have in these words, Work out your own falvation with fear and trembling: the argument to enforce it follows in the next words, For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleafure. An argument which may at firft fight seem rather to lead to confidence and affurance, than to fear and trembling: for if God be for us, who can be against us? or what is there to fear, or to tremble at, when we are thus fupported and maintained in our spiritual warfare? And the argument is indeed applicable both ways, with refpect to different kinds of fear. The difciples of the Gospel have many enemies to encounter with, many temptations to ftruggle with; they are exposed sometimes to death, often to afflictions and perfecutions, and almost always to the hatred and contempt of the world. Now with respect to these adversaries, the argument in the text may furnish us with great confidence and affurance, and we may with the Apostle say, Who shall harm you, if you be followers of that which is good? for, notwithstanding all the trials you are exposed to, God is able to keep you from falling, and to prefent you faultless before the prefence of his glory with exceeding joy. But as there is a fear which respects our enemies, and is a fear of being conquered and brought into fubjection by them; fo likewise is there a fear which refpects our friends, and is a fear of lofing their favour and affiftance; and the more a man is dependent upon his friends, the greater is, and ought to be, his fear of lofing their protection: and this fear naturally inspires us with diligence and care to observe and fulfil the commands of our great patrons, to ftudy their humour

and inclination, and to conform ourselves to them. And of this fear the Apoftle fpeaks in the text, Work out your falvation with fear and trembling; for it is a work that you are by no means fufficient for of yourselves; and therefore have a care how you forfeit the favour of him upon whom you entirely depend: Of yourselves ye can do nothing; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do. That St. Paul intends this fort and kind of fear, may be seen by his own way of reasoning. In the beginning of this chapter, he preffes humility upon the Philippians, he warns them against ftrife and vainglory, and, after fome arguments, drawn from the example of Chrift and the great reward he obtained, to recommend humility to them, as if humility and fear, in the present cafe, were the fame thing, he thus concludes; Wherefore, my beloved, work out your falvation with fear and trembling. If we believe that God works in us both to will and to do, it will make us humble, because we can do nothing without him; for in such a cafe what have we to be proud of? Weakness and a state of dependence are inconfiftent with confidence and prefumption: it will make us likewise fear and tremble, fear to difpleafe, and tremble to disobey, him from whom cometh our falvation.

That this fear is the fear of offending God, and lofing his favour, is farther evident from the next verfe, Do all things without murmurings and difputings, Now what fear is it that makes men obey cheerfully, without repining, without feeking for excufes to free themselves? Not the fear of punishment; for who grumble more than flaves? who repine more at

their service, or more readily feek and invent pretences to decline the orders of their mafter? But where the fear that poffeffes the heart is the fear of difobliging a kind friend, or a beloved mafter, or a patron upon whom we depend, there fear gives wings to obedience, and makes a man all ear and no tongue, ready to receive but not difpute the command. The following verfe fupplies us with the like argument: the words are thefe, That ye may be blameless and harmless, or, as the margin reads it, fincere, the fons of God, without rebuke. Now then the fear the Apostle speaks of is the fear of a fon, the fear of offending the father he loves; it is a fear which makes obedience blameless, and fincere, and without rebuke; which no fear can do, but a fear of offending him we love, and him we depend on. Other fears may make the hands or the feet obedient; but this fear only reaches the heart, and renders obedience perfect and fincere.

The Chriftian law indeed, like all other wife laws, is fortified with rewards and punishments; and these rewards and punishments God has propofed to us as motives of obedience, of that obedience which he has promised to accept and reward: and therefore there is no doubt but that thofe who obey upon these motives, fhall for their obedience be rewarded.

But this fear cannot here be meant: for, first, it will not agree with the Apostle's argument for fearing for furely it is no reason to fear punish-{ ment, that God works in us to will and to do; we fhould have much more reafon to fear it, if he did not and this help and affiftance of God is our

greatest comfort and confolation against such fears. Secondly, To work out his falvation with fear and trembling, is the duty of every good Chriftian. Now to fear punishment is a proper restraint upon the evil wills and affections of men, but it is no good man's duty; and yet to such the Apostle speaks, as we may fee in the verse of the text, Ye have always obeyed, not as in my prefence only, but now much more in my abfence; and by the character he gives them in the seventh verfe of the firft chapter, Both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the Gofpel, ye are all partakers of my grace. Now to thefe good Chriftians he fays, Work out your falvation with fear and trembling: this he enjoins them as a thing not only highly becoming their condition, but as neceffary to it. But the fear of punishment can never be neceffary to any good man's condition, nor can it ever be made matter of precept or command. For the law is not made to inftil the fear of punishment into men's hearts; nor is it the defign of the lawgiver to spread fear and terror into the minds of his people: penalties are added to enforce obedience, and therefore concern not those who are ready and willing to obey. It may be matter of wife admonition to Chriftians to fet before them the danger of difobedience, and to exhort them with our bleffed Lord, to fear not those who can only kill the body, but after that can do nothing; but to fear him who has power both over body and foul, and can throw them both into hell-fire: but when do you ever find it enjoined, as matter of duty, to be afraid of hell? Is it any part of the good fubject's obedience to live in perpetual apprehension of racks and gibbets, be

cause racks and gibbets are provided for murderers and robbers? Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? fays our Apoftle, do that which is good. So that to fear the power, belongs not to him who does good. God has commanded all men to live righteously, and threatened fevere punishment to those who live otherwife; but he has no where commanded all men to live in fear of punishment: but the exhortation in the text belongs to all men, it belongs to the most perfect Chriftians; and therefore the fear in the text is not the fear of punishment, which can neither be matter of command or exhortation to those who do not want it, that is, to all good Chriftians, who from the heart obey the truth. And this may ferve to diftinguish the fear and trembling mentioned in the text, from the fear which belongs to criminals and flaves; which fear, the Apostle tells us, perfect love cafteth out.

But fince there is a fear and trembling neceffary to the working out of our falvation, and which muft, and ought to rule the affections of the best of men, let us confider more diftinctly the nature of this fear. Now the reason why we ought to fear, is, because God worketh in us both to will and to do: let us examine then how far this argument goes, and that will fhew us the nature of that fear which is the confequence of it. To will and to do good, are the terms and conditions of our falvation; and therefore from whence we have the power to will and to do, from thence we have the means of salvation. Now falvation comprehends in it all the good we are capable of enjoying, without which our life is death, and our hope misery so that, if