Works

AND I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not. I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; worship God. - REVELATIONS, Xix. 10.

THE apostle tells us in the beginning of this chapter, that he had a vision of heaven, where he heard a voice which came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he saith unto me, Write, blessed are they who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." The apostle, it seems, supposed that the person, who had been revealing to him the future glory and prosperity of the church, was Christ himself in his glorified state. Accordingly, in a transport of joy and gratitude, "he fell at his feet to worship him." But the person perceiving his mistake, justly reproved him for his well intended, but misapplied worship. "See thou do it not. I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus." This was as much as to say, "I am a mere creature, and, though of the angelic order, yet thine equal in office. I am appointed to deliver these messages of God to thee, as thou art to deliver the same messages to thy fellow men; and, in this respect, we are brethren and fellow servants, and neither of us is a proper object of religious worship, which is due to the

VOL. VI.

Supreme Being alone: Worship God." The plain and full import of the text is,

That God is the only proper object of religious worship.

This is the important point, which I shall endeavor to establish in the present discourse. This will appear, if we consider,

I. That the scripture represents God as the only proper object of religious worship. God directed Moses to say to his people, I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them." David taught the same doctrine that Moses did. He said, "The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Here David represents God as the Creator, and as above all other beings who had been worshipped in any part of the world; and requires his people to give unto the true God that religious and supreme worship and glory, which are due to him alone. God says himself, "I am the Lord; that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." And our Saviour said to Satan, one of the greatest of created beings, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." I might cite a great many more passages of scripture of the same import; but all who have read the Bible know that the inspired writers uniformly represent God as the only proper object of religious worship. This will farther appear, if we consider,

II. The absolute supremacy of God, in all his great and essential attributes. David represents him as worthy of the highest homage on account of his absolute supremacy. He says, "The Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it; and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” The Creator of all things must be the Supreme Being; and the Supreme Being must be the only proper object of religious worship. Here then it seems necessary to observe,

« הקודם המשך »

ספרים

Works: With a Memoir of His Life, כרך 6