The Works of John Bunyan, vol 1 by John Bunyan (best book clubs txt) 📖

greatness of God doth beget in the heart of his elect an awful reverence of his majesty. “Fear ye not me? saith the Lord; will ye not tremble at my presence?” And then, to engage us in our soul to the duty, he adds one of his wonderful mercies to the world, for a motive, “Fear ye not me?” Why, who are thou? He answers, Even I, “which have”

set, or “placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it; and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?” (Jer 5:22). Also, when Job had God present with him, making manifest the goodness of his great heart to him, what doth he say? how doth he behave himself in his presence? “I have heard of thee,” says he, “by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee; wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5,6).

And what mean the tremblings, the tears, those breakings and shakings of heart that attend the people of God, when in an eminent manner they receive the pronunciation of the forgiveness of sins at his mouth, but that the dread of the majesty of God is in their sight mixed therewith? God must appear like himself, speak to the soul like himself; nor can the sinner, when under these glorious discoveries of his Lord and Saviour, keep out the beams of his majesty from the eyes of his understanding. “I will cleanse them,” saith he, “from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me, and I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.” And what then? “And they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness, and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it” (Jer 33:8,9). Alas! there is a company of poor, light, frothy professors in the world, that carry it under that which they call the presence of God, more like to antics, than sober sensible Christians; yea, more like to a fool of a play, than those that have the presence of God. They would not carry it so in the presence of a king, nor yet of the lord of their land, were they but receivers of mercy at his hand. They carry it even in their most eminent seasons, as if the sense and sight of God, and his blessed grace to their souls in Christ, had a tendency in them to make men wanton: but indeed it is the most humbling and heart-breaking sight in the world; it is fearful.[2]

Object. But would you not have us rejoice at the sight and sense of the forgiveness of our sins?

Answ. Yes; but yet I would have you, and indeed you shall, when God shall tell you that your sins are pardoned indeed, “rejoice with trembling” (Psa 2:11). For then you have solid and godly joy; a joyful heart, and wet eyes, in this will stand very well together; and it will be so more or less. For if God shall come to you indeed, and visit you with the forgiveness of sins, that visit removeth the guilt, but increaseth the sense of thy filth, and the sense of this that God hath forgiven a filthy sinner, will make thee both rejoice and tremble. O, the blessed confusion that will then cover thy face whilst thou, even thou, so vile a wretch, shalt stand before God to receive at his hand thy pardon, and so the firstfruits of thy eternal salvation—“That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame (thy filth), when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God” (Eze 16:63). But, Second. As the presence, so the name of God, is dreadful and fearful: wherefore his name doth rightly go under the same title, “That thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD

THY GOD” (Deut 28:58). The name of God, what is that, but that by which he is distinguished and known from all others? Names are to distinguish by; so man is distinguished from beasts, and angels from men; so heaven from earth, and darkness from light; especially when by the name, the nature of the thing is signified and expressed; and so it was in their original, for then names expressed the nature of the thing so named. And therefore it is that the name of God is the object of our fear, because by his name his nature is expressed: “Holy and reverend is his name” (Psa 111:9). And again, he proclaimed the name of the Lord, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty” (Exo 34:6,7).

Also his name, I am, Jah, Jehovah, with several others, what is by them intended but his nature, as his power, wisdom, eternity, goodness, and omnipotency, &c., might be expressed and declared.

The name of God is therefore the object of a Christian’s fear. David prayed to God that he would unite his heart to fear his name (Psa 86:11). Indeed, the name of God is a fearful name, and should always be reverenced by his people: yea his “name is to be feared for ever and ever,” and that not only in his church, and among his saints, but even in the world and among the heathen—“So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all kings thy glory”

(Psa 102:15). God tells us that his name is dreadful, and that he is pleased to see men be afraid before his name. Yea, one reason why he executeth so many judgments upon men as he doth, is that others might see and fear his name. “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun”

(Isa 59:19; Mal 2:5).

The name of a king is a name of fear—“And I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts” (Mal 1:14). The name of master is a name of fear—“And if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord” (v 6). Yea, rightly to fear the Lord is a sign of a gracious heart.

And again, “To you that fear my name,” saith he, “shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings” (Mal 4:2). Yea, when Christ comes to judge the world, he will give reward to his servants the prophets, and to his saints, “and to them that fear his name, small and great” (Rev 11:18). Now, I say, since the name of God is that by which his nature is expressed, and since he naturally is so glorious and incomprehensible, his name must needs be the object of our fear, and we ought always to have a reverent awe of God upon our hearts at what time soever we think of, or hear his name, but most of all, when we ourselves do take his holy and fearful name into our mouths, especially in a religious manner, that is, in preaching, praying, or holy conference. I do not by thus saying intend as if it was lawful to make mention of his name in light and vain discourses; for we ought always to speak of it with reverence and godly fear, but I speak it to put Christians in mind that they should not in religious duties show lightness of mind, or be vain in their words when yet they are making mention of the name of the Lord—“Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Tim 2:19).

Make mention then of the name of the Lord at all times with great dread of his majesty upon our hearts, and in great soberness and truth. To do otherwise is to profane the name of the Lord, and to take his name in vain; and “the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Yea, God saith that he will cut off the man that doth it; so jealous is he of the honour due unto his name (Exo 20:7; Lev 20:3). This therefore showeth you the dreadful state of those that lightly, vainly, lyingly, and profanely make use of the name, this fearful name of God, either by their blasphemous cursing and oaths, or by their fraudulent dealing with their neighbour; for some men have no way to prevail with their neighbour to bow under a cheat, but by calling falsely upon the name of the Lord to be witness that the wickedness is good and honest; but how these men will escape, when they shall be judged, devouring fire and everlasting burnings, for their profaning and blaspheming of the name of the Lord, becomes them betimes to consider of (Jer 14:14,15; Eze 20:39; Exo 20:7).[3]

But,

Third. As the presence and name of God are dreadful and fearful in the church, so is his worship and service. I say his worship, or the works of service to which we are by him enjoined while we are in this world, are dreadful and fearful things. This David conceiveth, when he saith, “But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple” (Psa 5:7). And again, saith he, “Serve the Lord with fear.” To praise God is a part of his worship. But, says Moses, “Who is a God like unto thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Exo 15:11). To rejoice before him is a part of his worship; but David bids us “rejoice with trembling” (Psa 2:11).

Yea, the whole of our service to God, and every part thereof, ought to be done by us with reverence and godly fear. And therefore let us, as Paul saith again, “Cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2

Cor 7:1; Heb 12).

1. That which makes the worship of God so fearful a thing, is, for that it is the worship of GOD: all manner of service carries more or less dread and fear along with it, according as the quality or condition of the person is to whom the worship and service is done. This is seen in the service of subjects to their princes, the service of servants to their lords, and the service of children to their parents. Divine worship, then, being due to God, for it is now of Divine worship we speak, and this God so great and dreadful in himself and name, his worship must therefore be a fearful thing.

2. Besides, this glorious Majesty is himself present to behold his worshippers in their worshipping him. “When two or three of you are gathered together in my name, I am there.” That is, gathered together to worship him, “I am there,” says he. And so, again, he is said to walk “in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks”

(Rev 1:13). That is, in the churches, and that with a countenance like the sun, with a head and hair as white as snow, and with eyes like a flame of fire. This puts dread and fear into his service; and therefore his servants should serve him with fear.

3. Above all things, God is jealous of his worship and service.

In all the ten words, he telleth us not anything of his being a jealous God, but in the second, which respecteth his worship (Exo 20). Look to yourselves therefore, both as to the matter and manner of your worship; “for I the Lord thy God,” says