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"if iniquity be in thine hand, to put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles; for thou shalt then lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear." Job xi. 14, 15.

But again, that fear of God, which consists in a dread of offending him, and in the desire of obeying his commands is the very basis of the Christian character. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs i. 7. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." Ibid ix. 10. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do his commandments." Psalm cxi. 10. The want of faith, to realize the presence of God, in every situation of life; the prosperity of those who fear not God; the calamities of the righteous, the impunity of the wicked; of those who have no bands in their death; and the absence of apparent and immediate reward to those who love and serve him; are so many causes operating against the growth and influence of this fear of the Most High; and it is therefore necessary to shew, that "because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him; but it shall not

be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he feareth not before God." Ecclesiastes viii. 11-13. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell." Matthew x. 28. Well, indeed, may the Christian who has made the Lord his trust, exclaim, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear; the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm xxvii. 1. "Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea I will help thee; yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Fear not thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah xli. 10-14. "But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel; Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and when through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour." Ibid. xliii. 1-3. "Fear not, O Jacob my servant, for I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon thy head, and my blessing upon thine offspring (Ibid. xliv. 2.) so effectually

is the Christian protected from the necessity for fearfulness.

On the contrary, great advantages result from the humble, simple, unaffected fear of the Lord; as for instance, the fear of the Lord prolongeth days; but the years of the wicked shall be shortened." Proverbs x. 27. "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence;

and his children shall

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have a place of refuge." Ibid. xiv. 26. fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death." Ibid. xiv. 27. fear of the Lord tendeth to life; and he that hath it shall abide satisfied: he shall not be visited with evil." Ibid. xix. 23.

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By humility, and the fear of the Lord, are riches, and honour, and life." Ibid. xxii. 4. But a very great variety of blessings are promised to those who fear God;

as,

"the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." Psalm xxv. 14. "The eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy." Ibid. xxxiii. 18. "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." Ibid. xxxiv. 7. O fear the Lord, ye his saints; for there is no want to them that fear him." Ibid. xxxiv. 9. Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him." Ibid. lxxxv. 9. "As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy towards them that fear him." Ibid. ciii. 11. 66 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." Ibid. ciii. 13. "He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him; he also

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VOL. II.

will hear their cry, and will save them." Ibid. cxlv. 19. "And the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him." Ibid. cxlvii. 11.

And since such are the evils resulting from the principle of fear unduly excited, such its advantages when fixed on its proper object, and such the blessings promised to its exercise, let it be the design of education to develop, to controul, and to direct this passion: and to conclude the whole, "Ye that fear the Lord praise him ;" and "ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; he is their help and their shield." Psalm cxv. 11.

SECTION IX. Of Courage.

THE basis of courage rests on the desire after superiority to others, and of evincing that superiority by a higher reach of noble daring, or by a firmer and more unbending fortitude; in fact, in a greater capacity for doing and suffering under the difficulties and trials of life. It consists in encountering danger from which fear would induce us to shrink; in employing the means of resistance or escape with promptitude and effect; and in maintaining our ground with unyielding patience, where we cannot make a successful advance, and under difficulties which we cannot hope to overcome, as well as in dangers from which we cannot fly; and all this without a loss of that self-possession which is usually termed

presence of mind. Courage is then the power of conquering fear, and arises from confidence in our own prowess and constancy. Where however it is the mere result of passion, it is not always to be relied upon; for it will suddenly fail in the hour of greatest danger, and its influence will be superseded by unforeseen terror; the brave man shall become a coward, and shall act so as he would blush to acknowledge to any but himself. They do not always possess the greatest share of courage, who make the most obtrusive display of its exercise; and that will be often found to be deficient in sustained exertion, which was the most dazzling, and brilliant, and shewy at the first appearance of difficulty. As a mere passion, it is liable to the excitement of animal feeling; but very quickly subsides again, as soon as that feeling which gave it birth may have evaporated: it is also readily superseded by a revulsion of sensibility of an opposite character, or by the occasion of any new and unexpected situation for which the mind was not prepared. Before, therefore, it can be rendered available, as a moral principle, it must be educated as such; and while it retains all the fervour of passion, and the intensity of desire, it must be invested with all the firmness of decision; and all the constancy of unquestioned motive, sustained by that powerful will, which is the result of deliberate judgment and conviction; and it must be supported by all the arguments of reason, and assisted by the dic

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