Secondly, They said, We feared not the Lord

Secondly, They said, We feared not the Lord.

And observe: In times of prosperity when men have the favor and countenance of great ones, then there is little fear of God among them. Now they said, We feared not the Lord. Oh! those times when we had the favor and countenance of great men, there was little fear of God among us. So long as men have any confidence in the creature, so long they see no need of God, their hearts are swollen with pride, God is not in all their thoughts, they say to God, Depart from us, we do not desire the knowledge of your ways. They set their hearts and tongues against the God of Heaven, they can venture upon any thing then; to tell them it's sin against God, it's a poor dry business, it's nothing at all with them. How vile and foolish are the hearts of wicked men, that the enjoyment of such poor things as they have in the creature should embolden their hearts against the great God of Heaven and Earth? Yet thus it is, men little consider but even those things that their hearts do so much rest upon, they are absolutely at the dispose of this God whom their hearts do not fear.

But note, let the saints of God take this note with them, Shall creature confidence take men's hearts off from God's fear? Then let God's fear take your hearts off from creature confidence: Certainly there's a great deal more reason. Oh! it is infinitely irrational that creature confidence should take the heart from God's fear; but it's infinitely rational that God's fear should take our hearts off from creature confidence.