Fifth. This godly fear also floweth from sound repentance for and from sin; godly sorrow worketh repentance, and godly repentance produceth this fear—"For behold," says Paul, "this self-same thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you! yea, what clearing of yourselves! yea, what indignation! yea, what fear!" (2 Cor 7:10,11). Repentance is the effect of sorrow, and sorrow is the effect of faith's brilliant and intelligent impact. Therefore, fear must be an effect of and flow from repentance. Sinner, do not deceive thyself; if thou art a stranger to sound repentance, which standeth in sorrow and shame before God for sin, as also in turning from it, thou hast no fear of God; I mean none of this godly fear; for that is the fruit of, and floweth from, sound repentance.
Sixth. This godly fear also flows from a sense of the love and kindness of God to the soul. Where there is no sense of hope of the compassion and mercy of God by Jesus Christ, there can be none of this fear. Still, rather a wrath and despair, which produceth that fear that is either devilish or else that which is only wrought in us by the Spirit, as a spirit of bondage; but these we do not discourse of now; wherefore the godly fear that now I treat of, it floweth from some sense or hope of mercy from God by Jesus Christ—"If thou, Lord," says David, "shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared" (Psa 130:3,4). "There is mercy with thee"; this the soul hath sense of, and hope in, and therefore feareth God. Indeed, nothing can lay a more vital obligation upon the heart to fear God than a sense of hope in mercy (Jer 33:8,9). This begetteth genuine tenderness of heart, the true godly softness of spirit; this truly endureth the affections to God; and in this genuine tenderness, softness, and endearedness of affection to God, lieth the very essence of this fear of the Lord, as is manifest by the fruit of this fear when we shall come to speak of it.
Seventh. This fear of God flows from a due consideration of the judgments of God that are to be executed in the world, yea, upon professors, too. Yea, further, God's people themselves, I mean as to themselves, have such a consideration of his judgments towards them as to produce this godly fear. When God's judgments are on earth, they affect the fear of his name in the hearts of his own people—"My flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am," said David, "afraid of thy judgments" (Psa 119:120). When God smote Uzzah, David was afraid of God that day (1 Chron 13:12). Indeed, many regard not the works of the Lord, nor take notice of the operation of his hands, and such cannot fear the Lord. But others observe and regard, and wisely consider, his doings and the judgments that he executed, making them fear the Lord. This God himself suggested as a means to make us fear him. Hence, he commands the false prophet to be stoned "that all Israel might hear and fear." Hence, he also commanded that the rebellious son should be stoned "that all Israel might hear and fear." A false witness was also to have the same judgment of God executed upon him "that all Israel might hear and fear." The man also that did ought presumptuously was to die, "that all Israel might hear and fear" (Deut 13:11, 21:21, 17:13, 19:20). There is a natural tendency in judgments, as judgments, to beget a fear of God in the heart of man, as man; but when the observation of the judgment of God is made by him that hath a principle of true grace in his soul, that observation being made, I say, by a gracious heart, produceth a fear of God in the soul of its own nature, to wit, a gracious or godly fear of God.
Eighth. This godly fear also flows from a godly remembrance of our former distresses, when we were distressed with our first fears; for though our first fears were begotten in us by the Spirit's working as a spirit of bondage, and so are not always to be entertained as such. Yet, even that fear leaveth in us, and upon our spirits, that sense and relish of our first awakenings and dread also occasioned and produced this godly fear. "Take heed," says God, "and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life, but teach them thy sons, and thy son's sons." But what were the things their eyes had seen that would so damnify them should they be forgotten? The answer is the things which they saw at Horeb; to wit, the fire, the smoke, the darkness, the earthquake, their first awakenings by the law, by which they were brought into a bondage fear; yea, they were to remember this especially—"Especially," saith he, "the day that thou stood before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth" (Deut 4:9-11). The remembrance of what we saw, felt, feared, and trembled under the sense of when our first fears were upon us is that which will produce in our hearts this godly filial fear.
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