the Fear of god, Part 11
What things they are that have a tendency in them to hinder the growth of the fear of God in our hearts.
And that I may yet be helpful to thee, (Reader) I shall now give thee caution of those things, that will, if way be given to them, hinder thy growth in this fear of God, the which, because they are very hurtful to the people of God, I would have thee be warned by them.
And they are these which follow.
1. If thou wouldst grow in this grace of fear, Take heed of an hard heart, for that will hinder thy growth in this grace. Why hast thou hardened our hearts from thy fear? (Isa. 63.17.) was a bitter complaint of the Church heretofore; for it is not only the judgement, that in it self is dreadful, and sore to Gods people, but that which greatly hindereth the growth of this grace in the soul. An hard heart is but barren ground for any grace to grow in, specially for the grace of fear: there is but little of this fear, where the heart indeed is hard; neither will there ever be much therein.
Now if thou wouldst be kept from an hard heart.
1. Take heed of the beginings of sin. Take heed I say, of that, though it should be never so small, A little leaven, leavens the whole lump: there is more in a little sin to harden, than in a great deal of grace to soften. Davids look upon Bathsheba, was, one would think, but a small matter: yet that begining of sin, contracted such hardness of heart in him, that it carried him almost beyond all fear of God. It did carry him to commit lewdness with her, murder upon the body of Vriah, and to abundance of wicked dissimulation; which are things I say that have direct tendency to quench, and destroy all fear of God in the soul.
2. If thou hast sinned, lie not down without repentance; for the want of repentance, after one has sinned, makes the heart yet harder and harder.
Indeed an hard heart is impenitent, and impenitence also makes the heart harder and harder. So that if impenitence be added to hardness of heart, or to the beginings of sin which makes it so, It will quickly be with that soul, as is said of the house of Israel, it will have A Whores forehead, it will hardly be brought to shame Jer. 3.3.
3. If thou wouldst be rid of an hard heart, that great enemy to the growth of the grace of fear, Be much with Christ upon the Cross in thy Meditations; For that is an excellent remedy against hardness of heart: a right sight of him, as he hanged there for thy sins, will dissolve thy heart into tears, and make it soft and tender. They shall look upon me whom they have pierced and mourn (Zech. 12.10, 11.) Now a soft, a tender, and broken heart, is a fit place for the grace of fear to thrive in. But,
2. If thou wouldst have the grace of fear to grow in thy soul, Take heed also of a prayerless heart, for that is not a place for this grace of fear to grow in. Hence he that refraineth prayer, is said, To cast off fear. Thou casteth off fear, said one of his friends to Job. But how must he do that? why the next words shew, Thou restrainest prayer before God. (Job 15.4.) Seest thou a Professor that prayeth not? that man thrusteth the fear of God away from him. Seest thou a man that prays but little? that man feareth God but little, for it is the praying soul, the man that is mighty in praying, that has an heart for the fear of God to grow in. Take heed therefore of a prayerless heart, if you would grow in this grace of the fear of God.
Prayer is as the pitcher that fetcheth water from the Brook, therewith to water the herbs; break the pitcher and it will fetch no water, and for want of water the Garden withers.
3. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? Then take heed of a light and wanton heart. For neither is such an heart good ground for the fear of God to grow in: wherefore 'tis said of Israel, She feared not, but went and plaid the Harlot also. She was given to wantonness and to be light, and vain, and so her fear of God decaied, Jer. 3.8. Had Joseph been as wanton as his Mistress, he had been as void of the fear of God as she: but he was of a sober, tender, godly, considerate spirit, therefore he grew in the fear of God.
4. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? Then take heed of a covetous heart, for neither is that which is such an one good ground for this grace of fear to grow in. Therefore this covetousness, and the fear of God, are, as enemies, set the one in opposition to the other: one that feareth God, and hateth COVETOVSNESS, Exod. 18.21.
And the reason why covetousness is such an obstruction to the growth of this grace of fear, is because covetousness casteth those things out of the heart which alone can nourish this fear. It casteth out the word, and love of God, without which no grace can grow in the soul, how then should the fear of God grow in a covetous heart? Ezek. 33.30, 31, 32. 1 John 2.15.
5. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then Take heed of an unbelieving heart; For an unbelieving heart is not good ground for this grace of fear to grow in. An unbelieving heart is called an evil heart, (Heb. 3.13.) because, from it flows all the wickedness that is committed in the World. Now it is faith, or a believing heart that nourisheth this fear of God (Heb. 11.7.) and not the other; and the reason is, for that faith brings God, Heaven, and Hell, to the soul, and maketh it duly consider of them all: this is therefore the means of fear, and that which will make it grow in the soul: but unbelief is a BANE thereto.
6. Wouldst thou grow in this grace of fear? Then take heed of a forgetful heart. Such an heart is not an heart where the grace of fear will flourish, when I remember I am affraid, &c. Therefore take heed of forgetfulness: do not forget but remember God, and his kindness, patience, and mercy, to those that yet neither have grace nor special favor from him, and that will beget and nourish his fear in thy heart, but forgetfulness of this or of any other of his judgments, is a great wound and weakening to this fear, Job 21.6. When a man well remembers that Gods judgments are so great a deep and mystery, as indeed they are, that remembrance puts a man upon such considerations of God, and of his judgments as to make him fear. Therefore saies Job I am afraid of him. See the place, Job 23.15. Therefore am I troubled at his presence, when I consider I am afraid of him. When I remember and consider of the wonderful depths of his judgments toward man.
7. Wouldst thou grow in this grace of fear? then, Take heed of a murmuring, and repining heart, for that is not an heart for this grace of fear to grow in.
As for instance, when men murmur and repine at Gods hand, at his dispensations, and at the Judgments that overtake them, in their persons, estates, families, or relations THAT their murmuring, tendeth to destroy fear; for a murmuring spirit is such an one as seems to correct God, and to find fault with his dispensations: and where there is that, the heart is far from fear.
A murmuring spirit either comes from that wisdom that pretends to understand that there is a failure in the nature and execution of things, or from an envy and spite at the execution of them. Now if murmurings arise from this pretended wisdom of the flesh, then instead of fearing of God, his actions are judged to be either riged or ridiculous, which yet are done in judgment, truth and righteousness. So that a murmuring heart cannot be a good one for the fear of God to grow in: alas the heart where that grows, must be a soft one, as you have it in, Job 23.15, 16. And an heart that will stoop and be silent at the most abstruse of all his Judgments. I was silent because thou didest it.
The heart in which this fear of God doth flourish, is such, that it bowes and is mute, if it can but espie the hand, wisdom, justice or holiness of God in this or the other of his dispensations, and so stirs up the soul to fear before him.
But if this murmuring ariseth from envy and spite, that looketh so like to the spirit of the Devil, that nothing need be said to give conviction of the horrible wickedness of it.
8. Wouldst thou grow in this grace of fear? then, Take heed of an high and captious spirit, for that is not good ground for the fear of God to grow in: a meek and quiet spirit is the best, and there the fear of God will flourish most, therefore Peter puts meekness and fear together, as being most suited in their nature and natural tendency one to another, 1 Pet. 3.14.
Meekness of spirit is like that heart that hath depth of earth in it, in which things may take root and grow; but an high and captious spirit, is like to the stony ground, where there is not depth of earth, and consequently, where this grace of fear cannot grow: therefore take heed of this kind of spirit, if thou wouldst that the fear of God should grow in thy soul.
9. Wouldst thou grow in the grace of fear? then, Take heed of an envious heart, for that is not a good heart for the fear of God to grow in. Let not thy heart envy sinners, but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long, Prov. 23.17. To envy any, is a signe of a bad spirit, and that man takes upon him, as I have already hinted, to be a controller and a judge, yea and a malicious executioner too, and that of that fury that ariseth from his own lusts and revengeful spirit, upon (perhaps) the man that is more righteous then himself. But suppose he is a sinner that is the object of thine envy, why, the Text sets that envy, in direct opposition to the fear of God: Envy not sinners, but be thou in the fear of God. These two therefore, to wit, envy to sinners and fearing of God, are opposites. Thou canst not fear God, and envy sinners too. And the reason is, because he that envieth a sinner, hath forgotten himself, that he is as bad, and how can he then fear God? He that envies sinners, rejects his duty of blessing of them that curse, and praying for them that despitefully use us; and how can he that hath rejected this, fear God? He that envieth sinners, therefore, cannot be of a good spirit, nor can the fear of God grow in his heart.
Lastly, Wouldst thou grow in this grace of fear? Then Take heed of hardning thy heart at anytime against convictions to particuler duties, as to, Prayer, Alms, Self-denial, or the like. Take heed also of hardning thy heart, when thou art under any judgment of God, as sickness, losses, crosses, or the like.
I bid you before, to beware of an hard heart, but now I bid you beware of hardning your soft ones: For to harden the heart, is to make it worse then it is; harder, more desperate, and bold against God, then at the present it is. Now, I say, if thou wouldest grow in this grace of fear: take heed of hardning thy heart, and especially of hardning of it against convictions to good; for those convictions are sent of God like seasonable showrs of rain, to keep the tillage of thy heart in good order, that the grace of fear may grow therein; but this stiffling of convictions, makes the heart as hard as a piece of the nether Milstone.
Therefore happy is he that receiveth conviction for so he doth keep in the fear of God, and that fear thereby nourished in his soul: but cursed is he that doth otherwise. Happy is the man that feareth alway, but he that hardneth his heart shall fall into mischief, (Prov. 28.14.)