[SERM. Love and Honour, fuch as our Fear of God ought to be; not that fervile Fear joined with Hatred, fuch as Slaves are under to an hard Mafter, or Subjects to a great Oppreffor. If ye will but remember, how afraid a dutiful loving Child is to do any thing that may offend or displease a tender loving Father or Mother, or how afraid a good Servant is of difobliging a kind Mafter or Mistress, ye may at once both have a right Notion what the true Fear of God is, and how a Senfe of his Goodness occafions this Fear. Not but that the Fear of God may be occafioned by other Motives, particularly a Belief and Confideration of his righteous Judgments; and that all Motives are good, which bring us nearer to God; and particularly, that Fear is of the right Stamp, which drives us to our Duty, instead of driving us away from it; yet, with ingenuous Minds, it is chiefly true Goodness and Love to us, which makes us both love our Benefactor, and fear to offend him.

5. This fame Senfe of God's Goodness, is at great Motive to our Truft in him; a Duty, without which our pufillanimous Minds would be apt to fall into Defpondency and. Despair. Our Wants, our Dangers, and Temptations, are fo many; our Strength fo fmall; our Conftancy in any good Thing fo foon fhaken; that if it were not that we truft in God's Goodness, that be will not break the bruised Reed, nor quench the Smoaking Flax, Ifa. xlii. 3. that he will either by his good Providence ftave off Temptations, or proportion them to our Strength of Grace, or accept of our weak Endeavours, and pardon our Failings and Infirmities, we could have no

Heart

Heart to fet about Duty at all. But when we confider that our Father in Heaven is ready to fupply all our Wants, that he will defend us against all our Enemies, and that he will help us out of all our Difficulties, when we turn our Thoughts from our own Weakness to his Almighty Power, joined with an infinite Good-will to his poor Creatures; this is enough to inspire us with an invincible Courage, and with a full Affurance of Faith, that though we can do fo very little of ourselves, we fhall be able to do all that is required, through Chrift ftrengthening us; and that his Grace will be fufficient for us.

6. A great Senfe of this paternal Goodness in God, difpofes us to bear patiently whatever Troubles and Afflictions he thinks fit to lay upon us; believing certainly that it is all for our good; and that whatever Croffes we meet with on this fide Hell, are all fent with a Defign to reclaim us from the Evil of our Ways, and to reduce us to our Duty.

7. This fame Senfe of God's Goodness, will difpofe us to honour him; for it is this which turns all his other Attributes to be beneficial to the World; for as among Men, it is not Greatness alone, separate from Goodness, which renders any Perfon honourable; at least, if we honour him for his Greatnefs, it is becaufe Greatness is an Instrument of Goodness, and in hopes that it will be so used; fo in God it is the Conjunction of his Power and his Wisdom, with his Goodness and Beneficence to Mankind, which draws out our Honour and Refpect. If God were, as the Epicureans fancied, a Being infinitely

happy

happy indeed in himself, but not in the least minding the Affairs of us Mortals, or vouchfafing to concern himself in any Business of this lower World; this would be fo far from producing that Honour and Esteem, which is due to him, that it would induce a total Oblivion of him; and as he doth not concern himself with us, it would be hard to prove that we should concern ourselves with him; and this is what that Sect knew would bring in, at least, a practical Atheism into the World. But it is the Conjunction of these two, optimus maximus, the best as well as the greatest of Beings, which draws out our Honour and Regard. It is the Goodnefs of God then, in conjunction with his Greatnefs, that begets in us a true inward Veneration for him, which fhews itself in all those particular Expreffions of Honour, which are due to his Name, his Word, his Sacraments, his Day, his House, his Minifters, and Servants, and every thing that has any Relation to him. All which oblige us to a great Number of Duties, which one Way or other reflect Honour on Almighty God, and bring down Benefits upon ourfelves.

8. Lastly, The Confideration of the great Goodness of God, and our continual Application to him for Grace and every other good Thing we want, puts us in mind of our own Infufficiency and Indigency, and fo teaches us Humility, which is a moft effential Duty we owe to Almighty God, continually putting us in mind to magnify and glorify him, and to vilify and depretiate our felves.

Thus

Thus now I have fhewed, by an Induction of Particulars, that the preferving in our Minds this right Notion of God, as of a moft loving Father, always ready to affift his poor Creatures upon their Application to him, doth naturally lead us not only to Gratitude and the Love of God, which is the Sum and Substance of all the other Duties we owe him, but to every particular Duty required of us toward God. A short Way, to teach us a Compend of those Duties; as the next Verfe teaches us the Compend of our Duty to our Neighbour.

But this not only fhews us what an Idea and Conception we ought to have of Almighty God in our Minds, and how all our Duty to him does most naturally refult from it; and therefore this may well be called natural Religion; but it shews us likewife, how by imitating God in this one Particular of his Goodness, we may likewise discharge all our Duty to our Neighbour, and fo fulfil the whole Law and Prophets. And fo indeed we find in the Words immediately following; the one, by way of Confequence, is deduced from the other. Therefore all Things whatsoever ye would that Men fhould do unto you, do you even fo to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets. To love God fincerely, and our Neighbour on his Account, or out of Regard to him, is the Sum and Substance of our whole Duty, as it is taught in the Law and the Prophets; and we may add too, as it is taught by Chrift and the Apostles.

From hence we may fee how false, how unfcriptural, and how unworthy Notions they give us of Almighty God, who represent him as

acting,

[SERM. acting, not from a Principle of Goodness, but from a Principle of mere Power and Dominion, in making fo many Men and Women on purpose that he might make them miferable; which has occafioned Mens laying the Blame of all their Sin and Mifery on God, inftead of accufing themselves, and improving that Accufation to the Purposes of Repentance and Amendment of Life.

But yet, let not this Notion of God, as a loving Father, deceive us, as if it excluded his Justice and Severity to obftinate, incorrigible Sinners; for as there is no greater Anger and Severity in the World, than what is raised by abufed Goodness and Mercy; fo if we abufe God's Goodness, we shall then perish unpitied, as bafe, ungrateful Rebels to their best Benefactor; obftinately standing out against all the tenderest Offers of Mercy and Pardon.

Now God give us Grace to confider in this our Day the Things which belong to our everlafting Peace, before they be hid from our Eyes.

To this great and good God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, &c.

SERMON