CHAP V
APractical Treatise of Fear.
the lower world with terrible flashes of lightning. And I doubtnotbuthehath, by the ſame permiſſion, a great deal of influence and power upon the fancies and paſſions of men; and canraife more terrible ſtorms and tempeſts within us, than ever weheard orfelt without us : he canbyleavefromGod, approach our phantalies,diſturb and trouble them exceedinglyby forming frightful ideasthere; for Satan not only works upon men mediately, by the miniſtry of their external fenfes, butby reaſon ofhis ſpiritual, angelical nature, hecanhaveimmediate acceſs to the internal ſenſe alſo, as appears by diabolical dreams ; and by practiſingupon thatpowerofthe ſoul, he influences thepaffions of it, and puts it under very dreadful apprehenfions andconſternations. Now if Satan can provoke and exasperate the fury and rage of wicked men, as it is evidenthecando, as well as he cango to themagazines and ſtore-houſesofthunder, lightnings, and ſtorms: O what inward forms of fear can he ſhake our hearts withal, and ifGod give him but a permiffion, how readywill hebe todo it, ſeeing itisſoconducible to hisdefign : for by putting men into ſuch frights, he at once weakens theirhands induty, as is plain from his attempt his way upon Nehemiah, chap. vi. 13. and ifhe prevail there, he drives them intotheſnaresandtrains ofhis temptations,as the fiſherman and fowler do the birds and fiſhes into their nets, when once they have flushed and frighted them out of their coverts . Andthus you have fome account ofthe principal and true cauſes ofour finful fears.
CHAP .
Layingopen thefinfuland lamentable effects offlavish and inordinatefear, both in carnal and regeneratepersons .
Sect. I. HAVING taken aviewinthe former chapters of the kinds and cauſes of fear, and ſeen what lies atthe rootof ſlaviſh fear, and both breeds and feeds it, what fruitcanweexpect from ſuch a curſedplant,but gall andwormwood, fruit as bitter as death itſelf? Let us then, in the next place, examine and well conſider theſe following anddeplorable effects of fear, to excite us to apply ourſelves the more concernedlytothoſedirectionsthat follow in the cloſe of this treatife, forthe cureofit. And, Effect 1. Thefirſt effect of this ſinful and exorbitant paffion isdiſtraction of mind and thoughts in duty : Both Cicero and Quintilian willhave the word tumultus, a tumult, to come from E2 J
A Practical Treatise of Fear. timormultus, much fear, it is acompoundofthoſe two words; much fear raiſes great uproars and tumults in the foul, and puts all into hurries and diſtractions, ſo that we cannot attend upon any ſervice ofGod, with profit or comfort.
It was therefore a very neceſſary mercy that was requeſted of God, Luke i. 74.
" Thatwe, being delivered out of thehands ofour enemies, " might ſerve him without fear."
For it is impoſſible toſerve God without diſtractions, till we can ſerve him without the lavith fear of enemies.
The reverential fear of God is the greateſt ſpur toduty, andchoiceſt help in it, butthe diſtracting fears of men will either wholly divert us from our duty, or deſtroy the comfort and benefit of our duties; it is a deadly fnare of the devil to hinder all comfortable intercourse with God.
It is very remarkable, thatwhen the apostle wasgivinghis advice to the Corinthians, about marriage in thoſe times ofperſecution, anddifficulty,he commends tothema ſingle life as moft eligible : Where it may be without finful inconveniencies, and that principally for this reaſon, " That they might attend upon " the Lord without diſtraction," 1 Cor. vii. 35. He forefaw what ſtraits, cares, andfears muſt unavoidably diſtract them in • ſuch times thatwere moſt clogged and incumbred with families and relations ; when aman ſhould be thinking, O what thall I donow to get my doubts and fears reſolved about my intereſt in Chriſt ? How may I ſo behave myſelfin my ſufferings as to credit religion, andnotbecome a ſcandaland ſtumbling-ftone to others ?
Histhoughts aretaken up with other cares andfears: O what willbecome ofmy wife and poor little ones ? What ſhall I do with them, and forthem, to fecurethem fromdanger.
Idoubt notbut it isa great deſign of thedevil tokeep us in continual alarms and frights, and to puzzle ourheads andhearts with athousand difficulties,which poſſibly maynever befal us, or ifthey do, ſhall never prove ſo fatal to us as wefancy them, and all this is to unfit us for our preſent duties, anddestroyour com. fort therein ; for ifby frights and terrorsofmindhecanbutonce diſtract our thoughts, he gains three great points upon us, to ourunspeakable loſs.
1. Hereby he will cut offthe freedom and ſweetness of our communionwith God induties, and what an empty ſhell will the beſt duties be, when this kernel is wormed out by fuch a fubtle artifice ? Prayer, as Damafcen aptly expreſſes it is
᾿Ανάβασις τε νε, the aſcenſion of the mind or foul to God; but diſtraction clips its wings; he can never offer up his foul and thoughts toGod, thathath notthe poſſeſſion of them himself
A Practical Treatise of Fear.
andhe that is under diſtracting fears poſſeſſeth not himself.
The life of all communion withGod in prayer, conſiſts inthe harmony that is betwixt our hearts andwords, and both with the will ofGod ; this harmony is ſpoiledbydiſtractions, and fo
Satangains that point.
2.But this is not all he gains, and we loſe,by diſtracting fears; for as they cut offthe freedom and ſweetneſs of our intercourse withGod in prayer, ſothey cut offthe foul from the ſuccours and reliefs it might otherwiſe draw from the promiſes.
We findwhen the Ifraelities were in great bondage, wherein theirminds were diſtracted with fears and forrows, theyregarded not the ſupporting promiſes ofdeliverance ſent them byMoſes,
Exod. vi. 3. Davidhad an expreſs and particular promise ofthe kingdom from the mouth of God,which must needs include hisdeliverance out of thehand of Saul, and all his ſtratagems todestroy him ; but yet, when eminent hazards were before his eyes, he was afraid, and that fear betrayed the ſuccours from the promiſe, ſo that itdrew a quite contrary concluſion,
1 Sam. xxvii. 1. " I ſhall oneday periſh by the hand ofSaul : "
Andagain he is at the ſame point, Pfal. cxvi. 11. "Allmen " are liars," not excepting Samuel himself, who had aſſured him of the kingdom.
This is always the property and nature of fear(as I thewed before) to makemen diſtruſt thebeſt ſecurity when they are in eminent peril : But oh ! what a miſchief is thistomake us ſuſpicious ofthe promises, which are our chief relief and ſupport in times oftrouble : Our fears will unfit us for prayer, they will alſo ſhake the credit of the promiſes with us; and ſo great is the damage we receive both ways, that it were better for us to loſe our two eyes, than two ſuch advantages in trouble.
But, 3. This is not all, by our preſentfears, we loſethe benefit and comfort of all our paſt experiences, and the ſingular relief wemight have from allthat faithfulness and goodness ofGod, which our eyes haveſeen in former ſtraights and dangers, the preſent fear clouds them all, Ifa. li. 12, 13. Men anddangers areſomuch minded, thatGod is forgotten, eventheGod that hath hitherto preſerved us, though our former fears told us, theenemywasdailyready todevourus. All theſe ſweet reliefs arecut offfrom usby our diſtracting fears, and that at atime whenwe have moſt need of them .
Effect 2. Diffimulation and hypocrify are the fruit of ſlaviſh fear; diſtraction you fee is bad enough, butdiſſimulation is worſethan diſtraction, and yet as bad as it is, fear hath driven goodmen into this ſpare; it will makeeven anupright foul
A Practical Treatise of Fear. warp and bend from the rules of that integrity and candor, which ſhould be inſeparable atall times from a Chriſtian : of whom (faith God to his Ifrael) haft thou been afraid, that thou haſt lied, and haft not remembered me ?Godfinds falſhood, and charges it upon fear, q. d. I know it was against the reſolutions of my people's hearts thus todiſſemble, this certainly is the effect of a fright; who is hethat hath ſcaredyou intothis evil?
It was Abraham's fear thatmade him diſſemble to the reproach of his religion, Gen. xx. 2, 11. Andindeed itwas but an odd fight to fee anheathen ſo ſchooling and reproving great Abraham about it, as he there doth .
Itwas nothing but fear that drew his fon Iſaac into the like ſnare, Gen. xxvi. 7. And it was fear that overcame Peter against his promiſe, as well as principle, to ſayconcerning his dear Saviour, Iknow not the man, Matth. xxvi. 69. HadAbraham atthat time remembered, and acted his faith freely upon what the Lord ſaid to him, Gen. xvii. 1. Fear not, Abraham,
Iam thy shield, hehad eſcapedboth the fin and the ſhame intowhich he fell, but even that great believer was foiled by his own fears ; and certainly this is a great evil, a complicated mifchief.
For, 1. By theſe falls and ſcandals, religion is made vile and contemptible in the eyes of the world, it reflects with much reproach uponGod and his promiſes, as ifhis word were not fufficient ſecurity for us to rely upon in times of trouble, as if itwere fafer trufſſing to our wit, yea, to fin, than to the promiſes.
2. Itgreatlyweakens the hands of others, and proves a fore diſcouragement to them in their trials, to ſee their brethren faint for fear, and ashamed to own their principles; ſometimes ithath this mischievous effect, but itis always improvedby Satanandwickedmentothis purpoſe.
And, 3. Itwill be a terrible blow and wound to our own confciences, for fuch flaws in our integritywe maybe keptwaking and fighing many a night ; O fee the mischiefs of a timorous and faint ſpirit !
Effect 3. Slavish fears of the creatureexceedingly ſtrengthen our temptations intimes ofdanger, and make them very efficacious and prevalent upon us, Prov. xxix. 25. The fear of man brings afnare. Satan ſpreads the net, butwe are notwithin its reach, till our own fears drive us into it; the recoiling of our ſpirits from some imminentdangers, maycauſe the pulfe of a true Chriſtian to intermit and faulter, how regular foever it beats atothertimes; this will cauſe great trepidationand timi.
APractical Treatise of Fear.
dityinmen that are fincere and upright, and that is it that brings the ſnare overtheir fouls. Aaronwas agoodman, and idolatry he knew to be a great fin, yet fear prevailed with that good man to give too much way to that great evil, Exod. xxxii.
22. Thou knoweft the people that they arefet upon mischief, faith he, in his own excuſe in the matter of the golden calf, q. d.
Lord, I durft do no otherwiſe at that time, the people were violentlyand paflionately ſet upon it; had I refifted them, it mighthave coſt me dear.
Itwas fear that prevailedwithOrigen toyield fo far as hedid inoffering incenfe to the idol, the confideration of which fact brake his heart to pieces.
Itwas nothing but fear that made David play the fool, and act ſo diſhonourably as he did, I Sam. xxi . 12. Fear is a fnare in which Satan hath caught as many fouls as inanyother of his ftratagems andfnares whatfoever.
Itwere ealy togive inſtances, ſo many and ſo ſad, as would enlarge thishead even to tediouſueſs,but I chuſe rather tocome tothe particulars, wherein the danger ofthis ſnare ofthe devil confifts.
And, 1. Herein lies the enſnaringdanger of finful fear, that it drives menout of their proper flation, out of their place and duty, befide which there is none tobe found, but what is Satan'sground.
The fubtle enemy of our falvation is aware that weare outofgun-ſhot,beyondhis reach, whilst we abide with Godin theway ofour duty, that the Lord is with us, whilft weare with him, and there is no attempting our ruin, under thewings ofhis protection.
Ifever, therefore, he meaneth to doany thing upon us, he muſt get us off that ground, and from under thoſe wings; and there is nothing like fear todo this: thenwe are as the birds that are wandering from their neſts, Prov. xxvii. 8. or like Shimei out of his limits.
2. Fear is usually the firſt paſſioninthe foul that beats a parleywith the enemy, and treats with the tempter about terms of rendition ; and, as the French proverb is, The castle that parleys, is half won .
It is fear that confults with fleſh and blood, whilft faith is engaged with God for the fupply of ſtrength to endure the ſiege. We have a ſad, and doleful inſtanceof this in Spira ; he tells us how his own fears betrayed him, byparleying with the tempter: for thus Mr. Bacon, in thehistory ofhis life, records the occafion ofhis fall.
Whilst • Spira ws toſſing upon the reſtleſs waves of doubts, without *guide to truſt to, or haven to flee for fuccour, on a fudden,
•God'sfpirit aſſiſting, he felt a calm, and began to difcourſe •with himſelf in this manner :
Whywanderest thou thus :
A Practical Treatise of Fear.
" inuncertainties ? Unhappy man! caſt away fear, put onthy " ſhield offaith; where is thywonted courage, thy goodness,
" thy conſtancy ? Remember that Chriſt'sglory lies at the ſtake, " fuffer then without fear, andhe will defend thee, he will tell
" thee what thou shalt anſwer; he can beatdown all danger, " bring thee out of priſon, raiſe thee fromthe dead; confider
" Peter in the dungeon, the martyrs in the fire, &c."
• Now was Spira in reasonable quiet, being reſolved to yield • to those weighty reasons; yet holding itwisdom to examine
•all things, he confults, alſo, with fleſh, and blood; thus the •battlerenews, andthe fleſhbegins, in thismanner : ' Be well
" adviſed, fond man, conſider reaſons onboth sides, and then " judge: how canſt thou thus overween thine own fufficiency,
" as thou neither regardeſt the examples of thy progenitors, " nor the judgment of the whole church ? Doſt thou not con- " ſider what miſery this day's raſhneſs will bring thee unto ?
" Thou shalt loſe all thy ſubſtance gottenwith ſo much care, " and travail, thou shalt undergo the moſt exquiſite torments
" that malice itſelfcandeviſe, thou shalt be counted an heretic " ofall, and to cloſe up all, thou ſhaltdie ſhamefully.
What " thinkeſt thou of the loathſome ſtinkingdungeon, thebloody " ax, the burning faggot? Arethey delightful ? &c."
Thus through fear he firſt parleyed with thetempter, confultedwith flesh and blood, and at laſt fainted, and yielded.
3. It is fear that makes men impatient ofwaitingGod's time, and method of deliverance, and ſo precipitates the foul, and drives it intothe ſnare of the next temptation. Ifa. li. 14. "The 46 captive exile haſteth to be delivered out of the pit." Any way, or means ofeſcape, that comes next to hand, faith fear, is better than to lie here in the pit; and when the foul is thus prepared, by its own fears, itbecomes aneaſy prey to the next temptation ; by all which you ſee the miſchief that comes by fear, in times of danger.
Effect 4. Fear naturallyproduceth puſillanimity and cowardlineſs in men, a poor, low ſpirit, that preſently faints, and yields upon every flight aſſault.
It extinguiſheth all Chriſtian courage, and magnanimity, where-ever it prevails ; and therefore you find it joined, frequently in the ſcriptures, with difcouragement.
Deut. i. 21. " Fear not, neither be diſcouraged, " with fainting, and trembling. " Deut. xx. 3. " Let not your
" hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble ;" with dismayedneſs, Deut. xxxi. 6. and faint-heartedneſs, Ifa. vii. 4. theſe are the effects, and confequents of finful fear. And howdangerous athing it is, tohave our courage extinguiſhed, and faint-
A Practical Treatise of Fear.
neſs ofheart prevail upon us, in atime when wehave thegreateſtneed, and use ofcourage, and our perfeverance, peace, and eternal happiness rely, anddepend ſo much upon it, let all ferious Chriſtians judge.
It is ſad tous, and diſhonourable to religion, tohave the hearts of women, as it is faid of Egypt,
Ifa. xix. 16. when we should play the men, as the apoſtle exhorts us, I Cor. xvi. 13. We find, in all ages, thoſe that havemanifeſted moſt courage for Chrift in time of trial, have been thosewhoſe faith hath furmounted fear, and whoſe hearts were above all diſcouragements from this world.
Such a man was Baſil, as appears byhis anſwer to Valens, the emperor ; who tempting him with offers of preferment, received this anſwer, offer these things, ſaidhe, tochildren : and when he threatenedhim with grievous ſufferings, he replied ;
Threaten these things to your purple gallants, that give themfelves to pleasure, andare afraid to die.
And this was the ſpirit of courage and magnanimitywith which the generality ofthe primitive Chriſtians were animated ; they feared not the faces of tyrants, they ſhrunk not from the moſt cruel torments : and it redounded not a little to the credit ofChriftianity, when one ofJulian's nobles, preſent at thetormenting of Marcus,biſhop ofArethuſa, told the apoſtate to his face, We are ashamed, O emperor, the Chriſtians laugh at your cruelty, andgrow more refolute by it.
So Lactantius alſoteftifies ofthem, Our women and children, faith he, not tospeak of men, overcame their torments, andthefire cannotfetch so much asafighfrom them.
If carnal fear once get the afcendant over us, all our courage and reſolution will flag and meltaway ; we mayfuffer out ofunavoidable neceſſity, butſhall never honour
Chriſt and religion by our fufferings.
Effect 5. Carnal fear is the very root of apoſtacy, it hath made thousands of profeſſors to faint and fall away in the hour of temptation.
It is not so much from the fury of our enemies without, as from our fears within, that temptations become victorious over us .
From the beginning offears, Chriſt dates the beginning of apoſtaſy, Matth. xxiv. 9, 10. " Then ſhall
" theydeliveryou uptobe afflicted, and ſhall kill you, and ye " ſhallbe hated ofall nations for my name's fake, and then
" ſhall many be offended."
When troubles and dangers come to anheight, then fearsbegin to work at an height too, and then is the critical hour ; fears are high, and faith is low; temptation ſtrong, and reſiſtance weak : Satan knocks at the door, and fear opens it, andyields up the foul tohim, except
VOL . IV.
A Practical Treatise of Fear. ſpecial aid andaſſiſtance come in ſeatonably from heaven; fo longaswe canprofeſs religion without any greathazard of life, liberty, or eſtares, we may thew much zeal and forwardness in theways ofgodliness: butwhen it comes to the ſharps, to refiftingunto blood, few willbefound toownand affert it openly inthe faceof fuchdangers.
The firſt retreat is usually made fromafreeandopen, toaclofeand concealed practice ofreligion; potopening our windows, as Daniel did, to ſhewwe care not who knows we dare worship our God, and are not ashamed of our duties, but hiding our principles and practice with all the art and care imaginable,reckoningitwellifwe caneſcapedanger by letting fall our profeſſion which mightexpoſeus to it : but ifthe inqueſtgo on, andwe cannot befecuredany longer under this refuge, we must comply with falſe worship, and give ſome open fignal,that wedo ſo, or elſebe marked out for ruin ; then faith fear, Give a little more ground, and retreat to the next ſecurity, which is to comply ſeemingly with that which we do not allow, hopingGod will be merciful to us, and accept us, ifwe keep our hearts for him, though we are forced thus to diſſemble and hide our principles.
Eamus ad communem errorem, ſaid Calderinus, whengoing to the maſs, Let usgo to the common error ; and, as Seneca adviſeth about worſhipping the Roman gods, In animi religione non habeat, fed in ačtibus fingat ; let us make a ſemblance and ſhew of worſhipping them, though our hearts give no religious respect to them.
But ifſtill the temptation hunts us farther, and we come tobe more narrowly fifted, and put to a ſeverer teſt, by ſubſcribing contrary articles, or renouncing our former avowed principles, and thatupon penalty ofdeath, and loss of allthat is dear to us in this world ; now nothing inallthe worldhazards our eternal falvation, as our own fears will do; this is like tobe the rock on which we ſhall ſplit all, and make an horrible ſhipwreck both oftruth and peace.
Thiswas the cafe of Cranmer, whoſe fears cauſedhim to ſubſcribe against the dictates of his ownconfcience, and cowardly to betray the known truth ; and indeed there is no temptation in the world that hath overthrown ſo many, as that which hath been backed and edged with fear; the love ofpreferments and honours hath flain its thousands, but fear offufferings itsten thouſands.
Effect 6. Sinful fear puts menundergreat bondage of fpirit, and makes death a thousand times more terrible and intolerable than itwould otherwise be tous.
You readof fome, Heb. ii.
16. " who through the fear ofdeath wereall theirlife-timefub- " ject to bondage," i. e it kept them ina miferable anxiety and
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perplexity ofmind, like ſlaves that tremble at thewhip which isheldover them; thus many thousands live under the laſh; foterrible isthe name ofDeath, eſpeciallya violent death, that theyare not able with patience to hear it mentioned; which gave the ground ofthat saying, Praeftat femel, quam femper mori; it isbetter to dieonce, thantobe dying always . And furely there is not amore miferable life any poor creature can live, than fuch a trembling lifeas this is.
For, 1. Such a bondage as this deſtroys all the comfort andpleafure of life; no pleaſure can growor thrive under the ſhadow of this curſed plant.
Nil ei beatum cui femper aliquis terror impendet, faith Cicero *, all the comforts we poſſeſs in this world are embittered by it.
It is ſtoried of Democles, a flatterer ofDionyfius the tyrant, that he toldhim hewas the happieſtmaninthe world, having wealth, power, majeſty, and abundanceof all things: Dionyfius fets the flatterer in all his ownpomp ata table furnished with all daintes, and attended upon asaking, but witha heavy ſharp ſword hanging by a finglehorſe hair right over his head; this made him quake and tremble, fo thathe could neither eatnor drink, but defired to befreed from that eſtate.
The deſign was to convince him how miferable a life they live, who live under the continual terrors of impendingdeath and ruin.
Itwas afore judgment whichGod threatened against them in Jer. v. 6. " A lion out
" of the foreſt ſhall flay them, and a wolf of the evening " thall ſpoil them; a leopard ſhall watch over their cities, every
" one thatgoeth out thence, ſhall be torn in pieces."
What amiferable life muſt thoſe people live, who could not ftir out ofthe city, but they preſently were ſeized by lions, wolves, and leopards, that watched over them, and lurked in all the avenues tomake them a prey ! and yet this is more tolerable than for aman's own fear to watch continually over him.
2. Andyet I couldwish this were the worstof it, and that our fearsdeſtroyed nobetter comforts thanthe natural comforts ofthis life : but, alas, they alfodeſtroy our ſpiritual comforts, whichwe might have from God's promises, and our own and others experiences, which are incomparably the ſweeteft pleafures men have in this world: but as no creature-comfort is pleaſant, ſo no promile reliſhes like itſelf to him that lives in thisbondageof fear; when the terrors of death are great, the confolations of the Almighty are ſmall.
*Cicer. Tufc. Q. 15.
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Inthewrittenwordare found all forts ofrefreſhing, ſtrengthening, and heart-reviving promiſes, prepared by the wisdom and care ofGod for our relief in the days ofdarkness andtrouble; promiſes of ſupport under the heaviest burdens and preffures, Ifa. xli. 10. " Fear not, for I am with thee; be notdifmayed, for Iam thyGod ; I will ſtrengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right-hand ofmy righteouſneſs." A promiſe able to make the moſt timorous andtrembling foul to ſhout with thejoy of men inharvest, or as they that divide the ſpoil.
There are found the encouraging promiſes of defence and protection, Iſa. xxvii. 2, 3. and Iſa. xxxiii. 2. promiſes that lead us unto thealmighty power ofGod, and put us under thewings of his care in time of danger.
Promiſes of moderation and mitigation in the day of ſharp affliction that wemay be able to bear it, Iſa, xxvii. 8. 1 Cor. x. 13.
Promiſes of deliverance out of trouble, if the malice ofmanbring us into trouble, the mercy of God will afſſuredly bringus out, Pfal. xci. 14, 15. and Pfal. cxxv. 3.
And, which is moſt comfortable of all the reſt, promiſes to fanctify and bleſs our troubles to our good, ſo that theyſhall not only ceaſe to be hurtful, but, by virtue of the promiſe, become exceed. ing beneficial tous, Ifa. xxvii. 9. Rom. viii. 28.
All theſe promifſes are provided by our tender Father for us, against aday of ſtraits and fears; and because he knew our weakness, andhowapt our fears wouldbe to make us fufpect our ſecurityby them, he hath, for the performance of them, engaged his wiſdom, power, care, faithfulness and unchangeableneſs, 2 Pet. ii. 9. Ifa. xxvii. 2, 3. 2 Cor. xvi. 9. 1 Cor. x. 13. Ifa. xliii. 1, 2.
In the midst of fuch promiſes ſo ſealed, how chearful and magnanimous ſhouldwebein the worſt times ! and ſayas David, Pfal. xlix. 5. " Why ſhould I fear in the day
" ofevil ?"
Let thoſe thathave noGod to flee to, nopromiſe to relyupon, letthem fear inthe day of evil, I have no cauſe todofo.
Butevenfrom theſe moſt comfortable refuges in the promiſes our own fears beat us ; we are ſo ſcared thatwe mind themnot, foas todraw encouragement, reſolution, and courage from them.
Thus theshields ofthe mighty are vilely caſt away.
So, for all the choice records of the faints experiences in all former troubles and diſtreſſes,Godhath, bya fingular providence
(aimingatour relief in future diſtreſſes) preſerved them for us ; ifdanger threatenus,wemayturn to the recorded experiences his peoplehave left us of the strange and mighty influence of
A PracticalTreatise of Fear.
hisprovidenceupon thehearts of their enemies, to ſhew them favour, Gen. xxxi. 29. Pfal.xvi. 46. Jer. xv. 11 .
There are alfo found the antient rolls and records of the admirablemethods of his peoples deliverance, contrived byhis infinite and unſearchable wisdom for them, when all their own thoughts have been at a loſs, and their underſtandings poſed and ſtaggered, Exod. xv. 6. 2 Chron. xx. 12, 15. 2 Kings xix.
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There are therecorded experiences ofGod'sunſpotted faithfulness, which never failed any foul that durſt truſt himself in its arms, Micah vi. 4, 5. Joſhua vii. 9.
There are alſo tobe found the records of his tender andmoft fatherly care for his children, who have been to him as a pecoliar treaſure in times ofdanger, Pfal. xl. 17. Deut. xxxii.
10, 11, 12. Ifa. xlix, 16.Job xlix. 16. Job xxxvi. 7. 2 Chron. xvi. 9.
All thefe and many more ſupports and cordials are made ready to our hand, and provided for a day of trouble; but alas! to what purpoſe, if ourown fears ſo tranſport us, that we canneither apply them, nor ſomuch as calmly ponder and confider them.
3. To conclude, by theſe fears we are deprived of thoſe manifold advantages we might gainby the calm, and compoſed meditations of our own death, and the change it will make uponus; couldwe fitdown in peace, andmeditate in afamili. ar way upon death: could we look with acompoſed andwellſettled mind into ourowngraves, andnotbe ſcared and frighted with the thoughts ofdeath, and ſtartle whenever we take it
(thoughbut inour thoughts) by the cold hand: To what ſeriouſneſs would thoſe meditations frame us ? And what abundance of evils would they prevent in our converſations ? The ſprinkling of duſt uponnewwriting prevents many a blot and blur in our books or letters : And could we thus ſprinkle the duſtof the grave upon our minds, itwould prevent manya fin andmiscarriage in our words and actions.
But there is no profit or advantage redoundingto us either from promiſes, experiences, or death itſelf, when the foul is diſcompoſed and put intoconfufionby its own fears. And thus you ſee ſome of thoſe many mischievous effects of yourown fears..