A96093:1296
The beatitudes
The beatitudes: or A discourse upon part of Christs famous Sermon on the Mount. Whereunto is added Christs various fullness. The preciousness of the soul. The souls malady and cure. The beauty of grace. The spiritual watch. The heavenly race. The sacred anchor. The trees of righteousness. The perfume of love. The good practitioner. By Thomas Watson, minister of the word at Stephens Walbrook in the city of London.The beatitudes: or A discourse upon part of Christs famous Sermon on the Mount. Wherunto is added Christs various fulnesse. The preciousnesse of the soul. The souls malady and cure. The beauty of grace. The spiritual watch. The heavenly race. The sacred anchor. The trees of righteousnesse. The perfume of love. The good practitioner. By Thomas Watson, minister of the word at Stephens Walbrook in the city of London.
London: printed for Ralph Smith, 1660
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.
2. There is a cowardly fear; when a man fears danger more than sin; when he is afraid to be good, this fear is an enemy to suffering. God proclaimed that those who were fearful should not go to the Wars; Deuter. 20.8. The fearful are unfit to fight in Christs Wars; a man possessed with fear, doth not consult what is best, but what is safest. If he may save his Estate, he will snare his conscience. Prov. 29.25. In the fear of man there is a snare. Fear made Peter deny Christ; Abraham equivocate; David fain himself mad; fear will put men upon indirect courses, making them study rather compliance, than conscience. Fear makes sin appear little, and suffering great; the fearful man sees double, he looks upon the cross through his perspective twice as big it is; fear argues sordidness of spirit*, it will put one upon things most ignoble and unworthy; a fearful man will Vote against his conscience; fear enfeebles, it is like the cutting off Samsons locks; fear melts away the courage. Josh, 5.1. Their hearts melt because of you; and when a mans strength is gone, he is very unfit to carry Christs Cross; fear is the root of Apostasy. Spira's fear made him abjure and recant his Religion; fear doth one more hurt than the Adversary; it is not so much an enemy without the Castle, as a Traitor within endangers it; 'tis not so much sufferings without, as traitorous fear within which undoes a man; a fearful man is versed in no posture so much as in retreating; Oh take heed of this, be afraid ⟨p. 371⟩of this fear. Luke 12.4. Fear not them that can kill the body. Persecutors can but kill that body which must shortly dye; the fearful are set in the fore-front of them that shall go to hell, Rev. 21.8. Let us get the fear of God into our hearts; as one wedge drives out another, so the fear of God will drive out all other base fear.
2. There is a cowardly fear; when a man fears danger more than sin; when he is afraid to be good, this fear is an enemy to suffering. God proclaimed that those who were fearful should not go to the Wars;