say unto him, say of him, Quam terribilis tu in tuis, which sets us up another step in this part, to consider what this terribleness is, that God expresses in his works. Though there be a difference between timor, and terror, (fear and terror) yet the difference is not so great, but that both may fall upon a good man; not only a fear of God must, but a terror of God may fall upon the best. When God talked with Abraham, A horror of great darkness fell upon him 25, says that text. The Father of lights, and the God of all comfort present, and present in an action of mercy, and yet, a horror of great darkness fell upon Abraham. When God talked personally, and presentially with Moses, Moses Hid his face, for (says the text) he was afraid to look upon God. When I look upon God, as I am bid to do in this text, in those terrible judgments, which he hath executed upon some men, and see that there is nothing between me and the same judgment, (for I have sinned the same sins, and God is the same God) I am not able of myself to dye that glass, that spectacle, through which I look upon this God, in what colour I will; whether this glass shall be black, through my despair, and so I shall see God in the cloud of my sins, or red in the blood of Christ Jesus, and I shall see God in a bath of the blood of his Son, whether I shall see God as a dove with an olive branch, (peace to my soul) or as an eagle, a vulture to prey, and to prey everlastingly upon me, whether in the deep floods of tribulation, spiritual or temporal, I shall see God as an ark to take me in, or as a whale to swallow me; and if his whale do swallow me, (the tribulation devour me) whether his purpose be to restore me, or to consume me, I, I of myself cannot tell. I cannot look upon God, in what line I will, nor take hold of God, by what handle I will; he is a terrible God, I take him so; and then I cannot discontinue, I cannot break off this terribleness, and say, he hath been terrible to that man, and there is an end of his terror; it reaches not to me. Why not to me? In me there is no merit, nor shadow of merit; in God there is no change, nor shadow of change. I am the same sinner, he is the same God; still the same desperate sinner, still the same terrible God. But Terrible in his works, says our text; 25 Gen. xv. 12. terrible so, as he hath 26 Exod. iii, 6. declared himself to be in his works. His works are, as we said before, his actions, and his Scriptures. In his actions we see him terrible upon disobedient resisters of his graces, and despisers of the means thereof, not upon others, we have no examples of that. In his word, we accept this word in which he hath been pleased to express himself, Norah, which is rather reverendus, than terribilis, as that word is used, I gave him life and peace, for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name". So that this terribleness, which we are called upon to profess of God, is a reverential, a majestical, not a tyrannical terribleness. And therefore he that conceives a God, that hath made man of flesh and blood, and yet exacts that purity of an angel in that flesh, a God that would provide himself no better glory, than to damn man, a God who lest he should love man, and be reconciled to man, hath enwrapped him in an inevitable necessity of sinning, a God who hath received enough, and enough for the satisfaction of all men, and yet, (not in consideration of their future sins, but merely because he hated them before they were sinners, or before they were any thing) hath made it impossible, for the greatest part of men, to have any benefit of that large satisfaction. This is not such a terribleness as arises out of his works, (his actions, or his Scriptures) for God hath never said, never done any such thing, as should make us lodge such conceptions of God in ourselves, or lay such imputations upon him. The true fear of God is true wisdom. It is true joy; Rejoice in trembling, saith David"; there is no rejoicing without this fear; there is no riches without it; reverentia Jehova, the fear of the Lord is his treasure, and that is the best treasure. Thus far we are to go; Let us serve God with reverence, and godly fear", (godly fear is but a reverence, it is not a jealousy, a suspicion of God.) And let us do it upon the reason that follows in the same place, For our God is a consuming fire, there is all his terribleness; he is a consuming fire to his enemies, but he is our God; and God is love: and therefore to conceive a cruel God, a God that hated us, even to damnation, before we were, (as some, who have departed from the sense and modesty of the ancients, have adventured to say) or to conceive a God so cruel, as that at our 20 Psalm ii. 11. 29 Heb. xii. 28. 27 Mal. ii. 5. death, or in our way, he will afford us no assurance, that he is ours, and we his, but let us live and die in anxiety and torture of conscience, in jealousy and suspicion of his good purpose towards us in the salvation of our souls, (as those of the Roman heresy teach) to conceive such a God as from all eternity meant to damn me, or such a God as would never make me know, and be sure that I should be saved, this is not to profess God to be terrible in his works; for his actions are his works, and his Scriptures are his works, and God hath never done, or said any thing to induce so terrible an opinion of him. And so we have done with all those pieces, which in our paraphrastical distribution of the text, at beginning, did constitute our first, our historical part, David's retrospect, his commemoration of former blessings; in which he proposes a duty, a declaration of God's goodness, Dicite, publish it, speak of it; he proposes religious duties, in that capacity, as he is king; (religion is the king's care) he proposes, by way of counsel to all; by way of commandment to his own subjects; and by a more powerful way, than either counsel or commandment, that is, by example, by doing that himself, which he counsels, and commands others to do. Dicite, say, speak; it is a duty more than thinking, and less than doing; every man is bound to speak for the advancement of God's cause, but when it comes to action, that is not the private man's office, but belongs to the public, or him, who is the public, David himself, the king. The duty is commemoration, Dicite, say, speak; but Dicite Deo, do this to God; ascribe not your deliverances to your armies, and navies, by sea or land; no, nor to saints in heaven, but to God only. Nor are we called upon to contemplate God in his essence, or in his decrees, but in his works; in his actions, in his scriptures; in both those you shall find him terrible, that is, reverend, majestical, though never tyrannical, nor cruel. Pass we now, according to our order laid down at first, to our second part, the prophetical part, David's prospect for the future; and gather we something from the particular branches of that, Through the greatness of thy power, thine enemies shall submit themselves unto thee. In this, our first consideration is, that God himself hath enemies; and then, how should we hope to be, nay, why would we wish to be without them? God had good, that is, glory from his enemies; and we may have good, that is, advantage in the way to glory, by the exercise of our patience, from enemies too. Those for whom God had done most, the angels, turned enemies first; vex not thou thyself, if those whom thou hast loved best, hate thee deadliest. There is a love, in which it aggravates thy condemnation, that thou art so much loved; does not God recompense that, if there be such a hate, as that thou art the better, and that thy salvation is exalted, for having been hated? And that profit the righteous have from enemies. God loved us then, when we were his enemies, and we frustrate his exemplar love to us, if we love not enemies too. The word hostis, (which is a word of heavy signification, and implies devastation, and all the mischiefs of war) is not read in all the New Testament: Inimicus, that is, non amicus, unfriendly, is read there often, very very often. There is an enmity which may consist with evangelical charity; but a hostility, that carries in it a denotation of revenge, of extirpation, of annihilation, that cannot. This gives us some light, how far we may, and may not hate enemies. God had enemies to whom he never returned, the angels that opposed him; and that is, because they oppose him still, and are, by their own perverseness, incapable of reconciliation. We were enemies to God too; but being enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son. As then actual reconciliation makes us actually friends, so in differences which may be reconciled, we should not be too severe enemies, but maintain in ourselves a disposition of friendship; but, in those things, which are in their nature irreconcilable, we must be irreconcilable too. There is an enmity which God himself hath made, and made perpetual: Ponam inimicitias, says God; God puts an enmity between the seed of the serpent, and the seed of the woman; and those whom God joins, let no man sever, those whom God severs, let no man join. The school presents it well; we are to consider an enemy formally, or materially; that is, that which makes him an enemy, or that which makes him a man. In that which makes him a man, he 30 Rom. v. 10. VOL. III. R hath the image of God in him, and by that is capable of grace and glory; and therefore, that we may not hate, which excludes all personal, and all national hatred. In that which makes him an enemy he hath the image of the devil, infidelity towards God, perfidiousness towards man, heresy towards God, infectious manners towards man; and that we must always hate; for that is Odium perfectum, a hate that may consist with a perfect man, nay, a hate that constitutes love itself; I do not love a man, except I hate his vices, because those vices are the enemies, and the destruction of that friend whom I love. God himself hath enemies, Thine enemies shall submit, says the text, to God; there thou hast one comfort, though thou have enemies too; but the greater comfort is, that God calls thine enemies his. Nolite tangere Christos meos31, says God of all holy people; you were as good touch me, as touch any of them, for, they are the apple of mine eye32. Our Saviour Christ never expostulated for himself; never said, Why scourge you me? why spit you upon me? why crucify you me? as long as their rage determined in his person, he opened not his mouth; when Saul extended the violence to the church, to his servants, then Christ came to that, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me33? Cain's trespass against God himself was, that he would bind God to an acceptation of his sacrifice; and for that God comes no further, but to Why doest thou thus? but in his trespass upon his brother, God proceeds so much further, as to say, Now art thou cursed from the earth. Jeroboam suffered idolatry, and God let him alone; that concerned but God himself. But when Jeroboam stretched forth his hand to lay hold on the prophet, his hand withered. Here is a holy league, defensive, and offensive; God shall not only protect us from others, but he shall fight for us against them; our enemies are his enemies. And beloved, it is well that it is so; for, if we were left to ourselves, we were remediless. It is his mercy that we are not consumed, by his indignation, by himself; but it must be the exercise of his power, if we be not consumed by his, and our 33 Acts ix. 4. 31 Psalm cv. 15. 32 Psalm xvii. 8. 35 1 Kings xiii. 4. |
