Part 61

VII. Recollect your own experiences of the goodness of God in carrying you through former seasons of danger and sorrow. _I will remember_, says David, _the works of the Lord, and his wonders of old_; Ps. lxxvii. 11. I will remember the special deliverances I have obtained in times of most imminent peril. Think with yourselves how high the tempest of your fears has sometimes risen, and God has sunk them at once into silence. Think how extreme your danger has been, when you have been perplexed in a wilderness of thorns, and have seen no way for your escape, but the eye of God hath found a path of safety for you, a path which the eagle’s eye hath not seen: He has led you as one that was blind, by the way that you knew not, he has made darkness light before you, and crooked things straight, according to his promise; Is. xlii. 16.

And remember also, that sometimes when the very evil which you feared has fallen upon you, it has not been half so heavy and painful as your fears have represented it, and you have been enabled to bear that which you thought was intolerable. Remember the years of ancient time, and rejoice in that God who has often disappointed your fears of destruction, and has outdone all your hopes in a way of deliverance. _I said, I am cut off from the earth, and shall go to the gates of the grave: I reckoned from night till the morning that he will cut me off with pining sickness, from day even to night, he will make an end of me: But in love to my soul, O Lord, thou hast delivered it from the pit of corruption, for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back._ Perhaps your own experience may teach you to sing this song of Hezekiah, as it is recorded; Is. xxxviii. 10-17. Or to join with holy David, and repeat his hymns of praise. And thus, beside your own experiences you may review the happy experiences of the saints of old, or of Christians in later times, and encourage your faith in opposition to all your fears.

VIII. Charge your conscience solemnly with the authority of the divine command to suppress your fears. Remember that the exercises of faith, courage, and holy firmness of soul, are duties as well as blessings. Read how often the great God forbids his people to indulge their fears; Is. xl. 10-13, 14. xliii. 1-5. xliv. 2-8. Fear not, is a command perpetually repeated, because God well knew how prone our feeble natures are to be affrighted at every appearance of danger: And even when he calls his people Jacob a _worm_, and confesses the extreme weakness of their nature under that emblem, yet he insists on the same precept still, _Fear not thou worm Jacob_; Is. xli. 14.

Our blessed Lord joins frequently in the same prohibition of a slavish fear; Mat. x. 28. _Fear not them which can kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but fear him rather, who can destroy body and soul in hell._ And Peter, who once wanted courage, and denied his Lord, in his elder and better days, grew bolder for the name of Christ, and he forbids us _to be afraid or troubled at the terror of men_; 1 Pet. iii. 13. He repeats the charge of the prophet Isaiah, _sanctify the Lord of hosts in your heart_; Is. viii. 13. The Lord of hosts alone is the proper object of our supreme fear. This will over-rule and abolish all other fears, as the little noises of earth are lost in the thunders of heaven. The fear of God in a sublime degree will be an effectual cure of our sinful fear of creatures.

It is true, the principal of fear is a natural affection, it is rooted in flesh and blood, it grows high and domineers, especially in some constitutions, and when the natural spirits are enfeebled, it still gains the greater ascendancy over us: But if it be indulged and encouraged, it soon becomes sinful, for it seems to stand opposite to the grace of faith, and too often prevails over it. Therefore Christ chides his disciples, when they were affrighted in the storm while he was in the ship: _Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?_ Mark iv. 40. And even when Peter was walking upon the water, and Christ was near him, he saith, _O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?_ Mat. xiv. 31. For a christian to give himself up to the wild tyranny of his fears, is contrary to the very spirit and design of the gospel of Christ; Rom. viii. 15. Ye have not received the spirit of bondage to fear, but the spirit of adoption. The spirit of power and love; 2 Tim. i. 7. Remember then you are the sons and daughters of God: It is below the dignity of your character to yield to this slavery, and your Father himself reproves, and your Redeemer forbids it.

IX. Think of the many advantages that arise from a holy fortitude of spirit in the midst of dangers. This divine temper of mind will establish your feet on a rock in the midst of storms, it will animate you to practise every duty, and to prevent many of the mischiefs you fear. This will preserve the soul in a sacred serenity and calmness under all the gloomy and painful events of providence. Without this firmness of spirit you can never practise what Christ commands his disciples, and that is, _to possess their souls in patience in the hour of their distress_; Luke xxi. 19. But we may keep up the government of ourselves by a holy fortitude and calm submission to the will of God. This will make sorrows lighter, and the heaviest afflictions become more tolerable.

Whereas, if we give a loose to fear, it throws the whole frame of nature into a tumultuous hurry and confusion, it takes away the use of prudence to contrive the proper means for our escape, it cuts the sinews of our most active powers, and enfeebles our whole nature, so that we become an easy prey to every adversary. The more we are affrighted, the less able are we to defend ourselves.

Fear is a dreadful bondage of the soul, and it holds the man in chains: Therefore in the text just now cited, the spirit of fear is called a spirit of bondage. It is this that brings the soul down to taste the bitterness, and to feel the smart of those very evils which affright us at a distance, and which perhaps never come near us. Those very sufferings which are prevented by the mercy of God, we endure them in our thoughts, and feel the pain of them by an indulgence of an excessive fear. We suffer an affliction once, if we are overwhelmed with the terror of it: And if at last it does really overtake us, we double the suffering, and make the pain the longer. Oftentimes in cases of bodily distempers, the fear itself brings the disease, and aggravates all the symptoms. If we could read the records of the grave, we should find that many a person has been oppressed, and sunk down to death, by the excessive fear of dying.

The last remedy of fear which I shall mention, is this, suppose the worst that can come, and be calmly prepared for it: This will be a mighty relief against the tyranny of our fears.

You are afraid of losing your honour among men, afraid to bear the scourge of their tongues, and bitter reproaches. But think with yourselves, when slander and falsehood have done their worst, it is but the wind of the breath of man, and this cannot hurt your best interest, while you stand approved of God. Infamy amongst men is but a trifling evil if compared with praise honour and glory among the saints before the throne, and the applause of Jesus and his angels at the last great day.

You are frighted with the hideous appearance of poverty, because scorn attends it as well as want. But our blessed Lord had not where to lay his head; he was fed by the bounty of kind friends and pious women, who ministered to him of their substance. The great and the wise, the rich and the learned of that day, made him their mockery: The very finger of scorn pointed at him in the streets: And why should the disciple think it necessary that he should be above his Lord. Ye may be _poor in this world, and at the same time rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom_; James ii. 5.

You are afraid of sickness and pains of the flesh, and your life becomes a burden to you, by reason of your constant dread of some infectious distempers. You shift your dwellings, you hide yourselves at home, and yet you enjoy no peace. Suppose the distemper should seize you, has not sickness often brought your soul nearer to God? And if your outward man has decayed, your inward man and your best interest have had a rich advancement thereby.

You are terrified at the threatening of bloody men. It must be granted, that flesh has a strong empire over the soul where dangers of torment and death appear. But suppose men of violence kill the body, then you will be dismissed at once from all their fury, and from your own fears. Their terror cannot reach beyond the grave; that is a safe and peaceful hiding-place.

But perhaps you are frighted at the thoughts of dying, even in the common way of nature: It may be, the king of terrors dresses himself in formidable airs, and shakes your very frame: But would you live here on earth for ever? A christian who has hopes and interests, and possessions beyond the regions of time and sense, should not be afraid to enter upon them. Remember that death itself, even in its most formidable appearance, is ordained of God to open the door of heaven for you, and let your souls into the joy of eternal life: The grace of your Redeemer, and the epistle of St. Paul, join to teach you this song, _O death, where is thy sting?_ And _O grave, where is thy victory?_ 1 Cor. xv. 55.

Thus, by keeping your soul in a ready preparation for the worst events that your fear can imagine, you overcome this tyrant of the soul, and triumph over this slavish passion. Thus you transform your very terrors into joys, and gather honey out of the lion, as Samson did. The more fatal your dangers are, the nearer is your final deliverance. Say to yourself, Is my feeble flesh tottering into the grave? Then my soul is so much nearer to the gates of glory. This is the holy skill of turning evil into good. Such a faith, kept in lively exercise can make roses spring out of the midst of thorns, and change the briars of the wilderness into the fruit-frees of paradise. O what a state of divine and sacred peace does that christian enjoy, who can look stedfastly upon the face of danger, in its most frightful forms, and say through grace, I am prepared! _Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for my God is with me_, and he will be with me for ever.

_Recollection._—What progress hast thou made, O my soul, in acquiring this sacred fortitude? The former discourse has taught thee the necessity of it, and the various occasions for the exercise of it in the course of the christian life. In this latter sermon thou hast heard the motives that should awaken all thy powers to obtain and practise it, and thou hast been informed what are some of the most sovereign remedies against thy foolish and sinful fears. Methinks I feel the want of this holy hardiness of soul, to walk through the midst of temptations unmoved, unterrified, and undefiled. My virtue and my religion have too often suffered by the prevailing power of a slavish fear: my conscience has lost its innocence and peace by too many sinful compliances. What shall I do to harden my spirit all over, that temptation and slavish fear may not find a place to enter.

For this end I review the glorious motives set before me. For this end I look to the noble army of martyrs, to the blessed society of the apostles, to the cloud of witnesses which have trod the same path before me, who have borne an undaunted testimony to the same religion which I profess. I would chide and shame myself out of my sinful cowardice, while I behold their illustrious examples of zeal. But above all I fix my eye upon Jesus, the divine author of this religion, _the Author and Finisher of my faith_; Heb. xii. 2. I would learn of the _Captain of my salvation, who was made perfect through sufferings_; Heb. ii. 10. I would learn of my divine Teacher, to endure hardships like a good soldier of Christ, while I fight under his banner, against those very enemies that he hath subdued.

Consider, my soul, what thou art: What is thy character and profession: If thou art a christian indeed, thou hast taken up arms against sin and Satan, and a world that is in rebellion against God: And shall the frown of a man make thee drop thy weapons, and discourage thee from the glorious service? Thou hast many rich encouragements to expect divine assistance: Many joyful assurances of victory are given to them that endure in the day of conflict, and a glorious crown stands ready for those that overcome. O may the crown of glory sparkle in my eye, and grow brighter and larger by a nearer view, and a perpetual contemplation of it! Make me forgetful of ease and health, O my God, and of all my mortal interests, while I press forward with sacred courage to lay hold on this crown! Blessed Saviour, make me triumph over every difficulty, till death the last of all my enemies, be subdued, and I have obtained the glorious prize.

I would shake myself out of my fears, and awaken my zeal by such motives as these. And O that I could treasure up in my memory the various remedies of which I have heard this day, to heal this infirmity of my nature, and to overcome these foolish and sinful terrors of spirit! I will review my faith, and the grounds of my hope, that I may know that I am a christian indeed, that I am one of the sheep of Christ, and under his divine care; and I would watch against every temptation, lest I contract a new guilt and defilement, and thereby darken my evidence and awaken my fears. I would survey with pleasure the gracious words of promise, which are scattered up and down in the book of God. O may the blessed Spirit print many of them on my heart, that they may be always present with me, and that I may find them within my reach, and ready at hand as a special cordial in every fainting hour! I would run to them as my sure refuge in every season of danger and conflict, and be animated to confront a sinful world.

Give, me, O my God, give me the spirit of prayer, and let me keep ever near to the throne of grace, that my soul may not come thither as a stranger, but that in every surprize I may address thee as a God near at hand, and that in the name of my great High-priest, Jesus the Son of God, I may find grace ready to help me in the time of need.

Wean me, O Lord, from all the delights and hopes of flesh and sense? Mortify me to all the humours and joys of a perishing life, and a vain world. Arm my soul all over with a religious hardiness, that I may venture into the field of battle, and may scarce feel the wounds which I receive, in thy cause. Give me the happy skill of diverting my fears, when I cannot at once subdue them, and lead me into proper employments of my heart and hand for this purpose.

I would live as under the eye of God. I would take notice of his hand in all the affairs of life, and all the dangers that attend me. I would learn of Moses to endure the fight of afflictions, as seeing him who is invisible. Let me hear thy voice, O Jesus, my Saviour, let me hear thy voice walking upon the waters; when I am tossed about upon the waves of distress and difficulty, speak to my soul, and say, It is I, be not afraid.

Surely I have had some experience of the Divine Presence with me in the midst of dangers: God has sometimes disappointed all my fears, and interposed his shield of power and love for my defence: Why should not I trust a faithful God, and that infinite goodness which I have already tasted of? I charge my conscience with the authority of thy word. O Lord, when thou forbiddest all my sinful fears, I would renounce them too, I would struggle to break these painful fetters, and fight against this inward slavery of the soul, these domestic tyrants. O that the spirit of power were always with me, to dispel the spirit of bondage.

I would be bravely prepared for the worst of sufferings, to which my circumstances in this life may expose me. I would be ready to meet contempt and scandal, poverty, sickness, and death itself. Jesus can support me in the heaviest distresses, though all the sorrows I fear should come upon me. He can bear me on the wings of faith and hope, high above all the turmoils and disquietudes of life: He can carry me through the shadow of the dark valley, and scatter all the terrors of it. Give me, O Lord, these wings of faith and hope, and bear me upon them through all the remains of my short journey in the wilderness: Make me active and zealous in thy cause while I live, and convey me safely above the reach of fear, through the valley of death, to the inheritance prepared for me in the land of light. Then my fears shall cease for ever, for enemies and dangers are not known in that land. There all our conflicts shall be changed into everlasting triumphs, while songs of honour and salvation ascend in a full choir to the grace that has made us overcomers. _Amen._

HYMN FOR SERMON XXXII. _Holy Fortitude, or Remedies against Fear._

When tumults of unruly fear Rise in my heart, and riot there, What shall I do to calm my breast, And get the vexing foe supprest?

What power can these wild thoughts control, This ruffling tempest of the soul? Where shall I fly in this distress, But to the throne of glorious grace?

My faith would seize some promise, Lord; There’s power and safety in thy word: Not all that earth or hell can say, Shall tempt or drive my soul away.

I call the days of old to mind, When I have found my God was kind; My heavenly Friend is still the same; Salvation to his holy name.

Great God, preserve my conscience clean; Wash me from guilt, forgive my sin; Thy love shall guard me from surprize, Though threat’ning dangers round me rise.

When fear like a wild ocean raves, Let Jesus walk upon the waves, And say, “’tis I;” that heavenly voice Shall sink the storm, and raise my joys.

Footnote 32:

A little book published lately by Mr. Samuel Clark, of St. Alban’s, is of excellent use for this purpose. The title of it is “A Collection of the Promises of Scripture under their proper heads.” 1720.

Footnote 33:

That is an excellent treatise which Mr. Flavel has published against sinful fear, especially in times of public danger and persecution: And his little book of keeping the heart, has some valuable chapters in it, containing rich preservatives against this weakness of the mind.

SERMON XXXIII. _The Universal Rule of Equity._ MAT. vii. 12.—All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them; for this is the law and the prophets.

When our blessed Lord took upon him the public office of a prophet or teacher amongst men, he found it was not only necessary to instruct them in the sacred mysteries of religion, and inform them of their duty to God his Father, and to himself; but he employed much of his ministry also, to teach them the practice of social virtue, and how they should behave toward their fellow-creatures. In the heathen world the rules of morality were lost in a great measure, as well as the rules of piety and worship; and the Jews, the peculiar people of God, had grossly corrupted both the one and the other. As our Saviour refined the practice of religion towards God, and raised it by his gospel, to a high and heavenly degree, beyond what mortals had known before, so he explained and established the rules of moral virtue, in a more glorious and convincing manner than the world had been acquainted with.

Read his life, and observe how often he takes occasion in the several seasons of his preaching, to give particular directions for our conduct toward our neighbours. But after all, he knew that the nature of man was corrupt, his passions strong, his memory frail, and that he would be ready to neglect, or forget his various sacred precepts, when there was most need to practise them; and therefore he thought it proper to give one short and comprehensive rule of equity to regulate all our conduct, that should be written as it were in our very souls: And this is contained in the words of my text, _whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them; for this is the law and the prophets_.

To dilate a little upon this subject, and refresh a living sense of it upon your memories and your consciences, I shall follow this method, and enquire,

I. What is the true meaning of this divine rule.—II. What is the special argument that our Lord uses in order to enforce it. III. Wherein the

## particular excellencies of it appear.—IV. I shall conclude with some

reflections on this subject.

_First_, What is the true meaning of this rule?

In order to understand this rule aright, we must consider what it does not require, as well as what it does: For on the one side, some selfish necessitous and unreasonable persons may expect more from us than this rule obliges us to perform: And on the other side, a timorous and weak conscience may perhaps be led into a mistake, and think itself bound by this rule to perform some instances of kindness to others, which are utterly unreasonable and unrequired, and which might be injurious on other accounts to ourselves, or to our families, or to the rest of mankind.