And forgettest the Lord thy Maker
That he is thy Maker, and therefore is able to protect and
preserve thee; when the fear of man prevails God is forgotten,
his power, his providence, his promises, and past instances of
divine favour and goodness; were these more frequently
recollected, considered, and thought of, they would prove an
antidote against the fear of men; and especially when it is
observed, that he that is our Maker is he that hath
stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of
the
earth;
these are amazing works of his hands; and what is it that he
cannot do that has made these? these he upholds and maintains in
being, and does all things in them as he pleases, and overrules
all for his own glory and his people's good, and therefore they
have nothing to fear from men; and yet they are afraid of them,
such is their distrust and unbelief: and hast feared
continually every day;
not only at some certain times, when the enemy has appeared very
formidable, and threatened with destruction, or some terrible
rumour has been spread, but every day, every hour, and every
moment; and to be always in a panic must be very uncomfortable
living, as well as very dishonourable: because of the fury
of the oppressor;
either the king of Babylon, or antichrist: as if he were
ready to destroy:
had drawn his sword, and just going to give the fatal blow:
and where,
or "but where", is the fury of the oppressor?
where's the fury of Pharaoh, that great oppressor of God's Israel
formerly? it is gone and vanished like smoke: where's the fury of
Sennacherib king of Assyria, and his army, that threatened
Jerusalem with ruin? it was over in a short time, in one night
the whole host, or the greater part of it, were destroyed by an
angel: and where is, or will be, the fury of the king of Babylon?
it will not last always; nor the fury of the antichristian
oppressor.