And this God, who is the fupreme object of love, is alfo the object of pious reverence and fear, as neceflarily implied in true love. Thus pious love and fear imply and involve each other, and are really but one and the fame affection, which this grand and glorious object is fuited to excite. This fear of God implies a view and fenfe of his greatness and unlimited power, of his unchangeable defigns, and our abfolute and conftant dependence on him, on his will, in every refpect, for exiftence and every motion, and all good, he being our potter, and we the clay in his hand, living, moving and moved, and having our being, in him. It alfo implies a view and fenfe of our own infinite vilenefs and ill-defert, and of the infinite evil which God is able to inflict, and may juftly bring upon us; and that his almighty power and fovereign grace alone can prevent our being deftroyed forever, into which deftruction many have fallen, and are falling continually; and that we depend wholly on him, even his fovereign, forfeited mercy, to prevent our going to eternal ruin, and on his conftant energy and grace, to caufe us to cleave to him, and go in the way to heaven, we being nothing but infufficiency and vanity, before the Infinite All-fufficient Being; and in this view exercifing felf-diffidence, humility, and truft and dependence in God, dreading his difpleafure above all things, and fubmiting to him, with a difpofition and defire to obey him in all things forever. All this is implied in the true fear of God. But it may be expreffed in fewer words, and perhaps more clearly to fome minds, thus: To fear God is to be properly affected with his infinite greatnefs and terrible majefty, threatening and punishing his implacable enemies with everlasting deftruction; to feel ourselves and all the creation as nothing before him, and wholly dependent upon him; to be fuitably affected with our own guilt and vileness, and our abfolute dependence on his fovereign, undeferved mercy for pardon, and the renovation of our minds to holy exercifes.

The

The whole of this is expreffed or implied in the fol lowing paffages of fcripture: Luke xii. 5" Fear him who, after he hath killed, hath power to caft into hell; yea, I fay unto you, fear him." All will grant that Chrift here enjoins religious, pious fear of God, upon all who love him. And God is reprefented in his terrible majesty as the object of this fear, they being wholly in his hands, and dependent upon him, who is able, and may juftly, if he pleafes, caft them into hell, and make them miferable forever. Upon this two things may be obferved:

1. That it is here fuppofed that God docs caft fome into hell, and inflict eternal evil upon them. For if this could not be done confiftent with his character and perfections, or with his known defign, merely his having power to do that which it is known he never will do, and cannot do confiftent with his moral perfection, does not render him more an object of religious fear, than if he had no fuch power; and it would be only an empty bugbear and fcarecrow, fet up to excite fear without any reafon; which cannot be fuppofed. If no fuch evil, as that of being caft into hell, had existence, or ever will be inflicted, in any inftance, then it could not be reasonably propofed as an object of fear.

2. If this evil of being caft into hell be a reality, God having power to do it, and actually doing it, whenever and in whatever inftances he pleafes, that is, when it is ncceffary for his glory, and the greatest good of the whole; this reprefents God as an object of religious fear, to those who feel themselves in his hands, and deferving of this evil; even when they confider themselves as fecured from fuffering it, by a divine promise through a Mediator. For ftill eternal torment in hell is a reality, and they deserve it as much as those who are actually caft into it; and are conftantly dependent on God's fovereign will, to be faved from it: and their escape from hell, and full, abfolute and unconditional fecurity that they fhall not perifh, cannot be faid to be perfect and completed, fo long as they are on this fide of hea

ven, in a state of probation, and until they are actually admitted there. Befides, while they, in the exercife of benevolence, behold their fellow Chriftians by profeffion, and their fellow men, among whom they live, and are uncertain that they will all escape hell, and fee them in the hands of God, who cafts them into hell, or faves them from this infinitely dreadful evil, as he pleases, they must have a fenfation and exercises independent of their own perfonal concerns, and however fecure they may confider themselves, which is properly called the fear of the Lord, and of the glory of his majefty. This is therefore enjoined upon all the people of God, as included in their pious obedience to him. [Deut. xxviii. 58]"If thou wilt not obferve to do all the words of this law, that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD, THY GOD, then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful," &c.

And an affection of this fame nature and kind will be exercised by the inhabitants of heaven forever, as neceffarily included in love to God, in a view of his glorious, fearful, fovereign power and majefty, and of themselves and all creatures, as being infinitely below him, and as nothing in comparison with him, and wholly dependent upon him, for existence, every motion of their hearts, and all good, and in a clear view of his terrible wrath againft finners, and the dreadful punishment inflicted upon them. This is reprefented in the 15th chapter of the Revelation. John faw feven angels having the feven laft plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God; and at the fame time he obferved the inhabitants of heaven looking on, finging and faying, "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord, God Almighty, juft and true are thy ways, thou King of faints. Who fhall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy; for thy judgments are made manifeft." I proceed to mention another paffage of fcripture. [Phil. ii. 12, 13.] "Work out your own falvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who

worketh

worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his own good pleafure." Here fear and trembling muft mean fuch exercifes of mind as are fuitable to their dependence on God and his operating energy, for all things, even every motion of their hearts, of will and choice; for this their dependence on God is given as a reason why they fhould go on in a Chriftian course with fear and trembling: For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleafure. They were hanging over hell, and muft drop into it, unless supported and refcued by the omnipotent arm of God, working in them, and forming them both to will and to do that which was neceflary in order to efcape hell and obtain heaven; in which God was infinitely above all controul, and acted of his own good pleasure, after the counsel of his own will. Here the fame idea is held up, and the fame truth exprefled, with that in our text, as the foundation and reason of man's fearing before God, and working out his falvation with fear and trembling, viz. Their abfolute dependence on God in all things, even for every thought and motion of heart, which he effec tually caufes to exift by his invifible, fecret, almighty energy, according to his own pleafure, which muft be unchangeable, and according to his eternal purpofe, including all he would, do to eternity in producing every thing, and ordering every event: fo that there is but one endless chain of events, made up of innumerable links, of which the leaft exiftence, event and motion, and every circumstance, the most minute, is a neceffary part, as well as the greateft; the whole being formed by the wife counfel and will of God, and entirely dependent upon him, and executed by him; and which cannot admit the leaft poffible change or alteration, it being as firmly eftablished and fixed as the existence and throne of the Almighty.

I conclude this head with obferving, that it is beyond all controverfy, certain, that the fear of God, as it has been explained, fuppofes our dependence on him, viewing him as what he is, and ourfelves as what we are; and

that,

that, the more abfolute, perfect and univerfal this dependence is, the greater foundation there is for this fear, and this affection will be strong and constant in proportion to the view and fenfe we have of this dependence. Therefore the doctrine contained in our text lays the best and most perfect foundation for the exercife of the fear of God, and is every way fuited to promote it; and every opinion and fentiment which contradicts this, and reprefents man as in any degree felf-fufficient, and independent in any refpect, is contrary to the true fear of God, and tends to prevent or deftroy it.

3. An entire, unreferved trust in God is an exercife of true piety, and effential to it. The only foundation for this is his all-fufficiency, his being unchangeable in his goodness, truth and faithfulness, and omnipotent, fupreme, or doing every thing as he pleafes, and guiding all things by his conftant, univerfal agency, fo as to answer the most wife and beft end. Every thing contrary to fuch a character is inconfiftent with his being an object of unreferved truft and confidence to the pious mind. If God were not unchangeable in his attributes and defigns, and had he not all creatures and things under his direction and controul; and could there be one motion or action in the universe independent of his direction, agency and will; and did he not know what is the best end, and what are the wifeft and beft means to accomplish it; and was he not unchangeably determined what he would do, in the exercise of infinite wifdom and goodnefs; the benevolent, pious mind would have no foundation of unreferved truft and confidence.

But our God is not fo. "He is the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth, and without iniquity, juft and right is he." The pious mind, feeling his abfolute, entire dependence, and the univerfal dependence of all things, on this God, whom he loves with all his heart, puts his whole trust in him, and relies upon him with the moft unreserved confidenc

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