Twelfth. There floweth from this godly fear of God an honest and conscientious use of all those means which God ordained that we should be conversant in for our attaining salvation. Faith and hope in God's mercy secure our justification and hope; as you have heard, they flow from this fear. But now, besides faith and hope, there is a course of life in those things in which God ordained us to have our conversation, without which there is no eternal life. "Ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life"; and again, "without holiness, no man shall see the Lord." Faith and hope are not deficient if they are correct, but they are both counterfeit when not attended with a reverent use of all the means: upon the respectful use of which the soul is put by this grace of fear. "Wherefore, beloved," said Paul, "as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in mine absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Rom 6:22; Heb 12:14; Phil 2:11).
There is a faith and hope of mercy that may deceive a man (though the faith of God's elect, and the hope that purifies the heart never will) because they are alone and not attended with those companions that accompany salvation (Heb 6:3-8). But now this godly fear carries in its bowels not only a moving of the soul to faith and hope in God's mercy but an earnest provocation to the holy and reverent use of all the means that God has ordained for a man to have his conversation in, to his eternal salvation. "Work out your salvation with fear." Not that work is meritorious or such that can purchase eternal life, for eternal life is obtained by hope in God's mercy. Still, this hope, if it is correct, is attended with this godly fear, which fears putteth the soul upon a diligent use of all those means that may tend to the strengthening of hope and so to the making of us holy in all manner of conversation, that we may be meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Hope purifies the heart if fear of God shall be its companion, and so maketh a man, a vessel of mercy prepared unto glory. Paul bids Timothy to fly pride, covetousness, doting about questions, and the like, and to "follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience; to fight the good fight of faith, and to lay hold on eternal life" (1 Tim 6).
So Peter bids that we "add to our faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity"; adding, "for if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. For so an entrance shall have ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:5-11). The sum of all which is that which was mentioned before; to wit, "to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling." None of these things can be conscientiously done, but by and with the help of this blessed grace of fear.
Thirteenth. There flows from this godly fear a great delight in the holy commands of God, that is, a delight to be conformable unto them. "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments" (Psa 112:1). This confirmeth that which was said before, to wit, that this fear provoketh to a holy and reverent use of the means; for that cannot be, when there is not a sacred, yea, a great delight in the commandments. Therefore, this fear makes the sinner abhor that which is sin because that is contrary to the object of his delight. A man cannot delight himself simultaneously in things directly opposite to another, as sin and the holy commandment are; therefore, Christ saith of the servant, he cannot love God and mammon—"Ye cannot serve God and mammon." If he cleaves to the one, he must hate and despise the other; simultaneously, there cannot be service to both because they are at enmity with the other. So is sin and the commandment. Therefore, if a man delighteth himself in the commandment, he hateth that which is opposite, which is sin: how much more when he greatly delighteth in the commandment? This holy fear of God takes the heart and affections from sin and setteth them upon the sacred commandment. Therefore, such a man is rightly esteemed and blessed. No profession makes a man blessed, but that which is accompanied by an alienation of the heart from sin, nor doth anything do that when this holy fear is wanting. It is from this fear that loves to, and delight in, the sacred commandment floweth, and so by that, the sinner is kept from those falls and dangers of miscarrying that other professors are so subject to he greatly delights in the commandment.
Fourteenth. Lastly, There floweth from this fear of God, enlargement of heart. "Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged" (Isa 60:5). "Thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged," enlarged to God-ward, enlarged to his ways, enlarged to his holy people, enlarged in love after the salvation of others. Indeed, when this fear of God is wanting, though the profession is never so famous, the heart is shut up and straitened, and nothing is done in that princely free spirit, which is called "the spirit of the fear of the Lord" (Psa 51:12; Isa 11:2). But with grudging, legally, or with the desire of vain-glory, this enlargedness of heart is wanting, for that flows from this fear of the Lord.
Thus, I have shown you what this fear of God is, what it flows from, and what doth flow from it. I will come now to show you some.
No comments:
Post a Comment