An expository comment, doctrinal, controversial, and practical upon the whole first chapter to the…An expository comment, doctrinal, controversal, and practical upon the whole first chapter to the…

Thirdly, This fear of death is sinful, when it excludeth better and more profitable, and seasonable fear. The Scripture doth frequently command a fear ¹of God, and the serving of him with godly trembling, Psal. 2. 11. Yea the whole work of grace is expressed in this, That God will put his fear in our hearts, Jer. 32. 40. If then this fear of God did more prevail and rule in our hearts, we should not fear diseases and death so much as we do: The fear of God would put a due moderation upon all the powers of the soul: This would regulate the fear of all other things, so that we dare not fear otherwayes than God hath commanded, then this natural fear is compatible with gracious fear. For as our love to the creatures must be animated and regulated by our love to God, so that we are never to love any thing, that thereby our love to God may be abated or diminished: Thus it must be in fear, we are never to dread any thing further than it is consistent with the fear of God; therefore it may fall out sometimes, that the fear of God may justly put us ⟨p. 291⟩upon the fear of death, as when we walk negligently, coldly and formally; when we do not make up our daily accounts with God; when we do not make our daily peace with God, with renewed repentance and faith. If we live in this manner, then we have good cause to fear death, because we are unprovided for it, it seizeth on us before we are prepared; and the fear of God may justly put us into this fear of death. For we know how great, holy and just God is, how dreadful his appearance will be at the day of judgement; and all that we can do, it must be done before death; then the night is come, and none can work. To repent, to bewail our unprofitableness, our neglect of the seasons of grace in hell, will then be as unprofitable, as Esau's tears when he had lost his birth-right. There is therefore a just and holy fear about death, lest it should take us not doing the work of God; lest it should come so unexpectedly, that we be forced to cry out with him, Inducias usque ad mane! O spare me till to morrow! Let one live another day to make peace with God, and the fear of God will put us upon this fear, as the Apostle said,