pavehis. Fear is a bridle to sin, and a spur to holiness. Fear puts an holy awe upon tin? heart, and binds it to its ^ooA behaviour. By the foar of the Lord men depart from e\dl. When the empress Eudoxia, threat- ened to banish Chrysostom, " Tell lier (saith he) I fear nothing but sin." Fear \s janitor animce ; it stands as a porter at the door of the soul, and keeps sin from entering ; all sin is committed for want of the fear of God, Rom. iii. 14. 15. 18., " Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness ; their feet are swift to shed blood; there is no fear of God before their eyes." Holy fear stands sentinel, and is ever watcliing against secu- rity, pride, wantonness. Fear is a Christian's life-guard to defend him against the fiery darts of temptation. Si vis esse securus, sem- per time. The way to be safe, is always to fear, Prov. ii. 14.
A. 4. If we would be kept from actual sins, lot us be careful to avoid all the inlets and occasions of sin ; run not into evil company; he that would not have the plague, will not go into an infected house. Guard your senses, which may be the inlets to sin. Keep the two portals, the eye and the ear ; especially, look to your eyes ; much sin comes in by the eye, — the eye is oft an inlet to sin, — sin takes fire at the eye, — the first sin in the world, began at the eye, Gen. iii. 6., " Wlien the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and was pleasant to the eyes, then she took of the fruit thereof." Looking begat lusting. Intemperance begins at the eye : looking on the wine when it is red and gives its co- lour in the glass, causeth excess of drinking, Prov. xxi. 31
eye. Josh. vii. 21., " When I the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and a wedge of gold, I coveted and took them." The fire of lust besins to kindle at the eye : David walking upon the roof of his house, saw a woman washing herself, and she was, saith the text, ' very beautiful to look upon,' and he sent messengers and took her, and defiled himself with her, 2 Sam. xi. 2. O therefore look to your eyes ! Job made a covenant with liis eyes, Job xxxi. 1. If the eye be once inflamed, it will be hard to stand out long against sin ; if the outworks are taken by the enemy.
Covetousness begins at the saw anion":
there is great danger of taking the A\hoIe castle.
A. 5. If you would be kept from actual gross sin, study sobriety and temperance, 1 Pet. V. 8 , Sobrii est, ' be sober.' Check the inordinancy of appetite ; sin doth fre- quently make its entrance this way. By gratifying the sensitive appetite, the soul, that is a-kin to angels, is enslaved to the brutish part. Many drink, if not to drun- kenness, yet to drowsiness. The not deny- ing the sensitive appetite, makes men's con- sciences so full of guilt, and the world so full of scandal. If you would be kept from running into sin, lay restraint upon the flesh. What hath God given reason and conscience for, but to be a bridle to check inordinate desires ?
A. 6. If you would be kept from actual sins, be continually upon your spiritual watch.
1. Watch your thoughts, Jer. iv. 14., " How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee ?" Sin begins at the thoughts. First, men cherish revengeful thoughts, then they dip their hands in blood. Set a spy over your thouglits.
2. Watch your passions : passions of an- ger, passions of lust. The heart is ready to be destroyed by its own passions, as the vessel is to be overturned by the sail. Pas- sion transports beyond the bounds of reason ; it is brevis insania, Seneca, ' A short fren- zy.' Moses in a passion spake unadvisedly with his lips, Ps. cvi. 33. The disciples in a passion called for fire from heaven, A man in a passion is like a ship in a storm, that hath neither pilot nor sails to help it, but is exposed to the waves and rocks.
3. Watch your temptations. Satan con- tinually lies in ambush, and watcheth to draw us to sin. Stat in procinctu diabolns : lie is fishing for our souls, — he is either lay- ing of snares, or shooting of darts, — there- fore we had need watch the tempter, that we be not decoyed into sin. Most sin is committed for want of watchfulness.
A. 7. If you would be kept from the evil of sin, consult with the oracles of God, be well-versed in scri[)ture, Ps, cxix. 11., " Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee," The word is, amceps gladins, — a two-edged sword, to cut asunder men's lusts. When the fogs and
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OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER.