Works of John Bunyan — Complete

by John Bunyan

And this is the reason that we so often lie grabbling[33] under the black and amazing thoughts that are engendered in our hearts by unbelief; for this fear nourisheth unbelief; that is, now it doth, to wit, if we give way to it after the spirit of adoption is come, and readily closeth with all the fiery darts of the wicked.

But Christians are ready to do with this fear as the horse does when the tines[34] of the fork are set against his side; even lean to it until it entereth into his belly. We lean naturally to this fear, I mean, after God has done good to our souls; it is hard striving against it, because it has even our sense and feeling of its side. But I say, if thou wouldest be a growing Christian—growing, I say, in the fear that is godly, in the fear that is always so—then make conscience of striving against the other, and against all these things that would bring thee back to it. "Wherefore should I fear," said David, "in the day of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?" (Psa 49:5).

What! not fear in the day of evil? What! not when the iniquity of thy heels compasseth thee about? No, not then, saith he, that is, not with that fear that would bring him again into bondage to the law; for he had received the spirit of adoption before. Indeed, if ever a Christian has ground to give way to slavish fear, it is at these two times, to wit, in the day of evil, and when the iniquity of his heels compasseth him about; but you see, David would not then, no, not then, give way thereto, nor did he see reason why he should. "Wherefore should I," said he? Aye, wherefore indeed? since now thou art become a son of God through Christ, and hast received the Spirit of his Son into thy heart, crying, Father, Father.

Fourth. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of godly fear? then grow in the knowledge of the new covenant, for that is indeed the girdle of our reins, and the strength of our souls. Hear what Zacharias saith: God, says he, "hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began." But what was it? what was it that he spake? Why, "That he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear," without this slavish bondage fear, "in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life." But upon what is this princely fearless service of God grounded? Why, upon the holy covenant of God, upon the oath that he swore unto Abraham (Luke 1:69-74). Now in this covenant is wrapped up all thy salvation; in it is contained all thy desire, and I am sure, that then it containeth the complete salvation of thy soul; and I say, since this covenant is confirmed by promise, by oath, and by the blood of the Son of God, and that on purpose that thou mightest serve thy God without slavish fear, then the knowledge and faith of this covenant is of absolute necessity to bring us into this liberty, and out of our slavish terrors, and so, consequently, to cause us to grow in that son-like, godly fear, which became even the Son of God himself, and becomes all his disciples to live in the growth and exercise of.

Fifth. Wouldest thou grow in this godly fear? then labour even always to keep thine evidences for heaven and of thy salvation alive upon thy heart; for he that loseth his evidences for heaven, will hardly keep slavish fear out of heart; but he that hath the wisdom and grace to keep them alive, and apparent to himself, he will grow in this godly fear. See how David words it, "From the end of the earth," saith he, "will I cry unto thee; when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy: I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows; thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name" (Psa 61:2-5). Mark a little, David doth by these words, in the first place, suggest that sometimes, to his thinking, he was as far off of his God as the ends of the earth are asunder, and that at such times he was subject to be overwhelmed, afraid: [And] second, the way that he took at such times, to help himself, was to cry to God to lead him again to Jesus Christ—"lead me to the rock that is higher than I"; for indeed without faith in him, and the renewing of that faith, there can be no evidence for heaven made to appear unto the soul. This therefore he prays for first. Then he puts that faith into exercise, and that with respect to the time that was past, and also of the time that was to come. For the time past, says he, "Thou hast been a shelter to me, and a strong tower from the enemy"; and for the time to come, he said, "I will abide in thy tabernacle," that is, in thy Christ by faith, and in thy way of worship by love, "forever." And observe it, he makes the believing remembrance of his first evidences for heaven the ground of this his cry and faith, "For thou," says he, "O God, hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name." Thou hast made me meet to be a partaker of the mercy of thy chosen, and hast put me under the blessing of goodness wherewith thou hast blessed those that fear thee. Thus you see how David, in his distresses, musters up his prayers, faith, and evidences for eternal life, that he might deliver himself from being overwhelmed, that is, with slavish fear, and that he might also abound in that son-like fear of his fellow-brethren, that is not only comely, with respect to our profession, but profitable to our souls.

Sixth. Wouldest thou grow in this fear of God? then set before thine eyes the being and majesty of God; for that both begetteth, maintaineth, and increaseth this fear. And hence it is called the fear of God, that is, an holy and awful dread and reverence of his majesty. For the fear of God is to stand in awe of him, but how can that be done if we do not set him before us? And again, if we would fear him more, we must abide more in the sense and faith of his glorious majesty. Hence this fear and God's name is so often put together: as fear God, fear the Lord, fear thy God, do this in the fear of the Lord, and thou shalt fear thy God, I am the Lord. For these words, "I am the Lord thy God," and the like, are on purpose put in, not only to show us whom we should fear, but also to beget, maintain, and increase in us that fear that is due from us to that "glorious and fearful name, the Lord our God" (Deut 28:58).

Seventh. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then keep always close to thy conscience the authority of the Word; fear the commandment as the commandment of a God both mighty and glorious, and as the commandment of a father, both loving and pitiful; let this commandment, I say, be always with thine eye, with thine ear, and with thine heart; for then thou wilt be taught, not only to fear, but to abound in the fear of the Lord. Every grace is nourished by the Word, and without it there is no thrift in the soul (Prov 13:13, 4:20-22; Deut 6:1,2).

Eighth. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then be much in the faith of the promise, of the promise that maketh over to thy soul an interest in God by Christ, and of all good things. The promise naturally tendeth to increase in us the fear of the Lord, because this fear, it grows by goodness and mercy; they shall fear the Lord, and his goodness; now this goodness and mercy of God, it is wrapt up in, and made over to us by promise; for God gave it to Abraham by promise. Therefore the faith and hope of the promise causeth this fear to grow in the soul—"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor 7:1). "Perfecting holiness in the fear of God"; therefore that fear by the promise must needs grow mighty, for by, with, and in it, you see holiness is perfected.

Ninth. Wouldest thou grow in this grace of fear? then remember the judgments of God that have, or shall certainly overtake, those professors, that have either been downright hypocrites, or else unwatchful Christians. For both these sorts partake of the judgments of God; the one, to wit, the true Christian, for his unwatchfulness, for his correction; the other, to wit, the hypocrite, for his hypocrisy, to his destruction. This is a way to make thee stand in awe, and to make thee tremble, and grow in the grace of fear before thy God.

Judgments! you may say, what judgments? Answ. Time will fail me here to tell thee of the judgments that sometimes overtake God's people, and that always certainly overtake the hypocrite for his transgressions. For those that attend God's people, I would have thee look back to the place in this book where they are particularly touched upon. And for those that attend the hypocrite, in general they are these. 1. Blindness of heart in this world. 2. The death of their hope at the day of their death. 3. And the damnation of their souls at the day of judgment (Matt 23:15-19; Job 8:13, 11:20, 18:14, 20:4-7, Matt 23:33, 24:51; Luke 20:47). The godly consideration of these things tend to make men grow in the fear of God.