and the due knowledge and acknowledgment of him to be the only establishment and strength of the mind.

In the words we may consider these three things: 1. This respect of God, as it is here expressed, Sanctify the Lord God. 2. The seat of it, in your hearts. 3. The fruit of it, the power that this, sanctifying God in the heart, hath to rid that heart of those fears and troubles to which it is here opposed as their proper remedy.

1st. We have the respect to God expressed by the word sanctify. He is holy, most holy, the fountain of holiness; it is he, he alone, that powerfully sanctifies us, and then, and not till then, we sanctify him. When he hath made us holy, we know and confess him to be holy; we worship and serve our holy God; we glorify him with our whole souls, and all our affections; we sanctify him, by acknowledging his greatness, and power, and goodness; and, which is here more particularly intended, we do this by a holy fear of him, and faith in him, These confess his greatness, and power, and goodness, as the prophet is express, Sanctify him, and let him be your fear and your dread. And then he adds, if thus you sanctify him, you. shall further sanctify him, He shall be your sanctuary; you shall account him so, in believing in him, and shall find him so, in his protecting you; you shall repose on him for safety: and these particularly cure the heart of undue fears.

2dly. We have the seat of this with respect to God, in your hearts. We are to be sanctified in our words and actions, but primely in our hearts, as the root and principle of the rest. He sanctifies his own throughout, makes their language and their lives holy, but first, and most of all, their hearts; and, as he chiefly sanctifies it, it chiefly sanctifies him. The heart acknowledges and worships him often when the tongue and body do not, and possibly cannot well join with it; it fears, and loves, and trusts in

a Isa. viii. 13.

b 1 Thess. v. 23,

him, which properly the outward man cannot do, though it does follow and is acted by these affections, and so shares in them according to its capacity.

Beware of an external superficial sanctifying of God, for he takes it not so; nay, he will interpret that a profaning of him and his name, Be not deceived, God is not mocked. He looks through all visages and appearances in upon the heart; sees how it entertains him, and stands affected to him. If it be possessed with reverence and love, more than either thy tongue or carriage can express, he graciously approves; and if it be not so, all thy seeming worship is but injury, and thy speaking of him is but babbling, be thy discourse never so excellent ; yea, the more thou hast seemed to sanctify God, while thy heart hath not been chief in the business, thou shalt not by such service, have the less, but the more fear and trouble in the day of trouble, when it comes upon thee. No estate is so far off from true consolation, and so full of horrors, as that of the rotten-hearted hypocrite; his rotten heart is sooner shaken to pieces than any other. If you would have heart-peace in God, you must have this heart-sanctifying of him. It is the heart that is vexed and troubled with fears; the disease is there, and if the prescribed remedy reach not thither, it will do no good. But let your hearts sanctify him, and then he shall fortify and establish your hearts.

3dly. For the fruit of this holy affection; this sanctifying of God in the heart, composes the heart, and frees it from fears.

1. In general, the turning of the heart to consider and regard God, takes it off from those vain, empty, windy things, that are the usual causes and matter of its fears. It feeds on wind, and therefore the bowels are tormented within. The heart is subject to disturbance, because it lets out itself to such things, and lets in such things into itself as are ever in motion, and full of instability and restlessness; d 1 Thess. iii. 13.

c Gal. vi. 7.

and so it cannot be at quiet till God come in and cast out these, and keep the heart within, that it wander out no more to them.

2. The particulars of this religious fear and faith work particularly in this,

1. That fear, as greatest, overtops and nullifies all lesser fears. The heart, possessed with this fear, hath no room for the other; it resolves the heart, in point of duty, what it should and must do, that it must not offend God by any means; that, it lays down as indisputable, and so eases it of doubtings and debates in that kind; whether shall I comply with the world, and abate somewhat of the sincerity and exact way of religion to please men, or to escape persecution or reproaches? No, it is unquestionably best, and only necessary to obey him, rather than men; to retain his favour, be it with displeasing the most respected and considerable persons we know; yea, rather to choose the universal and highest displeasure of all the world for ever, than his smallest discountenance for a moment; it counts that the only indispensable necessity to cleave unto God and obey him. If I pray, I shall be accused, might Daniel think; but yet, pray I must, come on it what will. So, if I worship God in my prayer, they will mock me, I shall pass for a fool. No matter for that, it must be done. I must call on God, and strive to walk with him. This sets the mind at ease, not to be halting betwixt two opinions, but resolved what to do. We are not careful, said they, to answer thee, O king; our God can deliver us; but, however, this we have put out of deliberation, we will not worship the image. As one said, Non oportet vivere, sed oportet navigare; it is not necessary to have the favour of the world, nor to have riches, nor to live; but it is necessary to hold fast the truth, and to walk holily, to sanctify the name of our Lord, and honour him, whether in life or death.

A

2. Faith in God clears the mind, and dispels, car

e Dan. iii. 16.

nal fears, so it is the most sure help; What time I am afraid (says David) I will trust in thee'. It resolves the mind concerning the event, and scatters the multitude of perplexing thoughts that arise about that; what shall become of this and that? what if such an enemy prevail? what if the place of our abode grow dangerous, and we be not provided, as others are, for a removal? No matter, says faith, though all fail, I know of one thing that will not; I have a refuge, that all the strength of nature and art cannot break in upon or demolish; a high defence, my rock in whom I trust, &c. The firm belief of, and resting on his power, and wisdom, and love, gives a clear satisfying answer to all doubts and fears. It suffers us not to stand to jangle with each trifling grumbling objection, but carries all before it; makes day in the soul, and so chaces away those fears that vex us only in the dark, as affrightful fancies do. This is indeed to sanctify God, and give him his own glory, to rest on him. And it is a fruitful homage done to him, returning us so much peace and victory over fears and troubles, it persuades us that nothing can separate from his love, and that only we feared; and so the things that cannot reach that, can be easily despised.

Seek to have the Lord in your hearts, and sanctify him there, he shall make them strong, and carry them through all dangers; Though I walk, says David, through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no ill, for thou art with me. Wat is it that makes the church so firm and stout though the sea roar, and the mountains be cast into the midst of the sea, yet we will not fear? It is this, God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. No wonder, he is immovable, and therefore doth establish all where he resides. If the world be in the middle of the heart, it will be often shaken; for all there is continual motion and change, but God in it keeps it stable. Labour, therefore, to get God 8 Psal. lxii. 5, 6. h Psal xxiii. so xxvii. 1.

f Psal. lvi. 3.

i Psal. xlvi. 2, 3. 5.

into your hearts, residing in the midst of them, and then, in the midst of all conditions, they shall not

move.

Our condition is universally exposed to fears and troubles, and no man is so stupid but he studies and projects for some fence against them; some bulwark to break the incursion of evils, and so bring his mind to some ease, ridding it of the fear of them." Thus the most vulgar spirits in their way, for even the brutes from whom such do not much differ in their actings and course of life too, are instructed by nature to provide themselves and their young ones of shelters, the birds their nests, and the beasts their holes and dens. Thus, men gape and pant after gain with a confused ill-examined fancy of quiet and safety in it, desiring once to reach such a day, as to say with the rich fool in the gospel, Soul, take thine ease, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, &c. though warned by his short ease, and by many watch-words, yea, by daily experience, that days may come, yea, one day will, where fear and trouble shall rush in, and break over the highest tower of riches, that there is a day, called the day of wrath, wherein they profit not at all: Thus men seek safety in the greatness, or multitude, or supposed faithfulness, of friends; they seek by any means to be strongly underset this way, to have many, and powerful, and constant friends. But wiser men, perceiving the unsafety and vanity of these, and all external things, have cast about for some higher course. They see a necessity of withdrawing a man from externals, that do nothing but mock and deceive those most that trust most to them, but cannot tell whither to direct him. The best of them bring him into himself, and think to quiet him so; but the truth is, he finds as little rest and support there. Nothing truly strong enough within him, to hold out against the many sorrows and fears that still from without do assault him. So then, though it is well done to call off a man from outward things, Luke xii. 19.

1

Prov. xi. 4.