Now this Fear of God arifeth from those right and true Apprehenfions concerning Almighty God, that do with a kind of connaturality and fuitableness excite both thefe Two kinds of Fear; and those feem to be principally thefe 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 conftitute 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 Senfe, 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 special 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 exprefs an outward Reverence. 2. But Majefty and Glory without Power is not perfect; therefore the Senfe and Knowledge of the Almighty Power of God is a great Object of our Fear: He doth whatsoever 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 in himself, but Emanent and Communicative: And from this Diffufive and Communicative Goodness of God all things had their a&ual 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 Goodnefs of God, as he is our Benefactor; Benefactor; and where-ever there is Love, there is the Fear both of Reverence and Caution. We cannot choofe but honour and reverence, and be careful to obferve and pleafe whatsoever we thus love; the intrinfick 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 extrinfick 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 him that communicates this Good; fecondly, by a Bond of Prudence and Self prefervation, not to difoblige 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 must be natural Love to that upon which is our Dependance, fo there must be neceffarily a Fear both of Reverence and Caution, even upon Principles of Selflove, if there were nothing else to command it. 4. A deep Senfe, 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 fuftained 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, Job 22. 13. How doth God know? and can be judge through the thick Cloud? or David's Fool, Pfal. 94. 7. The Lord shall 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 beareth it, and knows our Thoughts afar off. 5. A deep fenfe of the Holiness and Purity of God, which muft needs caufe in him an averfenefs unto, and abhorrepce of whatfoever is finful or impure. Laftly, The fenfe fence of the Justice of God, not only an inherent Justice, which is the rectitude of his Nature; but a transient or diftributive Juftice, that will moft certainly diftribute Rewards to Obedience, Obfervance, and the fear of his Name, but Punishments to the Difobedient, and those that have no fear of him before their Eyes. The deep confideration and fenfe of these Attributes of the Divine Perfections, muft needs excite both the fear of Reverence and the fear of Caution, or fear of offending either by commiffion of what may displease God, or of omitting of what is pleafing to him. 3. But although this knowledge of Almighty God and his Attributes, may juftly excite a Fear both of Reverence and Caution; yet without the knowledge of fomething elfe, that Fear will be extravagant and diforderly, and fometimes begets Superftition or strange Exorbitancy in this Fear, or in the expreffions of it, and a want of regularity of duty or obedience; if a Man know that Almighty God is juft, and will reward obedience and punish difobedience; yet if he knows not what he will have done or omitted, he will indeed fear to displease him, but he will not know how to please or to obey him: therefore befides the former, there must be a Knowledge of the Will or Law of God in things to be done or omitted. This Law of God hath a double Infcription; 1. in Nature, and that is again twofold; firft, The natural Rudiments or Morality and Piety written in the heart: fecondly, fuch as are deducible by the exercife of natural Reafon and Light; for even from the Notion of God there do refult certain Confequences of Natural Piety and Religion, as, that he is to be prayed unto, to be praised, that he is to be imitated as far forth as is poffible by us; therefore as he is holy, beneficent, good, and merciful, fo must we be. 2. But we have a more excellent Tranfcript of the Divine Will, namely, the Holy Scriptures; which therefore a Man that fears God will ftudy, obferve, and practice, as being the beft Rule how to obey him. And the very fear of God arifing upon the fenfe of his Being and Attributes will make that Man very folicitous to know the Will of God, and and how he will be worshipped and ferved, and what he would have to be done, or not to be done: And therefore fince the glorious God hath fo far condefcended, as by his Providence to fend us a Tranfcript of his Mind, Will, and Law, he will be very thankful for it, very ftudious of it, much delighted in it, very curious to obferve it, because it is the Rule and Direction how he may obey, and confequently please that great God whom he fears ;; this Word he believes and prizes as his great Charter; and in this Word he finds much to excite, and regulate, and direct his Fear of God; he fees Examples of the divine Juftice against the Offenders of his Law, of the divine Bounty in rewarding the obedience to it: Threatnings on one hand, Promifes on the other. Greater Manifestations of the divine Goodness in the Redemption of Mankind by Chrift Jefus, and therefore greater Obligations as well to fear as to love fuch a Benefactor. II. And thus far of the kinds of the Fear of God, and of the Caufes or Objects exciting it: Now let us fee how it doth appear that this Fearing Man is the Wife Man,and how the Fear of God difcovers it felf to be the true, and beft, and only Wildom; which will appear in these particular Confiderations following. 1. Many learned Men confidering that great fimilitude and image of Ratiocination, in fome Brutes efpecially, have therefore declined to define a Man by his Reafon, becaufe of that analogical Ratiocination which they find in Brutes, but define a Man by his Religion, Homo eft animal religiofum; because in this they find no communication or fimilitude of Natures and Operations between Men and brute Beafts: for Man is the only visible Creature that expreffeth any inclination to Religion or the fenfe of a Deity, or any exercise of it. I do not ftand to juftifie this Opi. nion in all particulars, only thefe things are moft certain; 1. That only the Humane Nature seems to have any fense or impreffion of any regular Religion upon it. 2. That the fenfe of a Deity and Religion refulting from it, is the great ennobling and advance, and perfection of the Humane Nature; 3. That take away the Fear of God, all fenfe fenfe and ufe of Religion falls to the ground. So that the Fear of God is the great foundation of Religion, and confequently the great ennobling and advance of Humane Nature; that feems almoft as great a prelation of a Man truly religious above an irreligious Man, as to operation and ufe, as there is between an irreligious Man and a Brute. As Religion advanceth, fo Irreligion embaseth the Humane Nature. 2. Juftice is of two kinds; Diftributive, which is the Juftice of a Magiftrate or Judge, diftributing Rewards and Punishments, Favour and Displeasure, and due Retribution to every Man according to the merits of his Cause. 2. Commutative, which is in all civil Contracts and Dealings between Perfons, as dealing honeftly, keeping Promifes, and using Plainnefs, Sincerity, and Truth in all a Man faith or doth: And both these kinds of Juftice are effects of excellent Wisdom; without thefe, States and Societies and Perfons, fall into Dilorder, Confufion, and Diffolution: and therefore thofe very Men that have not this Juftice and Righteoufnefs, yet honour and value thofe that have it, and use it. And the Fear of Almighty God is that which begetteth and improveth both thefe kinds of Juftice. Hence it was that Mofes, in his Choice of Judges, directs that they fhould be Men fearing God, and bating Covetoufnels: Jehoshaphat, in his Charge to his Judges, thought this the best Expedient to contain them within the bounds of Juftice, to put them in remembrance before whom, and for whom, they are to judge. And the very Heathens themselves were fome of them used to fet an empty Chair in the place of Judicature, as an Emblem of the Prefence of God, the invifible, and yet all-feeing God, as prefent in the Courts of Justice, observing all the Judges do; and this they efteemed an excellent means to keep Judges to their Duty, by reprefenting to them the Glorious God beholding them. And as thus in Distributive Juftice, the Fear of God is a great means to keep and improve it; fo in Commutative Juftice, the Fear of God gives a fecret and powerful Law to a Man to keep and obferve it. And hence it is, that Jofeph could give no greater affurance to |