A SERMON Preached before the QUEEN AT WHITEHALL, August 23. 1691.  
BY Jonathan Blagrave Sub-Almoner, and Chaplain in Ordinary to Their Majesties.  
Published by Her Majesty's Command.  
LONDON, Printed by G. C. for John Southby at the Harrow in Cornhill, and T. Jones at the White Horse without Temple-Bar, 1691.   
Luke 12.4, 5. 
And I say unto you my Friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the Body, and after that have no more that they can do.  
But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: Fear him, which, after he hath killed, hath Power to cast into Hell: Yea, I say unto you, fear him.  
MOST of that Fear and Terror, that Men undergo in this World, is occasioned by false Opinions, which they form to themselves, of the Good or Evil of those Circumstances, that are incident to the Humane State And that it is Opinion only, and no real Good or Evil in such Circumstances, that gives Men so much Disturbance and Disquiet, is evident from this, that in the very same Circumstance, wherein one Man thinks himself Miserable, another would account himself happy. And again in the same Condition, wherein one Man thinks himself Happy, another would account himself Miserable. The Evil then doth not lie so much in the Circumstance or Condition, but chief in a Man's Fancy or Opinion.  
And this is yet more apparent, in that the greatest Misfortunes, that befall Men, tho' they are very grievous at first, yet when they have been familiar to them, and they are used to them, they are nothing; Tho' the Misfortune be the same, and the Men the same, yet it is nothing so Grievous, because than they know all the Evil that is in it, and at first they formed an Idea of it, which was much greater than the Truth; For this is the Unhappy Case of Poor Man, that must inform himself by the Mediation of Fleshly Organs, by his Senses and Imagination, that he continually Cheats himself with false Images of Things: For as soon as he sees any thing, that looks a little taking, that seems at first sight to be Good and Pleasant and , presently his Fancy falls to work, and he forms an Image of it, that is altogether lovely, he adorns it with all that he can find Charming; he never inquires into the Blemishes and Imperfections of it; And having thus drawn a Representation much beyond Truth, his Passions are inflamed, and he pursues this Shadow, this work of his own Brain, and thereby loses some real and substantial Good.  
In like manner when a Man sees any thing that at first Blush has a frightful Aspect, immediately, without having Patience to examine the Truth, he forms a dreadful Image of it in his Fancy, he draws it so Ghastly, that he himself becomes immediately mightily afraid of it, and his Fear helps to make it still more Terrible, and so he becomes like a Man that Fancies he sees Shapes in the Dark; in flying from which, he falls into some real Danger, tumbling into a River, or down a Precipice. And the Reason why the Generality of Men do thus Cheat themselves, is, because all Men would know every thing without being at the pains of Enquiry; and it is much easier to fancy a thing, to draw a Representation of it in our Imagination, than it is to search out the Real Truth.  
But in nothing do Men more impose upon themselves in this kind, than in the Apprehensions of Death, they draw the most ugly and frightful Images of it in their Fancy, that is possible, and so this becomes to them the King of Terrors, And all their Lives long (as the Apostle speaks) they are in Bondage through fear of it. Therefore the Politic Founders of States invented Superstitions to remove this Fear, when there should be occasion to hazard men's Lives for the Security of their Country or the like. And it has been the continual Study of the Philosophers of all Sects, to persuade Men out of this Fear, to make the Thoughts of Death more easy, and to keep them from spoiling all the Enjoyments of Life.  
And yet indeed Death itself is no such Terrible thing, if it be throughly examined and truly enquired into; But there is something after Death, that well deserves our Fear. Therefore our Blessed Lord, to remove from his Disciples this vulgar Mistake, to deliver them from this common, but vain Fear, and to show them where they had reason to Fear, and how their Fear might do them good, and prevent great and real Evils, speaks thus to them in the words of my Text, And I say unto you, etc.  
In pursuance of the Design of which words, I shall show,  
First, That Death itself is no such great Evil as it is commonly apprehended to be, and therefore not mightily to be feared.  
Secondly, That the Wrath of God against Sinners, and the Punishment following upon that Wrath, are very great Evils, and therefore much to be feared. And,  
In Conclusion, I shall show the Advantage of the true Fear of God, in respect of the Happiness it brings to this Life, as well as that to come, How it frees and delivers us from all other Fears or Terrors whatsoever.  
First, Then Death in itself is no such great Evil, that we ought so mightily to fear it; And this will appear, if we inquire into the Good it deprives us of; For Death itself can be no way Evil, but in respect of some good it takes from us, which we might otherwise enjoy. What is then the great Good? The Happiness and Satisfaction that a Man can have in Life, and from which we are cut off by Death?  
And for the knowing of this we can have no better way, than to ask of those, who have had the greatest Experience of the Enjoyments of this Life. What their Opinion is, How they find it. And surely Solomon is a very sufficient Evidence in this Case. No Man could enjoy more in this Life than he did, and he declares all that Enjoyment to be Vanity and Vexation of Spirit.  
And if you desire to be satisfied by a Living Witness in this Matter, and will ask any Man, that you think has enjoyed the greatest Portion of Health and Prosperity, and long Life, Whether he thinks he has always been a very Happy Man; And whether, if he was put to his Choice, he would choose to live the very same Life in all its Circumstances, that he hath lived, over again. (I say, The very same in all its Circumstances, because Men would desire to live again, that they might order their Affairs better, and have more Delight and Enjoyment, than they have had: And it is the Hope that Men have, that still their Life will be more Pleasant and Comfortable, than it has been, that makes them endure their Lives. They still feed themselves with Hope, and that buoys them up and encourages them.) There is none will say, He desires the same Life again, that he has passed through. There is none will tell you, that his past Life has been to his Mind, or in his Opinion Happy. What hurt then, I pray, does Death do us, in taking us out of a Condition, in which no Man was ever satisfied, or thought himself Happy?  
But if by chance such a Man should be found that affects to be Singular, to maintain Paradoxes, and will say, That his past Life has been altogether to his Mind, That he should be very glad to live the same over again, and that therefore Death must needs be very Evil, because it cuts him off from so desirable a Good. We must refute such a Man, by showing the Nature of these Enjoyments, and what kind of Possession a Man can have of them.  
And the Enjoyments that are peculiar to this Life (for as for Intellectual Pleasures, which arise, either from the Contemplation of God's Works, or the Study of the Arts and Sciences, or the constant Practice of Virtue, which is the greatest Pleasure a Rational Creature can have, these Pleasures will be had in much greater Perfection in another Life.) I say, the Enjoyments that are peculiar to this Life, and from which we are cut off by Death, are either of Worldly Honours, Riches or Sensual Pleasures; for so St. John reduces them to these Heads; All that is in the Worlds, saith he, is the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eye, and the Pride of Life. These things indeed are peculiar to this Life, and Death will for ever take them from us, after we have taken the greatest pains to compass them.  
Now a Man must have a very mean and narrow Mind, that can think, That the Happiness of a Rational Creature can consist in the Enjoyment of any of these things; The vilest Beast, or most inconsiderable Infect were then capable of almost as much Happiness as the best or wisest Man. But supposing a Man, by long accustoming himself to Sensuality, hath brought himself to such low and Brutish Thoughts, by drinking deep of such entoxicating Cups of sensual Pleasure, is become with Vlysses' Companions little other than a Swine: yet if he hath the least Spark of Reasoning left in him, if he can see but the length of one Consequence, he cannot but see, that these Pleasures, how Satisfactory soever they are to him, are not durable, that they must be short at the best, and that a thousand Accidents may snatch them from him every Moment. Now the more a Man values and is in love with these Enjoyments, the more this Thought must vex and torment him, That he must part with them, and he knows not how soon. To a Man that is indifferent this is nothing, But to him that has set his Affections on these things, this is Gall and Wormwood, it embitters and spoils all his Enjoyment; For whatever the Epicureans may pretend, A Death's Head is but ill Company at an Intemperate Feast. And the great pains they take, the unnatural force they put upon things to reconcile the thoughts of Death with their sensual Pleasures, plainly shows, that this does still trouble them; it lies at the bottom like a bitter dreg, and spoils all their sweet Morsels and pleasant Draughts. For when the witty Atheist says, Let us eat, drink and be Merry, for to morrow we shall die. This is but a Copy of his Countenance, this thought Galls him at the Heart, at the same time, that he pretends therewith to encourage his Mirth, and he would say with much more Alacrity, Let us fill ourselves, for to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant. This comes hearty from him. The other is but a cold Pretence.  
The great Uncertainty then of holding these things, and the certain Knowledge, that they must in a little while for ever part with them, cannot but lessen, if not utterly Marr the Enjoyment even with those that are most fond of them. So that Death takes little even from the sensual Man, but what the Fear of Death had almost deprived him of before. For even in the midst of Laughter this Thought always made his Heart Sad, That he must die and leave all.  
But now to a Man of a large and wise Mind, these low Pleasures are of little or no value. He looks far beyond them, and is even quite weary with being so long clogged and darkened in this Case of Flesh, with being confined to this Earth, to creep like a Worm upon it, and to be kept continually to the same dull Round of things, which he goes through almost in the same manner every day of his Life. This is so Tiresome to the active searching Nature of our Spirit, that it cannot endure it; and therefore the Ancients had a Fable of a Man, that might have been Immortal, if he would; but he was so sated with the same thing over and over again in Life, that he chose rather to die, that he might have the Satisfaction of seeing another Scene of things.  
And the Noble Heavenborn Mind of him, that hath not debased and plunged it in the Mire of Sensuality, must needs be desirous of making greater Discoveries, than are to be had here below. He must long to see and know those Glorious Orbs, of which he now knows nothing, or what is next to nothing, and yet mightily admires at a distance to range through the mighty Space of the Universe, and to have his Mind continually entertained and feasted with clear and certain Knowledge of the wonderful Operations of his Maker, to have his Mind always more and more informed and enlightened with the most pleasing and satisfactory Knowledge of God, his Glorious Attributes and wonderful Works, and yet never to want new Matter of Information.  
To a Man whose Mind is raised to these Noble Desires, Death is so far from being an Evil, that it is the most desirable Good. It is like the opening of the Eyes to a Man that was Born Blind, like the Unpinioning or Unshackling of a Prisoner, and letting him out of a straight dark and foul Dungeon, into the free and unrestrained Enjoyment of all that he can wish or desire. So that neither to the Fool, who dotes on these things, nor yet to the wise Man, who knows how to put a right Value upon every thing, are the Enjoyments of this World any great Matter, tho' they have them in their Possession, or within their Power; so that Death doth not much hurt them in taking them away.  
But what, then, are these Enjoyments to those we term Unhappy in the World, who certainly make no small Part of it, such as are the Blind, the Lame, the Maimed, the Diseased, the Poor and Needy, or those that meet with great Crosses or Disappointments, and are not able to bear them, or such as have always their Desires running far before their Fortunes, such as are ever displeased and dissatisfied, and out of Humour with their Condition, whatever it be; These Men taste but little of the Enjoyment of the World, or at least have but little Relish of them, and Death can do such Men little Hurt by taking them away from them; For to such many times may be applied the Words we read in the Third of Job, Wherefore is Light given to him that is in Misery, and Life to the bitter in Soul? which long for Death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hid Treasures? To such Persons than Death is rather a Relief than a Prejudice.  
And is it not so indeed to all Men? For there is no Man living but has more pain and Travel, than he has Pleasure in this World. For all Mankind fell under that Curse, That in the Sweat of their Brows, they should eat their Bread; And that this Earth should bring forth Briers and Thorns to them instead of pleasant Fruit. No Man is exempt from this; Not the Rich and Noble, any more than the Poor and despised; Nay, Great Men have more Solicitude, and must take more Care and Pains to Maintain themselves with Honour and Safety in the Station wherein God hath placed them, and to answer those Ends, which both God and Man expect from them, than the Labouring Man doth to get his Bread. In a word, No Man whatsoever can do what is necessary for him, and what is his Duty to do, and without the doing of which, he can have neither Credit or Comfort in his Life, but it will cost him the Sweat of his Brows, much Care and Pains, and every Man's Business will yield him the Thorns and Briers of Perplexity; So that nothing can be truer, than the words we read in the Fifth of Job, That Man is born to Labour and Trouble, as naturally as the Sparks fly upward.  
Considering therefore the true State and Condition of Man in this World, Death in itself is so far from being an Evil, that it is an Ease, a Relief, a Refreshment. It is like a Soft Bed after a Hard Day's Labour, like a safe and quiet Harbour after a Stormy and turbulent Voyage. It lays us gently down in our Mother's Soft Lap to Peace and Rest, out of the Reach of all the Malice of our Enemies, (who have no more that they can do to us) out of the Power of any more Misfortunes. O Happy Death! How desirable wert thou? How far from being Terrible, if there were nothing to be feared afterwards?  
But after Death there is an account to be given of our Lives; God will have an account from his Creatures of the keeping or the breaking of his Laws. And it is most fit he should, His Wisdom, Justice and Goodness might all be called in question, if he did not reward every Man according to his Works in another Life, Since this cannot be conveniently done here without destroying the present Frame of things, where the Goats cannot be separated from the Sheep, nor the Tares from the Wheat, This day of Reckoning every Man's Conscience bids him expect; And this, I am persuaded (tho' it be not sometimes perceived) is Death's most bitter Sting, the true Cause of its being so very Terrible to Men.  
If we go out of this World without repenting of our Sins, the Wrath of God remains to be our Portion, and the Effects of that are truly Fearful, which is the  
Second Point, Therefore saith our Saviour, But I will forewarn you, whom you shall fear, Fear him, which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into Hell; Yea, I say unto you, Fear him. He that was infinitely Wise, that knew all things, and knew what would come to pass, he forewarns us, and he that was mightily concerned for our Salvation, he beseecheth us, as his Friends, and likewise enjoins us with all his Authority, as our Master, to fear God. There must then be some high Reason for this Fear; and so there is; For the Danger is great and unexpressible, that he would have us be afraid of, and by our Fear fly from and escape. If you fear a Temporal Death, God's Wrath can and will kill and take away the Natural Life; but this is little, (as I have shown you) it is nothing in comparison of the other Effect of God's Wrath, After he hath killed, he will cast into Hell. This is that which should fill us with Terror, as Job says, Job 31.23. Destruction from God (that is, this Mighty Destruction) was a Terror to me. And that kept him from Sin.  
A Temporal Death cuts us off from the few, empty, uncertain, and at the best but short Enjoyments of this World; but Eternal Death, that is, Damnation, cuts us off from those unexpressible Joys, which would fill our Souls, and would last to all Eternity; and more than that, condemns us to Regions of Darkness and Torments for ever. This is a most Dreadful Condition! The Scripture sets it forth by things that are most Terrible to us, such as are Raging Fire, Extreme Darkness, Perpetual Gnawing, and the like. But what words can express? Nay, what Heart can conceive, what Dreadful Misery an Infinite God is able to bring upon his Enemies, such as have contemned both his Justice and his Mercy, that have frustrated, scorned and derided all that he could do for their Salvation? Hear how the Wise Man sets this forth in the first of the Proverbs beginning at the 24. Verse, where he brings in the Wisdom of God thus speaking, Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no Man regarded; But ye have set at naught all my Counsel, and would none of my Reproof: I also will laugh at your Calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as Desolation, and your Destruction cometh as a Whirlwind; when Distress and Anguish cometh upon you.  
Here is a Danger worthy our Thoughts, our highest Concern, our greatest Fear; for this is the last Degree of Misery, into which Man can fall; and hath not that Relief, which all Temporal Miseries have, when they come to Extremity, that then they are soon over. No, this will last and increase to all Eternity: The sad Remembrance of what we have endured, and the Dreadful Prospect of what we are still to endure, and that without Remedy, shall unspeakably increase the Torment. What would not a Man do to escape this? What can tempt us to run the Dreadful Hazard of it? What is there in Sin thus to prevail with us? Alas! We are presently weary of sinful Enjoyments ourselves; Why should we provoke the fearful Wrath of God for them? Why should we sell our Souls, part with all the Joys of Heaven, endure an Eternity of such Dreadful Torments, as are in Hell, for such empty, vain, momentary Pleasures, such mere Dreams and Shadows of Delight, such mixture of Pain with Pleasure? Do not they deserve Hell, whom Hell itself cannot wean from such Folly and Madness? Let us be ashamed that we are so Stupid, so insensible both of our Interest and Danger. Would you not think him Mad that should follow a Butterfly upon the Brink of a Precipice? Let us open our Eyes and see our Danger; Let the Terrors of God be upon us; Let them make us quick to discern, That it is an evil thing, and bitter, to sin against the Living God; and that no sinful Enjoyment whatsoever can compensate our Loss, as our Saviour says, Mark 8.36. What shall it profit a Man, if he shall gain the whole World, and lose his own Soul? None of us can gain the whole World; but if it were to be gained, all that was in it, and enjoyed by one Man; the Question were easily decided, whether it were best for a Man to Sin, to gain it. The World we could have but a little time: But if we die Impenitent, we must embrace Torments to all Eternity. And if it be so easy to be decided, when the Question is about the most profitable Sin, What is it in the Case of every little Impertinent Folly, that we sell our Souls for? Lord! What is become of the Understanding of Rational Creatures? We are Melancholy at the Apprehension of any Pain or Disease that is coming on our Bodies, and we are not concerned at Everlasting Pains, into which our Sins are drawing us. We fear every little worldly Loss, and we fear not, we care not, for the loss of our Souls. We are apprehensive of every Temporal Danger, and we have no Sense, no Apprehension of the Danger of Eternal Damnation.  
Well, if we have no Care of our Immortal Souls, no Relish, no Desires after the Joys of Heaven, no Dread or Apprehension of the Fearful Torments of Hell; because they are not just under our view, though a most reasonable Faith makes us as sure of them: Yet methinks this should move us, that our worldly Affairs will go better, and we shall be troubled with no Fears about them, if we will but fear God, and in consequence of that Fear, forbear to provoke and offend him; for the Fear of God, which worketh Obedience, will not only remove from us future and Eternal, but even present and Temporal, Judgements; and will set us at Liberty, and free us from all other Fear whatsoever. Which was the  
Third and last thing observed. The Fear of God will make us Free, it will deliver us from all Idle, Vain and Tormenting Fear, it will clear us from all Care and Trouble. To fear little or no Danger, as the Scripture says, To Fear where no Fear is, no just Cause of it, is Childishness and Folly: To fear when we are able to grapple with, to withstand and overcome the Danger, is Cowardice: But to fear where there is an Imminent and Dreadful Danger, which we have no Power to withstand, is certainly great Wisdom. And what can stand against the Wrath of God? It is no Courage then (as some pretend) but the extremest Stupidity or Madness, not to fear and stand in awe of him. It is as if a Man should see a Tower falling upon him, and scorned to be so dastardly as to fear it, but resolved to stand under it, and bear it up with his Shoulders. They that do not fear God, have not the least Reason or Understanding left in them. To be utterly void of Fear in this Case, is to be Stupid or Distracted, to be without Sense or Apprehension, not to be able to discern between Good and Evil, Safety and Danger. But hath the Bold Sinner then (according to his Foolish Boasting) not Fear upon him? Does he go on Cheerfully and Courageously in his Sins, without any Qualms, with any Misgivings, without being troubled with the least Fear, is he set at Liberty, is he free from all Fear? No such Matter, 'tis quite otherwise with him, he fears every thing but God; He fears, lest his Confidence and Presumption, that God does not see nor regard, should fail him, and God should at last take a Dreadful Vengeance upon him. Every piece of ill News, every Noise of any sudden Danger, is as the Terrors of the Shadow of Death to him. He is in the Case of Belshazzar, Dan. 5.6. The Joints of his Loins are loosed, and his Knees smite one against another. Every loss of his worldly Goods cuts him to the Heart, because this is his All, his Portion, his whole Dependence; And then for the Fatal News of Death, when that comes (as come it must) he receives it either as Nabal did the News of David's coming to take Vengeance on him, His Heart even dies within him, and he becomes as a Stone, 1 Sam. 25.37. Or else he becomes Mad with Anguish, to think that he must at once leave this World, and all that he esteemed or valued, for ever, and enter into unknown Regions, where he can have no Friend, having never thought of making any there, but must fall into the Hands of Powerful and Crafty Angels, that will be glad of another Companion in their Misery, and who will wreak their Malice, and vent the Spite and Anguish that is in their Spirits, for the Heavy Vengeance that God justly takes on them, by Vexing and Tormenting one of his Creatures, that is fallen into their Hands.  
I might add that no Men have so much Vain and Superstitious Fear, as those that think it a Disparagement to their Courage to fear God. No Men are so observant of Omens and Blind Prophecies, and seek so much to Wizards, and those that have Familiar Spirits, as these very Men do, even like Saul, when he had rebelled against God, and had no more Hope in him, 1 Sam. 28. Ch. and so they fear the Devil extremely, though they will not fear God.  
But now from all these Vain, Base and Slavish Fears, doth the Fear of God at once deliver us; for he that fears God, and takes care to please him, believes that all things are disposed of by his overruling Power; and that he is certainly a Wise and a Good Being, that will suffer nothing to hurt those that truly serve him, and endeavour to raise themselves to the highest Perfection of Rational Creatures; But that all things shall work together for good to them, and that therefore they need be careful in nothing, but cast all their Care on him who careth for them; They may lie down and rise in safety and security; because the Lord sustains them; He will suffer no Evil to come nigh their Dwelling, but will give his Angels charge over them. And if through the Course of his Providence, they should suffer any Loss in the Company with others in this World, yet he is able, and will certainly make it up to them in Heavenly Joys. Nay indeed any Temporal Loss or Calamity will be but a very light and inconsiderable thing, to a Man that is become Wise by the Fear of God, and that governs himself in a steady and constant Conformity to his most Holy and reasonable Laws, he will have such Comforts, such Delight and Satisfaction in his Mind by so doing, that nothing will be able to Embitter or Spoil this Feast; for this is the Summum Bonum, the chief Happiness; and all wise Men agree, that he that hath that, cannot be Miserable. The Joy of walking Reasonably and Holily is so Great, so Genuine and Natural to Man, that nothing is capable of disturbing the Man that so walks: But like as one Drop of Blood is not capable of discolouring a vast clear River, or a little Dirt of Mudding or Troubling it; so is a little Bodily Pain, or Worldly Loss or Affliction utterly drowned, lost and swallowed up in the Soul of him that is so filled with Joy and Satisfaction, as his must needs be, who hath true Peace of Conscience, and Joy in the Holy Ghost.  
Thus doth the true Fear of God, which takes away our Sins, deliver us from all other Fears, and remove all Cares and Troubles from us, and make us Happy both here and hereafter. Let us then but forsake our Sins, which alone can make the Fear of God Terrible to us, and show by the Amendment of our Lives, that we have the true Fear of God before our Eyes, and we need fear nothing else; for nothing can harm us, we are safe in the Protection of the Almighty.  
To whom be all Honour and Glory, now and for ever, Amen.  
FINIS.   

Books sold by T. Jones at the White Horse without Temple-Bar.  
A Discourse of God's Ways of Disposing of Kingdoms etc.  
A Sermon preached before the Queen January 30. Both by the Bishop of St. Asaph, Lord Almoner to Their Majesties.  
A Letter to Dr Sherlock in Vindication of his Discourse, Entitled, The Case of Allegiance.