“Thy heart shall fear and be enlarged”—­enlarged towards God, enlarged to his ways, enlarged to his holy people, enlarged in love after the salvation of others.  Indeed, when this fear of God is wanting, though the profession be never so famous, the heart is shut up and straitened, and nothing is done in that princely free spirit, which is called “the spirit of the fear of the Lord,” but with grudging, legally, or with desire of vain glory.  Psa. 51:12; Isa. 11:2.

If a king will keep a town secure to himself, let him be sure to man sufficiently the main fort thereof.  If he have twenty thousand men well armed, if they lie scattered here and there, the town may be taken for all that; but if the main fort be well manned, then the town is more secure.  What if a man had all the parts, yea, all the arts of men and angels, that will not keep the heart to God.

But when the heart, this principal fort, is possessed with the fear of God, then he is safe, not else.

O they are a sweet couple, to wit, a Christian conversation coupled with fear.

Your great, ranting, swaggering roysters, that are ignorant of the nature of this fear of God, count it a poor, sneaking, pitiful, cowardly spirit in men to fear and tremble before the Lord.  But whoso looks back to jails and gibbets, to the sword and the burning stake, shall see in the martyrs there the most mighty and invincible spirit that has been in the world.

This grace of fear can make the man that in many other things is not capable of serving God, serve him better than those that have all else without it.  Poor Christian man, thou hast scarce been able to do any thing for God all thy days, but only to fear the Lord.  Thou art no preacher, and so canst not do him service that way:  thou art no rich man, and so canst not do him service with outward substance:  thou art no wise man, and so canst not do any thing that way; but here is thy mercy, thou fearest God.  Though thou canst not preach, thou canst fear God.  Though thou hast no bread to feed the belly, nor fleece to clothe the back of the poor, thou canst fear God.  O how blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, because this duty of fearing of God is an act of the mind, and may be done by the man that is destitute of all things but that holy and blessed mind.

Blessed, therefore, is that man; for God hath not laid the comfort of his people in the doing of external duties, nor the salvation of their souls, but in believing, loving, and fearing God.  Neither hath he laid these things in actions done in their health, nor in the due management of their most excellent parts, but in the receiving of Christ, and fear of God; the which, good Christian, thou mayest do, and do acceptably, even though thou shouldst lie bedrid all thy days; thou mayest also be sick and believe, be sick and love, be sick and fear God, and so be a blessed man.

And here the poor Christian hath something to answer them that reproach him for his ignoble pedigree, and shortness of the glory of the wisdom of the world.  True, may that man say, I was taken out of the dunghill, I was born in a base and low estate; but I fear God.  I have no worldly greatness, nor excellency of natural parts, but I fear God.