218 THE soul's conflict.
things, upon spiritual gi'ounds, overrules both sense and reason, or what ever else prevails with carnal hearts.
Chapteb XIX. — Faith to be prized, and other things undervalued, at least not to he trusted to as the chief.
That faith may take the better place in the soul, and the soul in God, the heart must continually be taught of what little worth all things else are, as reputation, riches, and pleasures, &c. ; and to see their nothingness in the word of God, and in experience of ourselves and others, that so our heart being weaned from these things, may open itself to God, and embrace things of a higher nature. Otherwise baser things will be nearer the soul than faith, and keep possession against it, so that faith will not be suffered to set up a throne in the heart. There must be an unloosing of the heart, as well as a fastening of it, and God helps us in both ; for, besides the word discovering the vanity of all things else out of God, the main scope of God's dealing with his children in any danger or affliction whatsoever, is to embitter all other things but himself unto them. Indeed it is the power of God properly which makes the heart to trust, but yet the Spirit of God useth this way to bring all things else out of request with us in comparison of those inestimable good things, which the soul is created, redeemed, and sanctified for. God is very jealous of our trust, and can endm-e no idol of jealousy to be set up in our hearts. Therefore it behoves us to take notice, not only of the deceitfulness of things, but of the deceitfulness of our hearts in the use of them. Our hearts naturally hang loose h'om God, and are soon ready to join with the creature. Now the more we observe our hearts in this, the more we take them off, and labour to set them where they should be placed ; for the more we know these things, the less we shall trust them.
Ohj. But may we not trust in riches, and friends, and other outward helps at all ?
Ans. Yes, so far as they are subordinate to God, our chief stay, with re- servation and submission to the Lord ; only* so far, and so long as it shaU please him to use them for our good. Because God ordinai'ily conveys his help and goodness to us by some creature, we must trust in God to bless every mercy we enjoy, and to make all helps serviceable to his love towards us. In a word, we must trust and use them in and under God, and so as ff all were taken away, yet to think God, being all-sufficient, can do without them, whatsoever he doth by them, for our good. Faith preserves the chastity of the soul, and cleaving to God is a spiritual debt which it oweth to him, whereas cleaving to the creature is spiritual adultery.
It is an error in the foundation to substitute false objects in religion, or in Christian conversation; for, 1, in religion; trusting in false objects, as saints, and works, &c., breeds false worship, and false worship breeds idolatry, and so God's jealousy and hatred. 2. In Christian conversation ; false objects of trust breed false comforts and true fears ; for in what measure we trust in anything that is uncertain, in the same measure will our grief be when it fails us. The more men rely upon deceitful crutches, the greater is their fall. God can neither endure false objects, nor a double object, as hath been shewed, for a man to rely upon anything equally in the same rank with himself. For the propounding of a double object, argues a double heart, and a double heart is always unsettled, James i. 8 ;
THE soul's conflict. 219
for it will regard God no longer than it can enjoy that which it joins together with him. Therefore it is said, ' You cannot serve two masters,' Luke xvi. 13, not subordinate one to another ; whence it was that our Saviour told those worldly men which followed him, ' that they could not believe in him, because they sought honour one of another,' John v. 44 ; and in case of competition, if their honour and reputation should come into question, they would be sure to be false to Christ, and rather part with him than their own credit and esteem in the world,
Da\'id here, by charging his soul to trust in God, saw there was nothing else that could bring true rest and quiet unto him ; for whatsoever is besides God is but a creature ; and whatever is in the creatm-e is but borrowed and at God's disposing, and changeable, or else it were not a creatm-e. David saw his error soon, for the ground of his disquiet was trusting something else besides God ; therefore when he began to say, ' My hill is strong, I shall not be moved,' &c., Ps. xxx. 6, then presently his soul was troubled. Out of God there is nothing fit for the soul to stay itself upon ; for,
1. Outward things are not fitted to the spiritual nature of the soul. They are dead things and cannot touch it, being a lively spirit, unless by way of taint.