44. Now this fear is nothing elfe but fuch an awful regard of God as may keep us from offending him. This the wife man tells us, Prov. 16. 27. The fear of the Lord is to depart from evil, fo that none can be faid truly to fear God, that is not thereby withheld from fin, and this is but anfwerable to that common fear we have towards men; whoever we know may hurt us, we will beware of provoking; and therefore if we be not as wary of displeasing God, it is plain we fear men more than we do him.

The Folly of fearing Men, more than God.

45. How great a madness this. is, thus to fear Men above God, will foon appear, if we compare whit Man can do to us, with that which God can. And first, it is fure, it is not in the power of Man (I might. fay Devils too) to do us any hurt, unlefs God permit and fuffer them to do it; fo that if we. do but keep him our friend, we may fay with the Pfalmift, The Lord is on my file, I fear not what man can do unto me. For let their malice be. never fo great, he can reftrain and keep them from hurting us; nay, he can change their minds towards us, according to that of the Wife Man, Prov. 16. 7. When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. A notable example of this we have in Jacob, Gen. 32. who when his Brother Efan was coming against him as an enemy, God wonderfully turn'd his heart, fo that he met him with all the expreffions of brotherly kindness, as you may read in the next Chapter.

46. But

46. But fecondly, Suppofe men were left at liberty to do thee what mifchief they could; alas! their power goes but a little way; they may perhaps rob thee of thy goods, it may be they may take away thy liberty, or thy credit, or perchance thy life too, but that thou knoweft is the utmost they can do. But now God can do all this when he pleafes, and that which is infinitely more, his Vengeance reaches even beyond death it felf, to the eternal mifery both of Body and Soul in Hell; in comparifon of which, Death is fo inconfiderable, that we are not to look upon it with any dread, Fear not them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do, faith Chrift, Luke 12. 4. and then immediately adds, But I will forewarn you whom you fhall fear, fear him which after he hath killed, bath power to caft into Hell, yea, I Say unto you, fear him. In which words the comparison is fet between the greatcft ill we can fuffer from man, the lofs of life, and those fadder evils God can inflict on us; and the latter are found to be the only dreadful things, and therefore God only to be feared.

47. But yet there is one thing farther confiderable in this matter, which is this, It is poffible we may tranfgrefs against men, and they not know it: I may perhaps fteal my Neighbour's Goods, or defile h's Wife, and keep it clofe that he shall not fufpect me; and fo never bring me to punishment for it; but this we cannot do with God, he knows all things, even the moft fecret thoughts of our hearts, and therefore tho' we commit a fin never fo closely, he is fure to find us, and will as furely, if we do not timely repent, punish us eternally for it. 48. And

48. And now furely it cannot but be confeft, that it is much fafer difpleafing Man than God; yet alas! our practice is as if we believed the direct contrary, there being nothing more ordinary with us, than for the avoiding of fome prefent danger we fear from men, to rush our felves upon the indignation of God. And thus it is with us, when either to fave our Eftates or Credits, or our very Lives, we commit any fin, for that is plainly the chufing to provoke God rather than Man.

49. But God knows this cafe of fear of Men, is not the only one wherein we venture to displease him; for we commit many fins, to which we have none of this temptation, nor indeed any other; as for inftance, that of common fwearing, to which there is nothing either of pleasure, or profit to invite us. Nay, many times we, who fo fear the mifchiefs that other men may do to us, that we are ready to buy them off with the greatest fins, do our felves bring all those very mifchiefs upon us, by fins of our own chufing. Thus the careless prodigal robs himself of his Eftate; the deceitful and difhoneft man, or any that lives in open notorious fin, deprives himself of his credit, and the Drunkard and Glutton brings diseases on himself, to the fhortning his Life. And can we think we do at all fear God, when that fear hath fo little power over us, that though it be backt with the many present mifchiefs that attend upon fin, it is not able to keep us from them? Surely fuch men are fo far from fearing God, that they rather feem to defy him, refolve to provoke him, whatsoever it coft them,

Yet 10 unrea

either in this World or the next. fonably partial we are to our felves, that even fuch as thefe will pretend to this fear; you may examine multitudes of the moft grofs fcandalous finners, before you fhall meet with one that will acknowledge that he fears not God. It is ftrange it fhould be poffible for Men thus to cheat themselves; but however it is certain we cannot deceive God, he will not be mockt, and therefore if we will not now fo fear as to avoid Sin, we fhall one day fear, when it will be too late to avoid punishment.

50. A fifth Duty to God is that of TRUSTING in him, that is, depending Truft. and refting on him; and that is, firft, in all dangers, fecondly, in all wants. We are to reft on him in all our dangers both fpiritual and temporal. Of the first fort, are all thofe temptations by which we are in danger to be drawn to fin. And in this refpect he has

promifed, that if we refft the Devil In all Spirihe hall flee from us, James 4. 7. tual dangers. Therefore our Duty is, firft, to pray

earneftly for God's Grace to enable us to overcome the Temptation; and fecondly, to fet our felves manfully to combat with it, not yielding or giving confent to it in the leaft degree; and whilft we do thus, we are confidently to reft upon God, that his Grace will be fufficient for us, that he will either remove the Tempta tion, or ftrengthen us to withstand it.

51. Secondly, in all outward and temporal dangers we are to reft upon him, as knowing that he is able to C

In all tem

poral.

deliver

deliver us, and that he will do to it he fees it bett for us, and if we be fuch to whom he hath promifed his protection, that is, such as truly fear him. To this purpose we have many promifes in Scripture, Pf. 34. 7. The Angel of the Lord tarrieth. round about them that fear him, and delivereth them: And Pf. 34. 20. The Lord delivereth the Souls of his Saints, and all that put their trust in him fhall not be deftitute, and divers the like. And alfo we have many Examples, as that of the three Children in the Furnace, Dan. 3. That of Daniel in the Lions Den, Dan. 6. and many others: All which ferve to teach us this one Leffon, That if we go on confcionably in performing our Duty, we need not be difmayed for any thing that can befal us, for the God whom we ferve is able to deliver us.

Not feeking to deliver our felves by any fin.

52. Therefore in all dangers we are firft humbly to pray for his Aid, and then to reft our felves cheerfully on him, and affuring our felves that he will give fuch an iffue as fhall be most for our good. But above all things, we must be sure to fix our dependance wholly on him, and not to rely on the creatures for help; much less muft we feck to deliver our felves by any unlawful means, that is, by the committing of any fin; for that is like Saul, 1 Sam. 27. 8. to go to the witch, that is, to the Devil for help; fuch courfes do commonly deceive our hopes at the prefent, and inftead of delivering us out of our ftraits, plunge us in greater, and thofe much more uncomfortable ones, because then we want that which is the only

5