286 THE RETURNING BACKSLIDER. [SeEMON IV.
lives, being moderately careful, as Christians should, without tempting God's providence, using rightly all civil supports and helps seasonably, and to the best advantage ; for, as was said, the carelessness herein for defence may prove as dangerous and fatal to a State, as the too much confidence and trust in them.
THE FOURTH SERMON.
Asshur shall not, save us ; we will not ride upon horses ; neither wiU we say any more to the irorks of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. — Hos. xiv. 3.
We shewed you heretofore at large, how the Spirit of God, by the prophet, doth here dictate a form of turning unto these Israelites, ' Take unto you words ;' and then teacheth them what they should return back again, thanks. * So will we render the calves of our lips.' Wherein they shew two things. 1. They that have no great matters to render, oxen or sheep, &c. 2. They shew what is most pleasing unto God, the calves of our lips ; that is, thanksgiving from a broken heart, which, as the Psalmist speaks, pleaseth God better than ' a bullock that hath horns and hoofs,' Ps. Ixix. 31. But this is not enough. The Holy Ghost therefore doth prescribe them, together with prayer and thanksgiving, reformation. ' Asshur shall not save us ; we will not ride upon horses ; neither will we say any more to the works of our hands. Ye are our gods : for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.' So that here you have reformation joined with prayer and praise. Whence we observed divers things : that without reformation our prayers are abomin- able ; that in repentance there must be reformation of our special sin ; which here tbey do. Take this one thing more in the third place, which shall be added to the former.
Obs. In reformation, we must go not only to the outivard delinquencies, but to the spring of them, ivhich is some breach of the first table.
The root of all sin, is the deficiency of obedience to some command of the first table. When confidence is not pitched aright in God, or when it is mis- applied, and misfastened to the creature : when the soul sets up somewhat for a stay and prop unto it, which it should not do, this is a spuitual and subtle sin, and must be repented of, as here, * Asshur shall not save us,' &c. It were good therefore for aU those who seriously intend the work of repen- tance, to take this course. If the gross fault be of the second table, take occasion of sorrow and mourning thence. But when you have begun there, resolve and bring all to the breeding sin of all, which is the fastening of the soul falsely, when it is not well fastened and bottomed in the root. And therefore it was well done by Luther, who, in a Catechism of his, brings in the first commandment into all the commandments of the first and second table, ' Thou shalt have no other gods but me.' Therefore thou shalt sanctify the Sabbath, honour thy father and mother, shalt not take my name in vain, shalt not commit adultery, shalt not steal, &c., (i). Because he that hath no God but that God in his heart, will be sure to sanctify the Sabbath, honour his father and mother, not commit adultery, nor steal. And whence come all the breaches of the second table ? Hence, that there is not the true fear and love of God in our hearts ; and it is just with God, for their spii'itual sins, to give them up to carnal and gToss sins. Therefore,
HOSEA XIV. 3.] THE RETURNING BACKSLIDER. 287
though the Israelites here had many gross sins to repent of, yet they go to the spring-head, the breeding sin of all, false confidence. This is to deal thoroughly, to go to the core. ' Asshur shall not save us ; we will not ride upon horses.' From whence, in the third place, may descend to the next branch of their sin, idolatry.
' Neither will we say any more to the works of our hands. Ye are our gods.' All false confidence hath two objects : for it is always either,
1. Out of religion ; or,
2. In religion.
For the fii-st, all ill confidence and trust, if it be out of religion, it is in the creature ; either,
1. Out of us ; or,
2. In ourselves.
Secondly, if it be in religion, it is in a false god, as here, ' Neither wiU we say any more to the works of our hands, Ye are our gods.' Observe hence in the first place.
Obs. Man iiaturalbj is prone to idolatry.
The story of the Bible, and of all ages, sheweth how prone men are to idolatry and will-worship, and what miseries ensued thereupon. Amongst other instances, we see how presently after that breach in the kingdom of David and Solomon, by Jeroboam's setting up of two calves, how suddenly they fell to idolatry, 1 lungs xiii. 33, seq. ; 2 Chron. xiii. 8. So that after that, there was not one good king amongst them all, until the nation was destroyed. And so in the story of their antiquities, see how prone they were to idolati-y in the wilderness. Moses doth but go up to the mount, and they fall to idolatry, cause Aaron to make a calf, and dance round about it, Exod. xxxii. 4, seq. ; Ps. cvi. 19. The thing is so palpable, that it need not be stood upon, that man's nature is prone to idolatry which will not raise itself up to God, but fetch God to itself, and conceive of him according to its false imaginations.