Page:Devotions - Donne - 1840.djvu/145

 morrow upon thy knees, at thy bedside; pray upon thy knees there then, and God will not say, I will hear thee on Sunday at church; God is no dilatory God, no froward God; prayer is never unseasonable, God is never asleep nor absent. But, O my God, can I do this, and fear thee; come to thee, and speak to thee, in all places, at all hours, and fear thee? Dare I ask this question? There is more boldness in the question than in the coming; I may do it though I fear thee; I cannot do it except I fear thee. So well hast thou provided that we should always fear thee, as that thou hast provided that we should fear no person but thee, nothing but thee; no men? No. Whom? The Lord is my help and my salvation, whom shall I fear ? Great enemies? Not great enemies, for no enemies are great to them that fear thee. Flear not the people of this land, for they are bread to you : they shall not only not eat us, not eat our bread, but they shall be our bread. Why should we fear them? But for all this metaphorical bread, victory over enemies that thought to devour us, may we not fear, that we may lack bread literally? And fear famine, though we fear not enemies? Young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Never? Though it be well with them at onec time, may they not fear that it may be worse? Wherefore should I Sear in the days of evil ? says thy servant David. Though his own sin had made them evil, he feared them not. No? not if this evil determine in death? Not though in a death; not though in a death inflicted by violence, by malice, by our own desert; fear not the sentence of death, if thou fear God. Thou art, O my God, so far from admitting us, that fear thee,