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out ourselves wholly for God. The Lord it doth not break our viol, but tunes it, and hath sent us into the world, as a merchant makes the music sweeter. sends his factor beyond the seas to trade for him; then we live to God, when we trade for his interest, and propagate his gospel. God hath given every man a talent. Now, when he doth not hide it in a napkin, but improves it for God, this is to live to God. When a master in a family, by counsel and good example, labours to bring his servants to Christ,-when a minister doth exhaust himself in the labours of his holy calling, when he spends himself, and is spent, that he may win souls to Christ, and make the crown flourish upon Christ's head,-when the magistrate doth not wear the sword in vain, but labours to cut down sin, and suppress vice, this is to live to God, and this is a glorifying of God: Phil. i. 20, "That Christ might be magnified, whether by life or by death." Three wishes St Paul had, and they were all about Christ, that he may be found in Christ, be with Christ, and that he might magnify Christ.

A. 10. We glorify God by standing up for his truths. Much of God's glory lies in his truth. God hath intrusted us with his truth, as a master intrusts his servant with his purse to keep. We have not a richer jewel to trust God with, than our souls; nor God hath not a richer jewel to trust us with, than his truth. Truth is a beam that shines from God, much of his glory lies in his truth; now when we are advocates for truth, this is to glorify God; so Athanasius, the bulwark for truth. Jude v. 3, "That ye should contend earnestly for the faith," viz. the doctrine of faith. The Greek word to contend, signifies a great contending, as one would contend for his land and not suffer his right to be taken from him; so we should contend for the truth. Were there more of this holy contention, God would have more glory. Some can contend earnestly for trifles and ceremonies, but not for the truth; we should count him indiscreet, that would contend more for a picture, than for his land of inheritance,-for a box of counters, than for his box of evidences.

A. 9. We glorify God by walking cheerfully. It is a glory to God, when the world sees a Christian hath that within him that can make him cheerful in the worst times; A. 11. We glorify God, by praising him. he can, with the nightingale, sing with a Doxology, or praise, is a God-exalting work: thorn at his breast. The people of God Ps. 1. 23, "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth hath ground of cheerfulness; they are justi- me." The Hebrew word bara, to create, fied, and instated into adoption; and this cre- and barak, to praise, are little different, beates inward peace; it makes music within, cause the end of creation is to praise God. whatever storms are without, 2 Cor. i. 4; 1 David was called 'the sweet singer of Israel,' Thes. i. 6. If we consider what Christ hath and his praising God, was called a glorifying wrought for us by his blood, and wrought in of God, Ps. lxxxvi. 12, “I will praise thee, us by his Spirit, it is a ground of great cheer- O Lord my God, and I will glorify thy fulness, and this cheerfulness glorifies God. name." Though nothing can add to God's It reflects upon a master when the servant is essential glory, yet praise exalts him in the always drooping and sad, sure he is kept to eyes of others. When we praise God, we hard commons, his master doth not give him spread his fame and renown, we display the what is fitting; so when God's people hang trophies of his excellency. In this manner their heads, it looks as if they did not serve the angels glorify God, and they are the a good master, or repented of their choice; choristers of heaven, and do trumpet forth this reflects dishonour on God. As the gross God's praise. And praising of God is one of sins of the wicked bring a scandal on the the highest and purest acts of religion; in gospel, so do the uncheerful lives of the god-prayer we act like men; in praise we act like ly, Ps. c. 2, "Serve the Lord with glad- angels; this is a high degree of glorifying ness." Your serving him doth not glorify God. Believers are called temples of God,' him unless it be with gladness. A Christian's 1. Cor. iii. 16. When our tongues praise, cheerful looks glorify God; religion doth not then the organs in God's spiritual temple take away our joy, but refine and clarify it; are going. How sad is it that God hath no

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more of his glory from us this way! Many en maxim, "To do to others, as we would are full of murmurings and discontents, but have them to do to us," Matth. vii. 12. When seldom do they bring glory to God, by we do sell our commodities, that we do not giving him the praise due to his name. We sell our conscience, Acts xxiv. 16, "Hereread of the saints having harps in their in do I exercise myself, to have always a hands, Rev. v. 8, the emblems of praise conscience void of offence toward God and many have tears in their eyes, and complaints toward men." This is to glorify God, when in their mouths, but few have harps in we have an eye at God in our civil and natheir hand, blessing and glorifying of God.tural actions, and will do nothing that may Let us honour God this way. Praise is the reflect any blemish on religion. quit-rent we pay to God; while God renews our lease, we must renew our rent.

A. 12. We glorify God, by being zealous for his name: Numb. xxv. 11, "Phinehas hath turned my wrath away, while he was zealous for my sake." Zeal is a mixed affection, a compound of love and anger; it carries forth our love to God, and anger against sin in a most intense manner. Zeal is impatient of God's dishonour: a Christian fired with zeal, takes a dishonour done to God worse that an injury done to himself, Rev. ii. 2, "Thou canst not bear them that are evil." Our Saviour Christ did thus glorify his Father: he, being baptized with a spirit of zeal, drove the money-changers out of the temple, John ii. 14, 17, "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up."

A. 14. We glorify God, by labouring to draw others to God. We convert others, and so make them instruments of glorifying God. We should be both diamonds and loadstones; diamonds for the lustre of grace, and loadstones for our attractive virtue in drawing others to Christ: Gal. iv. 19, "My little children, of whom I travail," &c. This is a great way of glorifying God, when we break the devil's prison, and turn men from the power of Satan to God.

A. 15. We glorify God in an high manner, when we suffer for God, and seal the gospel with our blood: John xxi. 18, 19, "When thou shalt be old, another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldst not: this spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God." God's glory shines A. 13. We glorify God, when we have an in the ashes of his martyrs, Isa. xxiv. 15, eye at God, both in our natural and in our "Wherefore glorify the Lord in the fires." civil actions: 1. In our natural actions. In Micaiah was in the prison,-Isaiah was eating and drinking, 1 Cor. x. 31, "Whe-sawn asunder,-Paul beheaded,-Luke hangther therefore ye eat or drink, do all to the ed on an olive-tree,-thus did they by their glory of God." A gracious person holds the death glorify God. The sufferings of the golden bridle of temperance; he takes his primitive saints did honour God, and make meat as a medicine to heal the decays of the gospel famous in the world. What nature, and that he may be the fitter, by the would others say? See what a good master strength he receives, for the service of God; they serve, and how they love him, that they he makes his food, not fuel for lust, but help will venture the loss of all in his service. to duty. 2. In buying and selling, we do all The glory of Christ's kingdom doth not to the glory of God. The wicked live upon stand in worldly pomp and grandeur, as other unjust gain, either by falsifying the balances, kings; but it is seen in the cheerful sufferHos. xii. 7, "The balances of deceit are in ings of his people. The saints of old "loved his hands." While men make their weights not their lives to the death," Rev. xii. 11. lighter they make their sins heavier; or, by They snatched up torments as so many exacting more than the commodity is worth, crowns. God grant we may thus glorify him, ( they do not for fourscore write down fifty, if he calls us to it. Many pray, "Let this but for fifty, fourscore; they exact double the cup pass away," but few, "thy will be done." price that a thing is worth. But when we A. 16. We glorify God, when we give buy and sell to the glory of God, when in God the glory of all we do. Herod when he our buying and selling, we observe that gold- had made an oration, and the people gave a

shout, saying, “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man ;" he took this glory to himself, the text saith, "And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory, and he was eaten of worms," Acts xii. 23. Then we glorify God, when we sacrifice the praise and glory of all to God, 1 Cor. xv. 10, "I laboured more abundantly than they all," a speech one would think, savoured of pride, but the apostle pulls the crown from his own head, and sets it upon the head of free grace, "yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." As Joab, when he fought against Rabbah, sent for king David, that he might carry away the crown of the victory, 2 Sam. xii. 28, so a Christian when he hath gotten power over any corruption or temptation, sends for Christ, that he may carry away the crown of the victory. As the silk-worm, when she weaves her curious work, she hides herself under the silk, and is not seen; so when we have done any thing praise-worthy, we must hide ourselves under the veil of humility, and transfer the glory of all we have done to God. Constantine did use to write the name of Christ over his door, so should we write the name of Christ over our duties; let him wear the garland of praise.

been with him upon the mount, then they adorn religion, and bring revenues of glory to the crown of heaven.

Use 1. It shows us what should not be our chief end: not to get great estates,—not to lay up treasures upon earth, this is a degeneracy of mankind since the fall; their great design is to compass the earth and grow rich, and this they make their chief end; those never think of glorifying God,— they trade for the world, but are not factors for heaven: Eccles. ix. 3, "Madness is in their heart while they live." Sometimes they never arrive at an estate,—they do not get the venison they hunt for,—or, though they do, what have they? that which will not fill the heart, no more than the mariner's breath will fill the sails of a ship,—a picture drawn on the ice! So they spend their time, as Israel, in 'gathering straw, but remember not the end of living to glorify God: Eccles. v. 16, "What profit hath he that laboureth for the wind?" And these things are soon gone.

Use 2. It reproves such-1. As bring no glory to God. They do not answer the end of their creation, their time is not time lived, but time lost; they are like the wood of the vine, Ezek. xv. 2; their lives are, as St Bernard speaks, "either sinfulness or barrenness. An useless burden on the earth.” God will one day ask such a question as king

A. 17. We glorify God by an holy life; as a bad life doth dishonour God: 1 Pet. ii. 9," Ye are an holy nation, that ye should show forth the praises of him that hath call-Ahasuerus did, Esth. vi. 3, "What honour ed you;" Rom. ii. 24, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you." Epiphanius saith, "That the looseness of some Christians, in his time, made many of the heathens shun the company of the Christians, and would not be drawn to hear their sermons." So, by our exact Bible-conversation we glorify God. Though the main work of religion lies in the heart, yet our light must so shine that others may behold it; the chief of a building is the foundation, yet the glory of it is in the frontispiece; so beauty in the conversation: when the saints, who are called jewels, cast a sparkling lustre of holiness in the eyes of the world, then they "walk as Christ walked," 1 John ii. 6. When they live as if they had seen the Lord with bodily eyes, and

and dignity hath been done to Mordecai?" So will the Lord say, "What honour hath been done to me? What revenues of glory have you brought into my exchequer ?" There is none here present but God hath put you in some capacity of glorifying him; the health he hath given you,—the parts, estate, seasons of grace,-these all are opportunities put into your hand to glorify him; and, be assured, God will call you to account, to know what you have done with the mercies he hath intrusted you with, what glory you have brought to him. The parable of the talents, Mat. xxv. 15, where the men with the five talents, and the two talents, are brought to a reckoning, doth evidently show that God will call you to a strict account, to know how you have traded with your talents,

unpunished.

and what glory you have brought to him. against the Christians, did prohibit churchNow, how sad will it be with them who hide meetings, and would have the temples of the their talents in a napkin, that bring God no Christians to be razed down. Such as hinglory at all? V. 30, "Cast ye the unprofita- der preaching do as the Philistines that stopble servant into outer darkness." It is not ped the wells, they stop the well of the enough for you to say, that you have not water of life,-they take away the physidishonoured God,-you have not lived in cians that should heal sin-sick souls. Minisgross sin; but what good have you done? ters are lights, Matth. v. 14, and who but what glory have you brought to God? It is thieves hate the light? these persons do dinot enough for the servant of the vineyard, rectly strike at God's glory; and what an that he do no hurt in the vineyard,-that he account will they have to give to God, when do not break the trees, or destroy the he shall charge the blood of men's souls hedges, if he doth not do service in the upon them? Luke xi. 52, "Ye have taken vineyard, he loseth his pay; if you do not away the key of knowledge; ye entered not good in your place, do not glorify God, in yourselves, and them that were entering you will lose your pay, miss of salvation. in ye hindered." If there be either justice Oh think of this, all you that live unservice- in heaven, or fire in hell, they shall not go ably! Christ cursed the barren fig-tree. 2. It reproves such as are so far from bringing glory to God, that they rob God of his glory, Mal. iii. 8, “Will a man rob God? yet he have robbed me." They rob God, who take the glory due to God to themselves: 1. If they have gotten an estate, they ascribe all to their own wit and industry, they set the crown upon their own head, not considering that, Deut. viii. 18, "Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth." 2. If they do any duty of religion, they look squint to their own glory, Matth. vi. 5, "That they may be seen of men," that they may be set upon a theatre that others may admire and canonize them. The oil of vain glory feeds their lamp. How many hath the wind of popular breath blown to hell! Whom the devil could not destroy by intemperance, he hath by vain glory. 3. It reproves them who fight against God's glory: Acts v. 39, "Lest ye be found to fight against God." Q. But who do fight against God's glory?

Use 3. Exhortation. Let us every one, in our place, make this our chief end and design, to glorify God: 1. Let me speak to magistrates; God hath put much glory upon them, Ps. lxxxii. 6, "I have said ye are gods;" and will they not glorify him whom he hath put so much glory upon Magistrates should be zealous for God's worship and day; they should not let the sword rust in the scabbard, but draw it out for the cutting down of sin. 2. Ministers, how should they study to promote God's glory! God hath intrusted them with two of the most precious things, his truths, and the souls of his people. Ministers are, by virtue of their office, to glorify God: 1. They must glorify God by labouring in the word and doctrine: 2 Tim. iv. 1, "I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead: preach the word, be instant in season, out of season," &c. It was Augustine's wish, "that Christ, at his coming, might find him either praying or preaching." 2. Ministers must glorify God A. Such as do oppose that, whereby God's by their zeal and sanctity. The priests under glory is promoted. God's glory is much pro- the law, before they served at the altar, did moted in the preaching of the word, because wash in the laver; such as serve in the Lord's it is his engine whereby he converts souls. house, must first be washed from gross sin Now, such as would hinder the preaching in the laver of repentance. It is matter of of the word, these fight against God's glory, grief and shame, to think how many, who 1 Thess. ii. 16, 66 Forbidding us to speak to call themselves ministers, do, instead of apthe Gentiles, that they might be saved."parently bringing glory to God, dishonour Dioclesian, who raised the 10th persecution | God, 2 Chron. xi. 15. Their lives, as well

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come at last to the blessed enjoying of him. And that brings me to the 2d, The enjoying of God.'

II. Man's chief end is to enjoy God for ever, Ps. lxxiii. 25, "Whom have I in hea

heaven I desire to enjoy but thee? There is twofold fruition or enjoying of God; the one is in this life, the other in the life to

come.

as doctrines, are heterodox, they are not free from the sins which they reprove in others. Plutarch's servant upbraided him, "It is not as my master Plutarch saith; he hath written a book against wrath, anger, et ipse mihi irascitur,-yet he falls into a pass-ven but thee?" that is, What is there in ion of anger with me." So this minister preacheth against drunkenness,-yet he will be drunk; he preacheth against swearing, yet he will swear; this reproacheth God, and makes the offering of the Lord to be abhorred. 3. Masters of families, do ye glorify God, season your children and servants with the knowledge of the Lord; your houses should be little churches: Gen. xviii. 19, “I know that Abraham will command his children that they may keep the way of the Lord." You that are masters, know you have a charge of souls under you; for want of the bridle of family-discipline, youth runs wild. Well, let me lay down some motives to glorify God.

1st. An enjoying of God here in this life: The enjoying of God's presence; it is a great matter to enjoy God's ordinances (a mercy that some do envy us), but to enjoy God's presence in the ordinances, is that which a gracious heart aspires after, Ps. lxiii. 2, "To see thy glory so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary." This sweet enjoying of God, is, when we feel his Spirit co-operating with the ordinance, and distilling grace upon our hearts: 1. When in the word the Spirit doth quicken and raise the affections, Luke xxiv. 32, Did not our hearts burn within us? 2. When the Spirit doth transform the heart, leaving an impress of holiness upon it, 2 Cor. iii. 18, "We are changed into the same image, from glory to glory." When the spirit doth revive the heart with comfort, it comes not only with its anointing, but its seal; it sheds God's love abroad in the heart, Rom. v. 5. This is to enjoy God in an ordinance, 1 John i. 3,

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1. Mot. It will be a great comfort in a dying hour to think we have glorified God in our lives. It was Christ's comfort before his death: John xvii. 4, "I have glorified thee on the earth." At the hour of death, all your earthly comforts will vanish. If you think how rich you have been,-what pleasures you have had on earth,—this will be so far from comforting you, that it will but torment you the more. What is one the better for an estate that is spent? But now," Our fellowship is with the Father, and with to have conscience telling you that you have glorified God on earth, what sweet comfort and peace will this let in to your soul! How will this make you long for death! The servant that hath been all day working in the vineyard, longs till evening comes when he shall receive his pay. They who have lived, and brought no glory to God, how can they think of dying with comfort? They cannot expect an harvest,-they never sowed any seed.

How can they expect glory from God, that never brought any glory to him? O in what horror will they be at death! the worm of conscience will gnaw their souls, before the worms are gnawing their bodies.

2. Mot. If we glorify God, he will glorify our souls for ever; by raising God's glory, we increase our own; by glorifying God, we

his Son Jesus Christ." In the word, we hear God's voice, and in the sacrament we have his kiss; this is enjoying of God, and what infinite content doth a gracious soul find in this! The heart being warmed and inflamed in a duty, this is God's answering by fire. When a Christian hath the sweet illapses of God's Spirit, these are the firstfruits of glory, when God comes down to the soul in an ordinance; now, Christ hath pulled off his veil, and showed his smiling face; now, he hath led a believer into the banqueting-house, and given him of the spiced wine' of his love to drink; he hath put in his finger at the hole of the door; he hath touched the heart, and made it leap for joy. O how sweet is it thus to enjoy God! The godly have, in the use of the ordinances, had such divine raptures of joy, and soul

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