Isai. xliv. 20. He feedeth on ashes : a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
WE who have lived under the light of revelation, and have been instructed in the knowledge of the one true God, are amazed at the stupidity of the Heathen, who form idols of wood and stone, and worship gods which they themselves have made. But we do not consider, that it is not the forming of these images, but the trusting in them, that makes them gods : and that we ourselves are guilty of idolatry as much as the heathen themselves, if in any respect we " love and serve the creature more than the Creator21." This is the essence of idolatry ; as the Apostle tells us ; "Beware of covetousness, which is idolatry V And of persons addicted to sensual enjoyments, he says, they " make a god of their belly c:" and Christians universally, being in danger of indulging an undue con- fidence in, or attachment to, the creature, are guarded against those evils in these very expressive terms, " Little children, keep yourselves from idols d." In speaking therefore of idolaters, it is not necessary that we carry you back to the prophet's days, or that we take you amongst Pagans of the present day : the language in our text is quite as applicable to us at this time as to any of them. With a view therefore to spiritual idolaters amongst ourselves, I will shew you, I. The folly of their ways —
Of every one amongst them it may truly be said, " He feedeth on ashes :" for, whatever the things be with which he seeks to satisfy his desires, they are,
1. Unsuitable —
[It is needless to say, how unsuitable ashes are for the
food of the body : but they are not a whit less so than the
things of this world are for the nourishment of the soul. The
soul is a spiritual substance, and must be fed with that which
a Rom. i. 25 b Col. iii. 5. c Phil. hi. 19. d John v. 21.