Chapter VI
How the new creature makes God and his glory its utmost end.
Give unto the Lord, ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name ; worship the Lord in the
beauty of holiness. Ps/XXIX. 1, 2.
First, Here is the duty, Give glory unto God. Secondly, upon the most just reason, for it is due unto his name. Of all duties it is the most
large and comprehensive ; for it includes all obedience in it : praise, blessing, thankfulness, are contained in it. But I will confine my discourse of it to some such particulars, which the Scripture mentions under the notion of
giving glory to God.
I shall do two things. 1. Give reasons of this duty and disposition. 2. Insist on those particulars wherein especially we are to give, and the new creature doth give, glory to God.
Reason 1. The first reason is in the text, Glory is due unto his name, because he is most glorious ; it is the reason given, Ps. cxxxviii. 5,
* For
great is the glory of the Lord ; yea, his is glory, and his alone. Glory is the superlative effulgence of goodness. Many things are good ; yea, many things are excellent, which are not glorious. To things which are good, praise and commendation are due ; to things which are more excellent than
ourselves, honour is due, so to superiors and magistrates, Rom. xiii. 7 ; but such things as do superexcel to wonderment and amazement, such things are only glorious. Thus the sun is called glorious, because it dazzleth the
eye, it is excellently sensible ; and such is God to the heart : his name is
glorious, because he is above all excellency, Neh. ix. 5, and Ps. viii. 1. It
* How excellent is thy name ! It is above all expression. Therefore he is called
is not simply said, Thy name is excellent, but
* God of glory, Acts vii. 2 ; King of glory, Ps. xxiv. 10. For as kings are the fountain of all nobility, so is God of glory. He is the father of all the glory which Christ hath : therefore Christ prays to him for it, John xvii. 1.
(1.) God is most glorious in himself, though no creature had been to
glorify him. He was as glorious when there was no world as now he is. Men s honours depend upon the opinion and apprehensions of them that honour them. Where is the glory of a king, but in the multitude of his
subjects ? But God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are sufficient to
* If thou art righteous, what dost thou ? Job xxxv. 7. How do wise men contemn the approbation and
glorify each other, if there were no creatures.
praises of the weak and foolish ? God might much more despise the adoration and praise of us wretched creatures. We are therefore the more
engaged to give him all glory, upon this consideration, that though he needs
it not, yet he condescends to receive the inconsiderable tribute from us.
(2.) All things which are in him are all glorious. Take the best and
excellentest of the creatures, and still it is said of them that one particular part in them is their excellency and glory, but all in them is not so, but other things in them are but common and mean, to set off their excellencies. So in men, so in the members of man, his tongue is called his glory, Ps.
Ivii. 8 ; but that it may appear to be so, other parts must be mean, less
honourable, as Paul says, 1 Cor. xii. 23. But all in God are, and that all VOL. vi. i i
498 THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK X.
alike, glorious ; his whole name, and all the letters in it. Exod. xxxiii. 18, Shew me thy glory, says Moses ; I will proclaim my name before ye, says God, ver. 19. His mercy is called
* riches of glory, Eom. ix. 23. His holiness also is glorious : thus when Isaiah saw his glory, the angels cried, Holy, holy, Isa. vi. 3. His power is glorious, Rom. vi. 4 ; his
grace is glorious, Eph. vi.
(3.) When he would manifest this his glory to others, all that comes from him is glorious; all his works are glorious. 1. The earth is full of his glory, as it shews forth his glory, which yet is but his footstool, Isa.
Ixvi. 1, much more his own habitation, Isa. Ixiii. 15, which by Peter is
styled, 2 Pet. i. 17, the excellent glory. 2. His word, both law and
gospel, are most glorious, 2 Cor. iv. 4. Much more all his saints ; his
servants, his courtiers are all glorious within, Ps. xlv. 13. His image, whether substantial (as his Son is called the brightness of his glory, Heb.
i. 2), or representative, or similitudinary, as grace in his saints, his image in Adam is called glory; 2 Cor. iii. 18, we are said to be changed from
glory to glory ; and he being thus glorious, to glorify him is a due to his name, Ps. xxix. 2. As we cannot but love things beautiful, and love is a due to them, so is honour to things honourable. Rom. xiii. 7, Render honour to whom honour is due ; and therefore glorify God, who is so
glorious.
Reason 2. As it is a due to him, as he is the glorious God, so it is due from us, his creatures.
(1.) He made all creatures for himself, Prov. xvi. 4. It is reason, if all
things be of him, they should be to him, Rom. xi. 36 ; therefore he there
adds, To him be glory for ever. But in a more special manner he made us reasonable creatures for himself.
The unreasonable creatures are in some sort said to glorify him : Ps.
< The heavens declare the glory of God. How ? They give occa sion and afford matter whence we may take hints to glorify him. As in music there are the notes set out in the book, and the tongue that sings, or hand that plays, which make the music. The creatures are the notes, or music, that is set, and have the notes, the keys, and characters of the harmonious glory of God stamped upon them, Rom. i. 20. But then there must be an understanding creature, that hath skill and ability, to utter forth the music and harmony of all these. Therefore between the reflection, or shine of God s glory from the creatures, and the glory he hath from us who are reasonable creatures, there is as much difference as between the glory of the sun appearing in its shining upon a wall, and in a looking-glass. Now such hath God made our understandings, in comparison of other crea
xix. 1,
tures, or as the eye is to the sun, on purpose that we might see his glory as it is, John xvii. 24, and to reflect and beat it back again to him, so that
after God had emblazoned his rich and glorious power and wisdom in all the frame of heaven and earth, as in a coat of arms, yet still there wanted heralds to conceive of, and proclaim and adore his glorious name ; and therefore he created reasonable creatures, whose sole and adequate end was to reflect glory upon him, even as the sole end of a mirror is to reflect the image of things presented to it ; and therefore, 1 Cor. xi. 7, man is said to be the glory of God. Reason 3. But especially this is required of his saints; Ps. cxlv. 10, 11, All thy works shall praise thee, Lord, and thy saints shall bless thee. Ver. 11, They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power. Not only their making as creatures, but their whole formation, as
CHAP. VI.] IN OUR SALVATION. 499
new creatures, is to this end ; for this they were elected, to be to the
praise of the glory of his grace, Eph. i. 6. To this end were they re deemed, yea, were bought with a price (therefore, says the apostle, Glorify God in your bodies, and in your spirits ), a price which was paid by laying down and debasing Christ s glory, Phil. ii. 7. Therefore we should endea vour to restore it to him ; we should glorify God, that was in our nature debased for us. To this end we are made and created new creatures.
* They are the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. Isa. xliii. 7. Reason 4. They shall be glorified of God for ever, and should therefore here glorify God. Christ argues it, I have glorified thee on earth, now
Isa. Ixi. 3,
glorify me, John xvii. Much more may it be urged on us, that if we pray that he would glorify us hereafter, we should glorify him here. And the
rather, because here only is an opportunity of glorifying him actively ; hereafter we are rather glorified of him, than do glorify him ; as we are said to be rather known of him, than to know him.
Reason 5. All three persons do mutually endeavour to give glory each to
other, and shall not we their creatures ? The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son, that all might honour the Son as the Father, John
v. 22, 23. The Son he honoured the Father : John xvii. 4, I have glori fied thee on earth, &c. And the Holy Ghost glorifies the Son : John xvi. 14, He shall glorify me ; for he shall receive of mine. For he is continually magnifying Christ and his love unto believers hearts. Now if they do so, shall not we ? If they do it, who are equal to each other, shall not wo who are so inferior, made for them ? If one king honours another, shall not their subjects ?
Reason 6. God is infinitely desirous of it, and exacts it. If a man looks
for respect, and is worthy of it, and assumes not above his desert, those under him are the more careful to give it him. Others value a man as he
sets a due and reasonable value on himself ; but if he degrades himself, they give him the less respect. Now God, with the highest reason, doth value himself above all things, and will accordingly be glorified. Glory is mine,
says he, Isa. xlii. 8. He is so desirous of it, that he lays a tribute of glory upon every action : 1 Cor. x. 81,
* Whatsoever you do eating and drink
ing, do all to the glory of God.
Reason 7. Glory is all that God doth require of us, for all we receive from him. He would freely have us to take all the comfort that is to be had out of his blessings ; but the glory of all, and for all, he reserves to himself: 1 Chron. xxix. 11, 12, Both riches and honour come of thee ; thine is the glory/ &c. That is, though riches and all good blessings are of him, yet are so his, that they are ours also ; but the glory of them all
is his. This is his prerogative, his crown, wherein no subject shall partake with him. As Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and all Egypt is
thine, Gen. xli. 44 ; and ver. 40, Only in the throne will I be greater than thou : so says God, I am God, and all the world, my Son, my self, are thine ; all things are yours. But the glory of all is mine ; that is, my throne, my crown. It is not your prayers, nor is it your duties he regards ; but to be glorified in all these. Therefore in the Lord s prayer, the first
petition is, Hallowed, or Glorified be thy name. That should be the main thing that should run through all the rest that follow, and which the heart should primarily fall upon, and eye in all. And as he teacheth them
* Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory. The end of all duties of God s worship are, 1. Com-
to begin, so also to end with an acknowledgment,
500 THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK X.
munion with God, and in God, on our part ; and 2. Glorifying and sancti
fying God in our hearts, on his part. And as we are not to rest in a peace of conscience, simply from having performed duties, but upon account of communion and meeting with God in them ; so, in like manner, we are much less to rest in having done them for the satisfaction of our con
sciences, but so as to give in our heart that glory that is due to God, whom we deal with in them. And without this God reckons all but as
dung. In the second of Malachi, God had called upon the priests who
brought sacrifices to him, to give glory to him therein, verse 2. In the 8d verse he threatens them that, if you will not, I will fling back your sacrifices as dung in your faces ; you know they sacrificed beasts then. To shew how abominable to him without this these sacrifices were to him, he compares them to dung, that is found in the belly, or ventricle of those
beasts they offered ; and to express his abomination of such duties and
services, he says he would fling them as dung in their faces. To fling dung in one s face, is a note of the highest indignation and rejection. Men, in applying themselves to those they desire to approve themselves unto,
diligently use to observe what they look for, and expect, and what is their
disposition. If a prince be covetous, they about him project always to
bring him money in ; if vain-glorious, to flatter him, &c. Thus let us apply ourselves to God. He is not taken with riches, nor duties, nor tears ; with
nothing but glory.
Reason 8. Therefore, if this tribute be not paid, God will curse all good
blessings to us. So it follows in that Mai. ii. 2. Says God to the priests, If you will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, I will send a curse upon you, and will curse your blessings. For should we hold all of God, and his due be withholden from him ? The kings rents and customs
are still most strictly exacted, upon the greatest forfeitures. If a man steals custom and be taken in it, he forfeits all. So do we our blessings, if God s
due, his glory, be not rendered him. The God in whose hands are thy breath and thy ways, hast thou not glorified. Dan. v. 23, Thy kingdom is
departed, and given to others, in the following verses, said God to Belshazzar. Reason 9. God will be sure to recover it on us, some other way ; if he be not glorified by us, he will be glorified on us. He will be sure not to lose by any of his creatures ; if we are not active, he will make us passively to
glorify him. He will have it out of us ; we must pay the utmost farthing. And seeing his tribute lies in glory, there are two ways of bringing of it, or whence it riseth. 1. In and by our free giving it to him. 2. By his
vindicating it upon us. To be glorified on us, is as much to him as our
obedience, and brings him in as much ; for his wrath, his power, his justice, his holiness, &c., are enacted, made known and acknowledged that way, as much as by our giving glory to him ; so as it is all one to him. And there
fore he calls this a glorifying of himself, as well as the other. Thus he
spake of Pharaoh, whom Moses had long called upon to give glory to God. Exod. xiv. 17, 18, I will get honour, or be glorified upon Pharaoh. So Ezek. xxviii. 22, I will set my face against Zidon, and I will be glorified in the midst of thee : and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have executed judgment in her, and I shall be sanctified in her. His glory is the making known of his name and attributes ; which he doth in punishing as well as any other way, and he is said to be sanctified therein : Eom.
ix. 22, What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to de
struction ? Therefore, Rev. xv., it is said, Give glory to God, for his
CHAP. VI.] IN OUR SALVATION. 501
judgments are made manifest, because his attributes being therein mani
fested, he is adored in men s hearts. So Lev. x. 3, when he brought the
punishment on Nadab and Abihu, he gives this reason of it, I will be
sanctified in them that draw nigh to me ; either sanctified in their own
hearts by themselves, or on them in the view of others. So as punishment on us executed, is as much to God as our holiness in us. And therefore
in the prophet, the destruction of wicked men is called a sacrifice to God. He expresseth it by the same name he doth that worship he had then, as
being as pleasing to him ; so that indeed the one is as much unto God as the
other, if we do but consider the concernment of his glory. It is true, that
out of his further goodness unto the creature, and his respects unto it, he
declares himself more desirous of obedience from them, than their destruc
tion ; but otherwise, as for his glory, it is all one to him ; for he is sancti
fied in either, and will be the one way, if not the other, as that speech
implies. Oh, how much better is it for us so to glorify him, as to be glorified of him and in him (as we find both joined, 2 Thes. i. 12, where he prays they may be holy, verse 11, that the name of Christ may be glorified in
them, and they in him ),^than for him to glorify himself on us, in our
confusion. The one or the other must be : it is all one to him which ; and if it be done by your destruction, this is unprofitable for you.
2. I now come to enumerate some dispositions and duties of the new
creature, by which it ought to reflect glory on God.
(1.) It ought to endeavour to know him, and to conceive aright of him, and to have such thoughts of him as become him. So Moses desires to
see his glory ; that is, to know him and the excellencies which were in
him. So David and all the saints desired to see him in the beauty of
holiness, to see his face, and to have the light of his countenance lifted
up, as Ps. Ixiii. 2 ; so to rejoice, as Jer. ix. 24, in that we know God, which exerciseth loving-kindness in the earth. And that thus to do is to
glorify him, is evident ; for, Rom. i., when the Gentiles are said not to have glorified God, they are said, ver. 28, not to have liked to retain God
in their knowledge. And if his manifestative glory be the reflection of it, upon the understanding of another, then when we are ignorant of him, and
conceive amiss of him, so much of his glory is lost, and therefore the Gen
tiles, which know him not, are said to live without God in the world,
being estranged from him through ignorance. Ignorance makes him as no God to thee, and therefore thou dishonourest him in the highest degree;
if thou knowest him not, thou makest him no God to thee. On the con
trary, to endeavour to know him, and think much of him, is a glorifying of him : Ps. xlvi. 10, Be still, and know me : and I will be exalted. If we
spend many thoughts upon and do study a man s worth, we honour him
exceedingly thereby in our thoughts. If we study any man s writings much, and preserve every note of his, we honour him exceedingly. So we honour God if we think of God much, and labour and desire to know him
still better, more and better for the excellencies sake that are in him ; and
study his works that we may know him, and knowing him we may honour him in our thoughts, and glorify him.
(2.) When we admire him in all we know by him, and stand aghast at
him, then we glorify him. And therefore in 2 Thes. i. 10, to be glori
fied and made wonderful are joined together ; things we wonder at we
glorify ; and therefore, Rev. xiii. 4, to wonder at the beast is made all one
* Who is like unto the beast, or able to make war with him ? &c. So it is an honour to God to stand and to wonder
as to worship him, saying,
502 THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK X.
at God, and every part of his name, which is called Wonderful, as David
did : Ps. viii. 1, How excellent is thy name in all the earth ! To wonder
at his mercy ; as they, Micah vii. 18, Who is a God like to thee, in par
doning iniquity, transgression, and sin ? So likewise to advance his in
finite wisdom, as David doth, Ps. cxlvii. 5; and his goodness is unsearch
able, Ps. cxlv. 3. To stand admiring a man s picture, or a piece of his
workmanship, magnifies the workman that made it. Beauty, if not looked
upon, thinks itself contemned ; so doth God account himself neglected, if
you do not know him.
(3.) We glorify God when we speak much of him to others, as of what we wonder at we use to do ; for with men then a thing is said to he glo
rious, when it is spoken of much, when the world rings of it ; and God s
glory is such a great glory, as it is able to fill all the world, and all mouths
with it. A good name is as a box of ointment, says Solomon ; which, when broken, fills the whole house. Now, God s name is a box of such
ointment as may fill all the world, Ps. cxiii. 3. It is to be praised from one end of the world to the other, yea, and from one generation to an
other ; it fills all time also ; so ver. 4 of the 145th Psalm. Therefore the
saints should have their mouths filled with his praise, Ps. Ixxi. 8. But
his saints bless him ; all his works praise him, by talking of his power and
mighty acts, Ps. cxlv. 12. And therefore the tongue is called man s glory, Ps. Ivii. 8, because it is the instrument to set forth God s glory
: there
with bless we God, says James.
(4.) We glorify God when we ascribe all to him. So David did :
1 Chron. xxix. 11, 12, Thine is all, says he, and all comes of thee; we have given thee but thine own. And so Isa. xxvi. 18, We have not
wrought any deliverance; but, ver. 12, thou hast wrought all our works
in us and for us. So if thou prayest, acknowledge thou canst not as thou
oughtest ; but it is the Spirit helps thine infirmities. Before we do any
thing, we should by faith draw all power from him ; and then when we have done, we shall ascribe all to him : Ps. cxv. 1, Not to us, not to us, but unto thy name be the glory. They speak like those that refuse a
bribe, and shew the greatest vehemence against the very offering of one.
Their corrupt part in them suggesting thoughts of assuming to themselves ; but they cry out, Not unto us. I will give you the highest instance that can be given, to be an example unto you. The Holy Ghost, when he works anything in us, though the power be essentially his own, yet he
glorifies the Son, by taking of his, John xvi. 14, and working through him. How much more should we, when all we have is received ! When Joab would honour David, and let him have the honour of the victory, he
sends for him to take the city and wear the crown, 2 Sam. xii. 28 ; and
yet it was but David s men and money did it, but Joab s wisdom and
valour had a hand in it. Wouldst thou honour God ? Send for him
into thine heart, after a serious prayer ; and give him the glory, for with
his might thou didst it. Paul, that did more than all the apostles, yet says he had done nothing, but the grace of God that was with him.
(5.) We glorify God when we suffer for him : 1 Pet. iv. 14, 16, he is on your part glorified. So the three children glorified God (in Daniel) when they said, that God they served was able to deliver them ; if he would not, they would not go against his command. Nebuchadnezzar,
that glorious king, could not have found one in all his dominions would
have glorified him so ; therefore Christ, by suffering for God, is said to
glorify him, John xii. 23.
CHAP. VI.] IN OUR SALVATION. 503
(6.) We glorify God by getting his image into our hearts, and imitating him. Imitation of any one is a great glory to him ; to have a great man s
picture is his honour. If a great man be in favour, all follow his fashion, and therein they shew they honour him. And therefore (1 Cor. xi. 7) the man is said to be the image and glory of God. Both are joined ; get there
fore the image of God into thy heart; be holy, even as he is holy ; kind,
as he is kind ; as he is patient and long-suffering, shew them forth in thy
* Let
life ; shew forth the praises of him who hath called you
: Mat. v. 16,
your light so shine, that you may glorify your Father. When the stars
shine they glorify the sun, because they shine with his light; thus a Chris
tian glorifies God, when he lets any grace shine forth.
(7.) We glorify God by glorying in him, and boasting of our portion and
happiness in him, 1 Chron. xvi. 10 andPs. xliv. 8 ; for as they are his glory,
so he is theirs, Ps. iii. 3.
(8.) We glorify God by living according to his will, and abounding in the
fruits of holiness. So saith Christ, Hereby is my Father glorified, if you
bring forth much fruit, John xv.
(9.) We glorify God by doing all things for his glory as the end, 1 Cor.
x. 81. This is more than all the rest (you may imitate kings, and suffer
for friends, and yet you make not them your end), for it is to acknowledge
that nothing in the world is so worthy as he, no, not yourselves ; and not
only so, but that we are so infinitely below him, so dependent on him, and
he so glorious, as we are not only subject to him, but made for him, and
that all else are made for him. For therefore is all for him, because by
him, Eom. xi. 36 ; and therefore glory be to him, and of all the greatest. And in this sense the woman is said to be the glory of the man, because
made for him, 1 Cor. xi. 7, 8 ; and so man of God.
(10.) Unto that of doing all to God s glory as our end, must be added
doing all we do in Christ. God hath made Christ the partner of his glory,
his will being that men should honour the Son as the Father. And men
honour the Son by offering up all they do to his glory through Christ and
his name : Philip, i. 11, the fruits of righteousness that please God must
be by Jesus Christ, to the glory of God ; and, Philip, ii. 8, 10, 11, God
hath given Christ that great name above every name, that every knee should
bow to him, that is, all was to be done to him, and through him, to the
glory of the Father, ver. 11 ; which is an exceeding great favour, that God
would accept of no glory given him, but through him. For in one place
< This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
you hear God say of him,
< This is my servant,
pleased, and with all others in him ; so in another,
in whom I will be glorified, and by others through him, so Isa. xlix. 8.
And God hath stamped upon his face his glory, that we might behold it ;
and hath ordained him his servant, through whose hands he will receive
< there pro
glory again. Therefore, Ps. xxii. 22, 23, after Christ s death is
phesied of, and his declaring his name in the great congregation, all are
called to glorify God and praise him ; for without Christ, God had had
none of mankind to fear him and worship him. And, Isa. Iv. 3, God in
viting men to the covenant of grace, which he calls the sure mercies of
David, that is, of Christ (as, Acts xiii., they are interpreted^, he makes
this promise of Christ, that nations should come to Christ, because
1 God had glorified him ; that is, ordained him to be the mediator through whom he would convey all to us, and receive all from us : whom therefore
he made a co-partner with him therein.
(11.) We glorify God by repenting and turning to him, when he pumshetli
504 THE WOKK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK X.
and afflicts us. Rev. xvi. 19, when the fourth vial was poured out, it is
said, They repented not, to give God the glory. Repentance, and turning from a man s evil ways, bring in much glory to God : by confessing our
sins, and acknowledging our deserts, we magnify his patience, and longsuffering, and justice on us, and wisdom in finding us out.
* Confess (says Joshua),
* and give glory to God. By being vile in our own eyes, we exalt him. The most proper way a sinner that hath dishonoured him hath to
glorify him again, is by debasing himself for that his dishonour of him ; and by turning from our evil ways upon his punishing us, we yield and
subject to him, which gives him honour, as much as obeying him. The submission and coming in again of rebels establisheth and exalteth the honour of a king as much, if not more, than the continued obedience of good subjects. For it is glory with a victory, a conquest. And to hate sin because it
< provokes the eyes of his glory, as the phrase is, Isa. iii. 8, is to glorify him, as those that respect a superior, a prince, shew it, by doing nothing before him which might be unworthy the presence of such a
majesty, to give him the least distaste. The lesser the thing is we forbear in such a respect, the more respect give we them.
_ (12.) We glorify God by calling upon him in time of trouble, and praising him for delivering us out of it, Ps. 1. 15, Thou shalt call upon me in the day of trouble ; and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me ; to make God our refuge afore trouble, and to acknowledge him after, exceedingly honours him. How glorious doth it make a prince to take part with the
oppressed, and to vindicate them upon their cry, Isa. xxv. 3, 4, There fore shall the strong people glorify thee, &c. For thou hast been a
strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, &c.
(13.) By believing on him we give glory to him. Of Abraham it is said, R,om. iv. 20, He was strong in faith, giving glory to God. No man thinks himself more honoured than when he is trusted ; and in trusting on God,
especially for salvation, we give him the glory of all his attributes at once, for there all attributes meet ; if any were wanting in its concurrence, we could not be saved. That 115th Psalm is a psalm on purpose made to call upon people to trust in God, as appears ver. 8-11 ; and from the 12th verse to the end, he expresseth nothing but peremptory conclusions of faith.
* God hath been mindful of us, and would bless us, &c. And how begins he that psalm ? Not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and truth s sake. It is the pure voice of faith; it is a self-emptying grace. * Not unto us, and it refuseth again to take anything to himself; not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and thy truth s sake. Those two attributes faith gives especial glory unto. They are what faith rests in, and they are what God especially desires the glory
"of. Therefore, Exod. xxxiv., his mercy and truth are those attributes he only or chiefly proclaims when he shews Moses his glory. 1. The Scriptures call mercy the riches of his glory, Rom. ix. 23. If it be the
glory of a man to pass by an offence, as Prov. xix. 11, then it is the glory of God to pass by so many. For all the promises are yea and amen, that is, truth, to the
<
glory of God, 2 Cor. i. 20. God engageth at once not his truth only, but
all his attributes, his whole glory, to perform them ; and therefore to believe them gives this glory to him ; and therefore, upon believing, God is said to shew his glory, John xi. 40.
(14.) We glorify God by fearing God above all : Rev. xiv. 7, Fear God, and give glory to him. To fear God, that can cast body and soul
CHAP. VI.] IN OUR SALVATION. 505
into hell, in opposition to man, whose breath is in his nostrils, how doth
it exalt him ? Deut. xxviii. 58, it is called fearing his fearful and glorious name. All glory carries an awe and reverence with it ; they are therefore
joined ; and by reverence we give an honour unto majesty.
(15.) We glorify God by joining ourselves unto the assemblies of his
saints, and in the public duties and ordinances of his worship, Isa. Ix. 7-9. He calls it the house of his glory, speaking of the flocking of God s people as doves to the windows, or as clouds, ver. 8, unto the house of his glory ; with sacrifices, ver. 7 ; and he speaks of the times of the gospel, when the
Gentiles were converted. Now he says they should fly as a cloud, which removes sometimes from far, from one country to another, above the moun
tains that might hinder their course, and all impediments ; so they move
to enjoy ordinances, and fly as doves to their windows or dove-houses, which especially they do when a storm is towards ; for God s house is the
best shelter and dove-house against a storm. And thither they come, as to
the house of God s glory, ver. 7, so called, because, 1, there they see the
glory of God. So David desired, Ps. Ixiii. 2, To see thy power and thy
glory, as I have seen thee in thy sanctuary. And 2. There this glory is
* In his temple doth every one speak of his glory. And 3. There they worship and glorify him. So David foretells, Ps. xxii.
spoken of : Ps. xxix. 9,
23, 24, &c., and Ps. xviii. Where, when all are saints and holy ones, and
none else admitted, his glory is the more set up, as Isa. Ix., ver. 21, They
shall also be all righteous, &c., that I may be glorified. For it is a dis honour to him that persons profane and unrighteous should have com munion with him, and eat at his table. He is a glorious God, Ps. v. 4-7, and so
* hath no pleasure in unrighteousness : neither shall evil dwell with
thee, or stand before thee. But as for me, I will come into thy house,
&c. For he will be sanctified or glorified (as the Septuagint renders it) in
all that draw near to him, Lev. x. 3. He puts an emphasis there, specially of the priests, Mai. ii. 1, 3. This commandment, says he, ver. 1, is for
you, priests. And the command is, ver. 3, to give glory to God ; that
is, this most of all concerns or lies upon you. A king looks more espe
cially to be honoured of his nearest servants and followers. The gospel
they preach is for their glory, 1 Cor. ii., and they therefore should be for God s.
c due unto
Obs. 2. That in glorifying God we must give him the glory
his name, or which is some way suitable and worthy of it. God hath much glory and worship given him in the world, but it is not such as be
comes the great God to have, or which is due unto his name. In Eom. i. 21
the Gentiles are found fault with, that they glorified not God as God.
There is a respecting of him, a doing something for him, and in relation to
him, performed by many, but it is not a glorifying of him as God. The
Philistines, 1 Sam. vi. 5, when they made images of their punishments
inflicted, and consecrated them to God, they thought it a giving glory to
the God of Israel. But they glorified him not as that great God that made heaven and earth, with a glory due unto his name. He will be served
by us as a God ; and if our service falls short of this, he rejects it.
Reason 1. For otherwise it satisfies not his aim in his designs of glory which he looks for. He would not at all have gone about a-glorifying of
himself in his works, but to shew himself a God in them ; and so, nor
would he have exacted it as a duty of us, to glorify him, if he had not de
signed that it should be done to a God so great, so glorious. As that king
said to Alexander, when he asked him how he would be used,
506 THE WOEK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK X.
says he, Like a king. So if you ask the word of God how he will be wor
shipped, Like a God, says it. He stands upon it, and takes upon him in it, as Ps. xlvi. 10, Be still, and know that I am God : I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. It is a phrase of one
exacting respect due to him in his place ; as if a master should take on him and say, Know I am your master ; or as if a king should exact obedience of his subjects that slighted him, Know I am your king, and I will be
obeyed. So says God. It is not a little respect will satisfy a king, and it
is not a little slight respect will satisfy God. All things must be carried to a king suitably to majesty, in speeches, in gestures, &c. ; and all must be carried unto God as God. God stands upon it as much as any of them : he in his place, as they in theirs : Mai. i. 6, If I be a father, where is my honour ? If I be a master, where is my fear ? They served him but with the lame, the sick, and the blind, ver. 8, and thought to put him off with
anything ; but how doth he confute them ? Offer it now to thy governor (they had then no king), and yet he, though no king, would not accept such a present from you, says God ; and will you serve your God with it ?
will he accept it ? In the original it is, If he will accept, IF being put for NOT ; as often in the Hebrew ; as, If they shall enter into my rest ; that is, they shall not enter ; and therefore, ver. 14, he takes upon him and
says, I am a great king, and my name is dreadful among the heathen ; and therefore I will be worshipped accordingly. How do kings stand upon points and terms of honour, and will not lower them ? How jealous are
they to preserve their prerogative, state, &c., in its height ? They are not so in matter of money ; they will give away of that, but not abate of their power and state, because it is proper to them as kings, it is that which
constitutes them such ; and thus is the God of glory a jealous God : he
will abate no whit there ; he will be God. My glory I will not give (says he)
* to another, Isa. xlii. 8. He cares not to give away kingdoms, and
worlds, heaven, his Son ; but not an iota of glory. Reason 2. Because if he be not glorified as God, he is dishonoured. If
respect be given to a man, but not such as his place requires, he thinks himself slighted ; to honour a king as a justice of peace, were to dishonour him. For honour lies in a proportion, a suitableness, a comeliness, as beauty, &c., doth. And therefore in that fore-named place, Mai. i., when they served him thus below his worth, he says, they despised his name, ver. 6, and made his table contemptible, ver. 7. Reason 3. If we glorify not God as God, it is not godliness, but bodily exercise, or selfness, natural devotion, hypocrisy ; for godliness is that which
exalts God as God. Thence it hath its name and denomination, which
applies itself to God and all his attributes, as becomes the creature to do ; that is, godliness, if it be allied with anything that makes God less than a God to a man s heart, it is debased, and is not godliness. As in justifica
tion, if we leave never so little to works, it is not faith ; for then the grace we relied on is no more grace, as the apostle says. So in sanctification, if we bow and bend our religion to any lower principles than what exalt God
wholly as God, it is no longer godliness. Use. You have heard one of the truest and exactest trials of your grace and religion ; and that is, whether you glorify God as a God. It holds
universally true that all men s religion, and the God they serve, are pro portioned the one to the other. The religion the word requires sets up our God as God. And so do all they in whose heart the law is written, and who have faith. To know God as God, is indeed revealed in his word (so
CHAP. VI.] IN OUE SALVATION. 507
you have it Jer. xxxi. 33, 34) ; and the taking in of God by faith, under the
true and real notion of him, moulds all in a man to glorify him according
as he is apprehended ; and as men fall short of honour in their apprehen
sions, through unbelief of this God, accordingly do they fall short in that
service and devotion they honour him with. And it is as certain that all
carnal men in the world do, through atheism and unbelief, take into_ their
hearts a false God, or false apprehensions of the true God, that he is not
to them as God, and so accordingly they worship him. The Jews, who had
the same revelation of God in his word as we have, yet still, through atheism,
they took in such low apprehensions of him as they mistook the way of
serving him. They glorified him not as God. When Joshua (chap, xxiv.)
pressed them to serve the Lord and fear him, they thought with themselves
that they would, and hoped to please him too ; and far be it from us, say
they, to forsake him, ver. 16-18. But Joshua tells them, ver. 19, they were mistaken in him ; if you knew what a God he is, saith he, you would
see that this service you think to please him with would not be sufficient. Ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is an holy God, and so requires to be
worshipped not outwardly or formally, but to be made your end, your
guide, and to have all within you subject to him, according to all his glori
ous attributes ; and such service your carnal hearts can never perform unto
him. The like instance you have, Ps. 1. A formalist there thought to
serve him full well with sacrifices, with the blood of bulls and goats, whereas
he took liberty to live in known sins. What was the reason ? He thought God would be pleased with such a form of religion. It all arose from mis
< Thou didst think, says God, that I was like thee.
takes of God : ver. 21,
This heart, through atheism, framed a God to his own frame of spirit, one
that was of his mind, and his religion. And as David was a man after God s own heart, so they make a God after their hearts. They so temper
their thoughts of him, and his mercy, justice, holiness, &c., in such a sense
and interpretation as may stand with their ways and courses, and^ which
doth indeed make him no God, or not as that God the word sets him out. What is the reason that men living in the church, and hearing all the glory
of the great God set forth, yet worship this God with no more devotiom in
their hearts, nor obedience in their lives, than the Turks worship Mahomet
with, and the heathens did their gods with ? It is because they, in the
interpretations their atheism puts upon all is said of him, make him but as
one of their gods. And not only they, but those who are most enlightened
(if not with a saving light) as their apprehension of God falls short, so the
principles which they walk by (whatever they may profess) in the course _of their lives to serve this God with, fall short also. Their conceits of him
and about him are tempered so as to make him approving their ways,
though in all the obedience they perform to him they seek themselves,
and make themselves an end ; and so bow God to their ends, and make a
bridge of him, and go about but to serve their turns of him, which, did
they spiritually conceive how holy a God he is, they durst not make bold
to do, but would seek salvation from him, as aiming at him in all, and sub
mitting themselves, their own ends and salvation, to him. Men do with
God as the Venetians do with their duke. They set him up in all matters of
state-attendance as a sovereign prince, but level his power so low that he is
no more than an ordinary senator, for in the carriage of affairs of state, when anything comes to "be done, they overrule him, bow him to their
suffrages, contradict his will ; and yet all the conclusions made go forth in
his name, as if he were a sovereign prince. Thus do men give unto God
508 THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK X.
all titles of respect, acknowledge him in all his glorious attributes to be as great a God as he proclaims himself in his word ; yet in the secret senatehouse of the understanding, will, &c., where all actions are concluded, con sulted on, and published, they un-god him again, walk by such principles therein as take all away again from him, setting up themselves in his room, making themselves their end, yea, carry things against him ; and yet when any good is done, they cry still as they, Isa. kvi. 5, Let God be glorified, when yet they cast out the saints for his name s sake, as there it is saii Men haply will shew as much respect to God as they would do to a man like themselves whom they reverence, or conceive thus or thus well of ; but we are to glorify him as a God, as he shews himself as God, and more than man, in his dispensations towards us, which are such as none but a God so great, so merciful, &c., would continue to dispense, to forbear us so as he does, as Hosea xi. 9, I will not execute the fierceness of my wrath, for I am God, and not man. So must we respect him as God, and not as we would a man only endued with such perfections.
^ If we trust him, we must trust him as God, and not so far as we would a faithful man only, though never so honest ; put our souls salvation, obedi ence, and all into his hands. For grace is his faithfulness. We must so sub mit to him as to suffer him to alter all a man s ways and thoughts, and over turn all his spirits in obedience and dependence on him.
When we come for pardon to him, seeing the greatness and multitudes of our sins, we must think higher thoughts of pardoning to be in him than in a man. My thoughts are as far above them, says God, Isa. Iv. (he speaks of
pardoning) as the heavens are above the earth, for I will multiply to pardon, .or as we read it, I am the great pardoner.
If any business be to be done, any deliverance be to be wrought, let us trust his power, beyond that of second causes ; trust him as a God that can do what ever he will on the earth and in the sea, and not limit the holy one, as the people of Israel did, when they said, Can he provide a table in the wilder ness, to provide for so great a multitude ?
If we love him, let us love him as God, for as Christ says, He that hates not father and mother for my sake is not worthy of me.
"
If we fear him, let us fear him more than man, never so great or power ful ; as Moses did, in whose eyes the wrath of Pharaoh was but, in com parison of God, as a rod of straws in the hand of a child, to a rod of iron in the hands of a giant. Who hath known the power of his wrath ? says Moses, Ps. xc., As is our fear, so great is thy displeasure, and greater. Fear not them, says Christ,
< that can but kill the body, but him that can cast body and soul into hell.
< Who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall die ; and forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heaven ? Isa. li. 12. So if we know his holiness and sovereignty, we would submit to him more than to any man ; in all afflictions, in all our dependences upon his
pleasure, yea, in the matter of salvation itself. We should also live to him, so as we do to no one else ; turn all our causes for him, take all our hearts and ends in pieces, and mould them all to him.
To conclude ; this is certain, that all the principles we take up to serve God by, and which we walk by (if our hearts be right), are such and so framed as to set God up as God, or all is naught ; we should put an estimate upon sin, by his greatness we sin against, and should say and hold to the conclusion which Joseph did, How shall I do this and sin
CHAP. VII.] IN OUR SALVATION. 509
against God ? We should not slight him in the least, or think any fear or care herein, too much strictness for him. Nor would men sin in private if men thought him omniscient, nor would our consciences be content with
obedience, without making God our chiefest end, if we know him in his
holiness, which makes him exact all from the creature for himself, and
justly too, seeing he is their maker and end. Nor would men rest in duties of his worship, without communion apprehended or sought for, with him above all. If they made him their chiefest good in worshipping him, men would worship him only according to his own will and word, and not teach his fear by the principles of men, as Mark vii. 7-9, for can men tell what will please the great God ? The heathens thought that their gods were to be worshipped according to their own prescriptions. So those that were
placed in the room of the ten tribes, 2 Kings xvii. 26, thought that they must worship the god of the land after his own manner, they should not make a god of him else. So, ver. 27, the king of Assyria said, Let them take a priest to go and dwell there, and teach them the manner of the god of the land ; and ver. 28, he taught them how they should fear the Lord. And as for matter, so for manner ; men would worship him in spirit, if they knew him to be a Spirit, as Christ says, and would bring living sacrifices, not dead formal performances, if they knew him the living God. There are three cautions I will add to explain my meaning in this point.
1. When I say the glory due to God is to be given him, the meaning is not that which is simply due to so great a majesty ; that no creature can
give him, but such, as in your condition, creatures sanctified can return to him.
2. That in the best there is an unregenerate part, which is a very atheist, and doth say, There is no God, but denies all of him, as unregenerate men do ; for which men judging their estates must give allowance, yet so as there is a regenerate whole man in them, that sets God up as God. Thus, 3. This setting God thus up as God, is best discerned by those principles which we habitually have taken up to ourselves to live by, which we will not leave, but stick unto, which lie in the heart, continually drawing up the whole man to them, moulding all according to them, and of which when we
fall short, through the atheism of the unregenerate part, we judge ourselves. Now if so, then still God is then set and acknowledged as God, either when we keep to them or when we fall short ; when we pass sentence on all that
pass, according to such laws as stand in force, enacted in our hearts.