80 SERMONS UPON TITUS II. 11-14. [SeR. IY.
2. We do not honour God as the first cause when we do not depend upon him ; that is ungodhuess. Trust and dependence is the ground of all commerce between us and God, and it is the greatest homage and respect which we yield to the Creator and first cause. Now, when men can trust any visible creature rather than God, their estates rather than God, they rob him of his peculiar honour. That there is such a sin as trusting in the creature, excluding God, is clear from Job xxxi. 24, ' If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold. Thou art ray confidence.' Job, to vindicate himself from hypocrisy, reckons up the usual sins of a hypocrite ; among the rest this is one, to make gold his confidence. Men are apt to think it the staff of their lives, and stay of their posterity, and ground of their welfare and happiness; and so their hearts are diverted from God, and their trust is intercepted. It is a usual sin, though little thought of, for men to entrench them- selves within a great estate, and then think they are safe and secure against all the changes and chances of the present life, and so God is laid aside. Let God offer to entrench us within the promises, and leave his name in pawn with us, yet we are full of fears and doubts : Prov. xviii. 10, ' The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it, and is safe ; ' but ver. 11, ' The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.' Such as think themselves safe in a great estate do not acknowledge God as the first cause, which gives being, and sustains all things; and therefore covet- ousness is called idolatry, Cob iii. 5, and a covetous man is called an idolater, Eph. v. 5, not so much because of his love of money, as because of his trust in it. The glutton counteth his belly his god: Phil. iii. 19, 'Whose god is their belly;' he mindeth the gratifications of his appetite, yet he doth not trust in his belly cheer ; he thinks not to be protected by it ; therefore he is not called an idol- ater, as the covetous, who robbeth God of his trust. We are all apt to make an idol of the creature, and poor men think if they had wealth this were enough to make them happy ; they trust in those that have it, which is idolatry upon idolatry. Therefore it is said, Ps. Ixii. 9, ' Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie.' To appearance men of low degree are nothing, and men of high degree are a lie, because we are apt to trust in them. But chiefly it is incident to the rich ; they that have riches are apt to trust in riches : Mark x. 23, ' How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God ! ' compared with ver. 24, ' Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! ' Now this is a secret sin. A man doth not think that he makes money his idol, if he doth not pray or offer sacrifices to it, or give it some per- ceivable worship, and if he use it as familiarly as anything in a house ; but this idolatry lies within. Though a man doth not en- tertain his gold with ceremony, yet there is his trust and confidence that he shall be safe and do well, because he hath such an estate, which he depends upon, and not upon God. We smile at the vanity of the heathens, that worshipped stocks and stones, and idols of gold and silver ; and we do worse, but more spiritually, when our trust is ter- minated in the creature. Though we do not say to gold, Thou art my confidence, or, You shall deliver me, or, I will put my trust in you, or use any such gross language, yet this is the interpretation of our car-
VeR. 12.] SERMONS UPON TITUS II. 11-14. 81
riage. A covetous man may speak as basely of wealth as another ; he may say, I know gold is but refined earth ; but his heart resteth on it as his only refuge and stay, and he thinks he and his children cannot be happy without it ; which is a great sin ; it sets up another god, chains the heart to the world, and keeps it from good works.