OF THE GRACE OF FEAR MORE IMMEDIATELY INTENDED IN THE TEXT.
I shall now speak to this fear, which I call a lasting godly fear; first, by way of explication, which I shall show, FIRST. How by the Scripture it is described. SECOND. I shall show you what this fear flows from. And then, THIRD. I shall also show you what doth flow from it.
[How this Fear is described by the Scripture.]
FIRST. For the first of these, how by the Scripture this fear is described; and that, First. More generally. Second. More particularly.
First. More generally.
1. It is called grace, a sweet and blessed work of the Spirit of grace, as he is given to the elect by God. Hence, the apostle says, "Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear" (Heb 12:28). For as that fear that brings bondage is wrought in the soul by the Spirit as a spirit of bondage, so this fear, which is a fear that we have while we are in the liberty of sons, is wrought by him as he manifesteth to us our freedom; "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty," that is, where he is as a spirit of adoption, setting the soul free from that bondage under which it was held by the same Spirit. In contrast, he wrought as a spirit of bondage. Hence as he is called a spirit working bondage to fear, so he, as the Spirit of the Son and of adoption, is called "the Spirit of the fear of the Lord" (Isa 11:2). Because it is that Spirit of grace that is the author, animator, and maintainer of our filial fear, or of that fear that is son-like, and that subjecteth the elect unto God, his word, and ways; unto him, his word, and ways, as a Father.
2. This fear is also called the fear of God, not as that which is ungodly is, nor yet as that may be which is wrought by the Spirit as a spirit of bondage, but by way of eminency; to wit, as a dispensation of the grace of the gospel, and as a fruit of eternal love. "I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me" (Jer 32:38-41).
3. This fear of God is called God's treasure, for it is one of his choice jewels, it is one of the rarities of heaven, "The fear of the Lord is his treasure" (Isa 33:6). And it may well go under such a title; for as treasure, so the fear of the Lord is not found in every corner. It is said all men have no faith because that also is more precious than gold; the same is said about this fear—"There is no fear of God before their eyes"; that is, the most significant part of men are utterly destitute of this godly jewel, this treasure, the fear of the Lord. Poor vagrants, when they come straggling to a lord's house, may perhaps obtain some scraps and fragments; they may also obtain old shoes and some sorry cast-off rags, but they get not any of his jewels, they may not touch his choicest treasure; that is kept for the children and those that shall be his heirs. We may say the same about this blessed grace of fear, which is called God's treasure here. It is only bestowed upon the elect, the heirs, and children of the promise; all others are destitute of it and continue to die in judgment.
4. This grace of fear is that which maketh men excel and go beyond all men, in the account of God; it is that which beautifies a man and prefers him above all others; "Hast thou," says God to Satan, "considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and eschewed evil?" (Job 1:8, 2:3). Mind it, "There is none like him, none like him in the earth." I suppose he means either [that Job was the only most perfect and upright man] in those parts, or else he was the man that abounded in fear of the Lord; none like him to fear the Lord, he only excelled others concerning his reverencing of God, bowing before him, and sincerely complying with his will; and therefore is counted the excellent man. It is not the knowledge of the will of God, but our sincere complying in addition to that, that proveth we fear the Lord; and it is our so doing that putteth upon us the note of excelling; hereby appears our perfection, herein is manifest our uprightness. A perfect and upright man is one that feareth God, and that is because he eschewed evil. Therefore, this grace of fear is that without which no part or piece of service we do to God can be accepted by him. It is, as I may call it, the salt of the covenant, which seasoneth the heart, and therefore must not be lacking there; it is also that which salteth, or seasoneth all our doings, and therefore must not be lacking in any of them (Lev 2:13).
5. I take this grace of fear to be that which softeneth and mollified the heart, and that makes it stand in awe both of the mercies and judgments of God. This is that that retaineth in the heart that due dread, and reverence of the heavenly majesty, that is meet should be both in and kept in the heart of poor sinners. When David describes this fear, in the exercise of it, he calls it an awe of God. "Stand in awe," saith he, "and sin not"; and again, "my heart standeth in awe of thy word"; and again, "Let all the earth fear the Lord"; what is that? or how is that? Why? "Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him" (Psa 4:4, 119:161, 33:8). This is that therefore that is, as I said before, so excellent a thing in the eyes of God, to wit, a grace of the Spirit, the fear of God, his treasure, the salt of the covenant, that which makes men excel all others; for it is that which maketh the sinner to stand in awe of God, which posture is the most comely thing in us, throughout all ages. But,
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