Chap. 3. Cogent Reasons Enforcing the Fear of God
THe Reasons enforcing this Holy Fear are, 1. Because Gods eye is always upon us. He who is under the eye of his earthly Prince, will be careful of doing any thing that should offend him. Job 31:4. Does not he see my ways, and count all my Steps? God sees in the dark. Psalm 139:12. The darkness hides not from you. The night is no Curtain, the clouds are no Canopy to hinder or intercept Gods sight. He sees the Heart. A Judge can judge of the fact, but God judgeth of the Heart. Jeremiah 17:10. He is like Ezekiels wheels, full of eyes, Ezekiel 10:12. and as Cyril says,, all Eye. Should not this make us walk with fear and circumspection? we cannot sin but our Judge looks on.
2. God interprets our not fearing him a slighting of him. As not to praise God, is to wrong him; so not to fear God, is to slight him. Of all things a person can least endure to be sleighted. Psalm 10:13. Wherefore does the wicked contemn God? For a worm to slight it's Maker causes the fury to rise up in Gods face. Ezekiel 38:18.
3. God has power to destroy us. Matthew 10:28. Fear him who has power to destroy both Soul and Body in Hell. God can look us into our Grave, and with a breath blow us into Hell, and shall we not fear him? Is it easie to wrestle with flames? Psalm 90:11. Who knows the Power of his anger? What engines or buckets can quench the infernal fire? We are apt to fear men who have power in their hand to hurt us; what is their power to Gods? They threaten a Prison, God threatens Hell. They threaten our Life, God threatens our Soul, and shall we not tremble before him ? O dreadful, when the great Fountains of Gods wrath shall be broken up, and all his Bitter Vials poured out! Ezekiel 22:14. Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong in the day that I shall deal with you?
But are not we bid to serve God without Fear? Luke 1:74.
We must not Fear God with such a fear as the wicked do; they fear him as a Turkish Slave does his Pateroon; they fear him so as they hate him and wish there were no God. We must not serve God with this hellish fear, but we must serve him with an ingenuous fear sweetned with love.
