Thus stood the case : Sennacherib v/ith a mighty host was ready to invade them ; this puts them into a fright ; in this distress God assures them, by the mouth of his prophet, that in " returning and " rest they should be saved, in quietness and confidence should be " their strength.'"* The meaning is, never perplex yourselves with various counsels and projects to secure yourselves under the wings? of Egypt or any other Protector, but with a composed, quiet and calm temper of mind, rest upon my power by faith, take my pro- mises for your security, this shall be your salvation and your strength, more effectual to your preservation than armies, garrisons, or any creature-defence in the world ; one act of faith shall do you better service than Pharaoh and all 'his forces can do.
But ye said no, q. d. we dare not trust to that, a good horse will do us more service at such a time than a good promise ; Egypt is a better security in their eye than Heaven. This is the fruit of gross infidelity. And as wicked men do thus forsake God, and cleave to the creature in the time of trouble, so there is fovmd a spice of this distrustfulness of God, producing fear and trouble, in the best of men. It was in the disciples themselves, Matth. viii. 26. " Why are ye fearful, O ye of httle faith r A storm had befallen them at sea, and danger began to threaten them, and pre- sently you find a storm within, their fears were more boisterous than the winds, and had more need of calming than the sea ; and it was all from their unbelief, as Christ tells them ; the less their faith, the greater their fear. If a man can but rely upon God in a promise, so far as he is enabled to beheve, so far he will reckon himself well secured. * lUvricus, in his cataWue of the Witnes-
• lUyrici Cat. Test. Lib. 19.
A PRACTICAL TREATISE OF FEAR. 249
stes, relates this remarkable passage of one Andreas Proles, a godly aged divine, who lived somewhat before Luther, and taught many points soundly, according to liis light then. lie was called to a Synod at Milan, and afterwards in the Lateran, where, opposing a proposition of the Pope about burdening the church with a new holiday, he was brought into much danger, and escaping very nar- rowly from Rome, he bought him a bow and weapons : but as he was riding, he began to bethink himself, that the cause was not his but God's, and not to be maintained with sword and bow ; and if it were, yet what could such a decrepit old man do with wea])ons ? upon which he threw away his weapons, conmiitted himself, his- cause, and his journey to God, relied upon his promises more than sword or bow, and came home safe, and afterwards died quietly in his bed.
2. The sinfulness of fear lies in the excess and immoderacy of it, when we fear more than we ought ; for it may be truly said of our fears, as the Philosopher speaks of waters, difficile suh termims cont'mentur, it is hard to keep them within bounds ; every bush is a bear, every petty trouble puts us into a fright ; our fear exceeds the value and merit of the cause. It is a great sin to love or fear any creature above the rate of a creature, as if they were masters of all our temporal and eternal comforts. Thus when the men of Israel heard of the confederacy and conjunction of their enemies a- gainst them, the text saith, " their hearts were moved, as the trees " of the wood are moved with the wind," Isa. vii. 1 . or as we use to say proverbially, like an aspine leaf': It is a sad sight to behold men shaking and quivering as the trees do on a windy day ; yet thus did the house of David, partly through the remembrance of past calamities, but especially through incredulity in God's protect- ing care in their present and future dangers ; yea, this is too often the fault of good men in creature-fear as well as in creature-love, to transgress the due bounds of moderation. It is noted of Jacob, though a man of much faith, and one that had the sweetest encou- ragement to strengthen it, both from former experiences, and God's gracious promises to be with him, yet when Esau was come nigh, he was " greatly afraid and distressed," Gen. xxxii. 7. It was but a little before, that God had graciously appeared to him, and sent a royal guard of angels to attend him, even two hosts or armies of angels, ver. 1, 2. and yet as soon as Esau approached him, he was afraid, yea greatly afraid, afraid and distressed, notwithstanding such an encouraging vision as this was.
3. The sinfulness of our fears lies in the inordinacy of them ; to fear it more than we ought is bad enough, but to magnify its power above the power of a creature ; to exalt the power of any creature by our fears, and give it such an ascendant over us, as
9,50 A PRACTICAL TREATISE OF FEAR.
it had an arbitrary and absolute dominion over us, or over our Gom-. forts, to do with them what it pleased ; this is to put the creature out of its own class and rank, into the place of God, and is there- fore a very sinful and evil fear.
To trust in any creature, as if it had the power of a God to help us, or to fear any creature, as if it had the power of a God to hurt us, is exceeding sinful, and highly provoking to God : This inor- dinate trust is taxed and condemned, in Isaiah xxxi. 3. They would needs go down to Egypt for help, and trust in their horses and horsemen, because they were strong; i. e. in their opinion, thev were able to secure them against all those dangers the prophet from the Lord's own mouth had threatened tliem with : but, to take them off from this sinful and inordinate dependence on the creature, he tells them, ver. 3. " Now the Egyptians are men, and " not God ; and their horses flesh, and not spirit : when the Lord '^ shiiU stretch forth his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and '• he that is holpen shall fall down, and they shall fall together." g. d. It is a sinful and dangerous mistake for one creature to give that trust and dependence to another creature, which is due only to God ; to look upon men as if they were gods, and horses as if they were spirits : all creatures, even the strongest, are but as the hop, the vine, or the ivy ; if they clasp about the pole, the wall or the oak, they may be supported, as you may also by leaning ujwn God ; but if they depend and entangle themselves one upon another, as you and the Egyptians do, you shall fail, and fall all together.