Joseph was no coward, but II brave mo.n, when he said, "How can I do this arcat wickedness, and sin against God ? " 11 Perfect love," St. John tells us, "casteth out fear, because fear .bath torment." Here slavish fear is meant-the fear that drives men from God, makes them hypocrites, hating God all the more because they make believe to love him. But there is a fear which has no torment, hut is akin to love, not love's foe; a fear that does not drive us from God, but makes us flee from ourselves to take refuge in him; a fear that has nothing base or weak in it, but ennobles an,l strengthens the soul. 11 Fenr him, ye saints, and you will then Hnve nothing else to fear." 'fo such fear our Saviour gives a place of honour and power among evangelical motive3 (Luke xii. 4, 5). Proposition: To point out some chief reasons for cherishing the fear of sin. I. BECAUSE OF WIIAT SIN IS IN REGARD TO Gon. 1. It insults the majesty of God. Sin practically denies the existence or else the authority of God; and puts scorn on his warnings, as though he means not what he says, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Scripture represents sin as atheism (Ps. xiv. 1; Titus i. 16). Yet Plato was not correct when he thought all sin ignorance. Sin is often wilful, against light (Rom. i. 32; Luke xii. 47). There is o. way of talking of the love of God which tends to rob love itself of all moral character. People talk almost as if they thought of the eternal Creator as the almighty servant-of-all-work of the universe, whose business is to minister to his creatures and make them happy, whether they obey him or not. Take away the authority of God, and you take away worship. How could we worship a lleing who made laws to be kept or broken at pleasure, and uttered threats he never meant to fulfil; affixed nominal penalties, only to make his justice the jest of the universe? This is what sin would do, if allowed to run to its full length-what every wilful sin tends to. Imagine an insult publicly offered to the sovereign of this great nation. What indignation I Why? Because, in the person of the sovereign, the whole nation would be insulted and injured. But the Divine majesty does not repre- sent the universe-is not derived from it. God is the sole Fountain of all that is glorious, noble, right, good, happy. 2, Sin grieves God. How can we think other- wise? He is" the Father of spirits." Does not he desire to see in every spirit the filial likeness, the image of himself? Scripture uses very bold language; but its ~trongest figures do not exaggerate, but fall below the truth (Gen. vi. 6; Amos ii. I 3 ; Isa. xliii. 24). It was no light burden, no imaginary load, when the Son of God" bare our sins." We might go on to speak of how sin robs God by destroying all that is precious. But this leads to another reason for fearing sin. II. BECAUSE OF WHAT srn Is TO THE SINNER. 1. Sin breaks the inward law of man•s nature; defaces God's image; destroys man'd power to kuow God. People complain that the Bible is over-severe regnrding sin; too hard on huma1i nature in representing it as fallen, corrupt, dead. They forget the reo.son-the noble and lofty view the Bible takes of man. "A little lower than the angels;" "The offspring of the Godhead;" "Made in the image of God." A ruined hut is no great matter, but I\ palace in ruins is o. woeful spectacle. We need not go back to Paradise. 1Ne see what human nature ought to be, anu, but for sin, u·ould be, in Jesus (Rom. viii. 3). 2. Sin is the bitter fountain of human misery; it is spiritual death. Sin must die, or we must die in our sins (John viii. 24; Rom. vi. 12, 21). III. BECAUSE OF WHAT SIN IS TO OTHERS. Oh, tbe harvest of broken hearts, ruined Jives, blasted hopes, wasted powers, desolate homes; of disease, agony, despair, death; which sin sows and reaps every day I "One sinner destroyeth much good." He perishes not alono (Josh. xxii. 20). '!'his is a false proverb," Nobody's enemy but his own." His own enemy is everybody's enemy. Ptople gloss sin over with light words. Ono of the sweetest words in our tongue, "gay," is used o.s a perfume to drown the stench of the vilest sins. "He is only sowing his wild oab:." Bis 1 Where did he get them? From what happy home did he steal them? Who gave him leave to steal them? What will be the harvest? and who will reo.p it? You say, "He will come all right by-and-by." Suppose ho does; will those come right whom he has helpeu to mislead o.nd ruin? "No man dieth to himself." 26 THE BOOR OF PSALMS, [I'S. IV. 1-B.
IV. Lastly, BECAUSE OF WHAT SIN HAS cosT, "The blood of Jeijus Christ cleanseth from all sin" (1 John i. 7). What must sin be, if that is what was needed for its cleansing? Everywhere in the New Testament, side by side with the freest invitations of the gosp~l, stands the awful truth that he who knew no sin has been "made sin for us." "By his stripes we are healed." The cross is the mightiest persuasive to "stand in awe, and sin not."