Hope. How will you describe right fear?
Chr. True or right fear is discovered by three things:—
1. By its rise: it is caused by saving convictions for sin.
2. It driveth the soul to lay fast hold of Christ for salvation.
3. It begetteth and continueth in the soul a great reverence of God, his word, and ways; keeping; it tender, and making it afraid to turn from them, to the right hand or to the left, to anything that may dishonour God, break its peace, grieve the Spirit, or cause the enemy to speak reproachfully.
Hope. Well said; I believe you have said the truth.—Are we now almost got past the Enchanted Ground?
Chr. Why? are you weary of this discourse?
Hope. No, verily, but that I would know where we are.
Chr. We have not now above two miles further to go thereon—But let us return to our matter. Now, the ignorant know not that such convictions as tend to put them in fear are for their good, and therefore they seek to stifle them.
Hope. How do they seek to stifle them?
Chr. 1. They think that those fears are wrought by the devil (though indeed they are wrought of God); and thinking so, they resist them, as things that directly tend to their overthrow. 2. They also think that these fears tend to the spoiling of their faith; when, alas for them, poor men that they are, they have none at all I and therefore they harden their hearts against them. 3. They presume they ought not to fear, and therefore in despite of them wax presumptuously Confident. 4. They see that those fears tend to take away from them their pitiful old self-holiness, and therefore they resist them with all their might.
Hope. I know something of this myself; for before knew myself, it was so with me.
Chr. Well, we will leave, at this time, our neighbour
