mentioned in the text. A holy fear of God must be a check upon our hope, to keep that from swelling into presumption; and a pious hope in God must be a check upon our fear, to keep that from sinking into despondency.

This balance must, I say, by a wise and steady hand, be kept even in every concern that lies upon our hearts, and that we have thoughts about. I shall enumerate those that are of greatest importance.

We must keep up both hope and fear,

I. As to the concerns of our souls, and our spiritual and eternal state.

1. We must keep up both a holy dread of God, and a humble delight in him; both a reverence of his majesty, with a fear of incurring his displeasure, and at the same time a joy in his love and grace, and an entire complacency in his beauty and bounty, and that benignity of his which is better than life.

Our affections toward God must correspond with the discoveries he has made of himself to us. As he

must proclaim it to his praise. Now in God there is

In reference to each of these, we must always study and strive to support that affection, whether it be hope or fear, which the present temper of our minds and circumstances of our case make necessary | to preserve us from an extreme.

I. Nothing certainly does so much concern us, and ought to lie so near our hearts, as the prosperity of our souls, and their happiness in the favour of God, and their fitness to serve him here, and enjoy him for ever. This certainly ought to be the chief | and continual care of every man in this life, to approve himself to an eternal God above him, and to prepare himself for an everlasting state before him, This is the concern of the better part, and is of all other the most weighty concern. Now, for the due managing of this concern, it is requisite that we take our work before us, and give each part of it its place and due proportion, so as that one devout affection may not intrench upon and exclude another. As the beauty of God's being consists in the harmony of his attributes, so the beauty of his image on our souls consists in the harmony of our graces, and the concurrence of them all to the maintaining of our due subjection to God, and due government of ourselves.

In eternity there is neither hope nor fear. In heaven they are both lost in an endless fruition: glorified saints, as they are for ever quiet from the fear of evil, and out of the reach of it, so they have nothing more or better to hope for, than what they are already entered into the enjoyment of; and what a man sees, why doth he yet hope for? In hell they are both lost in an endless despair: they have nothing to fear there, where they know the worst, and must feel to eternity what they would not fear; nor have they any thing to hope for, when the door of mercy is shut against them, and a great gulf fixed between them and all blessedness, never to be removed. But in our present state, there is and n Ps. lxviii. 4, 5. q Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7.

1 Rom. viii 24. m Ps. ci. I. p Isa. lxvi. 1, 2.

o Isa. lvii. 15.

is amiable; and in his manifestations of himself he seems to have taken a delight in putting these together, and setting the one over against the other. When he makes himself known in his greatness, as riding on the heavens, by his name JAH, he adds, in the next words, this instance of his goodness, that he is a Father of the fatherless, and a Judge for the widows." Is he the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, and dwells in the holy place? Yet we must know that with this man he will dwell, to this man he will look, that is of a contrite and humble spirit. And on the other hand, when he tells us how gracious he is in forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin," he tells us presently how just he is also, that he will by no means clear the impenitently guilty.

love it; both fear the We must delight ourand yet we must make

Thus, therefore, must we have an eye to him, both as he is infinitely great, and greatly to be feared, and as he is infinitely good, and greatly to be loved. And as no love one degree short of perfect must cast out all fear; so no fear, in those who have received the Spirit of adoption, must damp the delight which, as children, we must have in our Father. We must both fear God's name, and commandment, and love it. selves always in the Lord; him our fear and our dread,' and be in the fear of him every day, and all the day long. In the duties of religious worship, we must know our disparity; and in consideration of that we must serve him with reverence and godly fear," because God, even our God, though he be a rejoicing light to those who serve him faithfully, yet he is a consuming fire to those who trifle with him: but we must also know our privilege, and draw near to him in full assurance of faith, and must serve the Lord with gladness.

2. We must keep up both a trembling for sin, and a triumphing in Christ, as the propitiation for sin. We must be afraid of the curse, and the terrors of it, and yet must rejoice in the covenant, and the

n

riches and graces of it. With one eye we must look at the fiery serpents, and see what danger we are in by our having been stung by them; but with the other eye we must look up to the brazen serpent lifted up on the pole, and see what a fair way we are in of being helped and healed by looking to it. Look unto me (saith Christ) and be ye saved.

We must not so look upon the comforts of the gospel, as to forget the condemnation of the law, and that we are guilty before God, and liable to that condemnation: which we must be ever mindful of, that we may daily reflect with regret upon sin, and may be quickened to flee from the wrath to come, and to flee for refuge to the hope set before us; and that knowing the terrors of the Lord, we may be persuaded to stand in awe and not sin. And yet we must not so look upon the condemnation of the law, as to forget that we are under grace, and not under the law; and that we have a Redeemer to rejoice in, and with an entire confidence to rely upon, who died to save his people from their sins. We must look upon sin, and be humbled, and be afraid of God's wrath; but at the same time we must look upon Christ, and be satisfied, and hope in his mercy.

3. We must keep up both a jealousy of ourselves, and of our own sincerity; and a grateful thankful sense of God's grace in us, and the workings of that grace. It is true, the heart of man is deceitful above all things, and in nothing more so than in its judgment of itself. We are all apt to be partial in our own favours; to say we are rich and increased with goods, when we do not know, or will not own, that we are wretched and miserable. We have therefore reason to fear lest we should be mistaken, lest our graces should prove counterfeit, and we should be rejected as hypocrites at last. And O that those who live a carnal, worldly, sensual life, under the disguise of a religious profession, were awakened to see their mistake before the flames of hell awaken them! O that fearfulness would surprise those who, indeed, are hypocrites; and that the sinners in Zion were afraid; and that their vain hopes, which are built upon the sand, might be taken down before they are thrown down!

But let not those who fear the Lord, and obey the voice of his servant, walk in darkness, but trust in the name of the Lord, and stay themselves upon their God. Let not those who, through grace, are brought to prefer the favour of God before the smiles of the world, and are more in care about the things that relate to the soul and eternity, than about those that have reference only to the body and time; let not their godly jealousy over themselves run into an extreme. Let them not be upon all occasions arraigning their evidences, and questioning, Is the

Lord among us, or is he not? Hearken to this, you that tremble at God's word, and are fearing continually every day." How can you say you do not love God, when you cannot but say that you would not for all the world wilfully offend him, and that there is nothing you desire so much as to be in his favour, and in communion with him? And therefore, though you have no reason to trust in your own merit, yet you have a great deal of reason to hope in that mercy of God, which accepts the willingness of the spirit, and overlooks the weakness of the flesh. Why should you wrong yourselves by bearing false witness against yourselves; as they do who make themselves poor, and yet have great riches?" And why should you wrong God, by robbing him of the honour of what he has wrought for you? It is true, we must not be proud of our graces, but we must be thankful for them; we must not pretend to justify ourselves to the covenant of innocency, for we are not innocent; yet we must not therefore reject the advantages of the covenant of grace, nor put from us the comforts that thence flow. 4. We must keep up both a constant caution over our goings, and a constant confidence in the grace of God. When we consider how weak we are; how apt to stumble in the way, and wander out of it, apt to tire, and apt to turn aside; we shall see cause enough to walk humbly with God. And yet, when we consider how the promises of divine aids are adapted to our case in all the exigences of it, how rich, how sure they are, and how certainly made good to all those who depend upon them, and by faith derive strength and wisdom from them, we shall see cause enough to walk boldly with God. He who walks uprightly, walks with a good assurance, and may travel in the greatness of the strength of him who is mighty to save.

We have need to stand always upon our guard; as knowing that our way lies through an enemy's country, where we have reason to expect that ambushes will be laid for us, and all the stratagems of war made use of to do us mischief. We have need to look well to our goings, and never so much as to feed ourselves without fear," lest our table should become a snare ;* nor walk abroad without trembling, lest under the green grass there should be a snake; lest for want of watchfulness we should be surprised by a sudden temptation, for want of resolution we should be overpowered by a violent temptation. Happy is the man who thus feareth always, as seeing himself never out of the reach, no, nor ever out of the way of Satan's temptations, till he comes to heaven.

But still in the midst of this fear we must hope in God's mercy, that he will take our part against our spiritual enemies, will watch over us for good, will preserve our souls from sin, from every evil work,

row." Let us never promise ourselves, that because this day smiles upon us, to-morrow must needs be as this day, and much more abundant;" since we know not what shall be on the morrow, nor what one day may bring forth. Let us not put the evil day far from us, which for ought we know may be very near, and at the door. But, to prevent the security we are in danger of falling into at such a time,

(1.) Let us keep up an awful regard to the sovereignty of the Divine Providence, and its disposals of us and ours. We are in its hands, as clay is in the hand of the potter, to be formed, unformed, new formed, as he pleases. That which seemed designed for a vessel of honour, is either marred, or with one turn of the wheel made a despised vessel, in which there is no pleasure: and shall we say, dare we say, Why hast thou made me thus? May not God do what he will with his own creature? and shall he not fulfil his own counsel, whether we refuse, or whether we choose?P for we are sure he is debtor to no man.

Whatever we have, it was God who gave it us; and we said when we had it, Blessed be the name of the Lord, who in a way of sovereignty gave that to us, which he denied to others more deserving: and whatever we lose, it is God who takes it away; and when it is gone, we must say, Blessed be the name of the Lord, who in a way of sovereignty takes from us that which he had given us, and does us no wrong; for we are but tenants at will of all our enjoyments, even of life itself, and may be turned out at less than an hour's warning, for our times are in God's hands, not in our own.

It is true, that godliness has the promise of the life that now is; but we must take heed of misunderstanding those promises which relate to temporal good things, which are all made with this implicit proviso, As far as is for God's glory and our good; and further than those, if we love either God or ourselves, we shall not desire them. It is promised, that it shall be well with them that fear God; but it is not promised that they shall be always rich and great in the world, always in health, and at ease. It is promised, that no evil shall befall them, nothing that shall do them any real hurt; but it is not promised that no affliction shall befall them, for there may be need, that for a season they should be in heaviness, and it shall be for their advantage.

(2.) Let us keep up a full conviction of the vanity of this world, and the uncertainty of all our enjoyments in it. We are very unapt scholars, if we have not learned, even by our own experience and observation, that there are no pleasures here below that are lasting, but they are all dying things; and that often proves least safe that is most dear. They are

m Rev. xviii. 7. a Isa lvi. 12. • Jer. xviii. 4, 6. p Job xxxiv. 33.

as flowers which will soon fade, and the sooner for being much smelled to; as snow which will soon melt, and the sooner for being taken up in our hands, and laid in our bosoms. The things we dote so much upon make themselves wings (though we should not by our own improvidence and prodigality make them wings) and flee away as an eagle towards heaven. And shall we then set our eyes and hearts upon things that are not, the fashion of which passeth away, and we with it?

The things we are so fond of, we call good things, though if we have not grace to use them well, and to do good with them, they are to us good for nothing. But the Scripture calls them deceitful riches, and the mammon of unrighteousness, because they put a cheat upon those who depend upon them, and trust in them; they are not what they seem, perform not what they promise, nor last so long as one would think they should. What God has graciously promised us in them, they do perform, but not what we foolishly promise ourselves from them: so that if we are deceived, we may thank ourselves; it is our own fault for trusting to them. They perish in the using," much more in the abusing. Let those, therefore, who are rich in this world, receive the apostle's charge, not to trust in uncertain riches, because they are uncertain; nor to lay up their treasure in them, because our estates as well as our bodies are subject, both to diseases, for moth and rust corrupt them, and to disasters, for thieves break through and steal them. What assurance can we have of, what confidence can we put in, those goods, which may be lost in an instant by the firing of a house, or the foundering of a ship at sea, by the unsuspected fraud of those we deal with, or the overpowering force of those we contend with? How can we call that our own, which is so much in others' hands, or think to hold that fast; when even that which is in our hand slips through our fingers like dust, especially if we grasp it hard.

(3.) Let us keep up an humble sense of our own undeservings and ill-deservings. We shall see a great deal of reason not to be confident of the continuance of our creature-comforts, when we consider that we are not worthy of the least of them, no, not of the crumbs that fall from the table of common providence; and if we were not worthy to have them, much less are we worthy to have them long, and to have them secured to us. Nay, we have forfeited them all a thousand times by our abuse of them; and God might justly take the forfeiture. He who is in debt is continually in fear, lest all he has be suddenly seized on: it is our case; we are in debt to the justice of God, and what can we expect, but to be stript of all?

We had been so long ago, if God had dealt with

q Job i. 21. r Prov. xxiii. 5. s Col. ii. 22. t Gen. xxxii. 10.