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up praise, thankfulness, and redeeming the time. And do we, or have we as we ought, thus concern ourselves about past, and, Who I suppose, now forgiven sins? Who will say this?

will it for so much as one hour? It is not fit we should be say terrified about past sins when we are come to Christ; but it is fit we should remember the displeasure of God under which we then lived, the dishonour we did his majesty, the danger we brought on our souls, and the grief we brought on the soul of Jesus. This is a part of a religious and child-like fear of God; and I leave you all to judge if you do not come short in it. Yet,

Fourthly.-Fear of God's displeasure by reason of past sins is often slavish, and that is very contrary to the fear we are now speaking of; and peculiarly dishonourable to God as a merciful, as well as righteous, Governor of the world. This slavish fear hath no concern about God's displeasure simply considered, but about the punishment which is the consequence of sin, and of that displeasure. A good child will be sorry he should have done any thing to deserve his father's displeasure; a selfish slave regards not how any are affected by what he hath done, but what he is like to suffer. This latter is a bad fear, and contrary to the duty we are speaking of. Yet if your greatest concern upon the review of your sins is, or hath been, that you may not be punished; if you mean nothing but yourself; if you are not ingenuously grieved, but only frightened at the thought that God should be displeased with you; if you could be easily enough reconciled to have sinned, could you be sure God would never call you to account for your sins, yours is a slavish fear; and it argues that you have not any veneration for God's majesty, nor child-like concern about his displeasure against you; this was the fear of Adam after he had sinned, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid.' It is time now to pass on to the other branch of the fear of God, having spoken sufficiently of that concern which a due apprehension and veneration of his awful majesty, as we have offended him, should preserve

in us.

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II. The other was, that such a fear of God as makes us jealous of his honour, and fearful of his displeasure, should keep

us from offending him and displeasing him. Now such a fear of offending God implies these four things:

First.-An absolute detestation of all sin.

Secondly. An actual rejection of all evil motions in our hearts.

Thirdly.-A watchfulness against all temptations.

Fourthly. An holy care not to dishonour God in the use of any of his good creatures.

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First. Have we not cause of humiliation, and of crying unto God for mercy, in that we have not had a greater detestation of sin? To hate sin is the great fruit of a true fear of God: for as a true fear of God is a most high veneration of God's majesty, and a most awful apprehension of God's displeasure, so, where this is, there cannot but be an entire hatred of all that sin which dishonours God's majesty and incurs his displeasure, and is the only thing that can do so. Wherefore there is no such thing as really fearing God without detesting and loathing sin, and this of whatever kind it be. Sin will be absolutely and universally hated, wherever the true fear of God is. Indeed, the love of sin is consistent enough with a slavish fear of God; nay, is what is a main cause of that slavish fear of punishment. God would not be dreaded, were not his government hateful; and it is a love of sin only can make it so. We shall need therefore look well to it, that we absolutely hate from the bottom of our hearts all evil ways, all sinful practices, and all sinful tempers, and all the sinful motions to the one and the other that are in our nature, else we have not the true fear of God in us. It is easy to apply this. The carnal mind, with all worldly and proud affections and lusts, have they always been hateful to us, and hated by us, as they ought? Who hath not found some longing after the flesh-pots ?* or who hath so perfected holiness in the fear of God, as to be able to say, 'All false ways I have utterly abhorred.'+ Were this the case, how comes it that the catalogue of our actual sins is so large, and that we have all so much to confess and to be forgiven? Would our debt have amounted to so large a sum, had we actually, absolutely, and duly hated and abhorred all evil ways? No. The love of them Psalm cxix. 128. Old translation.

Exodus xvi. 3.

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was at the bottom too much, and the fear of God too little, in the many sins we have to answer for. When we at any time indulged intemperance, was there not the love of the flesh? When we made compliances through fear of men, was there not the love of praise? When we truckled to the humour of some one we had expectations from, was there not the love of the world prevailing in us? Doubtless, we have not feared God as we ought; and I wish there may be any true fear of God in the most of us now. In such case we shall quickly see many sins laid aside which are now in practice among us; and therefore in practice because we love them.

Secondly. Have we actually rejected all evil motions in our hearts? This is but a consequence of the other. And the reason why I make a distinct head of it is, only to have it more distinctly noted; because a watchfulness over our hearts, and a ready rejection of whatever evil motions are raised there by the body of sin, is the best and only certain sign of a true hatred of sin, and consequently of a true fear of God. I stop not to ask, whether you have never indulged evil motions in your heart? lustful, worldly, proud, or malicious imaginations? This is but too certain; but I observe that such motions, improved into evil imaginations and thoughts, by the consent to, and delight of, the heart in them, are both the nursery of all outward sin, and in themselves so many actual sins before God; who perfectly knows the inward parts, requires truth there, and plainly discovers that in such cases there is a great defect in the fear of his holy It was the fear of the heart-searching God that made David so earnestly pray, Prove me and examine my thoughts, look well if there be any way of wickedness in me.'* And we must see to it whether there be in us such an holy fear of God as makes us watchful over our deceitful hearts, that are continually, like a muddy fountain, sending out some filthy thing or other; and whether we be ready to put our hand to the knife, and slay all such evil motions in the birth. If so, God will say of us, as he did of Abraham, "Now I know that thou fearest me, seeing thou hast not withholden from me thy most beloved inclinations." O that sinners would but cast their eyes on their hearts one hour, * Psalm cxxxix. 22, 24. Old translation.

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and see what evil motions prevail within them in so short a space! they would find at once that they knew not the fear of the Lord.

Thirdly. Hath the fear of offending God made us watchful against all temptations? As much as the fear of offending God possesses our hearts, it must needs be, we shall not willingly run any risks of doing it. And needlessly we run risk of offending God, when needlessly we run into temptation. Now hath God nothing to lay to our charge on this score? Few have at any time fear enough this way; and none have been always enough watchful against temptations. Some indeed court sin, run wilfully into temptation because they love sin, else certain places would not be frequented as they are. And where then in such persons is there any fear of offending God?

What! Doth the

drunkard fear offending God, when he runs wilfully to the alehouse; or the lewd person, when he betakes himself to the brothel? Is there any fear of God in the heart of him who will be a companion of those who fear him not? This hath been, and is, the case of too many of you. And of whom in some degree hath it not been the case not to fear temptations? Alas! the more we search our hearts and ways, the more abundantly we find the multitude of our sins increasing upon us. But,

Fourthly. Hath a holy fear of God kept us from dishonouring him in the use of any of his good creatures? This is a peculiar branch of religious fear; and is what is meant by doing all things in the fear of God. And it is the more to be noted, because in things allowed we are most apt to be off our guard. It is to no end I should ask careless persons if they have not been without this fear, since they always are so, and know not the difference between the use and abuse of an allowed thing; asking only if there be any harm in it, while they make it ignorantly harm to themselves by their abuse of it. But to more serious persons I observe, there is not one of the necessaries or comforts of life which we shall not sinfully abuse, unless we use it in the fear of God. Our sleep, refreshments of meat and drink, our time, our friends, our books, our children, our every thing is capable of sinful abuse, by being used to indulgence; not in the fear and to the glory of God, but to self-pleasing, and

to the hinderance of necessary duties. I beseech you all to bring yourselves under examination upon this point; you will all find plenteous matter for humiliation from it. It is a great thing to be able to say, "I have used this world, in the allowable things thereof, as not abusing it."

Thus much of the fear of God.

Apply what you have heard, and the Lord give you understanding for Christ Jesus'

sake!

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