WHO SHALL ENJOY THIS REST. 63 a physician, but they that are sick.(r) The discovery of the remedy, as soon as the misery, must needs prevent a great part of the trouble. And perhaps the joyful apprehensions of mercy may make the sense of misery sooner forgotten. § 7. They are also convinced of the creature's va- nity and insufficiency. Every man is naturally an idolater. Our hearts turned from God in our first fall, and ever since the creature bath been our god. This is the grand sin of nature. Every unregenerate man ascribes to the creatures divine prerogatives, and allows it the highest room in his soul ; or if he is convinced of misery, he flies to it as his saviour. Indeed, God and his Christ shall be called Lord and Saviour; but the real expectation is from the crea- ture, and the work of God is laid upon it. Pleasure, profit, and honour, are the natural man's trinity, and his carnal self is these in unity. It was our first sin, to aspire to be as gods; and it is the greatest sin, that is propagated in our nature from generation to gene- ration. When God should guide us, we guide our- selves ; when he should be our sovereign, we rule ourselves; the laws which he gives us we find fault with, and would correct ; and if we had the making of them, we would have made them otherwise ; when he should take care of us, (and must, or we perish,) we will take care for ourselves ; when we should depend on him in daily receivings, we had rather have our portion in our own hands ; when we should submit to his providence, we usually quarrel at it, and think we could make a better disposal than God bath made. When we should study and love, trust and honour God, we study and love, trust and honour our carnal selves. Instead of God, we would have all men's eyes and dependence on us, and all men's thanks returned to us, and would gladly be the only men on earth extolled and admired by all. Thus we are naturally our own idols. But down falls this Dagon, when God does once renew the soul. It is the chief design of that great work, to (r) Luke v. 31.
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