leffer fear by a greater, I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid, &c.

The words are fufficiently plain, and need no explication; only before I come to the main propofition which is contained in them, I fhall take notice of these two'important doctrines which are fuppofed in the text; the immortality of the foul, and the refurrection of the body.

First, The immortality of the foul, which is a principle of natural religion, and not any where, that I know of, exprefly afferted in fcripture; nor need it be fo, being to be known by natural light, without divine revelation: but divine revelation did always fuppofe it, and take it for granted, as one of the foundations of religion. And I the rather take notice of it here, becaufe I do not know any text from which it may be more immediately inferred, than from these words of our Saviour, which neceffarily imply these two things:

1. That the foul is not obnoxious to death, as the body is. Fear not him that can kill the body, but after that hath no more that he can do which St. Matthew expreffeth, cannot kill the foul.

2..

That the foul remains after the death of the body. Fear him, who after he hath killed, bath power to caft into hell.

Secondly, Another doctrine implied in these words, is that of the refurrection of the body; which is a doctrine of pure revelation, and moft clearly and exprefly revealed in the New Teftament; and in fome fort before to the Jews, who did generally believe it before our Saviour's coming, excepting the fect of the Sadducees. This is fuppofed in the fifth verse, But fear him, who after he hath killed, hath power to caft into hell; not only the foul, but also to raise up the body which is killed, and to torment it in hell; for fo St. Matthew hath it exprefly, But fear him that can deftroy both body and foul in hell. Now the body, fo long as it is dead, is devoid of fenfe, and fo incapable of torment, till it be raised to life again. Thefe being fuppo

fed

fed, I come to the main obfervation contained in the words :

That God is infinitely more to be dreaded than

men.

The words indeed feem to reach farther, and to be an abfolute prohibition of the fear of men; but it is an Hebrew phrafe and manner of speaking, when two things are oppofed, to exprefs many times thofe things absolutely, which are to be understood comparatively; as John vi. 27. Labour not for the meat which perisheth ; but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life; that is, not fo much for things temporal, as things eternal, incomparably more for the one than the other. So when our Saviour fays, Fear not them that can kill the body; that is, fear not men fo much as God, fear him infinitely more. It is very lawful for us to fear men, and to ftand in awe of their power, becaufe they can kill the body, and death is terrible; but when the power of man comes in competition with omnipotency, and what man can do to the body in this world, with what God can do to the body and foul in the other; there is no comparison between the terror of the one and the other.

The truth of this will appear, by comparing thefe two objects of fear together, God and man. Fear is a paffion which is moft deeply rooted in our nature, and flows immediately from that principle of felf-prefervation which is planted in every man's nature. We have a natural dread and horror for eve ry thing that may hurt us, and endanger our being and happiness: Now the greatest danger is always from the greatest power; fo that to make good the truth of this obfervation, we need do no more but to compare the power of men and God, and the effects of both, and then to calculate the difference'; and if there appear to be a vast and infinite difference between them, it will be evident that God is infinitely more to be dreaded than men.

Firft, We will confider the power of man, and what it is he can do ; or rather his impotency; or what he cannot do.

Se

Secondly, How much the power of God exceeds the power of men, and what he can do more.

First, We will confider the power of man, and what it is he can do; which our Saviour expreffeth in thefe words, Be not afraid of them that can kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. Which fignifies in general, that the power of man is finite and limited, and circumfcribed within certain bounds, beyond which it cannot go; fomething it can do, but not much; it can hurt the body, yea and take away our life; it can kill the body, hither it can go, and no farther.

More particularly in thefe words you have man's power, what he can do; and his impotency, what he can but do, the limits and bounds of his power.

I. The power of men, and what they can do they can kill the body, and take away our lives which includes a power of doing whatever is lefs. All thofe evils and perfecutions which fall fhort of death, these they can inflict upon us, they can revile us, and speak all manner of evil against us; they can perfecute us from one city to another, and bring us before councils, and fcourge us in their fynagogues they can fpoil us of our goods, and deprive us of our liberty; they can exercise us with bonds and imprifonments, with cruel mockings and scourgings, with bunger and thirst, with cold and nakedness; they can many ways afflict and torment us, and at laft they can put us to death All this they can do by the permiflion of God; here is the fum of their power; give them all advantages, let them be united and combined together. Our Saviour puts it in the plural number, Fear not them; and let them be backed with human authority, which our Saviour fuppofeth, when he speaks of bringing his difciples before Kings and Governors. Thus much their power a

mounts to.

II. We will confider the impotency of mea, which will appear in these two particulars :

1. That they cannot do this without the divine permiffion.

2. That if they be permitted to do their worst, they

they can but do this; after that, they have no more that they can do.

1. They cannot do this without the divine permiffion. The Devil, though he hath a greater natural power than men, yet he could not touch Job, either in his fubftance or his body, without God's leave and permiffion. Men are apt to arrogate to themfelves a great deal of power, forgetting whence they derive it, and on whom it depends. Knoweft thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and power to releafe thee? faid Pilate to our Saviour: but he tells him, Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above, John xix. 10, 11. All the power that men have, they have it from God, and he can check and, countermand it when he pleaseth; he can reftrain the rage of men, and put a hook in their noftrils; he can fill the noife of the fea, and the tumult of the people.

God's providence is continually vigilant over us, and unless it seem good to the divine wifdom to permit men, they cannot touch or hurt us. It is added immediately after the text, that the providence of God extends to creatures much lefs confiderable than we are, and to the most inconfiderable things that belong to us: Are not two sparrows fold for a farthing, and yet not one of them is forgotten before God, or falls to the ground without the will of our Father; yea, the very hairs of our head, are they not all numbered? Much more is the providence of God concerned in our lives, and the more confiderable accidents and events which befal us: we are always under God's eye and care, and no man can do us the leaft hurt without his permiffion.

2. If men be permitted to do their worst, they can do but this; they can but kill the body, after that they have no more that they can do. Now this implies feveral limitations of mens power, and abatements of the terror of it.

1. They can but kill the body; that is, they can only injure the worst and leaft confiderable part of us. The power of the Devil reacheth no farther than this; this was the worst mischief his malice could devise

to

to do to Job, to touch his bone and his flesh, and to take away his life; and all that the fury and rage of

man can do, is to wound thefe vile bodies, and to fpurn down these houses of clay, whofe foundations are already in the dust. But the man's foul, which is himself, that they cannot touch; though they may pierce and break the cabinet, yet they cannot feize the jewel that is in it, and get that into their power and poffeffion; when they have broken open this cage, our foul will escape as a bird to his mountain. Men may invent feveral inftruments to torture and afflict the body; but no weapon can be formed against the foul, that can touch it, or do it harm.

2. When they have killed the body, by doing this, they do but prevent nature a little, they do but antedate an evil a few moments, and bring our fears upon us a little fooner; they kill that which must dy within a few days, though they fhould let it alone; they do but cut afunder that thread which would fhortly break of itself, by its own weaknefs and rottennefs; fo that, as the lepers reasoned, when the famine was in Samaria, 2 Kings vii. 3, 4. Why fit we here until we dy? If we fay, we will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall dy there: and if we fit still here, we dy alfo. Now therefore come, and let us fall into the host of the Syrians, if they fave us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but dy; fo we may reafon in this cafe; Why fhould we fo much defire to fit ftill till we dy; if men perfecute us, and do their worst, we fhall dy; and if they do not, however we fhall dy; therefore let not the fear of any danger from men make us to forget our duty to God, for if they kill us, we shall but dy.

3. They can but kill the body; and what argument of power is this, to be able to kill that which is mortal as if you should fay, they can break a glafs, they can throw down that which is falling. This is no fuch wonderful effect of power, to be able to do that, which almost every thing can do, which the leaft thing in the world, which the poorest creature. can do; a pin, or a thorn, or a grape-stone; there