The Covenant of Grace, Chapter 7
CHAP. VII.
The properties of Gods worship, and first of the worshipping of God without fear
THus much of the par… of Gods worship: now follow the propertie…. For it is not sufficient to do that which is good▪ … we must be careful of the manner also, that it be well done. It is not sufficient to wor…hip God in the parts of his worship; unlesse they be performed in that manner, which God hath prescribed.
Our new obedience hath three properties: for therein we are to worship and serve God
without fear.
before him.
al the dayes of our life.
The first respecting our enemies, foreign without fear of them.
The second respecting God. foreign before him.
The third respecting the time, all the dayes of our life.
The first is foreign or spiritual security noted in the word foreign without fear. For without doubt this adverb is to be adjoyned in constru…tion to the verb foreign and not to the participle foreign ▪ For neither was the deliverer without fear, Heb. 5. 7. Mar. 14. 33. Luk. 22. …3 44. nor the delivered, Heb. 2. 15.
The second, uprightness▪ or integrity noted in the words, before him.
The third, constancy or perseverance, noted in these words, all the dayes of our life.
As touching the 1. we must in the 1. place endevor to explain the true sense & meaning of the words. For at the first sight it may seem not well to agree with other places of the Scripture, wherin fear is highly commended.
For first, the fear of God is the b…ginning, or chief point of wisdom, that is, of true piety, Psal. a II. 10. Pro. …: 10. Iob. 28. 28. By it, as a bridle, men are restrained from evill, (for the fear of God is to depart from evill, Bro. 8. 13.) which bridle being cast off, men run headlong into sin; see Gen. 20. 11. how then can this be promised as an especiall blessing to worship God without fear?
2. S. Pet. 1. Epist. 1. 17. 18. saith, We are therefore to passe the time of our pilgrimage in fear, because we know that we are rede… med by the blood of Christ. Here the Lord promiseth, that he will give us, that we being redeemed by the blood of Christ, shall worship him without fear; so Esay 43. 1. Fear not, for I have redeemed thee.
3. Solomon, Pro. 28. 14. pronounceth him blessed who feareth alwaies: here Za…hary expounding the blessedness, w… was promised in Abrahams, seed, saith, it is to worship God without fear.
4. S. Paul exhorteth us, because we have such promises, that to us being redeemed by Christ, God will be our Father, &c. to perfect our sanctifie ation in the fear of God, 2 Cor 7. 1. and else-where he admonisheth the redeemed, whose salvation was already begun, to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, Phil. 3. 12. here the Lord promiseth the redeemed, that they shal worship him without fear.
5. Psal. 2. 11. and 5. 7. God is to be worshipped with fear.
6. Carnall security, which is the want of f…r, is, as it were, the cradle of the Devill, wherein he … men asleep to their perdition; and it, is a brand or mark of the wicked, n…t to have the fear of God before their eyes, Rom. 3. 18. how then can the want of fear be promised … a… a blessing?
…or an…wer to this objection, we are to … fear or …. Fear is to be distinguished? both in respect of the object, and of the subj…t. … object, that is, the party or the …: The subject, that is the person w…o feare…h.
1. First i… respect of the party feared. For there is a fear of God, & there is a fear of our enemies. God hath delivered us from the hand of our enemies, that we should worsh…p him without fear, not of Him, but of them. For as he hath redeemed us from the service of our enemies, that we might se…ve him, so he hath freed us from the fear of them, that we may fear him alone, and hereu…to appertaineth that place of Esay, Chap. 43. 1. Fear n…t (to wit, thine enemies) for I have redeemed thee.
But this foreign or want of fear in respect of our enemies, which is a doubtfull fear, may be understood, either metonymically, without cause of fear, or properly, without fear it self. And so there are two degrees of this foreign or want of fear; the former, implying the certainty of the object; the latter, of the subject: the former pertaining to all true beleevers, though but Incipient…, whose salv…tion is certain and sure (which I call the certainty of the object) though they perhaps be not as yet, nor at all time… …ertain, nor sure of it. The other belonging to proficients, or grown Christians. Of the former, you may with Theophylact understand the word foreign without fear, as signifying foreign without danger, or cause of fear: So are they said to be secure, or without fear, who are in safety and out of danger, as all the faithfull are, being kept safe by the power of God through faith unto salvation, 1 Pet. 1. 5. Of the latter, Beza understandeth the word foreign as signifying foreign in confidence or assurance, Ephes. 3. 12. Or as the Apostle speaketh. Titus 2. 13. in assured expectation of salvation; which foreign or …earlesness, is a cōsequent of the former, That being the foundation of This, whē we know our selves to believe. For if we believe that we are out of danger, we will also be without fear, and according to the measure of this beliefe, is the measure of this …ecurity, or want of fear, and this degree seemeth to be implyed in the Hebrew verb hithbarac…, Gen, 22. 18. as I noted before.
And this I called the certainty of the subject.
This place therefore is to be understood of the fear of our enemies, that we are to worship God without fear of them; and not of the true fear of God: which all those places, which were objected, as commending fear, did speak of which true fear of God th… foreign in not fearing our enemies, is a fruit and effect. For he that feareth God truly▪ needeth not to fear any thing else, according to that, Prov. 14. 26. In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence.
2. In respect of the thing feared: fear i… either of the evill of punishment, or of the evill of sinne. But this distinction is the same in effect, with that distinction of fear in respect of the subject, whereof I am now to speak.
3. In respect of the subject, that is, the persons fearing. Fear is either of
Bond-servants who are under the Law, which is a servile or slavish fear.
Sons, who are not under the Law, butunder grace, which is a son-like or shall fear.
The former is properly called metus, whose effect is metuere ab aliquo, to be afraid of the object, that is, feared. The other is timor (of foreign whose effect is to fear or to reverence the object feared. The former is a fearfull expectation of some evill from the party feared: the other is an awfull reverence of the party feared, not to offend him by doing evil: so that the formall object of the former, is malū poena, the evil of punishment, in regard whereof they are afraid of God: of the other, malum culpae, the evil of sin, in regard whereof they fear to offe…d or displease God. The former is rather metus poena, then timor Dei, fear of punishment, rather then of God, For if there were no punishment, they that have but this fear, would not fear to offend God. Oderunt peccare mali formidine pocnae.
The other out of the love of God & of goodness, though there were no punishment to be fear…d feareth to offend. Oderunt peccare boni virtutis dmore.
The former being foreign the spirit of bondage, Rom. 8. 15. and foreign the spirit of fearfulness, 2 Tim. 1. 7. is a fruit and effect of the Law, forcing and compelling those that are under it to yeeld some outward obedience for fear of punishment. The other is a fruit of the Gospell, and of faith; when a man being perswaded of Gods mercy and goodness towards him in Christ, feareth to offend so gracious a God, and mercifull Father, according to that, Psalm. 130. 4. There is mercy with thee that thou … be f…ared.
Of this son-like fear, there is no question, but that we are to worship God therewith, Psal. 2. 11. 5. 7. Nay, we cannot worship God arigh without it, Den. 6. 13. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him: this being one of the chiefest things required in his service, Deut. 10. 12. Eccles. 12. 13. and is therfore called caput sapientiae, the very chief point of wisdom, that is, of true piety and godliness, Psa. 111. 10. Pro. 9. 10. Of the other, there may be a question; whether God hath promised to those that are redeemed; that they shall worship him without all servi…e fear; seeing that it is profitable, that men should be restrained from sinne by feare of punishment. And to that end doth the Lord threaten judgements and punishments to terrifie and to deterre men from sinne.
To this I answer, as I delivered before in the doctrine of redemption, that our Saviour in delivering us from the terrour and coaction of the Law, doth free us also from servile fear, but we are to consider quatenus, how far forth. For such as is our redemption (I speak of it passively, as it is in the redeemed) such is our freedom from servile fear; to wit, inchoated or begun in this life, and increasing by degrees; compleat, and perfect in the life to come, which is called our full redemption; which being not totall in this life, doth not free us totally from this servile fear. Full and perfect charity indeed casteth out this fear, and he that thus feareth, is not perfected in charity, 1 Ioh. 4. 18. But whiles the reliques of sin, or rather the body of sin remaineth in us, whiles we are in part flesh, as well as spirit, we have not perfect charity.
And therefore so far forth, as we are flesh, we are subject to servile fear: yea, so far as we are carnall, we are servants, Rom. 7. 14. 23. but so far forth as we are spirit, we are freed from that fear, as not being under the Law, but under grace: Yet because concupiscence and the corruptions of the flesh, still abide in us; it was expedient for the subduing and mortifying of the fl…sh, that we should in some part be obnoxious to this fear. To which end the rest also of our spirituall enemies, though they be overcome, and we delivered out of their power, are still … to … counter us: that we standing upon our guard, and exercising and maintaining a spiritual… warfare against them, may at length triump… over them, and receive the crown promised to those that overcome.
In the mean time we are freed from this servile fear by degrees, from the time of …ur justification to our glorification, as our faith, hope and charity do encrease, by encrease whereof we are more and more enabled to worship God, as without fear, so also with willing and cheerfull minds. And therefore we are to be stirred up to labour for the encrease of these graces in us, that our fear may be diminished, and our assurance encreased; wherein our happiness in this life doth consist.
Security likewise is two-fold,
Carnall.
Spirituall.
The carnall security is, when a man being void of grace, and of the true fear of God, and destitute of faith, hope and charity, goeth on carelesly in his sinnes without repentance, presuming of Gods favour, and …is own salvation.
The spirituall security, as I distinguished before, is either of the object, signifying the spiritual safety of the faithful, because there is no condemnation to them that be in Christ. In regard wherof, they worship God securely, or without fear, that foreign or foreign without danger, or cause of fear. The spirituall security, in respect of the subject, is, when a man being justified before God by faith, and assured in some measure of … is favour, as knowing himself to have received grace to believe, and having peace of conscience, worshippeth God in assured expectation of everlasting life. And of this foreign or spirituall security, the Holy Ghost speaketh in this place.
The summe of that which hath been said by way of exposition, is this … that God hath promised to give the faithful, being redeemed by Christ, to worship him without fear, not without the true fear of God (for that is a chief part of his worship) but without fear of their spiritual enemies; and namely, without fear of damnation: and that in two degrees, so that they may worship him without fear, that is, without cause of fear, securely▪ and safely without danger, because their salvation is certain and sure, there being no cond…mnation to them that are in …
Secondly, without fear it self, namely, of their enemies, from whose power they believe themselves to be redeemed, and consequently, from the servile fear of God, performing a worship unto him, not of bondslaves (who are under the dominion of the Law) forced and extorted from them by servile fear, but the service of sons yeelding voluntary obedience. Not that we are delivered, from servile fear altogether, and at once, in this life, but by degrees, according to the measure of our faith, hope, and charity, wherwith we being indued in some good measure, shall worship the Lord securely, or in security, not carnall, but spirituall, and consequently not in fear of damnation, but in expectation of everlasting happiness.
Now this being the principall point in this whole text, and the chief thing wherein the happiness promised in Christ, the promised seed, doth consist in this life; viz. to worship the Lord without fear: Therefore as I have stood the longer in explaining the words; so I will endevour to set down the doctrines and uses, which are to be made of this point.