dread of the offended Majefty, and make us fall down, faying, "Forgive us our debts."

5. Pray for it earneftly as a promised benefit of the covenant, and join thereto a faith of particular confidence: Matth. xxi. 22. "And all things, whatsoever ye fhall afk, believing ye fhall receive them." Beg of God, that he would manifeft himfelf to you, so as ye may be filled with holy fear of him. Ye may read and hear much of God, and little impreffions be made on your spirits by it at all; but when the Lord discovers himself to the finner, his own glorious light will so represent him as the foul cannot chufe but both love and fear. him: Job, xlii. 5. 6. "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye feeth thee: Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in duft and ashes."

Laftly, Draw together the scattered affections and faculties of the foul, and fet them on the Lord: Pfal. lxxxvi. 11. "Unite my heart to fear thy name." As the fcattered rays of the fun will not burn, till they be collected by a burning-glafs; fo the heart, walking at random, will not be filled with holy fear. Withdraw your hearts from purfuing vanities, and gadding after idols, and labour to fee the Lord in thofe glaffes where we may perceive how he is to be feared.

I would urge you to look to him particularly, (1.) In the glass of his word. See how he is there reprefented as one worthy to be feared: Pfal. lxxxix. 7. "God is greatly to be feared in the affembly of the faints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him." O with what awful folemnity may we hear him there speaking of himself, his faints fpeaking of him and to him! and the angels alfo, with their vailed faces, crying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Had we

eyes

eyes to difcern his voice in his word, every page would fill our hearts with profoundeft reverence. See him, (1.) In the fhining holiness of his commandments, perfectly pure from all earthly drofs; and when thus feen, how can the finful creature not fear him! Exod. xv. II. "Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like unto thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praifes, doing wonders?" He appears there to be all light, and that in him there is no darkness at all. The holy, fpiritual, and extenfive law, may fill our hearts with the dread of the Lawgiver, of whofe nature it is a tranfcript. See him, (2) In the amazing fovereignty of his threatenings. This filled good Jofiah with fear, 2 Kings, xxii. 19. and Habakkuk, ch. iii. 16. Behold thence flames of wrath flashing out on the faces of impenitent finners. All the threats of men own death to be their utmoft; and, O! how will a threat of death fright mortals! But the Lord's threatenings go beyond death, and carry the matter to an endless eternity. See him, (3.) In the unfpeakable riches of his gofpel-promifes difplayed in the word. His terrors are no more fevere on the one hand, than his promifed encouragements are great on the other. If hell be in the one scale, heaven is in the other. Who would not therefore fear him? Look to him,

one.

2. In Chrift, the brightness of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon. See God in Chrift, and there fee an object of fear and love in If ye would be ftirred up to fear God, look to Mount Calvary, and there behold Chrift groaning, and dying on a crofs for the fins of an elect world, and you will fee three awful fights. (1.) The feverity of God's justice againít fin, not fparing his own Son, Rom. viii. 32. Many terrible inftances

M 2

inftances have there been of this, in the deluge, and the like. But what is the tumbling down of finful angels into the pit, the deluging of a world, the burning of Sodom,-to the Son of God dying on a cross, and bearing his Father's wrath? O! if this was done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? (2.) The channel of mercy and grace, in which they flow to guilty finners. It is by the Mediator's ftripes we nruft be healed; the finner's life comes in the way of Chrift's death ; no mercy, no grace, but through the wounds of a Redeemer. There was love from eternity in the breaft of God towards an elect world, but Juftice stood in the way of Mercy's getting through to the criminals; a way was then made by the blood of the Son of God. (3.) The price of pardon, 1 Pet. i. 19. the precious blood of Christ; no pardon, but what is the price of blood, and that blood of infinite value; that is the ransom which had to be given for the captives, or they could never have been fet free. O! who can fee thefe, and not fear this awful and tremendous majefty thus appearing ! Look at him,

3. In the glafs of his adorable perfections. How fmall a portion do we know of him! but there is nothing which we have manifefted to us concerning him, but may contribute to this holy fear. On the one hand, confider his infinite power, whereby he can do all, and his univerfal dominion, whereby he may do what he will: Job, xxxvii. 23. 24. and xxv. 2.; his juftice, holinefs, omnifcience, omniprefence, infinite veracity and truth, whereby all he has faid fhall be made good to a tittle, Who, then, can but fear him?-Confider, on the other hand, his mercy, his love, grace, and goodnefs, which are fo unbounded and unfpeakable ! Who, then, can but fear him ?-Look at him,

Laftly,

Look to his Does not the

Laftly, In the glafs of his works. works of creation, Pfal. xix. 1. earth and heaven, with all their glorious furniture, cry aloud to us to fear this God. Look to his

works of providence: Jer. v. 22. "Fear ye not me? faith the Lord; will ye not tremble at my prefence, which have placed the fand for the bound of the fea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pafs?" His managing of the world challenges our fearing of him. (1.) His mercies with which we are loaded, call us to reverence him as our great Benefactor, Jer. v. 24. (2.) His judgements; his judgements, in particular, against ourfeives, Luke, xxiii. 40.; and againft others, whichr we may every where difcern: Pfal. cxix. 118.120. "My flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy judgements." Every stroke laid on in this world is fitted to create a fear of him in our hearts. His general judgement, that is to come, the ferious view of which must needs ftrike finners with fear: 1 Pet. i. 17. " And if ye call on the Father, who, without refpect of perfons, judgeth according to every man's work, pafs the time of your fojourning here in fear." See alfo Ecclef. xii. 13. 14.

II. I WOULD now earnestly exhort you to hope in the Lord for his mercy. Entertain a holy hope in God in all cafes. For clearing of this, we must know, that hope in general is an inclination to, and expectation of good poffible to be had, but not without fome difficulty. As hope is converfant about divine things, or the mercy of God, it is of two forts, holy hope, and prefumptuous hope; the one well-grounded, the other ill-grounded. Here, therefore, alfo fome inquiries

M 3

inquiries may be propofed, which we shall endeavour to anfwer; fuch as,

1. What is the true hope for mercy, which the Lord takes pleasure in? Anf. It is a certain expection of attaining the mercy, which faith be lieves, grounded on God's grace and faithfulnefs.

(1.) For the kind of it; it is an expectation of mercy to be attained. Hope looks always on its object as future: Rom. viii. 24. "For we are faved by hope. But hope that is feen is not hope; for what a man feeth, why doth he yet hope for ?" This is a main difference between faith and hope, faith looking always on its object as present in the promife, for "faith is the fubftance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." And hope is a certain expectation of it, not fo much in itself, (for true hope may be attended with much doubting, Lam. iii. 18.), as in the event, for it will never fail the party that has it, nor put him to fhame by disappointment, for it hangs on faith: Rom. v. 5. " And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is fhed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghoft given unto us."

(2.) For the object of this hope; it is mercy which is hoped for. Now, there is a threefold mercy hope looks for. (1.) The mercy of eternal life itself: Jude, 21. "Keep yourfelves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jefus Chrift unto eternal life." This is the chief thing the believer is to hope for, and he may, with the utmost certainty and confidence, expect it, 2 Tim. i. 12. This hope, even the hope of falvation, the apoftle will have the Chriftian to put on as an helmet, 1 Theff. v. 8. and even to stretch forth his hope over death and the grave. (2.) The mercy necellary to bring us to eternal