Expositions Upon Matthew 1-10, Treatise · Chapter 10 · Section 2
Means to Gods fear.
1 God muſt put it into our hearts. Jer. 32.40. and man muſt teach it, Pſalm 34.11. Come, ye children, hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. We are ready to ſcatter our fear as well as other affections where it ought not to be, as on great perſons, Prov. 29.25. on worldly troubles, hence it's Gods work to place our fear on a right object; hence David prays, Pſalm 86.10. Unite my heart to fear thy Name.
2 Apprehend Gods love to thy ſoul, and thou wilt be affraid to offend him. Hoſea 3.5. They ſhall fear the Lord and his goodneſs. Pſal. 130.3, 4. There is mercy with thee that thou mayſt be feared. 1 Pet. 1.17. If you call upon the Father, that is, look upon him as your Father, ſee that you ſpend the time of your ſojourning here in fear. 2 Cor. 6.17, 18. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will be a Father unto you.
3 Be perſwaded of Gods Omniſcience and Omnipreſence. We would fear to do evil if the eye of a man were upon us, much more when Gods eye beholds us. Pſalm 44.17, 18. Though God ſmote his people into the place of Dragons, and covered them with the ſhadow of death; yet they apprehending and believing God to ſearch into the ſecrets of the heart, they durſt not lift up their hands to a ſtrange God, v. 20, 21. What made Job fear to ſin? See cap. 31.4. Doth not he ſee all my ways, and count all my ſteps?
4 Look upon and believe the greatneſs of his power, Iſai 40.12. Who hath meaſured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out Heaven with the ſpan, and comprehended the duſt of the earth in a meaſure, and weighed the mountains in ſcales, and the hills in a ballance. All Nations compared with him are as a drop of a Bucket, compared with the Ocean, or as the ſmall duſt in a ballance compared with the greateſt weights put therein: all Nations are before him as nothing, v. 11, 17. Hence the Lord ſaith, Jer. 5.22. Fear ye not me? will ye not tremble at my preſence? who have placed the ſand for the bound of the ſea, &c. Pſalm 76. v. 5. to v. 10. Thou even thou art to be feared, thou didſt cauſe judgment to be heard from Heaven, the earth feared and was ſtill. Eſpecially behold Gods power in caſting the ſoul into Hell. Job 41.10. Leviathan or the Whale is ſet down to be a terrible creature: Job ſaith, Shall not even one be caſt down at the ſight of him? v. 9. alſo v. 10. None is ſo fierce that dares ſtir him up, who then can ſtand before me? If thou art notable to ſtand againſt one of Gods creatures in thy ſins, how wilt thou be able to ſtand before God himſelf? Beſides all other, he hath one power to convey an inviſible Horrour into thy Conſcience, to make thee a terrour to thy ſelf and others, Jer. 20.4. See it in Judas, Matth. 27.4, 5. if thou wilt venture to go on in ſin.
5 Believe Gods threatnings againſt ſin. Who would venture upon ſuch a ſin, did he believe the threatnings againſt it? Heb. 11.7. Noah by faith, being moved with fear (to wit, of Gods drowning the World) prepared an Ark, &c. Eve contrarily, mincing the threatning, Gen. 3.3. when God had ſaid, In the day that thou eateſt of it, thou ſhalt ſurely dy, Gen. 2.16, 17. ſhe changed it thus, God hath ſaid, Ye ſhall not eat of it, neither ſhall ye touch it leſt ye dy. The threatning being thus leſſened, ſhe was drawn away to ruine her ſelf and poſterity. There are terrible threats againſt ſinners. See Deut. 29.18, 19, 20, 21. Pſalm 11.6. Col. 3.6. 1 Theſ. 4.6. 2 Theſ. 1.8, 9. 1 Pet. 4.17. Theſe and many more, unleſs they be believed, they will not preſerve us from ſin.
Queſt. But ſeeing there is a filial and ſon-like fear; and a ſervile or ſlaviſh fear of God, how ſhall we know what our fear is?
Anſw. 1 Slaviſh fear drives from God, Gen. 3.8. Adam and Eve, when they heard the voice of the Lord, hid themſelves from the preſence of the Lord. The reaſon is rendered, v. 10. becauſe they were affraid. Iſ. 33.14. The ſinners in Sion are affraid, they look upon God as devouring fire, and as everlaſting burnings. So the Devils believe and tremble, James 2.19. Contrarily, filial fear brings us nearer to God. Pſalm 86.11.
2 Slaviſh fear leaves the nature filthy, as in the Devils, James 2.19. and wicked men, Heb. 2.15. through fear of death they are all their life ſubject to bondage.
Contrarily, filial fear cleanſeth, Pſalm 19.4. The fear of the Lord is clean. 2 Cor. 7.1. Let us cleanſe our ſelves from all filthineſs both of fleſh and ſpirit, perfecting holineſs in the fear of God. Holy perſons ſerve without ſlaviſh fear, in holineſs and righteouſneſs all their life, Luke 1.74, 75.
3 Slaviſh fear hath torment of heart, 1 John 4.17, 18. We ſee it in Devils, who believe and tremble, Matth. 8.29.
Contrarily, filial fear hath quiet of heart joyned with it. The heart is never in ſo good a temper as when it is moſt fearfull of ſin. Acts 9.31. The Churches walking in the fear of the Lord, walked alſo in the comfort of the Holy Ghoſt. Mal. 4.2. Unto you that fear my Name ſhall the Sun of Righteouſneſs appear.
4 Thoſe that have ſlaviſh fear would fain be rid of it, 1 Kings 22.26. Zedekiah goes from chamber to chamber to hide himſelf; the wicked in fear of Gods judgment call to mountains and hills to hide themſelves, Revel. 6.16. Contrarily, Saints would ſtill have the fear of God continue upon them; nay if they finde it decaying, they complain, Iſai 63.17. Lord why haſt thou hardened my heart from thy fear?
5 Slaviſh fear is from, 1 The ſting of a guilty conſcience, Deut. 28.65, 66. The Lord ſhall give thee a trembling heart, and thou ſhalt fear day and night. Saul, 1 Sam. 13.7. when he was near the battle, all the people followed him trembling. Hypocrites in Sion looking on God as devouring fire, fearfulneſs ſurprized them, Iſai 33.15. Paul preaching to Faelix of righteouſneſs, temperance, and judgement to come, he, living an unrighteous and an intemperate life, trembled to think of the judgement to come, and was ſo ſtung with it that he was driven to make Paul leave off his preaching.
2 From the expectation of future wrath, Heb. 10.27. they have a certain fearfull looking for of judgement and fiery indignation.
Contrarily filial fear, 1 Ariſeth from faith, Heb. 11.7. By faith Noah was moved with fear, Iſai 50.10.
Or, 2 From godly ſorrow, 2 Cor. 7.11. Fear was one effect that godly ſorrow wrought in the repenting Corinthians; the ſoul having felt much inward ſorrow for the evils it hath done, is affraid to do the like evils again.
3 From love to God; we are affraid to offend thoſe whom we love; an husband fears to offend his wife, a good childe fears to offend his father, ſo the ſoul that loves God fears to offend him.