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nevolent defigns; and beholds God fo loving the world as to give his only begotten Son to fave them, that whoever believes on him fhould not perish, but have everlasting life; and that a moft glorious, happy and eternal kingdom fhall be raised out of the ruins of an apoftate world, to the glory of divine grace; and that the greateft good fhall be brought out of all the evil that has been, or will exift to all eternity, fo that the iffue fhall be infinitely better than if there were no evil; and that this is all included in the eternal plan which was fixed by Infinite Wisdom and Goodness; when all this comes into view, it will excite the most fincere and ftrong exercifes of grateful love, which will continue and increase forever.

And when the pious man attends to the goodness of God to him, in particular, and is fenfible that it is the effect of God's eternal counsel, and his benevolent de fign of good to him, and that it flows from him on whom he is abfolutely dependent, who orders all things, fo that his hand is to be feen in every event that takes place; all this is peculiarly adapted to excite his grateful love, while he fays, "Not unto me, but unto thy name, be all the praise and glory." And what a foundation is here laid for holy, increafing gratitude forever!

Gratitude to God confifts in a true fenfe and pleafing approbation of the goodness of God to univerfal being, and to ourselves, and in making all the acknowledgements and returns of which we are capable, in loving and giving ourselves away to him, to be ufed for his fervice, giory and praise forever.

The man who has no difinterested benevolence, but is wholly felfish, is not capable of the leaft degree of this true gratitude. He can love thofe who love him, but this is nothing but felf love, at bottom; for by the fuppofition, he feeks himself, and is devoted to none but himfelf in all his exercifes, and is not pleafed with be nevolence for its own fake, or any farther than he may reap fome perfonal benefit by it, to gratify his felf love. He is difpleafed with that goodness which paffes by him, and does good to others, or feeks and promotes the general good. SERMON

Sermon XVIII.

Eccl. iii. 14. I know that whatsoever God doth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it; and God doth it, that men fhould fear before him.

TH

HESE words have been explained in the foregoing discourse, and the truths contained in them have been found to be the following: that God hath in his wisdom and goodness, by his unchangeable decree, foreordained whatfoever comes to pafs; that this truth, confidered in its extent and confequences, is the only proper and fufficient foundation of the true piety of

men.

The last mentioned truth is now under confideration, and has been in part illuftrated and proved, by inftancing in true love to God. We now proceed to confider other branches of piety, which are included in love, and grow out of this root or ftock, and may be confidered as different modifications of this fame LOVE; and to fhow that GOD, viewed as described in the text, is the only proper object of them.

2. The fear of God is an exercife of piety. This is put in our text, and in many other places in holy writ, for the whole of true piety, as has been obferved. The reafon of this doubtlefs is, because it is in a peculiar manner fuited to exprefs the pious exercifes of a fallen creature, infinitely vile and guilty, and juftly expofed to eternal deftruction, into which he will infallibly fail, unlefs he be refcued by fovereign grace, who with humility and felf diffidence, knowing that he is wholly loft in himself, trufts wholly in Chrift, the only Saviour of finners, whom he has offended, and is conftantly of fending; yet trufts in him alone, even in his infinite power and fovereign goodnefs, for pardon, righteouf nefs, holiness, ftrength and redemption. And thus it

is peculiarly adapted to exprefs the mode or manner of the pious, religious exercifes of finners who believe in Chrift, and are friends to God and the Redeemer; or the holiness of repenting, believing finners, that is, real Chriftians.

It is plain, at the first view, that the God who is reprefented in our text, in his abfolute independence, decrees and works, as it has been explained, is fuited to lead men to fear before him, according to this general, comprehenfive fenfe of fear, including the whole of piety; and that all thofe doctrines which are opposed to this, have a contrary tendency, and are not confiftent with the fear of God, in this fenfe of it. But it may perhaps give fome farther light on this fubject, by more particularly confidering the fear of God in a more reftrained fenfe, and as a branch of true love or piety.

It is of importance to obferve here, that fear is used in different and oppofite fenfes in the Bible; because there are two forts of fear, one, that which implies holy love, and is effential to true piety; the other is opposed to love, and is therefore the fear of thofe who are not friends to God, but enemies. This latter is intended by fear, in the following paffages: 1 John iv. 18. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love, cafteth out fear; be cause fear hath torment: he that feareth, is not made perfect in love.” 2 Tim. i. 7: "For God hath not given us the fpirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a found mind." Rom. viii. 15: "For ye have not received the fpirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

Thefe different kinds of fear may be in fome measure illuftrated by the following inftance. An excellent father has a fon and a fervant, both of whom have been guilty of injuring him, and have fallen under his juft difpleasure. The fon heartily repents, and loves his father, and is restored to his favour. But he keeps conftantly in view the evil which he justly deserves, and which his father is able to inflict; he feels that he de

pends

pends entirely upon his father's goodness for an escape from that evil, and that he stands in need of his conftant aid and affiftance to referve him from offending again, and from that evil which he dreads fo much. Both his father's difpleafure, and the evil confequence, are dreadful to him. He knows his father is able to punish in the moft dreadful manner; he fees fome of the family fuffering the punishment every day, and others going in the way which will bring it upon them, unless they repent and reform in season; and has feelings anfwerable to what he fees. He knows he deserves to be thus punished as much as the worst of them, and depends entirely upon his father's goodness to prevent it. He loves his father with all his heart, he approves of his conduct, and knows he does every thing right. He loves to have him fupreme and independent in the family, and to have him order every thing, and to fee his will done in all cafes; he loves to be abfolutely dependent upon him, and to have all the family fo: and in the exercise of this love, and in the views now mentioned, he humbles himself before his father, and fears and trembles before him.

The fervant who has offended his mafter, fears the rod, he dreads the punishment which is threatened, and knows he can inflict it; but he has no love to the father, his mafter; he wishes to be out of the family, and not dependent on him in any degree. He tries to pacify and please his master in his outward conduct, from the love of himself, because he fears the rod, and wishes to efcape punishment. Thus he lives in continual flavish fear of his mafter, which difinterested love to him would caft out.

Every one muft fee the difference between the filial fear of the fon, who loves his father, and the fervile fear of the fervant, who loves himself only; and the oppofition of one to the other. And furely the difference and oppofition between the godly fear of those who love God with difinterested benevolence, and the fervile fear

of

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of those who do not love him, but are enemies to him, is much greater, and far more evident and ftriking.

true.

Here it may be obferved, that this fervile fear, by which men are reftrained from a carelefs, bold practice of open fin, and their attention to a future ftate, and prefing concern to efcape hell and obtain falvation, is excited and kept up, this fervile fear is neceffarily. awakened, and fills the foul with painful concern, when finners are convinced of the truth of the doctrine in our text, and are made in fome measure to feel it to be So long as God, in his greatness, omniprefence and terrible majefty, is not in their view, and they do not feel or fee their abfolute dependence upon him for all good, and even to escape hell and obtain heaven, but feel as if they had their life in their own hands, in this refpect, they will not be afraid of God, but live in eafe and fecurity. But when they come to feel that they are in the hands of God, and that he will deftroy or fave them, as he pleases, they being abfolutely dependent on him, they will begin to fear and ftand in awe of him. And the more fully convinced they are of the truth contained in our text, the greater will be their fear and terror respecting their ftate and fituation. This every one can witnefs who has been an obferver of others in thefe matters, or has attended to his own feelings. And it may be asked, Where has any perfon been found, who has difbelieved the doctrine of God's decrees, of his foreordaining whatfoever comes to pass, who has been under any foul-diftrefling fear of God, or of eternal deftruction?

But pious, godly fear implies love to God, in a view of his infinite greatnefs and importance, and a fense of his infinitely beautiful and glorious character, unchangeably wife, good, upright, juft, true and faithful, having decreed whatfoever comes to pafs, and executing his decrees in creating, preferving and governing all his creatures and all their actions, for his own glory, and the greatest good of the univerfe; or, which is the fame, the greatest happincfs and glory of his eternal kingdom,

And