lord, he leaves the best things at sixes, and sevens, and only pursueth with all his heart those that will leave him in the snare when he dies.
3. This fear of the Lord, Is to hate evil. To hate sin, and vanity; sin and vanity they are The sweet morsels of the FOOL, (Job 20.12.) and such which the carnal appetite of the flesh runs after: and it is only the vertue that is in the fear of the Lord, that maketh the sinner have an antipathy against it. By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil, Proverbs 16.6. That is, men shun, separate themselves from, and eschew it in its appearances. Wherefore it is plain that those that love evil, are not possessed with the fear of God.
There is a generation that will pursue evil, that will take it in, nourish it, lay it up in their hearts, hide it, and plead for it, and rejoyce to do it: These cannot have in them the fear of the Lord, for that is to hate it, and to make men depart from it; where the fear of God, and sin is, it will be with the soul, as it was with Israel, when Amri and Tibni, strove to reign among them both at once, one of them must be put to death, they cannot live together: sin must down, for the fear of the Lord begetteth in the soul a hatred against it, an abhorrence of it, therefore sin must die, that is, as to the affections and lusts of it; for as Solomon saies in another case, where no wood is, the fire goeth out. So we may say, where there is a hatred of sin, and where men depart from it, there it loseth much of its power, waxeth feeble, and decayeth. Therefore Solomon saith again, Fear the Lord, and depart from evil, Prov. 3.7. as who should say, fear the Lord, and it will follow, that you shall depart from evil: departing from evil, is a natural consequence, a proper effect of the fear of the Lord where it is.
By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil, that is, in their Judgment, will, mind, and affections: not, that by the fear of the Lord, sin is annihilated, or has lost its being in the soul, there still will those Canaanites be, but they are hated, lothed, abominated, fought against, prayed against, watcht against, strove against, and mortified, by the soul, Rom. 7.
4. This fear is called a fountain of life. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death, Prov. 14.27.
It is a fountain, or spring, which so continually supplieth the soul with variety of considerations of sin, of God, of death, and life eternal, as to keep the soul in continual exercise of vertue, and in holy contemplation. It is a fountain of life, every opperation thereof, every act and exercise thereof hath a true, and natural tendency to spiritual and eternal felicity. Wherefore the wise man saith in another place, the fear of the Lord tendeth to life, and be that hath it shall abide satisfied, he shall not be visited with evil, Prov. 19.23. It tendeth to life even as of nature; every thing hath a tendency to that which is most natural to it self, the fire to burn, the water to wet, the stone to fall, the sun to shine, sin to defile &c. Thus I say, the fear of the Lord tendeth to life; the nature of it is to put the soul upon fearing of God, of closing with Christ, and of walking humbly before him.
It is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. What are the snares of death, but sin, the wiles of the Devil &c. From which the fear of God hath a natural tendence to deliver thee, and to keep thee in the way that tendeth to life.
5. This fear of the Lord, it is called, The instruction of Wisdom, Prov. 15.33. You heard before that it is the beginning of wisdom: but here you find it called the instuction of wisdom: for indeed it is, not only that which makes a man begin to be wise, but to improve, and make advantage of all those helps and means to life, which God hath afforded to that end. That is, both to his own, and his neighbours salvation also. It is the instruction of wisdom, it will make a man capable to use all his natural parts, all his natural wisdom to Gods glory, and his own good. There lieth, even in many natural things, THAT, into which if we were instructed, would yield us a great deal of help to the understanding of spiritual matters; For in wisdom has God made all the World; nor is there any thing that God has made, whether in Heaven above, or on Earth beneath, but there is couched some spiritual mystery in it. The which men matter more, than they do the ground they tread on, or than the stones that are under their feet, and all because they have not this fear of the Lord, for had they that, that would teach them to think, even from that knowledg of God, that hath by the fear of him put into their hearts, that he being so great, and so good, there must needs be abundance of wisdom in the things he hath made: that fear would also indeavour to find out what that wisdom is, yea and give to the soul the instruction of it.
In that it is called the instruction of wisdom, it intimates to us that its tendency is to keep all even, and in good order in the soul. When Job perceived that his friends did not deal with him in an even spirit and orderly manner, he said, that they forsook the fear of the Almighty, Job 6.14. For, this fear keeps a man, even, in his words and judgment of things. It may be compared to the ballace of the Ship, and to the poys of the ballance of the Scales, it keeps all even, and also makes us steer our course right with respect to the things that pertain to God and man.