Doct. That naturalbj ice are apt and prone to confidence in outward helps and jjresent things.
This came to our nature from the first fall. What was our fall at first ? A turning from the all-sufficient, unchangeable God, to the creature. If I should describe sin, it is nothing but a turning from God to one creature or other. When we find not contentment and sufficiency in one creature, we run to another. As the bird flies from one tree and bough to another, so we seek variety of contentments from one thing to another. Such is the pravity of our nature since the fall. This is a fundamental conclusion. Man naturally will, and must, have somewhat to rely on. The soul must have a bottom, a foundation to rest on, either such as the world afibrds, or a better. Weak things must have their supports. As we see, the vine being a weak thing, is commonly supported by the elm, or the Uke supply. So is it with the soul since the fall. Because it is weak, and cannot up- hold nor satisfy itself with itself, therefore it looks out of itself. Look to God it cannot, till it be in the state of grace ; for being his enemy, it loves not to look to him or his ways, or have deaHng with him. Therefore it looks unto the creature, that next hand unto itself. This being naturally since the fall, that what we had in God before when we stood, we now labour to have in the creature.
Reason 1. Because, as was said, having lost communion with God, some- what we must have to stay the soul.
2. Secondly, Because Satan joins with our sense and foncy, by which we are naturally prone to live, esteeming of things not by faith and by deeper
HOSEA XIV. 2, 3.] THE RETURNING BACKSLIDER. 279
grounds, but by fancy. Now, fancy having communion witb sense, what it discovers and presents for good and great, fancy makes it greater. And the devil, above all, having communion with that faculty of fancy, and so a spirit of error being mixed therewith, to make our fancy think the riches of the world to be the only riches ; the greatness and goodness of the crea- ture to be the only greatness and goodness ; and the strength thereof the only strength. This spirit of error joining with our own spirits, and with the deceit of our natures, makes us set a higher value on the creature, erdargeth and enrageth the fancy, making it spiritually drunk, so as to conceive amiss of things.
Use. Briefly for use hereof, it being but a directing point to others. Let us take notice of our corruption herein, and be humbled for it ; taking in good part those afflictions and crosses which God sends us, to convince and let us see that there is no such thing in the creature as we imagined ; be- cause naturally, we are desperately given to think that there is somewhat more therein than there is. Now affliction helps this sickness of fancy, embittering unto us all confidence in the creature. Therefore it is a happy and a blessed thing to be crossed in that which we over- value, as these Israelites here did the Assyrians and the Egyptians : for being enemies, they trusted in a ' broken reed,' 2 Kings xviii. 21, as we shall see further in the second point.
Doct. Hoiu these outward things cannot help us.
How prone soever we are to rely upon them, they are in effect nothing. They cannot help us, and so are not to be relied upon. ' Asshur shall not save us.' Indeed it will not, it cannot. These things cannot aid us at our most need. So that that which we most pitch upon, fails us when we should especially have help. Some present .vanishing supply they yield, but httle to purpose. They have not that in them which should support the soul at a strait, or great pinch, as we say.
Reason. The reason is largely given by Solomon in the whole book of Ecclesiastes, ' All is vanity and vexation of spirit,' Eccles. i. 14. There is a vanity in all the creatures, being empty and not able to support the soul. They are vain in their continuance, and empty in regard of their strength. They are gone when we have need of them. Riches, as the wise man saith, are gone, and have wings to fly away, in our most need, Prov. xxiii. 5. So friends are fugitive good things, being like to the brooks men- tioned in Job, vi. 15 : which when in summer there is need of, then they are dried up, and yet run amain in winter, when there is no need of them. So, earthly supports, when there is no need of them, then they are at hand ; but when we have most need of them, are gone. ' They are broken cisterns,' as the prophet calls them, Jer. ii. 13. Cisterns, that is, they have a limited capacity. A cistern is not a spring. So all their sup- port, at the best, is but a bounded and a mixed sufficiency ; and that also which will quickly fail : like water in a cistern, which if it be not fed with a continual spring, fails or putrefies presently. Likewise these outward things are not sufficient for the grievance ; for being limited and bounded, the grievance will be above the strength of the creature ; v\-hich though sometime it be present and do not fail, yet the trouble is such, that it is above the strength of the creature to help. So that for these and the like respects, thf>re is no sufficiency, nor help to be expected from the creature. ' Asshur shall not save us.' He is not a sufficient gi'ound of trust. Why ?