A treatise of the fear of God showing what it is, and how distinguished…A treatise of the fear of God shewing what it is, and how distinguished…

Let all men therefore take heed of this ungodly fear, and shun it as they shun the Devil, for it will make them afraid where no fear is. It will tell them that there is a Lion in the street, the unlikeliest place in the world for such a beast to be in; it will put a visor upon the face of God, most dreadful and fearful to behold, and then quite discourage the soul as to his service; so it served the slothful servant, and so it will serve thee poor sinner, if thou entertainest it, and givest way thereto. But,

Let all men therefore take heed of this ungodly fear, and shun it as they shun the Devil, for it will make them afraid where no fear is. It will tell them that there is a Lion in the street, the unlikeliest place in the world for such a beast to be in; it will put a vizzard upon the face of God, most dreadfull and fearful to behold, and then quite discourage the soul as to his service; so it served the slothful servant, and so it will serve thee poor sinner, if thou entertainest it, and givest way thereto. But,

Fourthly, This ungodly fear of God, it shows it self also in this. It will not suffer the soul that is governed thereby, to trust only to Christ for justification of life, but will bend the powers of the soul to trust partly to the works of the Law. Many of the Jews was in the time of Christ, and ⟨p. 45⟩his Apostles possessed with this ungodly fear of God, for they was not as the former to wit, as the slothful servant, to receive a talent and hide it in the earth in a napkin, but they were an industrious people, they followed after the Law of righteousness, they had a Zeal of God and of the religion of their fathers, but how then did they come to miscarry? why, their fear of God was ungodly, it would not suffer them wholly to trust to the righteousness of faith which is the imputed righteousness of Christ. They followed after the Law of righteousness, but attained not to the Law of righteousness. Wherefore, because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the Law. But what was it that made them join their works of the Law with Christ, but their unbelief whose foundation was ignorance and fear, they were afraid to venture all in one bottom, they thought two strings to one bow would be best, and thus betwixt two stools they came to the ground. And hence, to fear and to doubt, are put together as being the cause one of another, yea they are put oft times, the one for the other; thus ungodly fear for unbelief: (Be not afraid, only believe) and therefore he that is over-ruled and carried away with this fear, is coupled with