A30211:136
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…
A treatise of the fear of God showing what it is, and how distinguished from that what is not so : also whence it comes, who has it, what are the effects, and what the privileges of those that have it in their hearts / by John Bunyan.A treatise of the fear of God shewing what it is, and how distinguished from that what is not so : also whence it comes, who has it, what are the effects, and what the priviledges of those that have it in their hearts / by John Bunyan.
London: printed for N. Ponder, 1679
Of several sorts of fear of God in the heart of the Children of men.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
For the first, This fear is an effect of sound awakenings by the word of wrath which begetteth in the soul a sense of its right to eternal damnation; for this fear is not in every sinner; he that is blinded by ⟨p. 49⟩the Devil, and that is not able to see that his state is damnable, he hath not this fear in his heart, but he that is under the powerful workings of the word of wrath (as God elect are at first conversion,) he hath this godly fear in his heart; That is, he fears that that damnation will come upon him, which by the justice of God is due unto him, because he has broken his holy law. This is the fear that made the three thousand cry out, men, and brethren, what shall we do? and that made the Jailer cry out, and that with great trembling of soul, sirs what must I do to be saved? Acts 2. Chap. 16.
For the first, This fear is an effect of sound awakenings by the word of wrath which begetteth in the soul a sense of its right to eternal damnation; for this fear is not in every sinner; he that is blinded by ⟨p. 49⟩the Devil, and that is not able to see that his state is damnable, he hath not this fear in his heart, but he that is under the powerful workings of the word of wrath (as God elect are at first conversion,) he hath this godly fear in his heart; That is, he fears that that damnation will come upon him, which by the justice of God is due unto him, because he has broken his holy law. This is the fear that made the three thousand cry out, men, and brethren, what shall we do? and that made the Jaylor cry out, and that with great trembling of soul, sirs what must I do to be saved? Acts 2. Chap. 16.
The method of God is to kill and make alive, to smite, and then heal, when the Commandment came to Paul, sin revived, and he died, and that Law which was ordained to life, he found to be unto death. That is, it passed a sentence of death upon him for his sins, and slew his conscience with that sentence. Therefore from that time that he heard that word, why dost thou persecute me? which is all one, as if he had said, why dost thou commit murder? he lay under the sentence of condemnation by the law, and under this fear of that sentence in his conscience. He lay, I say, under it until that Ananias came to him to comfort him, and to preach unto him the forgiveness of sins,