424 DIRECTIONS POR GETTING AND KEEPING ward, and therefore the hope of that should move you. And therefore you may perceive here, what a dangerous mistake it is to think that we have no grace, except our willingness to duty be without God's motives,from a mere love to the duty' itself, or to its effect. Nay, it is a dangerous Antinomian mistake to imagine, that it is our duty to be willing to good, without these motives of God; I say, to take it so much as for our duty, to exclude God's motives, though we should not judge ofour grace by it. For it is but an accusation of Christ, (and his law,) whobath ordained these motives of punishment and reward to be his instruments to move the soul to duty. Let me, therefore, put the right question to you, whether all God's motives laid together and considered, the ordi- naryprevailing part of your will be not rather for duty than against it ? This you will know by your practice. For if the prevailing part be against duty, you will not do it ; if itbe for duty, you will ordinarily perform it, though you cannot do it sowell as you would. And then you may see that your backwardness and remaining un- willingness must still be matter ofhumiliation and resistance to you, but not matter of doubting. Nay, thank God that enableth you to pull down yourself on your knees when you are unwilling; for what is that but the prevailingof your willingness against your unwillingness ? Should your unwillingness once prevail, you would turn your back upon the most acknowledged duties. Doubt 6. ' But I am afraid that it is only . slavish fear of hell, and not the love of God, that causeth me to obey ; and if it . were not for this fear, I doubt whether I' should not quite give over all. And perfect love casteth out fèar.' Anse'. I have answered this already. Love will not be perfect in this life. In the life to come, it will cast out all fear of damna- tion, and all fear that drives the soul from God, and all fear of men, (which is meant in Rev. xxi. 8., where the fearful and un- believers are condemned; that is, those that fear men more than God.) And that,l John iv. 17,18., speakethof a tormenting fear, which is it that I ampersuading you from, and consisteth in terrors of soul, upon an apprehension that God will condemn you. But it speaketh not of a filial fear, nor of a fear lest we should by for- saking God, or by yielding to temptation, lose the crown of life, and so perish ;. as long as this is not a tormenting fear, but a cau- telous, preserving, preventing fear. Besides, the text plainly saith, "k is that we may have boldness in the day ofjudgment,that love casteth out this fear ;" and at the day of judgment, love will have more fully overcome it. It is a great mistake to think that filial fear is only the fear of temporal chastisement, and that all fear of hell is slavish. Even filial fear is a fear of hell; but with this dif Terence. A on (if he know himselfto be a son) bath such a per-.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=