the Fear of god, Part 12
A use of Encouragement.
I come now to a use of encouragement to those that are blessed with this grace of fear. The last text that was mentioned, saith, Happy is the man that feareth alway, (and so doth many more.) Happy already, because blessed with this grace, and happy for time to come, because this grace shall abide, and continue till the soul that hath it is brought unto the mansion house of glory. I will put my fear in their heart, and they shall not depart from me. Therefore, as here is saith, Happy IS he, so it saith also, It SHALL go well with him, that is, in time to come. It SHALL go well with them that fear the Lord, Eccles. 8.12. Had God given thee all the world, yet cursed hadst thou been, if he had not given thee the fear of the Lord: for the fashion of this world is a fading thing, but he that feareth the Lord shall abide for ever and ever.
This therefore is the first thing that I would propound for thy encouragement (thou man that fearest the Lord.)
This grace will dwell in thy heart, for it is a new covenant grace and will abide with thee forever. It is sent to thee from God, not only to joyn thy heart unto him; but to keep thee from final apostacy; I will put my fear in their heart, and they shall not depart from me, (Jer. 32.) That thou maist never forsake God, is his design, and therefore to keep thee from that wicked thing, he hath put his fear in thy heart.
Many are the temptations, difficulties, snares, traps, trials and troubles that the people of God pass through in the world, but how shall they be kept, how shall they be delivered, and escape? Why, the answer is the fear of God will keep them, He that feareth God shall come out of them all.
It is not therefore a wonderful mercy to be blessed with this grace of fear, that thou by it maiest be kept from final, which is damnable apostacy? Bless God therefore, thou blessed man, that hast this grace of fear in thy soul.
There are five things in this grace of fear that have a direct tendency in them to keep thee from final apostacy.
1. It is seated in the heart, and the heart is, as I may call it, the main FORT in the mystical world, man. It is not placed in the head, as knowledge is; nor in the mouth, as utterance is; but in the heart, the seat of all, I will put my fear in their heart. If a King will keep a Town secure to himself, let him be sure to man sufficiently the main FORT thereof. If he have twenty thousand men well armed, if they lie scattered here and there, the Town may be taken for all that, but if the main fort be well man'd, then the Town is more secure. What if a man had all the parts, yea all the arts of Men and Angels, that will not keep the heart to God.
But when the heart, this principal fort, is possessed with the fear of God, then he is safe, but not else.
2. As the heart in general, so the will in special, That chief and great faculty of the soul, is the principal that is acted by this fear.
The will, which way that goes, all goes: If it be to Heaven or Hell. Now the will, I say, is that main faculty that is governed by this fear that doth possess the soul, therefore all is like to go well with it.
This Samuel insinuateth, where he saith, If ye WILL fear the Lord. Fearing of God is a voluntary act of the will, and that being so, the soul is kept from rebellion against the Commandment, because by the will, where this fear of God is placed, and which IT governeth, is led all the rest of the powers of the soul, 1 Sam 12.14. In this will then is this fear of God placed, that this grace may the better be able to govern the soul, and so by consequence the whole man; for as I said before, look what way the will goes, look what the will does, thither goes, and that does the whole man. See Psal. 110.3.
Man, when his will is alienate from God, is reckoned rebellious throughout, (Joh. 5.40.) and that not without ground, for the will is the principal faculty of the soul as to obedience, and therefore things done without the will, are as if they were not done at all. The spirit is willing; If ye be willing; she hath done what she could, and the like; by these and such like sayings the goodness of the heart and action, is judged, as to the subjective part thereof.
Now this fear that we have been speaking of, is placed in the soul, and so consequently in the will, that the man may thereby the better be kept from final, and damnable apostacy.
3. This fear, as I may say, even above every other grace, is Gods well-wisher; and hence it is called, as I also have shewed you, HIS fear. As he also saies in the Text mentioned above, I will put MY fear in their heart. These words HIS and MY, they are intimate, and familiar expressions, bespeaking, not only great favor to man, but a very great trust put in him: As who should say, this fear is my special friend, it will subject, and bow the soul and the several faculties thereof to my pleasure, it is my great favorite and subdueth sinners to my pleasure: you shall rarely find faith, or repentance, or parts, go under such familiar characters as this blessed fear of the Lord doth. Of all the counsellors, and mighties, that David had, Hushi only was called the Kings Friend, (2 Sam. 15.37. Ch. 16.16.) So of all the graces of the spirit, this of the fear of God, goes mostly, if not alwaies by the title of my fear, Gods fear, his fear, &c.
I told you before, if the King will keep a Town, the main fort therein must be sufficiently man'd: and now I will add, that if he have not to govern those men, some trusty and special friend, such as Hushi was to David, he may find it lost when it should stand him in greatest stead. If a soul should be possessed with all things possible, yet if this fear of God be wanting, all other things will give place in time of rebellion, and the soul shall be found in, and under the conduct of Hell when it should stand up for God and his truth in the World. This fear of God, it is Gods special friend, and therefore it has given unto it the chief seat of the heart, the will, that the whole man may now be, and also be kept hereafter, in the subjection and obedience of the Gospel. For,
4. This grace of fear is the softest, and most tender of Gods honour of any other grace. It is that tender, sensible and trembling grace that keepeth the soul upon its continual watch. To keep a good watch is, you know, a wonderful safety to a place that is in continual danger because of the enemy. Why this is the grace that setteth the watch, and that keepeth the watchman awake, (Song. 3.7, 8.)
A man cannot watch as he should if he be destitute of fear: let him be confident, and he sleeps, he unadvisedly lets into the garison, those that should not come there. Israels fault when they came to Canaan, was, that they made a Covenant with the inhabitants of the Land (to wit, the Gibeonites) without asking counsel of God. But would they have done so, think you, if at the same time the fear of God, had had its full play in the soul, in the Army? no they at that time forgat to fear. The grace of fear had not at that time its full stroke and sway among them.
5. This grace of fear is that, which, as I may so say, first affects the hearts of Saints with Judgments, after we have sinned: and so is as a begining grace to bring again that to rights, that by sin is put out of frame. O it is a precious grace of God: I know what I say in this matter, and also where I had been long ago, through the power of my lusts and the wiles of the Devil had it not been for the fear of God.
But Secondly, Another encouragement for those that are blessed with this blessed grace of fear, is this, This fear failes not to do this work for the soul, (if there in truth) be it never so small in measure. A little of this leven, levens the whole lump. 'True, a little will not do, or help the soul to do those worthy exploits in the heart or life, as well as a bigger measure thereof; nor indeed can a little of any grace, do that which a bigger measure will: but a little will preserve the soul from final apostacy, and deliver it into the armes of the Son of God at the final Judgment. Wherefore when he saith, I will put my fear in their heart, he saies not, I will put so much of it there, such a quantity, or such a degree; but, I will put my ear there.
I speak not this in the least to tempt the godly man to be content with the least degree of the fear of God in his heart. 'True, men should be glad that God hath put even the least degree of this grace into their souls, but they should not be content therewith, they should earnestly covet more, pray for more, and use all lawful, that is, all the means of Gods appointing, that they may get more.
There are, as I have said already, several degrees of this grace of fear, and our wisdom is, to grow in IT, as in all other the graces of the Spirit. The reasons why, I have shewed you, and also the way to grow therein, but the least measure thereof will do as I said, that is, keep the soul from final apostacy. There are, as I have shewed you, those that greatly fear the Lord, that fear exceedingly, and that fear him above many of their brethren: but the small, in this grace, are saved, as well as these that are great therein, He will save them that fear him small and great.
This fear of the Lord is the pulse of the soul, and as some pulses beat stronger, some weaker, so is this grace of fear in the soul. They that beat best are a signe of best life, but they that beat worst shew that life is present: As long as the pulse beats, we count not that the man is dead, though weak; and this fear, where it is, preserves to everlasting life. Pulses there are also that are intermitting, to wit, such as have their times for a little, a little time to stop, and beat again: 'True these are dangerous pulses, but yet too, a signe of life. This fear of God also is sometimes like this intermitting pulse: there are times when it forbears to work, and then it works again; David had an intermitting pulse, Peter had an intermitting pulse, as also many other of the Saints of God. I call that an intermitting pulse with reference to the fear we speak of, when there is some obstruction by the workings of corruptions in the soul, I say some obstruction from, and hindrance of the continual motion of this fear of God, yet none of these (though they are various, and some of them sings of weakness,) are signs of death but life. I will put my fear in their heart, and they shall not depart from me.
But you may say, How shall I know that I fear God.
Ans. If I should say, that desires, true sincere desires to fear him, is fear it self; I should not say amiss, Nehe. 1.11. For although a desire to be or do so and so, makes not a man to be in temporal or natural things, what he desires to be (for a sick or poor, or imprisoned man, may desire to be well, to be rich, or to be at liberty, and yet be as they are, sick, poor, or in prison;) Yet in spirituals, a mans desire to be good, to believe, to love, to hope, and fear God, doth flow from the nature of grace it self.
I said before, that in temporals, a man could not be properly be said to be what he was not; yet a man even in naturals or temporals, shews his love to that thing that he desires, whether it be health, riches or liberty; and in spirituals desires of, from love to this, or that grace of God sincere desires of it flow from the root of the grace it self. Thy Servants that desire to fear thy name. Nehemiah bore himself before God upon this, That he desired to fear his name.
And hence again it is said concerning desires, true desires, The desire of a man is his kindness, Prov. 19.22. For a man shews his heart, his love, his affections, and his delights, in his desires: and since the grace of fear of God, is a grace so pleasant in the sight of God; and of so sanctifying a nature in the soul where it is: a true sincere desire to be blessed with that grace, must needs flow from some being of this grace in the soul already.
'True, desires, are lower, than higher acts of grace, but God will not look over desires: But now they DESIRE a better Country, that is an heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a City. Mark, they desire a Country, and they shall have a City. At this LOW place, to wit, sincere desires, God will meet the soul and will tell him, that he hath accepted of his desires, that his desires are his kindness, and flow from grace it self, He will fulfil the desires of them that fear him. Therefore desires are not rejected of God, but they would, if they did not flow from a principle of grace already in the soul; therefore desires, sincere desires to fear God, flow from grace already in the soul.
Therefore since thou fearest God, and it is evident, by thy desires, 'that thou dost so do: thou ART happy, NOW, in this thy fear, and SHALT be happy for ever hereafter in the injoyment of that which God in another world hath laid up for them that fear him.
3. Another encouragement for those that have this grace of fear is this. This grace can make that man, that in many other things is not capable of serving of God, serve him better then those that have all, without it. Poor Christian man, thou hast scarce been able to do any thing for God all thy daies, but only to fear the Lord. Thou art no Preacher, and so canst not do him service that way: Thou art no rich man and so canst not do him service with outward substance: Thou art no wise man, and so canst not do any thing that way: But here is thy mercy, thou fearest God. Though thou canst not preach, thou canst fear God. Though thou hast no bread to feed the belly nor fleece to cloth the back, of the poor, thou canst fear God. O how blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, because this duty of fearing of God is an act of the mind, and may be done by the man that is destitute of all things, but that holy and blessed mind.
Blessed therefore is that man, for God hath not laid the comfort of his people in the doing of external duties, nor the salvation of their souls, but in believing, loving, and fearing God. Neither hath he laid these things in actions done in their health, nor in the due mannagement of their most excellent parts, but in the receiving of Christ, and fear of God. The which, good Christian, thou maiest do, and do acceptably, even though thou shouldest lie bed-rid all thy daies, thou maiest also be sick, and believe; be sick and love, be sick and fear God, and so be a blessed man.
And here the POOR Christian hath some thing to answer them that reproach him for his ignoble pedigree, and shortness of the glory of the wisdom of the World. 'True, may that man say; I was taken out of the Dunghil, I was born in a base and low estate: But I fear God. I have no worldly greatness, nor excellency of natural parts, but I fear God.
When Obadiah met with Elijah, he gave him no worldly, and fantastical complement, nor did he glory in his promotion by Ahab the King of Israel, but gravely and after a gracious manner said, I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. Also when the Mariners enquired of Jonah saying, What is thine occupation, and whence comest thou? what is thy Country, and of what people art thou? This was the answer he gave them, I am an Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of Heaven, which hath made the Sea and the dry Land, Jon. 1.8, 9.
Indeed this answer is the highest, and most noble in the world, nor are there any save a few, that in truth can thus express themselves, though other answers they have enough; most can say, I have wisdom, or might, or riches, or friends, or health, or the like; these are common, and are greatly boasted in by the most: but he is the man that feareth God, and he that can say, when they say, to him what art thou? [I thy servant do fear the Lord] he is the man of many, he is to be honoured of men: Though this, to wit, that he feareth the Lord, is all that he hath in this World. He hath the thing, the honour, the life, and glory that is lasting: his blessedness will abide when all mens but his is buried in the dust, in shame, and contempt.