He hath charged you not to fear, Luke xxi. 9. " When ye shall " hear of wars and commotions, see that ye be not terrified." And Phil. i. 28. " In nothing be terrified by your adversaries." Yea, in Matth. x. 26, 28, 31. and within the compass of six verses, our Saviour commands us thrice, not to fear man. Doth every big word of proud dust and ashes make thee afraid ? Doth the voice of a man make thee tremble ? and shall not the voice of God : If thou art of such a fearful and timorous spirit, how is it that thou fearest not to dis- obey the flat commands of Jesus Christ .^^ Methinks the command of Christ should have as much power to calm, as the voice of a poor worm to terrify thy heart. Isa. li, 12, 13. " I, even I, am he that *' comforteth you : Who art thou, that thou sliouldest be afraid of a " man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be made as " the grass, and forgettest the Lord thy Maker 't'''' We cannot fear creatures sinfully, till we have forgotten God ; did we remember what he is, and what he hath said, we should not be of such feeble spirits : Bring thy heart, then, to this dilemma in times of danger ; if 1 let into my heart the slavish fear of man, I must let out the re- verential awe and fear of God ; and dare I cast off the fear of the Almighty for the frowns of a man ? Shall I lift up proud dust above the great God ? Shall I run upon a certain sin, to shun a probable danger.? O keep thy heart by this consideration !
Rule 4. Remember how much needless trouble your vain fears have brought upon you formerly^ and hoxvyou have disquieted your- selves to no purpose.
Isa. li. 13. " And hast feared continually because of the oppressor, " as if he were ready to devour ; and where is the fury of the op- " pressor.?^" Heseemedready todevour,but yet you are not devoured: I have not brought upon you the thing that you feared ; you have wasted your spirits, disordered your souls, and weakened your hands,
HOW TO KEEP THE HEART FROM FEARS. 4oS
and all this to no purpose : You might have all this while enjoyed your peace, and possessed your souls in patience. And here I can- not but observe a very deep policy of Satan, managing a design against the soul by these vain fears : I call them vain, in regard of the frustration of them by Providence ; but certainly they are not in vain, as to the end Satan aims at in raising them ; for herein he acts as soldiers use do in the siege of a garrison, who on purpose to wear out the besieged by constant watchings, and thereby unfit them to make resistance when they storm it in earnest, do every night give them false alarms, which though they come to nothing, yet doth notably serve this further design of the enemy. O when will you beware of Satan''s devices ?
Rule 5. Consider solemnly. That though the things you Jear should really fall out, yet there is more evil in your ownjiar, than in the thing Jeared ;
And that not only as the least evil of sin is worse than the greatest evil of suffering ; but as this sinful fear hath really more torment and trouble in it, than is in that condition you are so much afraid of: fear is both a multiplying and a tormenting passion ; it represents trou- bles much greater than they are, and so tortures and wrecks the soul much worse than when the suffering itself comes. So it was with Is- rael at the Red-sea, they cried out, and were sore afraid, till they put foot in the water, and then a passage was opened through those waters, which tliey thought would have drowned them. Thus it is with us; we look through the glass of carnal fear, upon the waters of trouble, the swellings of Jordan, cry out, O they are unfordable! me must needs perish in them : But when we come into the midst of those floods, indeed we find the promise made good; *' God will " make a way to escape," 1 Cor. x. IS. Thus it was with blessed Bilney, when he would make a trial, by putting his finger to the can- dle, and not able to endure that, he cried out, ' What, cannot I ' bear the burning of a finger ? how then shall I be able to bear the ' burning of my whole body to-morrow ?'' And yet when that mor- row came, he could go cheerfully into the flames, with that scripture in his mouth, Isa, xliii. 1, 2, 3. " Fear not, for I have redeemed " thee: I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine; when thou '' passest through the waters, I will be with thee; when thou walk- *' est through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt.""
Rule 6. Consult the many precious promises which are written for your support and comfort in all dangers.
These are your refuges to which you may fly and be safe ; " When " the arrows of danger fly by niglit, and destruction wasteth at noon *' day.*" There are particular promises suited to particular cases and exigencies; and there arc general promises, reachingall cases and con- ditions: Such are these, Rom. viii. 528. "All things shall work to-. *' gether for good,"" kc. And Eccles. viii. 12. " Though a sinner ''' do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet it fehail
454 now TO keep the heart FROii fears.
<* be well with them that fear the Lord." &c. " Could you but b^ " lieve the promises, your hearts should be estabhshed,'' 2 Chron, XX. 29. Could you but plead them with God, as Jacob did. Gen. xxxii. 12. " Thou saidst, I ^vill surely do thee good," &c. they would relieve you in every distress.
Objection. But that promise teas made pei'sonaUu^ and hy name to him, so are not these to me.
Answer. If Jacob's God be your God, you have as good an inte- rest in them as he had. The church, a thousand years after that transaction betwixt God and Jacob, appHed that which God spake to him, as if it had been spoken to themselves, Hos. xii. 4. He " found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us."
Rule 7. Quiet your trembVing hearts hy recording and consulting your past eocperiences of the care and faitlifulness of God informer distresses.