(5.) Servile fear is a fear without any temperament of hope and comfort, and so it weakens the certainty of faith, rather than the security of the flesh. But now the gospel-fear is mixed with hope and joy : Ps. ii. 10, ' Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.' Because our affections are apt to degenerate, therefore God would have this mixture. Hope is apt to degenerate to presumptuous boldness, and joy to grow into a fond boasting ; and therefore God hath required that we should allay the excess of one affection by the mixture of an- other, that so the spirit may be kept aweful, but not servile ; and there-
Yek. 7j. sermons upon Hebrews xi. 201
fore in the children of God there is alwaj's such a mixture ; their fear it ends in reverence and caution, but not in torment ; for it is over- mastered by the apprehensions of Gods love : 1 John iv. 18, ' There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment ; he that feareth is not made perfect in love/ The fear of the godl)' makes them more circumspect, but not a jot less comfortable ; the more they fear, the more blessed, the more comfortable — ' Blessed is he that feareth always.' They are more wary and cautious in their walking with God, more serious in their special converses and confer- ences with God. But now the issue of slavish fear is not love but tor- ment; it is full of discomfort and dejection, and makes us anxious rather than cautious ; and therefore it is good to temperate your fear, that you niay be comfortable in the use of holy duties, and your walk- ing with God.
Out of all you see that there is a godly fear, which is the fruit of faith. There is a fear of reverence, proper to heaven ; a fear in the church, that is a fear of caution ; and a fear in hell, and that is despair, or a fearful looking for of the fiery indignation of the Lord.
SEEMON XXXYIII. Prepared an arJi. — Heb. xi. 7.
It follows in the text, ' Prepared an ark.' As his fear was the fruit of his faith, so this was a fruit of his fear. Faith by the affections hath an influence upon the practice and conversation. I look upon this act of Xoah in several regards.
1. As an act of great obedience. Though it were a matter of high difficulty and charge, and likely to be entertained with scoffs in the world, yet Xoah prepared an ark. Observe that God must be obeyed, whatever it cost us. Though duties cross interest and affections, and blast our repute in the world, yet God must be obeyed. Xoah was now put to trial, and so in all difficult cases we are put to trial. Now, that we may not deny and retract our obedience, I shall show you upon what grounds we are to obey in difficult cases. Partly, because we have entirely given up ourselves, and all that is ours, to God ; and when we have given a thing to another, he may do with it what he pleaseth. When thou art given up to God, thou art the Lord's. Rom. xiv. 7, 8. At first conversion there was a perfect resignation. God had right in thee before, but thou then gavest up thyself by the consent of thine own Avill. We did not then indent with God to say. Thus far I will obey, and no farther ; we reserved no part of our will, no interest, and no concernment of ours. Now unless we will retract our own solemn vows, and our spiritual resignation, God must be obeyed. Christ bids us at first to sit down and count the charges ; can you part with all for him ? And partly, because we have no cause to repent of our bargain, whether we consult with our experiences or our obligations to
202 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS Xf. [SeR. XXXVIII.
God. With our experiences, God is not a liard master ; we never lost iinytbing by God ; we were gainers when we were the greatest losers. God puts his people to the question : Jer. ii. 5, ' What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me?' Have I broken contract ? Have I been worse than your expectation? So again : Micah vi. 3, ' 0 my people! what have I done unto you, and wherein have I wearied you? testify against me.' When Israel was grown weary of God, and began to stray and go off from God, saith God, AVhat cause have I given you? Ignatius was an old and ancient servant of God, and saith he, These eighty-six years have I served God, and he never did me any harm. Certainly in those persecuting times that gracious soul met with a great deal of injury in the world, yet saith he, God never did me harm ; he made it up again with consola- tion. And much more if we consult with our obligations to God. God doth not repent of the bargain made with Christ, and Christ doth not repent of the bargain made with God the Father ; and why should we repent of our part of the covenant ? God doth not repent of the bargain made with Christ : Ps. ex. 4, ' The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedelc' Though the world abuseth mercy, and puts many affronts upon grace, and abuseth the doctrine of the gospel, yet saith God, I have sworn, my word is past, Christ shall yet be a mediator. So Jesus Christ repented not ; he did not only freely offer himself when the matter was ])ropounded and broken to him at the first in the eternal treaty between God and him : Ps. xl. 7, 8, ' Lo, I come ; I delight to do thy will, 0 my God,' but when he was about to engage in suffering, his love was hottest: John xiii. 1, 'Jesus therefore having loved his own, he loved them to the end.' The meaning is to the end of his own life, tliough it was exceeding difficult, for then came his tor- ment and agonies for sinners. It is true indeed he said, 'Let this cup pass,' to show his natural abhorrency ; yet he said, ' Not my will, but thy will be done,' to show his voluntary submission : Luke xxiv. 42, ' The cup which my Father gave me shall I not drink it,' John xviii. 11. When he was despitefully used by men, he did not repent of the bargain ; so we should never repent of our solemn contract made with God.