long travel of experiments to attain that which might be that good for the children of men; in the end of his tedious chace and purfuit, he clofeth up all with this very fame conclufion: Let us hear the conclufion of the whole matter, fear God and keep his ⚫ commandments; for this is the whole duty of man 1;' and he gives a fhort but effectual reafon of it; For God fhall bring every work into judgment, with every fecret thing, whether it be good or whether it < be evil.' And hence it is that this wife man, who had the greatest measure of wisdom of any meer man fince the creation of Adam; that had as great experience and knowledge of all things and perfons; that made it his bufinefs to fearch and enquire, not only into wisdom, but into madness and folly; that had the greatest opportunity of wealth and power to make the exacteft enquiry therein; this wife, and inquifitive, and experienced man, in all his writings files the man fearing God, and obeying him, the only wife man; and the perfon that neglects this duty, the only fool and mad-man.

And yet it is ftrange to fee how little this is thought of or believed in the world: Nay, for the most part he is thought the wifeft man who hath the least of this principle of wisdom appearing in him; that shakes off the fear of God, or the fenfe of his prefence, or the obedience to his will, and the difcipline of confcience, and by craft, or subtilty, or power, or oppreffion, or by whatsoever method may be most conducible, purfues his ends of profit, or power, or pleasure, or what else his own vain thoughts and the mistaken eftimate of the generality of men render defirable in this world: and on the other fide he that governs himfelf, his life, his thoughts, words, actions, ends, and purposes, with the fear of Almighty God;' with a fenfe and awe of his prefence, according to his word, that drives at a nobler end than ordinarily the world

Eccles. xii. 13.

thinks of; namely, peace with Almighty God, and with his own heart and confcience, the hope and expectation of eternity, fuch a man is counted a fhallow, empty, inconfiderate foolish man; one that carries no ftroke in the world; a man laden with a melancholy delufion, fetting a great rate upon a world he fees not, and neglecting the opportunities of the world he fees.

But upon a found and true examination of this bufinefs, we fhall find that the man that feareth God is the wifest man, and he that upon that account departs from evil, is the man of greateft understanding. I fhall fhew therefore thefe two things; 1. What it is to fear God: 2. That this fear of God is moft demonftratively the beft wifdom of mankind, and makes a man truly and really a wife man.

I. Touching the firft of thefe, fear is an affection of the foul that is as much diverfified as any one affection whatsoever; which diverfification of the affection arifeth from the diverfification of thofe objects by which this affection is moved. I fhall mention these four:

1. Fear of defpondency or defperation; which arifeth from the fear of fome great and important danger that is unavoidable, or at least fo apprehended, and this is not the fear that is here commended to mankind.

2. Fear of terror or affrightment; which is upon the fenfe of fome great important danger, that though poffibly it may be avoided, yet it carries with it a great probability and immediate impendency 1; as the fear of mariners in a ftorm; or a fear that befals a man in fome time or place of great confufion or visible calamity. And this kind of fear of Almighty God is fometimes effectual and ufeful to bring men to repentance after fome great difpleasure of Almighty God by fin or apoftacy, but this is not the fear that is here, at least primarily and principally meant, but these two that follow.

2 near approach.

3. A fear of reverence or awfulnefs, and this fear is raised principally upon the fenfe of fome object, full of glory, majefty, greatnefs, though poffibly there is no caufe of expecting any hurt from the perfon or thing thus feared. Thus a fubject bears a reverential fear to his prince, from the fenfe of his majesty and grandeur; and thus much more the majefty and greatness of Almighty God excites reverence and awfulness, though there were no other ingredient in that fear. Will ye not fear me, faith the Lord? 'Will ye not tremble at my prefence?' &c.- Who 'would not fear thee, O King of nations??'

4. A fear of caution or watchfulness. This is that which the wife man commends. Bleffed is the man 'that feareth always 3.' And this fear of caution is a due care and vigilancy not to displease that perfon from whom we enjoy or hope for good; the fear of a benefactor, or of that perfon from whom we may, upon fome just cause or demerit, expect an evil, as the fear of a juft and righteous Judge. And thefe two latter kinds of fear; namely, the fear of reverence, and the fear of caution, are thofe that are the principal ingredients conftituting this fear of God, that thefe excellent men commend to us as true wisdom.

Now this fear of God arifeth from those right and true apprehenfions concerning Almighty God, that do with a kind of connaturality and fuitablenefs excite both these two kinds of fear; and thofe seem to be principally these three.

1. A true and deep fenfe of the being of God; namely, that there is a moft excellent and perfect Being, which we call God, the only true God, the Maker of all things. But this is not enough to constitute this fear, for Epicurus and Lucian did believe that there was a God, yet were without the fear of him. 2. A true and deep fenfe, knowledge, and confideration of the attribute of God. And, although all

the attributes of God are but fo many expreffions and declarations of his perfection and excellency, and thereof all contribute to advance and improve this fear, efpecially of reverence; yet there are fome attributes that feem in a more fpecial manner to excite and raise this affection of fear, as well the fear of reverence, as that of caution and vigilance: as namely, 1. The majefty and glory of God, at which the very angels of heaven, that are confirmed in an unchangeable eftate of happiness, carry an inward, and express an outward reverence. 2. But majefty and glory without power, is not perfect; therefore the fenfe and knowledge of the Almighty power of God is a great object of our fear. He doth whatfoever he pleafeth, all things had their being from him, and have their dependance on him.

3. The deep knowledge of the goodness of God, and that goodness not only immanent 1 in himself, but emanent and communicative. And from this dif fufive and communicative goodnefs of God all things had their actual being, and from him they do enjoy it. And both thefe goodneffes of God, the immanent and emanent goodneffes, are the nobleft exciters of the nobleft fear, a fear fpringing from love, and that love fixing upon the immanent goodness of God, which is altogether lovely and perfect, and fo upon the emanent and communicative goodness of God, as he is our benefactor; and wherever there is love, there is the fear both of reverence and caution. We cannot choose but honour and reverence, and be careful to obferve and please whatsoever we thus love; the intrinfic nature of that which we love for its own worth and perfection, binds us by a kind of natural bond or refult to reverence and honour; and the extrinfic emanation of that goodness to us, binds us to reverence and esteem, and honour it as our benefactor, by a double bond, viz. firft, of gratitude or benevolence to

1 abiding. 2 which flows from God.

him that communicates this good; fecondly, by a bond of prudence and felf-prefervation, not to disoblige him from whom we have our good, and upon whom we have our dependance, left a difobligation fhould occafion his fubftraction or abatement of that good from us. Wherefoever there is dependance, as there muft be natural love to that upon which is our dependance, so there must be neceffarily a fear both of reverence and caution, even upon principles of selflove, if there were nothing elfe to command it.

4. A deep fenfe, knowledge, and confideration of the divine omniscience. If there were all the other motives of fear imaginable, yet if this were wanting, the fear of God would be in a great measure abated; for what availeth reverence or caution, if he to whom it is intended do not know it? And what damage can be sustained by a neglect or omiffion of that fear, if God Almighty knew it not? The want of this confideration hath made even thofe atheists that yet acknowledged a God; fuch were Epicurus, Diagoras, Lucretius, Lucian, and others among the philofophers; and fuch was Eliphaz his oppreffor. How doth God know?

and can he judge through the thick cloud? or 'David's fool 1. The Lord fhall not fee, neither 'fhall the God of Jacob regard.' But the all-knowing God fearcheth the very thoughts, and knows the heart, and all the actions of our lives. Not a word in our tongue but he heareth it, and knows our thoughts afar off.

5. A deep fenfe of the holiness and purity of God, which must needs caufe in hirn an averfenefs unto, and abhorrence of whatfoever is finful or impure. Laftly, The fenfe of the juftice of God, not only an inherent juftice, which is the rectitude of his nature; but a tranfient or diftributive justice, that will most certainly distribute rewards to obedience, obfervance, and the fear of his name, but punishments to the dif 1 Job. xxii. 13.

C 2

Psal. xciv. 7.

obedient,