s Chap. 28. An Expoftion upon the Book or o B. Verf. 28. 373 ble to the hritoefs ofan expotition ; for feeing this fear hach receivedfo high a Tellimony from Job, in flying it is our wifdom, and becaufe what thewoman Paid upon ¿, falle fuggeftion concer- ning the forbidden tree of knowledge (Gen.3.6.) may moll truly be Cuggefted concerning this tree of wifdom,holy fear, It is a Tree to be dafired to makeone wire. (True wifdom is molt defire- able, and therefore every thing is tobe defired which makes us truly wife.) Forafmuch (I fay) as this fear is fo uleful and in- fluential upob the right ordering of our whole courfe through this vvorld,in wifdom it will neither be improper, nor unprofita- ble toWilt a while upon the difcovery ofit. Spiritual and holyfear, that fear of Godwhich is the wifdom of man, is taken two wayes inScripture. 1 irft, For the pure wor(hip of God,as was (hewed in opening the firft verle of this whole book ; all that I (hall fay of it here, . is, that to fear God thus, or to worfhip him purely, is a high point and part of wifdom.. Theywho mingle their ow'a inventi- ons with the inftirutions of God in «or(hip, and make to them- felves a graven Image, there think themfelveswife,.rhe only men of knowledge,as well as of zeal, about the things of God : but as the Apofile concludes of theold Gentiles, who never received the pattern of any inflicuted worfhip fromGod;yet when through their natural blindnefs, they were led to a falle worfhip, They (faith he, Rom. i. 22.)profiffingthemfelves wife, became fooles. So, we may much more conclude, that how wife foever thofe falle worfhippers(whohave received apatternfromGod, and yet fer up their own) doe either profefs themfelves to be, or how wife fo ever theymaybe inthe opinion and reputation of others, . yet indeed, and in Gads account they are become very fooles. None are fo fooli(h as they who will needes be wife above that which is written ; yea to be wifebetide what is writren,as to mat- ters of faith and wor(hip,isvery fooli(htiefs.And therefore as fear comes under this fir(} notion, the pure worfhip of God, fo 'cis the wiCdom of man. Not only are we to wor(hip the Lord with fear, (He6. I a. 28.) But the worfhip of the Lord is fear , while we keep dole to the rule and I conceive one chief reafon why the worfhipof God is called feu, isbecaufewe fhould"be con- tinually afraid of fwerving and departing from that rule of wor fhip which himfelf bath appointed. Noman is wife enough to know.
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