No man must think this strange, that God deals with men at first in this harsh manner, as it were to kill them, ere he make them alive ; nor be discouraged, as if God had cast them off for ever as none of his ; for this bondage and spirit of fear is a work of God's Spirit, and a preparative to the rest. But it is but a common work, and therefore, unless more follow it, it can afibrd us no comfort.
Obj. Why then doth God sufler his children to be terrified first with this fear?
Ans. 1 answer, that in two respects, this of all other is the best and wisest course to deal with us by the Holy Ghost, or else many would put it off, and never rightly come unto a sense of mercy. 1. In respect of God's glory ; 2. In regard of our good.
* Misprinted 'shewing.' — G.
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^ 1. But now, let us see why is such a course good in respect of God's glory. Because, as in the creation, so in the work of redemption, God will have the praise of all his attributes. In the former, there appeared his infinite wisdom, goodness, power, justice, mercy, and the like, so would he in the greater work of redemption have all these appear in strength and brightness ; for in so doing, we honour him. It is honour to acknowledge all these things to be in him in high perfection, whereby the contrary, it is his dishonour when we acknowledge not the excellency of his infinite attri- butes. Yea, I may safely say, the work of redemption was the greater ; for therein appeared all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and in conveying it unto the church.
(1.) For his ivisdom. There appeared infinite wisdom in so ordering the matter to find out such a means for the redemption of mankind, as no created understanding could possibly imagine or think of.
(2.) For his mercy. There could be no mercy comparable unto this, in not sparing his own Son, the Son of his love, to spare us, rather than we should perish, who had so grievously transgressed.
(3.) So there could not be so much justice seen in anything as in sparing us, not to spare his Son ; in laying, as it were, his Son's head upon the block, and chopping it ofi", in renting and tearing that blessed body, even as the veil of the temple was rent- — -which was a type of him — so did he, as it were, tear him for us, and break him, when he ' made his soul an offering for sin.' This was the perfection of justice, and thus was he just, as the apostle speaks, ' that he might be a justifier of them who are of the faith of Jesus,' Ptom. iii. 26. God would therefore in this great work have justice and mercy to meet and kiss each other. And that for two reasons : for the magnifying, 1. of his justice ; 2. of his mercy.
1. Justice. For the former, the Spirit must fii'st become a spirit of bondage and fear, for the magnifying of his justice, that God may have the glory thereof, as we see the prophet David, having sinned, was driven to this pinch : Ps. li. 4, ' Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightst be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.' Thus he, an holy man, was brought to confess, to give God the glory of his justice. And so to this end, that a man might pass by, or through, the gates of hell into heaven, the Lord will have his justice extended and spread abroad to the full view ; and therefore, for the present sight of mercy, he turns the law loose to have its course; and thus, as in the work of redemption, he would have the height of justice to appear. So neither, in the application thereof, would God suffer justice to be swallowed up of mercy. But even as that woman, 2 Kings iv. 1, who had nothing to pay, was threatened by the creditors to take away her two sons and put them in prison, so the law is let loose upon us, though we have nothing to pay, ^-et to threaten imprisonment and damnation ; to affright and terrify us, to magnify the justice of God. This is the first cause.
Further, God hath set forth many terrible threatenings against sin and sinners. Shall all this be to no purpose ? The wicked are insensible of them ; must they therefore be in vain ? Some people there be on whom they must work. ' Shall the lion roar, and no man be afraid?' Amos iii. 8. Since, then, those who should will not, some there are who must tremble, and those even his own dear children. This the prophet excellently sets forth, Isaiah Ixvi. 2, where the Lord sheweth whom he will regard : ' But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit,
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and trembling at my words.' So that you see even some of his own must thus tremble and be humbled of necessity, and that it is not without just cause that God doth deal with his own children in this manner, though it be sharp in the experience. We must fear, tremble, and be humbled, and then we shall receive a spirit not to fear again.