12. They fear not God, who are strangers to the effects of fear. "If I am a master, where is my fear?" That is, show that I am so by your fear of me in the effects of your fear of me. "You offer polluted bread upon mine altar." This is not a sign that you fear me; ye offer the blind for sacrifices; where is my fear? Ye offer the lame and the sick; these are not the effects of the fear of God (Mal 1:6-8). Sinner, it is one thing to say: I fear God and another to fear him. Therefore, as James says, show me thy faith by thy works, so here God calls for a testimony of thy fear by the effects of fear. I have already shown you several effects of fear; if thou art a stranger to them, thou art a stranger to this grace of fear. Therefore, to conclude this, it is not a feigned profession that will do; nothing is good here, but what is salted with this fear of God, and they that fear him are men of truth, men of singleness of heart, perfect, upright, humble, holy men; wherefore, reader, examine, and again, I say examine, and lay the Word and thy heart together, before that thou concludes that thou fearest God.
What! fear God, and in a state of nature? Fear God without a change of heart and life? What! Fear God and be proud and covetous, a wine-bibber and a riotous eater of flesh? How! Fear God and a liar, and one that cries for mercies to spend them upon thy lusts? This would be strange. True, thou mayest fear as devils do, but what will that profit? Thou mayest by thy fear be driven away from God, from his worship, people, and ways, but what will that avail? It may be thou mayest so fear at present, as to be a little stopped in thy sinful course; perhaps thou hast got a knock from the Word of God and are at present a little dazzled and hindered from being in thy former and full career after sin; but what of that? If by the fear that thou hast, thy heart is not united to God, and to the love of his Son, Word, and people, thy fear is nothing worth.[26] Many men also are forced to fear God, as underlings are forced to fear those who are by force above them. If thou only thus fearest God, it is but a false fear; it flows not from love to God: this fear brings not willing subjection, which indeed brings the effect of right fear; but being over-mastered like a hypocrite, thou subjected thyself by feigned obedience, being forced, I say, by mere dread to do it (Psa 66:3).
It is said of David, "that the fame of him went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations" (1 Chron 14:17). But what, did they now love David? Did they now choose him to be their king? No verily; they, many of them, rather hated him and, when they could, made resistance against him. They did even as thou dost—feared, but did not love; feared, but did not choose his government that ruled over them. It is also said of Jehoshaphat, when God had subdued before him Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, that "the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of these countries when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel" (2 Chron 20:29). But, I say, was this fear, that is called now the fear of God, anything else, but a dread of the greatness of power of the king? No verily, nor did that dread bring them into a willing subjection to and liking of his laws and government; it only made them, like slaves and underlings, stand in fear of his executing the vengeance of God upon them.
Therefore, still, notwithstanding this fear, they were rebels to him in their hearts, and when occasion and advantage offered themselves, they showed it by rising in rebellion against Israel. This fear, therefore, provoked but feigned and forced obedience, a right emblem of the obedience of such, who being still enemies in their minds to God, are forced by present conviction to yield a little, even of fear to God, to his Word, and to his ordinances. Reader, whoever thou art, think of this, it is thy concern, therefore do it, and examine, and examine again, and look diligently to thy heart in thine examination, that it beguile thee not about this thy so great concern, as indeed the fear of God is.
One thing more, before I leave thee, let me warn thee of. Take heed of deferring to fear the Lord. Some men, when they have had conviction upon their heart that the fear of God is not in them, have through the overpowering of their corruptions yet deferred and put off the fear of God from them, as it is said of them in Jeremiah: "This people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord" (Jer 5:23,24). They saw that the judgments of God attended them because they did not yet fear God, but that conviction would not prevail with them to say, "Let us now fear the Lord." They were for deferring to fear him still and for putting off his fear of them longer. Sinner, hast thou deferred to fear the Lord? is thy heart still so stubborn as not to say yet, "Let us fear the Lord?" O! The Lord hath noticed this rebellion and is preparing some dreadful judgment for thee. "Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" (v 29). Sinner, why shouldest thou pull vengeance down upon thee? Why shouldest thou pull vengeance down from heaven upon thee? Look up, perhaps thou hast already been pulling this great while, to pull it down upon thee. O! pull no longer; why shouldest thou be thine own executioner? Fall down upon thy knees, man, and up with thy heart and thy hands to the God that dwells in the heavens; cry aloud, Lord, unite my heart to fear thy name, and do not harden mine heart from thy fear. Thus, holy men have cried before thee and prevented judgment by crying.
[A few things that may provoke thee to fear the Lord.]
Before I leave this use, let me give thee a few things that, if
God will, may provoke thee to fear the Lord.
1. The man that feareth not God, carrieth it worse towards him than the brute beast, doth carry it towards that man. "The fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of the earth," yea, "and upon every fowl of the air," and "upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea" (Gen 9:2).
Mark, all my creatures shall fear you and dread you, says God. None of them shall be so hardy as to cast off all reverence of you. But what a shame is this to man, that God should subject all his creatures to him, and he should refuse to stoop his heart to God? The beast, the bird, the fish, and all, have a fear and dread of man, yea, God has put it in their hearts to fear man, and yet man is void of fear and trepidation, I mean of godly fear of him, that thus lovingly hath put all things under him. Sinner, art thou not ashamed, that a silly cow, a sheep, yea, a swine, should better observe the law of his creation than thou dost the law of thy God?
2. Consider, he that will not fear God, God will make him fear him whether he will or no. That is, he that doth not, will not now so fear him, as willingly to bow before him, and put his neck into his yoke. God will make him fear him when he comes to take vengeance on him. Then he will surround him with terror, and with fear on every side, fear within, and fear without; fear shall be in the way, even in the way that thou goest when thou art going out of this world; and that will be dreadful fear (Eccl 12:5). "I will bring their fears upon them," saith the Lord (Isa 66:4).
3. He that fears not God now, the Lord shall laugh at his fears then. Sinner, God will be even with all them that choose not to have his fear in their hearts: for as he calls and they hear not now, they shall cry, yea, howl then, and he will laugh at their fears. "I will laugh," saith he, "at their destruction; I will mock when their fear cometh, when your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you; then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer: they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me, for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord" (Prov 1:27-29).
Sinner! Thou thinkest to escape the fear, but what wilt thou do with the pit? Thou thinkest to escape the pit, but what wilt thou do with the snare? The snare, say you, what is that? I answer it is even the work of thine own hands. "The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands," he is "snared by the transgression of his lips" (Psa 9:16; Prov 12:13).
Sinner! What wilt thou do when thou comest into this snare; that is, into the guilt and terror that thy sins will snaffle thee with, when they, like a cord, are fastened about thy soul? This snare will bring thee back again to the pit, which is hell, and then how wilt thou do to be rid of thy fear? The fear, pit and the snare shall come upon thee because thou fearest not God. Sinner! Art thou one of them that hast cast off fear? Poor man, what wilt thou do when these three things beset thee? Whither wilt thou fly for help? And where wilt thou leave thy glory? If thou fliest from the fear, there is the pit; if thou fliest from the pit, there is the snare.
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