Fourthly, This trusting in any thing but God, is a very great sin, 1Because it is a making of the creature a God, and so a breach of that first Commandment, wherein we are forbidden to have any other gods, but the true one. Now how great a sin Idolatry is, the Scripture doth every where speak. Thou therefore that abhorrest to worship a stock, or a stone, who darest not fall down before an Idol to do reverence thereunto: How often doest thou as bad in thy heart to the creatures? Yea many times some Idolaters did worship the true God, they did not err in the object; only they formed sinful representations of God to themselves. As the Israelites in that Calf which they made, crying out, These are thy gods, O Israel. And this Idolatry is not so bad, as when that which is not the true God, is set up for him, and so worshipped. Now to trust in our selves, or creatures, is to err in the object, we set up another thing in Gods room; Thy parts are thy God; thy graces, thy Christ; thy repentance, thy Saviour, thou givest that to thy tears, which alone doth belong to the blood of Christ. If then God doth so often proclaim his jealousy in worshipping of other gods, will he not also about trusting in any thing but himself? What are the duties of the first Command, but to love God, to trust in him, and to depend upon him; for he only is the proper and adequate object of trust, because in him is infallible verity and truth. Truth of being, so that he can never die, but be always the same, and truth of promise, so that Heaven and Earth shall sooner pass away than his Word. Again, he is willing and ready to help, he manifesteth his freeness of grace to thee, whereas the Devils and the damned they cannot trust in God, because they have no promise from God; yea they are sure he will never help them. Lastly, God is omnipotent, nothing is impossible to him. Therefore if thou canst meet with a creature that is eternal, unchangeable, omnipotent, then mayest thou put trust in that; but the whole world respectively to God, is less than the dust of the balance, which doth not turn the scale one way or other: so neither is all the power, and all the wisdom of the world able to turn thy condition, to supply thy wants, if God doth not interpose.
Fourthly, This trusting in any thing but God, is a very great sinne, 1Because it is a making of the creature a God, and so a breach of that first Commandment, wherein we are forbidden to have any other gods, but the true one. Now how great a sinne Idolatry is, the Scripture doth every where speak. Thou therefore that abhorrest to worship a stock, or a stone, who darest not fall down before an Idol to doe reverence thereunto: How often doest thou as bad in thy heart to the creatures? Yea many times some Idolaters did worship the true God, they did not erre in the object; onely they formed sinfull representations of God to themselves. As the Israelites in that Calf which they made, crying out, These are thy gods, O Israel. And this Idolatry is not so bad, as when that which is not the true God, is set up for him, and so worshipped. Now to trust in our selves, or creatures, is to erre in the object, we set up another thing in Gods roome; Thy parts are thy God; thy graces, thy Christ; thy repentance, thy Saviour, thou givest that to thy tears, which alone doth belong to the blood of Christ. If then God doth so often proclaime his jealousie in worshipping of other gods, will he not also about trusting in any thing but himselfe? What are the duties of the first Command, but to love God, to trust in him, and to depend upon him; for he onely is the proper and adequate object of trust, because in him is infallible verity and truth. Truth of being, so that he can never die, but be alwayes the same, and truth of promise, so that Heaven and Earth shall sooner passe away than his Word. Againe, he is willing and ready to help, he manifesteth his freeness of grace to thee, whereas the Devils and the damned they cannot trust in God, because they have no promise from God; yea they are sure he will never help them. Lastly, God is omnipotent, nothing is impossible to him. Therefore if thou canst meet with a creature that is eternal, unchangeable, omnipotent, then mayest thou put trust in that; but the whole world respectively to God, is lesse than the dust of the balance, which doth not turne the scale one way or other: so neither is all the power, and all the wisdome of the world able to turn thy condition, to supply thy wants, if God doth not interpose.
- 14. 'Tis a making the creature a God.
