should continue to haunt and pursue him still, now he is far advanced in them. The only fears which will be prejudicial to him, and which he ought to dismiss, are those concerning the validity of his repentance. His other fears were agreeable to nature, and reason, and to those methods, which the divine wisdom hath thought fit to make use of for reclaiming sinners. To serve God out of love, and love only, without the least mixture or allay of any baser principle, is the privilege of angels and blessed spirits, who live in the presence of God. It will hereafter be the reward of our having lived as becomes the Gospel, but it cannot be matter of strict duty to us now. Lower and less noble ends must influence us, while we are in this state of imperfection: till that which is perfect is come, that which is in part need not, and cannot be done away. Therefore why is his soul cast down, and why is his spirit disquieted within him?

To all this, perhaps, the dejected Christian, for whose sake I have entered on this argument, will reply, that the fear of eternal punishment is, indeed, a proper and sufficient motive to lead men to holiness, if it be such a fear of God's power and justice, as is sweetly allayed and tempered by a sense of his goodness; that is, if it be an evangelic and filial fear, composed of an equal mixture of awe and delight, of love and reverence; for to such a fear as this the most eminent saints of God were no strangers, since they served the Lord with fear (as good David speaks), and rejoiced before him with reve

rence.

But, alas! his is altogether a legal and a servile fear; a sullen, gloomy passion, without the least mixture of any thing joyous and delightful; a mere dread of Omnipotence, armed with vengeance, which presents the rod to him as lifted up, and makes him tremble at the sight of it; and forces him on towards his duty, without and against inclinations, merely as beasts of sacrifice are dragged to the horns of the altar. This is his wretched

case; no glimpse of light appears in any corner of his soul; no comfortable reflections on the goodness and mercy of God shine inwardly upon him; but the face of his mind is all covered with darkness, distrust and horror. And how can the services that flow from such a temper as this, be acceptable to that God, who is all love and light, and is pleased only with a willing mind, and cheerful giver? This is the sad account which some men give of themselves without cause. To rectify it, let them consider,

1st, Hath this principle, which they thus blame, done the work of a better? Hath it made them charitable, humble, temperate, devout? Hath it enabled them to purify themselves from all spot and blemish, and to adorn the doctrine of their God and Saviour in all things? Tit. ii. 10. If it hath, they may put what odious names upon it, and dress it up in what frightful shapes they please; but it is certainly such a principle, as will bear the test, and, if they continue to be directed by it, will at last carry them to heaven. Be not deceived, he that doth righteousness is righteous, John iii. 7; and as such, shall receive a recompense at the great day of account, though he became so upon the lowest and least valuable considerations the meanness of the motive, which induced him to obey, shall not rob him of the rewards which are due to obedience. And, therefore, the distinction between a legal and a servile fear is here mistaken and misapplied. For a servile fear, in the true notion of it, is such a dread of divine vengeance, as hath no saving influence upon men's lives and conversations; such as malefactors are seized with, when under the sentence of execution, and without hopes of escaping it; such as ill men feel, who go on obstinately in their ill courses, notwithstanding it; and such, under which the devils themselves bow and tremble, though without altering, in the least, their diabolical natures by the means of it. But this is far from being the case of that man, who works out his own salvation with fear and trembling: and therefore we mis-call

such fears as these, when we term them servile; for that is always in the accounts of right reason, and will be esteemed in the sight of God, a true filial fear, which works by a true filial obedience. But,

2dly, It is further probable, that these melancholy persons do represent their own inward sense of things worse than it deserves; and persuade themselves into an opinion, that they love God less, and dread him more, than perhaps they really do. For, as I hinted at the beginning of this discourse, it is scarce conceivable that any men, who are not sincerely good, should disquiet themselves with such scruples about the ends and motives which inclined them to goodness. It is their fear of not loving God as much as they ought to do, which makes them apprehend that they do not love him at all. And, therefore, instead of turning their eyes inwardly upon the ideas, which they had lodged in their frightful imagination, let them direct them upon the outward effects of their fears; instead of puzzling themselves about the true principle of holiness, let them take a comfortable prospect of the genuine fruits of it, which abound in their life and practice. And then their doubts will all disappear, their scruples will vanish; and they will be satisfied, that the love of God hath that place which it ought to have in their hearts, inasmuch as they obey him for in this we know that we love God, if we keep his commandments, John xiv. 15. But,

3dly and lastly, let the men who are under these apprehensions, make a right use of them; not disturb and terrify themselves with such thoughts, but take occasion from thence to gain ground upon themselves, and to advance faster in the ways of religion; and to excite in their hearts such a fervent and exalted love of God, as shall leave no room for any doubts and misgivings. It is true, that perfect love casteth out fear, but such a degree of divine love is scarce attainable here: however, we may aspire and approach still nearer and nearer towards this perfection. How much soever we have conquered our

dread of God, and improved our love of him, we may go on still to dread him less, and to love him more, till we come at last to be rooted and grounded in love, and be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, Ephes. iii. 17, 18,

19.

To him, together with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, &c.

A

SERMON

PREACHED AT ST. PAUL'S BEFORE THE LORD MAYOR, MAY 30, 1703.

THE TERRORS OF CONSCIENCE.

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, and said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist, he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison, &c.—MATT. xiv. 1, 2, 3.

THE wicked (says the prophet) are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt, Isa. lvii. 20. That is, men of flagitious lives are subject to great uneasiness: whatever calm and repose of mind they may seem for a season to enjoy, yet anon, a quick and pungent sense of guilt (awakened by some accident) rises like a whirlwind, ruffles and disquiets them throughout, and turns up to open view, from the very bottom of their consciences, all the filth and impurity which had settled itself there. A truth, of which there is not, perhaps, in the whole Book of God a more apt and lively instance, than that which the passage I have read from the evangelist sets before us. The crying guilt of John the Baptist's blood sat but ill, no doubt, on the conscience of Herod, from the moment of his spilling it. However, his inward anguish and remorse was stifled and kept under for a time, by the splendour and luxury in which he lived, till he heard of the fame of Jesus; and then his heart smote him at the remembrance of the inhuman treatment he had given to