holy, holy is the Lord of hofts; the whole earth is full of his glory!

A like effect of the like view of this fame attribute, we have in the conduct of the four living creatures, and the four and twenty elders; of whom we read in the 4th chapter of the Revelation of St John, from the 8th to the 11th verfe.

A knowledge of the greatness and majefty of God, has also no fmall inftrumentality in promoting this temper. This appears in the cafe of the prophet Jeremiah, x. 6, 7. Forafmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? To the fame purpose are the words of the Pfalmift: For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all Gods.

He is also a God of strict and invariable juftice. A God who will punish iniquity, tranfgreffion and fin; and who will by no means clear the guilty, without an interest in the atonement of the Mediator.

If you add to all this, that Jehovah is an all-feeing and a heart-searching God, you will eafily perceive that this reverence, this godly fear, justly becomes us: And few of the Divine attributes have a more powerful influence on this temper than his omnifcience, when properly understood and realized. That the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth-discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart; and, that there is not any creature that is not manifeft in his fight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. That no darkness can hide from him. That the shades of midnight, and the blaze of noon are the same thing to him. A fense of our being always under the immediate eye of this God, from whom nothing can be

hid, naturally tends to beget and cherish this fear of the Lord in our hearts; to fill us with that reverence for his majefty, that enters fo deeply into the duty enjoined in our text. On the other hand, ignorance of God, and inattention to these perfections of his nature, especially to his omniscience and omniprefence, are among the most fruitful fources of that irreverence for him, which stands oppofed to the grace I defcribe. The language of the finner's heart and life is, How doth God know? Can he judge through the dark cloud? Thick clouds are a covering to him, that be feeth not, and be walketh in the circuit of heaven. He may not, indeed, venture to fay it with his lips, but he daily faith by his practice, the Lord shall not fee, neither fhall the God of Jacob regard it. And, by the by, this irreverence for God is the true source of that rude and unworthy practice of profane fwearing. A practice that infults all the laws of politeness, and renders the man unfit for genteel fociety, while it violates the most facred obligations of piety and morality.

2. The fear of the Lord implies, an habitual care left we offend him. This is the genuine effect of that reverence for God, of which you have just heard. The more it prevails in the heart, the more will it govern and influence the life. The true fource of this care is a fincere love to God, and a defire to please him. The man who does not love God, and defire to please him, will not be careful, on juft principles, to guard against giving him offence. Why does the dutiful child fear to offend a kind and tender parent? Is it not because he loves him? because his honour lies near his heart? Thus in the cafe before us, the more we love God and his law, the more cautious and tender fhall we be, lest we fin against him— And this circumfpection ferves, not only as a guard againit the commiffion of fin, but it has a powerful ̧in

fluence

fluence alfo upon the performance of duty. It fimulates the man who fears the Lord, to a conscientious and faithful discharge of the whole of his duty, to the utmost of his power. It guards him against omitting it in the feafon thereof; and engages him to attend, not only to the matter, but to the manner of his performing it.

In a word, this habitual care, this circumfpection of conduct, that we do not omit our duty to God, our neighbour, or ourselves; that we perform it in the proper time and manner; and that we do not knowingly and wilfully fin against God, is literally to be in the fear of the Lord all the day long, and is one principal thing the Holy Spirit intends by the precept in our text.

3. This fear of the Lord has for its object, the just difpleafure of God, as due to us for fin.

That we have finned against God, and hereby merited his highest displeasure, are melancholy truths, that do not, cannot admit of a doubt. And hence thofe numerous

evils that have fo univerfally overípread this world of ours; fuch as fickness and pain, war and famine, poverty, difgrace, and death itself; and together with these, our being justly liable to be punished with everlasting deftruction from the prefence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. Moral and natural evil are infeparably connected, and the latter never fails to follow the former, in a greater or lefs degree. And fince we are finners, and confcious to ourselves that we are so, we justly fear the Divine displeasure due to us therefor. Thus the Pfalmist -My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments. Not to fear the judgments of God in this fituation, would be unpardonable ftupidity, or a profane contempt of God. And this fear has its influence too on the purity of the life, as it tends to guard us against sin, and

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and is, therefore, one thing implied in the text-Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.

But it is neceffary to distinguish here, between that slavish fear of God's judgments, that deftroys our peace of mind, and hereby incapacitates us for the duties and enjoyments of life, and that which only ferves to guard us against fin. The former is that of which we read, 1 John iv. 18. There is no fear in love; but perfect love cafteth out fear; because fear bath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. It is a flavish fear of God's wrath, a defpairing horror of his judgments, of which the Apostle there fpeaks. This is that which persons under the power of a melancholy habit of body and mind, fometimes have; and which also is the fear of those who defpair of the mercy of God in Chrift. But this is not the fear which I at prefent defcribe. It is only that fear of the Divine displeasure against fin, that ferves to awaken our attention to its evil nature, and thereby guard us against committing it.

Thus much for the nature of that fear of the Lord of which we here read.

It only remains under this head that we enquire, what it is to be in the fear of the Lord all the day long?

And this in general means, that we should live under the habitual influence of this holy temper; that we should carry it with us into all the duties of the religious and focial life, whether of a more private or public nature; that we carry it with us into all the businesses and amufements of common life, into all companies and circumstances. We are hereby taught, that there is no fitua tion in which we can be, no employment in which we may be ngaged, but what we should conftantly act under the influe ce of this fear of the Lord. It fhould rife with us in the morning, go forth with us, attend us through

through all the various fcenes of the day, and lie down with us at night. And this fhould be the cafe with us through all the days and nights of our appointed time. Thus, be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long; the whole day of life, for the night of death will shortly come, and put a final period to it. This is the fenfe in alway; but he that

which, happy is the man that feareth

hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

This leads us to enquire

II. Why fhould we ftudy to be in the fear of the Lord all the day long?

My bufinefs, under this head, is to mention fome of the many reasons why we should be particularly attentive to this duty. And let it fuffice, briefly, to touch upon the four following at prefent.

1. It is an excellent guard against the commiffion of fin; that fin which conftitutes our depravity, and which is the fruitful fource of all our mifery. This appears, at first fight, from what has been faid of its nature. Can the man knowingly and deliberately fin against God, who has a fuitable fenfe of his being, his perfections, his character and his government upon his fpirit? No, the very idea of his being under the immediate eye of that God, who ferves as a folemn witness to all his tranfactions; a holy and a juft God to whom he must shortly give an account of all the deeds done in the body; would check his career and deter him from fin. Think you, my brethren, that the debauchee who gives himself up to idlenefs and profane company; who waftes whole days, and it may be nights, in the tavern, at the gaming table, or in places of a still more infamous character, that he can have the fear of God before his eyes? Verily no. It is because he is deftitute of this principle, that the finner reftrains

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