Reverence andgodly Fear. to e,ain che favour of Men with the difpleafure of God, to redeem a temporal Life by an eternal Death, is the.foolifheft Barga:in that can.be ma~e; he knows the rage of Man is under the re£tra1nt of God, and thii't a Hatr of hts Head fhall not fa ll to the Ground without his heavenly Father's Knuwledge and Permiilion; and if God doth fuffh wicked Men to inflia the utmofr that their R:age and Spight can prompt them unto, yet it rcachcth only th~ir earthly part, the dull part of_Man, the Body; they may pcrfecutc, torment and ktll us, but yet they cannot hurt us; one momcn... tany Gripe of Hell's Torments is infinitely more intolerable, than all the Cruelties that Men can poilibly invent or infl.i8:; one Frown from an angry God hath more Drc:!d and Terror in it, than all the Rage and Threatnin!!s of the moft barbarous and cruel Tyrants; and that Chriftian that makes fuch an ac.. count as this is, can never certainly fo fear Torment or Dei_th, as to be draw11 to Sin againft God, whofe Difpleafure he more fears than he te'ars either Torment or Death. Ngw to Jbut up this whole SubjeCt, 1 fha\1 only briefly mention a few Particulars w~.,~.b;'t to you whereby you may take a brief View of what there is in the Nature of God, ~1,'!: m~J that ~ay juftly aftCtt us wit~ a holy Fear and Awe of him. affia '* •itb '"' Aroe and Frar of ~im .. (1.) Firfr, 71Je Conftderlltion of GoJ.'s gloriom A~ajefly m.aJ jfr~ke m in~o a holy D~ea~ Hisgloand Terror. And therefore fays ']ob 33· 22. Wtth God u urnble Ma;efty. ThiS IS rimu M;~ .. that which d:umts the holy Angds in Heaven, rliey cover their Faces w1th their Ufings, i4lJ. as not being able to bear the piercing Rays of that Glory wherewith he is cloathed. An earthly PriHce, when he is fet forth in the Royalty and Grandeur. of his State, carts an awe upon thofc that approach near him. And how much more ought we to fear the great and glorio~JS Maie?:y of He;;~ven, who is always cl.td with Ltght M with a Garment_:, that. L1ght which no mo.rtal. Ey~ can approach J being always furroundcd Wlth an Innumerable Haft of g,httenng Attendants 'i each of whic!;lmaiutains more Pomp and State than the grcatcft Potentate on Earth. · . ( 2 .) Secondly, G'od's ALmighty Power /houLd caufo m to [ear bifore him. He is the H_U AI· uncontroulable Sovereign of all the World, tq whofc Beck all things in Heaven ~tgbtJ and in Earth, yea, and in Reil too are fubjeet ; , and therefore fays 'job 25. 2. Do- ouer. mimon lltul. Fear are with him; not that God hath any Fear, or ftands in Fear, but the Dominion and Sovereignty of God caufeth Fear ; it ftrikes the Heart with an awful Fear, when we confider that Dominion and Fear are with God. That Power and Authority of God, by which he ex:ercifeth his Dominion, caufeth a Fear of him. (3.) Thirdly, The fovere And impartial JuftiCe of God, whereby he renders to every Hil (twrt one according to his Works; thi& jiJould kindle in tu a holy Fear of God. So the Apoftlc, 'Ju{li(e, • 2 Cor.)· 10, 11. We muft receive, fays he, according to what we baw do11e in the Bod)• · Whence he infers, That knor.ing the Terrws of the Lord, we perfuade Meu. It is terrible to receive from God's ]uftice, according to what we have done in the Body. ( 4 .) Fourthly, The Conjideration of God's Omnipre{ence and Omnifciency, may c~tufo Hi' Omniin us a holy Feat of him. His Eye is ~lways upon us, his Prefence is always with us flkn~yttnd where-ever we are, and he fees and obferves whatever we do, and therefore let ~mmpreus fear him, his Eye is awful. enu. ( S·) Fifthly, The Conjideration of our abfolute dependance u~n God, ftJould caufe m Our ttbfoto Oand in Fur of him; left by provoking him who maintains our Souls in Life, in lute depmwhom we live and move, and have our beings, in whofe Hands are our Bre:Hb, z~nce u.pQn our Life and all our Ways; he fuould turn his Hand upon us, and deprive us of Jm. all thofe Mercies and Comforts tha£ now he heaps upon us. So much for this Time and Text. Ooooo z SERMON
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