Reverence and godly Fear. ---------------- but the mofl: hardened Sinner here prefent, call his Thoughts afide a while, and feriouOy bcthink himfelf what he hath been doing, ever fince he came into the World this muft needs !hike him as cold as a Stone, making him to Fear and Tremble to confider, that all this time he hath, by his Sinning, been trcafuring up VVrath againft the D~y of Wrath, heaping up Coals, yea, ~urning Coals upon his own Head. Every tunc you fin, what do you elfe but cafi: in another Faggot to that Pile of much Wood, prepared to burn you for ever? Oh! that thefe dreadful and amazinv, Confiderations might, at length, rouze and awaken your Hearts to fear this confuming Fire, and ro tremble at that Wrath that is now kindling in God's Brcaft againft you, and which will, if you repent not, ere long kindle upon you . - But yo1t !Pill fay, to fear Gl.ld only becaufe he is a confuming Fire, murly becaufe of Queit" hU VVr~tth and fiery Indignation, if but, at beft, a jla7.Jijh bar; it is but to [ellr him M the Devils do, for they beJieve and tremble; An4 of what ufe and benefit wiU {uch a Fear aJ tho is be? • I An[wer; It is true, Firft, to fear God meerly upon the account of Wrath is Anfw. 1: but a Oavifh Fear; but yet it is far better to fear God Oavilhly, than to perifh fe~ It is beutr curcly; that will come with redoubled Terror which comes unexpeCtedly. How tofearGod intolerable will Hell be to thofe, efpecially, that never fear it till they feel it? When Jl.t:t~ijbly , Sinners fhall fee themfelves furrounded with Flames of Fire, before ever they tbJ~ 16 thought themfelves in any danger; when they fua\1 awake with the Flames of !~;;t [(· Hell flalhing aod flaming about them, what Screechings and Yellings will this caufe? • T his is to pcrilh as a FoOl perilheth, to go on fecuiely in Sin, till unexpe8:edly a Dart fi10denly ftrike , through his Liver. WhatevGr the Event be, yet it becomes the Reafon of a Man to be affeCted with Fear, proponionable to the Evil that he lies obnoxious to:, therefore \~het her this flavilh Fear ends in Torment or no~ yet it is more rational to fear that \\·e are expofed to it, than to be fccure and go down into Torments, and never to fear' them till we feel them. (2.) Stcoudly, This Fear, though a tlavi~ Fear, is of great efficacy to deter Slavijh I\1en from the outward ACts of more grofs and fcandalous Sins. He that puts Ftar .w Hell betwixt him and his Sins, will fcarcc be fa daring as to venture through a d_eter Men Lake of Fire and Brirnftone to commit them. God thought he had fet a fufficient ~orfcllu· Guard upon the Tree of Life, when he placed Chtrubims and a flami12g Sword to ;i;;s keep Men from it; but to keep Men from Sin, he bath placed a Guard far more • dreadful than A ngels or a flaming Sword; he bath placed himfelf, a confuming Fire, to dCtcr Men from Sin; and they certainly that have any Fear Or Dread of God upon their Hea1 ts, wlll judge it too too hot a Wot k to break through this Fire to their Lufts.· The Thoughts of Hell and thofe cvcrlafting Torments due to Sin, h:rve doubtlcfs been often ufcd with good fm;ccfs to repel Satan's Temptations; when no other Arguments porribly could prevail, yet when the' Dwil bath cait fiery Darts at them, they have ca{t Fire~brands again at him, and fo have overcome him . . (3.) T hirdly, Whe!·e the fear of Wrath ~o.th prevail to reftrain Men from Sin, this Slavifo IS a good EffeCt, for It cloth l~lfen and mitigate that Wrath that th~y fear. Thofe Fe~r will that add Iniquity to Iniquity without Fear, upon them God will heap Plague upon mirig~tro Plague~ witllOUt meafura ; he proportions Mens runifhments tO their Sins, and thofe wr.. b, that Fear moft Ihall feelleaft; that Fear of theirs that kept them from the grofs AB:s of Sins that others boldly rufh into, that Fear Ihalllikewife keep them from the fore!t Torments that others Ihall for ever fuffer. ' (4) Fourthih This Oavifu Fear is Ifagogical.; that is, it is preparatory to and !n- Slavijb duChvc of a filtal and holy Fear of GOd. We ufually fear God fidt as a revcngmg Fear il Judge~ before we come to fear him with a reverential, filial Fear, as a reconciled prtparar~ry Father. As the Poet of Old fabuloufiy fanfied, that the Giants heaped Mountain ~0·a~nd 7·- upon Mountain, that they might fca le Heaven. This is true in Chrifrianity, the fi~i4~V:e:r way to climb Heaven is by laying one Mountain upon another, even Mount Sion upon • Mount SinAi. Thofe commonly prove the moft ftable and ftayed Chri!tians, that have been moft harraffed by legal Terrors before they enjoy the fcnfe of Comfort; for the Stru8.ure of Grace in the Heart is quite contrary to other Buildings ; it ftands firme1t when it is laid upon a fhakiog and a trembling Foundation. It is a Seed that never thrives fo well as where the Hear£ is moft broken up, and when~ the Wrath of God halb made long and deep Fnrrows in it. Well
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