small in the worlds eyes in thine own eyes in the Saints eyes as sometimes one Saint is little in another Saints eye yet thou because thou fearest God art put among the blessed 2. By small sometimes is meant those that are but small of stature or young in years little Children that are easily passed by and looked over as those that sang Hosanna in the Temple were when the Pharisees deridingly said of them to Christ dost thou hear what THESE say Matth. 20.16 Well but Christ would not dispise them of them that feared God but preferred them by the Scripture-Testimony far before those that did contemn them Little Children how small so ever and although of never so small esteem with men shall also if they fear the Lord be blessed with the greatest Saints He shall bless them that fear him small and great 3. By small may sometimes be meant those that are small in grace or gifts these are said to be the least in the Church that is under this Consideration and so are by it least esteemed Thus also is that of Christ to be understood In as much as ye did it not to one of the least of these ye did it not to me 1 Cor. 6.4 Matth. 25.45 Art thou in thine own thoughts or in the thoughts of others of these last small ones small in grace small in gifts small in esteem upon this account yet if thou fearest God if thou fearest God indeed thou art certainly blessed with the best of Saints The least Star stands as fixed as the bigest of them all in Heaven He shall bless them that fear him small and great He shall bless them that is with the same blessing of eternal life For the different degrees of grace in Saints doth not make the blessing as to its nature differ 'T is the same Heaven the same Life the same Glory and the same Eternity of Felicity that they are in the text promised to be blessed with That is observable which I mentioned before where Christ at the day of Judgment particularly mentioneth and owneth the least In as much as ye did it not to one of the least The least then was there in his Kingdom and in his Glory as well as the biggest of all He shall bless them that fear him SMALL and great The small are mamed first in the text and are so the first in rank it may be to shew that though they may be slighted and little set by in the world yet they are much set by in the eyes of the Lord. Are great Saints only to have the Kingdom and the glory everlasting Are great works only to be rewarded works that are done by vertue of great grace and the abundance of the gifts of the holy Ghost No Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a Disciple Verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose a Disciples reward Mark here is but a little gift a Cup of cold water and that given to a little Saint but both taken special notice of by our Lord Jesus Christ Matth. 10.42 He will give reward to his Servants the Prophets and to his Saints and to them that fear his name small and great Revel 11.18 The Small therefore among them that fear God are blessed with the great as the great with the same salvation the same glory and the same eternal life and they shall have even as the great ones also shall as much as they can carry as much as their hearts souls bodys and capacities can hold Thirteenthly Dost thou fear God why the Holy Ghost hath on purpose indicted for thee an whole Psalme to sing concerning thy self So that thou mayest even as thou art in thy calling bed Journey or when ever sing out thine own blessed and happy condition to thine own comfort and the comfort of thy fellows The Psalm is called the 128. Psalm I will set it before thee both as it is in the reading and in the singing Psalms Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord that walketh in his waies for thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands happy shalt thou be and it shall be well with thee Thy wife shall be a fruitful Vine by the sides of thine house thy children like Olive Plants round about thy Table Behold that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the daies of thy life yea thou shalt see thy childrens Children and peace upon Israel As it is sung Blessed art thou that fearest God And walkest in his way For of thy Labour thou shalt eat Happy art thou I say Like fruitful Vines on thy House side So doth thy wife spring out Thy Children stand like Olive Plants Thy Table round about Thus art thou blest that fearest God And he shall let thee see The promised Jerusalem And her felicity Thou shalt thy Childrens Children see To thy great Joyes increase And likewise grace on Israel Prosperity and Peace And now I have done with the priviledges when I have removed one Objection Object But the Scripture saies Perfect love casteth out fear and therefore it seems that Saints after that a Spirit of Adoption is come should not fear but do their duty as another Scripture saith without it 1 Joh. 4.18 Luk. 1.74 75. Answ. Fear as I have shewed you may be taken several waies 1. It may be taken for the fear of Divels 2. It may be taken for the fear of reprobates 3. It may be taken for the fear that is wrought in the godly by the Spirit as a Spirit of bondage or 4. It may be taken for the fear that I have been but now discoursing of Now the fear that perfect love casts out cannot be that sonlike gracious fear of God that I have in this last place been treating of because that fear that love casts out hath torment but so has not the Son-like fear Therefore the fear that love casts out is either that fear that is like the fear of Devils and Reprobates or that fear that is begot in the heart by the Spirit of God as a Spirit of bondage or both for indeed all these kinds of fear have torment and therefore may be cast out and are so by the Spirit of Adoption which is called the Spirit of Faith and love when he comes with power into the soul so that without this fear we should serve him But to argue from these texts that we ought not to fear God or to mix fear with our worship of him is as much as to say that by the Spirit of Adoption we are made very Rogues for not to fear God is by the Scripture applied to such Luk. 23.40 But for what I have affirmed the Scripture doth plentifully confirm saying Happy is the man that feareth alway And again It shall be well with them that fear God
I will abide in thy tabernacle that is in thy Christ by faith and in thy way of worship by love for ever And observe it he makes the believing remembrance of his first evidences for Heaven the ground of this his cry and faith for thou sayes he O God hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name Thou hast made me meet to be partaker of the mercy of thy chosen and hast put me under the blessing of goodness wherewith thou hast blessed those that fear thee Thus you see how David in his distresses musters up his prayers faith and evidences for eternal life that he might deliver himself from being over-whelmed that is with slavish fear and that he might also abound in that Son-like fear of his fellow brethren that is not only comely with respect to our profession but profitable to our souls Sixthly Wouldest thou grow in this fear of God then set before thine eyes the being and majesty of God For that both begetteth maintaineth and increaseth this fear And hence it is called the fear of God that is an holy and awful dread and reverence of his majestie For the fear of God is to stand in aw of him but how can that be done if we do not set him before us And again if we would fear him more we must abide more in the sence and faith of his glorious majestie Hence this fear and Gods name is so often put together as fear God fear the Lord fear thy God do this in the fear of the Lord and thou shalt fear thy God I am the Lord. For these words I am the Lord thy God and the like are on purpose put in not only to shew us who we should fear but also to beget maintain and increase in us that fear that is due from us to that glorious and fearful name the Lord our God Deut. 28.58 Seventhly Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear then keep alwaies close to thy conscience the authority of the word Fear the commmandment as the commandment of a God both mighty and glorious and as the commandment of a father both loving and pittiful let this commandment I say be alwaies with thine eye with thine ear and with thine heart For then thou wilt be taught not only to fear but to abound in the fear of the Lord. Every grace is nourished by the word and without it there is no thrist in the soul Pro. 13.13 Chap. 4.20 21 22. Deut. 6.1.2 Eightly Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear Then be much in the faith of the promise of the promise that maketh over to thy soul an interest in God by Christ and of all good things The promise naturally tendeth to increase in us the fear of the Lord because this fear it grows by goodness and mercie They shall fear the Lord and his goodness now this goodness and mercie of God it is wrapped up in and made over to us by promise for God gave it to Abraham by promise Therefore the faith and hope of the promise causeth this fear to grow in the soul. Having therefore these promises dearly beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God 2. Cor. 7.1 perfect holiness in the fear of God therefore that fear by the promise must needs grow mighty for by with and in it you see holiness is perfected Ninthly Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear Then remember the Judgments of God that have or shall certainty over take those professours that have either been down-right hypocrites or else unwatchful Christians For both these sorts partake of the Judgments of God the one to wit the true Christian for his unwatchfulness for his correction the other to wit the hypocrite for his hypocrisie to his destruction This is a way to make thee stand in aw and to make thee tremble and grow in the grace of fear before thy God Judgments you may say what Judgments Answ. Time will fail me here to tell thee of the Judgments that sometimes overtake Gods people and that alwaies certainly overtake the hypocrite for his transgressions For those that attend Gods people I would have thee look back to the place in this Book where they are particularly touched upon And for those that attend the hypocrite in general they are these 1. Blindness of heart in this world 2. The death of their hope at the day of their death 3. And the damnation of their souls at the day of Judgment Matth. 23.15 16 17 18 19. Job 8.13 Chap. 11.20 Chap. 18.14 Chap. 20.4 5 6 7. Matth. 23.33 Chap. 24.51 Luk 20.47 The godly consideration of these things tend to make men grow in the fear of God Tenthly Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear Then study the EXCELLENCIES of the grace of fear and what profit it yieldeth to to them that have it and labor to get thy heart into the love both of the exercise of the grace it self and also of the fruit it yieldeth For a man hardly grows in the encrease of any grace until his heart is united to it and until it is made lovely in his eyes Psal. 119.119 120. Now the excellencies of this grace of fear have also been discoursed of in this Book before where by reading thou shalt find the fruit it bears and the promises that are anexed to it which because they are many I refer thee also thither for thy instruction Eleventhly Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear Then remember what a world of priviledges do belong to them that fear the Lord As also I have hinted namely that such shall not be hurt shall want no good thing shall be guarded by Angels and have a special licence though in never so dreadful plight to trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon their God 12. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear Then be much in prayer to God for abundance of the encrease thereof To fear God is that which is according to his will and if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us Pray therefore that God will unite thy heart to fear his name this is the way to grow in the grace of fear Lastly Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear Then devote thy self to it Psal. 119.38 Devote my self to it you will say how is that I answer why give thy selfe to it addict thy self to it Solace thy self in the contemplation of God and of a reverence of his name and word and worship Then wilt thou fear and grow in this grace of fear What things they are that have a tendency in them to hinder the growth of the fear of God in our hearts And that I may yet be helpful to thee Reader I shall now give thee caution of those things that will if way be given to them hinder thy growth in this fear of God the which because they are very hurtful to the people of
fault with his dispensations and where there is that the heart is far from fear A murmuring spirit either comes from that wisdom that pretends to understand that there is a failure in the nature and execution of things or from an envy and spite at the execution of them Now if murmurings arise from this pretended wisdom of the flesh then instead of fearing of God his actions are judged to be either riged or ridiculous which yet are done in judgment truth and righteousness So that a murmuring heart cannot be a good one for the fear of God to grow in alas the heart where that grows must be a soft one as you have it in Job 23.15 16. And an heart that will stoop and be silent at the most abstruse of all his Judgments I was silent because thou didest it The heart in which this fear of God doth flourish is such that it bowes and is mute if it can but espie the hand wisdom justice or holiness of God in this or the other of his dispensations and so stirs up the soul to fear before him But if this murmuring ariseth from envy and spite that looketh so like to the spirit of the Devil that nothing need be said to give conviction of the horrible wickedness of it 8. Wouldst thou grow in this grace of fear then Take heed of an high and captious spirit for that is not good ground for the fear of God to grow in a meek and quiet spirit is the best and there the fear of God will flourish most therefore Peter puts meekness and fear together as being most suited in their nature and natural tendency one to another 1 Pet. 3.14 Meekness of spirit is like that heart that hath depth of earth in it in which things may take root and grow but an high and captious spirit is like to the stony ground where there is not depth of earth and consequently where this grace of fear cannot grow therefore take heed of this kind of spirit if thou wouldst that the fear of God should grow in thy soul. 9. Wouldst thou grow in the grace of fear then Take heed of an envious heart for that is not a good heart for the fear of God to grow in Let not thy heart envy sinners but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long Prov. 23.17 To envy any is a signe of a bad spirit and that man takes upon him as I have already hinted to be a controller and a judge yea and a malicious executioner too and that of that fury that ariseth from his own lusts and revengeful spirit upon perhaps the man that is more righteous then himself But suppose he is a sinner that is the object of thine envy why the Text sets that envy in direct opposition to the fear of God Envy not sinners but be thou in the fear of God These two therefore to wit envy to sinners and fearing of God are opposites Thou canst not fear God and envy sinners too And the reason is because he that envieth a sinner hath forgotten himself that he is as bad and how can he then fear God He that envies sinners rejects his duty of blessing of them that curse and praying for them that despitefully use us and how can he that hath rejected this fear God He that envieth sinners therefore cannot be of a good spirit nor can the fear of God grow in his heart Lastly Wouldst thou grow in this grace of fear Then Take heed of hardning thy heart at anytime against convictions to particuler duties as to Prayer Alms Self-denial or the like Take heed also of hardning thy heart when thou art under any judgment of God as sickness losses crosses or the like I bid you before to beware of an hard heart but now I bid you beware of hardning your soft ones For to harden the heart is to make it worse then it is harder more desperate and bold against God then at the present it is Now I say if thou wouldest grow in this grace of fear take heed of hardning thy heart and especially of hardning of it against convictions to good for those convictions are sent of God like seasonable showrs of rain to keep the tillage of thy heart in good order that the grace of fear may grow therein but this stiffling of convictions makes the heart as hard as a piece of the nether Milstone Therefore happy is he that receiveth conviction for so he doth keep in the fear of God and that fear thereby nourished in his soul but cursed is he that doth otherwise Happy is the man that feareth alway but he that hardneth his heart shall fall into mischief Prov. 28.14 A use of Encouragement I come now to a use of encouragement to those that are blessed with this grace of fear The last text that was mentioned saith Happy is the man that feareth alway and so doth many more Happy already because blessed with this grace and happy for time to come because this grace shall abide and continue till the soul that hath it is brought unto the mansion house of glory I will put my fear in their heart and they shall not depart from me Therefore as here is saith Happy IS he so it saith also It SHALL go well with him that is in time to come It SHALL go well with them that fear the Lord Eccles. 8.12 Had God given thee all the world yet cursed hadst thou been if he had not given thee the fear of the Lord for the fashion of this world is a fading thing but he that feareth the Lord shall abide for ever and ever This therefore is the first thing that I would propound for thy encouragement thou man that fearest the Lord. This grace will dwell in thy heart for it is a new covenant grace and will abide with thee forever It is sent to thee from God not only to joyn thy heart unto him but to keep thee from final apostacy I will put my fear in their heart and they shall not depart from me Jer. 32. That thou maist never forsake God is his design and therefore to keep thee from that wicked thing he hath put his fear in thy heart Many are the temptations difficulties snares traps trials and troubles that the people of God pass through in the world but how shall they be kept how shall they be delivered and escape Why the answer is the fear of God will keep them He that feareth God shall come out of them all It is not therefore a wonderful mercy to be blessed with this grace of fear that thou by it maiest be kept from final which is damnable apostacy Bless God therefore thou blessed man that hast this grace of fear in thy soul. There are five things in this grace of fear that have a direct tendency in them to keep thee from final apostacy 1. It is seated in the heart and the heart is as I may call it the main FORT