mount Sinai, and under which all the bondservants are, and which often influences even the child of God, and is no less than the reflections of divine anger, reflected from this glorious and fearful name, the Lord thy God, Deut. xxviii. 58.

Real believers are always conscious of their base original, both by birth and practice; of the inward corruptions of their nature; the deceitfulness of their own hearts; their easily besetting sins; and their manifold weaknesses, infirmities, slips of the feet, slips of the tongue, and daily imperfections; all which have a tendency to betray them into this spirit of bondage to fear; which fear sometimes comes upon them where no fear is; as when good tidings are coming to us instead of evil. Hence the many checks and reproofs that are often given unto it in scripture. Carnal fear is rebuked by God himself. "Fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield; fear not, Jacob, to go down into Egypt, for I will be with thee there." Slavish fear is rebuked by almost every angelic messenger of good news; which good news is to deliver us from legal fear, and to bring gospel love and joy to us. "Fear not," ye shepherds, "for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy." "Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard." greatly beloved."

"Fear not, Daniel,

"Fear not, Mary, for thou hast

found favour with God;" which favour in Christ is to remove God's anger in the law.

"Fear not,

ye women, for I know that ye seek Jesus which

was crucified." "It is I," saith the Saviour, "be not afraid."

This yoke often falls heavy upon the necks of believers when God smites a hypocrite who has formerly stood high in the poor believer's favour, and in outward shew appeared eminent for piety. God smote Uzza for his error in staying the ark, and David was afraid of God on that day. This act of striking Uzza with immediate death was to shew David that the mercy-seat needs no assistance from an arm of flesh; for God is not seated on a throne of grace to receive help and strength from man, for he needs none; but to give help and strength to man in every time of his need. David himself erred in this matter as well as Uzza; for the ark was drawn by beasts upon a cart, instead of being carried by consecrated priests upon their shoulders. This copy David took from the Philistines, not from Moses. And so the yoke of slavish fear brought David to use his filial fear, and the object of it, with a little more caution, respect, and reverence. This error David confesses. "And he [David] said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it. For because ye did it not at the first the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order," 1 Chron. xv. 12, 13.

Thus, when Christ informed the apostles of the treachery of Judas, every one, in fearful surprise, suspecting the deceit of his own heart, cried out, Lord, is it I? And, when Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead, great fear came upon all the churches. And so now, when a hypocrite is discovered, and smitten with madness, given up to a fearful looking for of judgment, or left to himself to commit suicide; this yoke of slavish fear often falls upon them that fear God; which sometimes moves them to self-examination, to humble confession, to private prayer, to greater diligence, and to learn a little how to read and judge of professors; and so is among the all things that work for good to them that love God, and are the called according to his purpose. Once more, the laws and rules, which a weak believer prescribes to himself to walk by, and the vows, promises, and resolutions which he is too apt to make, and more apt to break, these often betray him into this species of bondage. I come now,

Thirdly, to treat of the narrowness and contraction of soul that attends a believer under the influence of this spirit of bondage. This legal spirit closes the heart, and bars it up against every warm, cheerful, savoury, and unctuous Christian; yea, such an one will even shun their company and their sight; finding a heart to embrace none, to receive none, to commune with none, no nor even to seek fellowship with any, but those that are in shackles, bondage, and slavery, as well as

himself. Like loves its like. Hence the Galatians received the judaizing teachers and their companions, who crept into houses, cordially; they were zealously affected by them, and zealously attached to them; even to the danger of excluding Christ himself. But, as for Paul, he had no place in their hearts; no, not as a friend, nor as an apostle, nor even as a true witness for Christ; for they counted him their enemy, and a false apostle. Hence he labours, in his epistle to them, to prove his apostolic office to be by the will of God; that his mission and commission was from Christ alone; his doctrine by immediate revelation, without learning it from man, or so much as seeing them that were apostles before him; and that when he did see them, they gave him the right hand of fellowship, as approving both of him and his doctrine. And he expresses his warmest love to them, calling them his little children, telling them that he travailed in birth again for them till Christ was formed in them; that is, he laboured in soul, in writing, and with God in prayer, to get them again out of that legal bondage into liberty; out of that legal fear into gospel love; that Christ might be formed in them; that is, dwell in their hearts by faith, and in their affections, as the only hope of future glory. But they called him their enemy for telling them the truth.

The Corinthians' hearts were straitened, bound, and shut up, by these disciples of Moses, in the same manner. They could suffer these fools gladly

to mislead them, being themselves so wise; but as for Paul, they wanted a proof of Christ speaking in him; though his voice, by Paul, was not weak in them, but mighty, even at the same time. Let their instructors be who, and as many as they might, it was Paul that had begotten them, yet this would not do. They cast the father, and the faithful ambassador, out of their affections; and embraced the ministers of Satan, who were nothing but deceitful workers, enemies of the cross of Christ, and who had no god but the god of this world and their own bellies. Paul sends letters to them; "His letters are weighty and powerful," this even his enemies allowed; but his speech, they said, was weak, and his bodily presence contemptible; and they charge him with breaking his promise of coming to them, being puffed up with a vain conceit of themselves; while the believers, which were the seals of Paul's own ministry, suffered these fools thus to ridicule their father in Christ; yea, they suffered these fools gladly. Thus were these Corinthians legalized, prejudiced, straitened, and as it were shut up under the spirit of bondage. But this was not the case with Paul toward them. "O, ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged; ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. Now for a recompense in the same (I speak as unto my children), be ye also enlarged."

Furthermore, As the heart, straitened by a