Chap. II. OJDEA T H. 2 • The fear of ·bwhoppre!Tes the Souls of Men undera miferable Bondage to the Devil ; for his Dominion is maintain'd by the Allurements and Terrors of the World. . Tho Men do not explicitly acknowlcdg his Sovcraignty, yet by voluntary yielding to his plealing Temptations, they are really his Slaves. And the appr~henlion ,of temporal Ev1ls~ ~ra~:~~ r:ar~:~'~;.d~~~J'.d "tr:.a .f~igh~~e r:f~~~~:~tt~~npr~~~h ;:~~~~~~~reJY~ifie 1~i~~ of trial: For the timorous Spirit being wholly intent how to avOid the wcurfion of a pre: ~~n~h~v~;~t~~g;~s~~~~ilf;;as ;r~~,~ ~~nn~f)~~~:~~J.~o t~~r1fi~J· f:~~ ~~;~?;'~~~~~~~d~~t~x~~'~ rcfolved Conflancy? To efcape Death they have been guilry of the matt infutferable Impictics, by renouncing God their Maker and Saviour, and wor01ipping the Dev1ls for Deiti~s. Every Age prefents fad Spefracles of many tlw choofe Iniquity rather than Affltfiion, Job 36. 21. that relinquilb their Duty, and by wicl<ed Compliances favctheir Lives, and lofc their Souls. Carnal Delircs, and carnal Fears are the Chains of Hell, that . retam Men Satan's Captives. But what folly, what madnefs is it, for the avoiding the impotent f~ry of. the Creature, to venture on the powerful Wrath of God, thac exceeds all the Terrors that'can be conceived by Fear? This renders them more brutiOl than the Horfe, that ftart - .ing at his Shadow, fprings over a defperate Precipice. The Fearful AY< exdudid from He.. ven, and cajl into the Lake of Fire and Brimjlone for ever. Rev. 21. l· The extreme fear of Death and 'Judgment dejeEts and difcourages the Soul from the ufe of means to prevent eterna~ Mifery, and induces a n:tofr wofu! Bondage. Fear anticj 0 pates and exafperates future Evds' for as Knowlcdg cxmcs Fear, fo Fcarl:ncreafes KnowJedg, by the unce!Tant working of the Thoughts upon terrible ObJells. The fearful Min!l aggravates the forefeen Evil, and diftils the Poifon from all the Circumftances and Confequences of it. And when the Evil is apprehended as infuperable and imjeclinable, all en 0 deavours to cfcape are cut off. What a Philofopherobferves of an Earthquake, ~ompared Nullum ""' with other defiructive Evils, is true in this cafe. There may be a fafe r_et~eat , fro~ Fire, ~U: fi~n:"ffu .. fron Inundations, from Storms, fromWar,from Peftilence; but an Earthquake aftonilbe.j . , • with fo violent a perturbation, that ftops our flight from the imminent Danger: S0 the -=•~"ll vehement imprellions of Fear from the approaches of Death, and the fever~ ~xecutions - upon the Sinner after it, diftrafr the Mind, and difable from flJing from .'!ht lfrath to come. Thcfc Fears arc more heavy by the fuggeftions of Satan, . who «preterits God f?, terrible in his Majefty, inexorable in his J uftice, and unchangeable in his Thr!"'tnjngs, t~1:\t all Hopes of obtammg hiS Favour arc loft. As the Egypttan Darknefs was n·ot tneer!y froJll the abfencc of the Sun, but from feculent Vapours cdndenling the'Air, that it might be fefi: So thefe dark and fearful expefrations of the Divine Wrath are not only fi·om ihe withdra\ving the Light of God's Countenance, ~ut from the Prince of Darknef! rha.t1fou!Spirit. And as we re~d ~f the Egyptiam, th~t no M_~n .-rofe from I~ is placef.or ;hree ~'1Jl; as if they had been bune~ mthat Oarkncfs, and depnved of all afrtve Power ana' Motion: fo the defpairing Soul fits down mourning at the Gates of Death, totally difabled from prdfe! curing the Things that belong to tts Peace. 'Tis Hope infpires and warms us W{th alicrjty, encourages our Endeavours: Defpair blunts our edg and induflry. The Soill"futfers the hardeft Bondage, and the Condition is unexprcllibly fad under the ~yranny of. this Fear. 1 0 how enthralled, how defolately mtferable! Delpatr does meptonouOy antl ! ffeetually rm~ the Soul. For whereas there is no Attribute more Divine, no clearer No(ion Of the De1ty than Loveand Mercy ; this Pallion difparages his Mercy, as if Sin were more onlmpotent, than hts Power to pardon; and all the Tears that flow from it, are fo far from ~~~~j~~~ly ~~~ ;;~fen~f~~~~~v~t~,i~~,s~~~,;::~~!d ~~~!~lie;~~~;p,;.l~~' ~;;:~oyvl~~~n~ to the ordained vilible fignof their Salvation; Defpair tu;ns away the Eye from our Deli- \'erer, and fixes 11 upon Mifery as remedilefs and final. - 4· How comes it to pals that Men are not always under the aEtual fear of Death but fubjefr to the Revolutions of it all their Lives? ' '!he Seed.sof this Pear are hid in. the guilty Breath of Men, and at times, efpecially in their CalamLttes, break forth and kmdle upon them. In their Leifure and Retirement intercurrent thoughts of Death and 'Judgment fting. them by fits, and make them une~fy. The flalbes of Confctence, hke moments of Lightmng, ftartle them, but they relapfe in- ~o theiF babLtua! ftuptdLty. And the accouut of it will be clear, by confidcring the fol!owmgpart!culars. '· Men are apt to flatter themfelves with the hopes of Ion<> Life and look upon Death at a great diftance. Tho there be a dying difpolitionin the y~ungeft and ftrongeft Perfons, tho we hve m aWorld of Cafua!ties, and Death he m ambulb to furprize us every day, yet we are fecure: becau[e EvJ!s atfefr us accordin<> to their apprehended nearncfs. A petKkk., ty
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