Serm.CXCVII.fearingGodnaore thanMan. 643 fhall be expofed to many temptations, and be liable to be feduc'd from our Duty, So Solomon obferves, Prov. 29. 25. Thefear ofman bringeth a fnare. Now if we would call out this Fear of Mens it muff be bya greater Fear, which is ftronger and morepowerful } and that is the Fear ofGod, Ifa. 8. t 2, 13. Nei- therfearye theirfèar, nor be afraid; fpeaking of the Fear of Men, againft which he prefcribes this remedy, SanftifietheLordofhalls himfe f and let him beyourfear, and let him beyour dread. IfGod be once theobjeét ofour fear, and we be through- lypoffeft with awful apprehenfions of him, the frowns of Men, and the wrath and difpleafure of the greateft upon earth, will liignifie nothing to us. This prefer- ved Moles amidit all the temptations of a Court, Heb: r t: 27. He feared not the wrath ofthe King: Jr o he endured, as feeing'him who isinvifible. Hecould eafily bear the anger of Pharaoh, when by Faith he beheld the omnipotent Juflice of the King immortal and ünvifible. IV. If God be infinitely more to be dreaded than Men, then Who is to be obeyed, God or men ? judgeye: I fpeak nothis to diminifh our reverenceto Magiftrates; and their authority ; for by perfuading Men to fear God, who commands obedience to Magiftrates, we fecure their reverence and authority : but when the commands of Men are contrary to God's, and come in competitionwith them , Shall we not hearken tohim, who is Supreme, the greatand moft powerful? Shall wenot obeyhim who bath the molt unqueftionable authority over us, and right to command us ? Shall we not dread him moft, who is to be fearedaboveall ;whocanbethe belt friend, and the foreft enemy, is able to give the greateft rewards to our obedience, and to re= venge himfelf uponus for our difobedience by the moft dreadful and .fevere.punith- talents? Thegreat Socrates, when he was accufedby theAthenians forcorrupting and feducing the youthof Athens by his Philofophy, makes thisgenerousdefence for him- felfmore like an Apoflle than a Philofopher, " That he believed this province was " committed to him byGod, that he was call'd byhim to this employment, to en- f0 deavour to reform the world ; and therefore for him to forfake his . dation for "I' fear of death, or of any other temporal evil, would be a mod grievous fini And afterwards (as Plato gives us the account of it) he fays, Iam not afraid to die : but this I am afraid of to difobey the commandsofmy fu eriour, and to defert the Elation he loathplaced mein, and togive over the work which he bath appointed me ; and therefore, fays he, Ifyou would difmifr me ripen chafe conditions, that I would forbear for the future, to inftrutl the people, and if after this I befoundfo doing, Ifhould be put to death; if I might be releafed upon chafe terms, 1 would not accept them ; I would thank you for your goodwill, but this I nnifl afEtrm.toyou, that Iought to obey Godrather thanyou; and fo long as Ihave breath,. Iwill never give over exhorting and teaching the people, and inculcating theprecepts ofPhilofo= phy upon every one I meet with. Could a Heathen, who had but very obfcure apprehenfionsof the rewards of ano- ther life, in comparifon of what Ghridians have by the. Revelation of the Gofpel, could he take up this brave refolution, and die in it ? Did he with fo much con- ftancy defpifethe'wrath and reproaches ofMen, and with fo much cheärfulnefs en- tertain death, rather than to flinch from his duty? Howdoes this upbraid the cow- ardice of manyChriftians, who are fo eafilydeter'd from their duty, and are apt to quit their Religion for fear of Sufferings ? Since life and immortality is brought to light by theGofpel, and the wrath ofGod is fo clearly revealed fromHeaven, What a folly is it for any Man to chufe iniquity rather than afitïion, as the expreffion is injob ; and to forfeit the favour of God, for the friendfhip of the.World ? The fear of Men will not be a fufficient plea and excufe for Men at the Day Of Judgment ; it will not then be enough to fay, This I was awed into by the appre- henfion of fucha danger, by the fear of fuch fufferings ; to avoid fuch an inconve- ence, I knowingly committed fuch a fin; for fear ofbeing.perfecuted, I violated my confcience, and chofe rather to truft God with mySoul, than Menwith my F.- dare ; to fave my life, I renouncedmy Religion was afbamed ofChr, anddenied -him before men. Our Saviour bath told us plainly, that this will not ferve us at the great day, Mark 8. 38. Whofoever therefore fhall be afbanted ofme, and of my words, in this adulteran: andfinful generation, of him alfa (hall the Sonof' man be N n n n 2 afba=
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=