A30211:569
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
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.
An increase in this grace I say, keeps every grace in exercise, and the keeping of our graces in their due exercise, produceth a conscientious performance of duties. Thou hast a Watch perhaps in thy pocket, but the hand will not as yet be kept in any good order, but does always give thee the lie, as to the hour of the day; well, but what is the way ⟨p. 185⟩to remedy this but to look well to the spring, and the wheels within? for if they indeed go right, so will the hand do also. This is thy case in spiritual things? Thou art a gracious man, and the fear of God is in thee, but yet for all that, one cannot well tell, by thy life, what time a day it is. Thou givest no true, and constant sign that thou art indeed a Christian; why the reason is, thou dost not look well to this grace of the fear of God. Thou dost not grow and increase in that, but sufferest thy heart to grow careless, and hard, and so thy life remiss, and worldly: Job's growing great in the fear of God, made him eschew evil, Job. 1. chap. 2.
An increase in this grace I say, keeps every grace in exercise, and the keeping of our graces in their due exercise, produceth a conscientious performance of duties. Thou hast a Watch perhaps in thy pocket, but the hand will not as yet be kept in any good order, but does alwaies give thee the lie, as to the hour of the day; well, but what is the way ⟨p. 185⟩to remedy this but to look well to the spring, and the wheels within? for if they indeed go right, so will the hand do also. This is thy case in spiritual things? Thou art a gracious man, and the fear of God is in thee, but yet for all that, one cannot well tell, by thy life, what time a day it is. Thou givest no true, and constant signe that thou art indeed a Christian; why the reason is, thou dost not look well to this grace of the fear of God. Thou dost not grow and increase in that, but sufferest thy heart to grow careless, and hard, and so thy life remiss, and worldly: Job's growing great in the fear of God, made him eschew evil, Job. 1. chap. 2.