as moving sands, that he build not on them, yet it is not enough; for his own spirit is as unsettled a piece as is in all the world, and must have some higher strength than its own to fortify and fix it. This is the way that is here taught, Fear not their fear, but sanctify the Lord your God in your hearts; and if you can attain this latter, the former will follow of itself. In the general, God taking the place formerly possessed by things full of motion and unquietness, strengthens and establishes the heart; but we may more particularly consider, 1. Fear of him. 2. Faith in him. 1st. This fear of God turns other fears out of doors; there is no room for them where this great fear is, and being greater than they all, yet it disturbs not as they do, yea, it brings as great quiet as they brought trouble. It is an ease to have but one thing for the heart to deal withal, for many times the multitude of carnal fears is more troublesome than their weight, as flies that vex most by their number. Again, this fear is not a terrible apprehension of God as an enemy, but a sweet composed reverence of God as our king, yea, as our Father; as very great, but no less good than great; so highly esteeming of his favour, as fearing most of all things to of fend him in any kind; especially if the soul have been formerly either under the lash of his apprehended displeasure, or, on the other side, have had some sensible tastes of his love, and have been entertained in his banqueting house, where his banner over. it was love". Faith carries the soul above all doubts, with assurance that if sufferings, or sickness, or death come, nothing can separate it from him, this suffices; yea, what though he may hide his face for a time, though that is the hardest of all, yet there is no separation, his children fear him for his goodness; are afraid to lose sight of that, or deprive themselves of any of its influences. They desire to m Cant. ii. 4. live in his favour, and then for other things they are not very thoughtful. 2dly. Faith sets the soul in God, and where is safety if it be not there? It rests on those persuasions it hath concerning him, and that interest it hath in him. Faith believes that he sits and rules the affairs of the world, with an all-seeing eye and all-moving hand: the greatest affairs surcharge him not, and the very smallest escape him not. He orders the march of all armies, and the events of battles, and yet thou and thy particular condition slips not out of his view. The very hairs of thy head are numbered". Are not all thy steps, and the hazards of them, known to him, and all thy desires before him? Doth he not number thy wanderings, every weary step thou art driven to, and put thy tears in his bottle? Thou mayest assure thyself, that however thy matters seem to go, all is contrived to subserve thy good, especially thy chief and highest good. There is a regular motion in them, though the wheels do seem to run cross. All those things are against me, said old Jacob', and yet they were all for him. In all estates, I know no heart's ease, but to believe; to sanctify and honour thy God, in resting on his word. If thou art persuaded of his love, sure that will carry thee above all distrusting fears. If thou art not clear in that point, yet depend and resolve to stay by him, yea, to stay on him, till he shew himself unto thee. Thou hast some fear of him, thou canst not deny it without gross injury to him and thyself; thou wouldst willingly walk in all well-pleasing unto him: Well then, who is among you that feareth the Lord, though he see no present light, yet let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. Press this upon thy soul, for there is not such another charm for all its fears and unquiet; therefore, repeat it still with David: sing this still, till it be stilled; chide thy distrustful n Matt. x. 30. • Psal. lvii. 8. P Gen. xlii. 36. heart into believing, Why art thou cast down, O my soul? why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him. Though I am all out of tune for the present, never a right string in my soul, yet he will put to his hand and redress all: and I shall yet once again praise; and therefore, even now, I will hope. It is true, will the humble soul reply, God is a safe shelter and refuge, but he is holy, and holy men may find admittance and protection; but can so vile a sinner as I look to be protected and taken in under his safeguard? Go try. Knock at his door, and (take it not on our word, but on his own) it shall be opened to thee; and if that be once done, thou shalt have a happy life on it in the worst times. Faith hath this privilege, never to be ashamed; it takes sanctuary in God, and sits and sings under the shadow of his wings, as David speaks'. Whence the unsettledness of mens minds in trouble, or when it is near, but because they are far off from God? The heart is shaken as the leaves of the tree with the wind", there is no stability of spirit; God is not sanctified in it, and no wonder, for he is not known. Strange! the ignorance of God, and the precious promises of his word! the most living and dying strangers to him! When trouble comes they have not him a known refuge, but are to begin to seek after him, and to inquire the way to him; they cannot go to him as acquainted, and engaged by his own covenant with them. Others have empty knowledge, and can discourse of scripture, and sermons, and spiritual comforts, and yet have none of that fear and trust that quiets the soul: notions of God in their heads, but God not sanctified in their hearts. If you will be advised, this is the way to have a high and strong spirit indeed, and to be above troubles and fears. Seek for a more lively and divine knowledge of God than most as yet have, and rest not till I Psal. xliii. 5. • Matt. vii. 7. " Isa. vii. 2. t Psal. lxiii. 7. you bring him into your hearts, and then you shall rest indeed on him. Sanctify him by fearing him; Let him be your fear and your dread*; fear not only outward gross offences, do not only fear an oath, and the profanation of the Lord's holy day, but fear all irregular earthly desires fear the distempered affecting any thing, entertaining any thing in the secret of your hearts that may give distaste to your beloved. Take heed, respect the great person you have in your company, who lodges within you, the Holy Spirit. Grieve him not, for it will turn to your own grief if you do; for all your comfort is in his hand, and flows from him. If you be but in heart dallying with sin, it will unfit you for suffering outward troubles, and make your spirit low and base in the day of trial: yea, it will fill you with inward trouble, and disturb that peace, which, I am sure, you that know it, esteem more than all the peace and flourishing of this world. Outward troubles do not molest nor stir inward peace, but an unholy unsanctified affection doth. All the winds without, cause not an earthquake, but that within its own bowels doth. Christians are much their own enemies in unwary walking; hereby they deprive themselves of those comforts they might have in God; and so are often almost as perplexed and full of fears, upon small occasions, as worldlings are. Sanctify him by believing. Study the main question, your reconcilement with him; labour to bring that to some point, and then in all other occurrences faith will uphold you, by relying on God as now on yours; for those three things make up the soul's peace: 1st. To have right apprehensions of God, looking on him in Christ, and according to that covenant that holds in him. And, 2dly, a particular apprehension, that is, laying hold on him in that covenant, as gracious and merciful, as satisfied and appeased in Christ, smelling, in his sacrifice, (which was himself), a savour of rest, and setting himself * Isa. viii. 13. before me, that I may rely on him in that notion. 3dly. A persuasion, that by so relying on him my soul is at one, yea, is one with him. Yet, while this is wanting, as to a believer it may be, the other is our duty, to sanctify the Lord in believing the word of grace, and believing on him; reposing on his word; and this even severed from the other doth deliver, in a good measure, from distracting fears and troubles, and sets the soul at safety. Whence is it, that, in times of persecution or trouble, men are troubled within and racked with fears, but because instead of God, their hearts are glued to those things that are in hazard by those troubles without, their estates, or their ease, or their lives? The soul destitute of God esteems so highly of such things, that it cannot but exceedingly feel when they are in danger, and fear their loss most, gaping after some imagined good, and saying, Oh! if I had but this, I were well. But then, such or such a thing may step in and break all my projects: and this troubles the poor spirit of man that hath no higher designs, but such as are so easily blasted, and still as any thing in man lifts up his soul to vanity, it must needs fall down again into vexation. There is a word or two in the Hebrew for idols, that signify withal troubles, and terrors, and so it is certainly. All our idols prove so to us; they fill us with nothing but anguish and troubles, with unprofitable cares and fears, that are good for nothing, but to be fit punishments of that folly out of which they arise. The ardent love or obstinate desire of prosperity, or wealth, or credit in the world, carries with it, as inseparably tied to it, a bundle of fears and inward troubles: They that will be rich, says the apostle, fall into a snare, and many noisome and hurtful lusts, and, as he adds in the next verse, they pierce themselves through with many sorrows. y [Tigirim], Isa. xlv. 16. from [Tszus], arctavit, hostiliter egit. 2 [Miphletzeth], 1 Kings xv. 13. from [Phalatz], contremiscere, et [Emim], Job xv. 25. from [Aim], formidabilis, terrificus. a 1 Tim. vi. 9. |