Religion our true interest, or, Practical notes upon the third chapter of Malachy the sixteen, seventeen and eighteen verses : seasonable for the times / by Thomas Watson ...

CHAP. III. Cogent Reasons enforcing the Fear of God.

THe Reasons enforcing this Holy Fear are, 1. Because Gods eye is alwayes upon us. He who is under the eye of his earthly Prince, will be carefull of doing any thing that should offend him. Iob 31.4. Doth not he see my wayes, and count all my Steps? God sees in the dark. Psalm 139.12. The darkness hideth not from thee. The night is no Curtain, the clouds are no Canopy to hinder or intercept Gods sight. He sees the Heart. A Judge can judge of the fact, but God judgeth of the Heart. Ier. 17.10. He is like Ezekiels wheels, full of eyes, Ezek. 10.12. and as Cyril saith, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, all Eye. Should not this make us walk with fear and circumspection? we can∣not sin but our Judge looks on.

2. God interprets our not fearing him a slighting of him. As not to praise

God, is to wrong him; so not to fear God, is to sleight him. Of all things a person can least endure to be sleighted. Psalm 10.13. Wherefore doth the wic∣ked contemn God * 1.1? For a worm to sleight it's Maker causeth the fury to rise up in Gods face. Ezek. 38.18.

3. God hath power to destroy us. Mat. 10.28. Fear him who hath power to destroy both Soul and Body in Hell. God can look us into our Grave, and with a breath blow us into Hell, and shall we not fear him? Is it easie to wrestle with flames? Psalm 90.11. Who knoweth the Power of his anger? What engines or buckets can quench the infernal fire? We are apt to fear men who have power in their hand to hurt us; what is their power to Gods? They threaten a Prison, God threatens Hell. They threaten our Life, God threa∣tens our Soul, and shall we not tremble before him * 1.2? O dreadful, when the great Fountains of Gods wrath shall be bro∣ken up, and all his Bitter Vials pour∣ed out! Ezek. 22.14. Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong in the day that I shall deal with thee?

But are not we bid to serve God without Fear?* 1.3 Luke 1.74.

We must not Fear God with such a fear as the wicked do;* 1.4 they fear him as a Turkish Slave doth his Pate∣roon; they fear him so as they hate him and wish there were no God * 1.5. We must not serve God with this hellish fear, but we must serve him with an in∣genuous fear sweetned with love.

Notes

• * 1.1

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Arist. rhet.
• * 1.2

  In gehen∣na nec qui torquet fa∣tigatur •• nec qui tor∣quetur mo∣ritur. Bern. flor.
• * 1.3

  Object.
• * 1.4

  Answ.
• * 1.5

  Quem me∣tuunt ode∣runt.