104. JER 13:16. THE IMPORTANCE OF GIVING GLORY TO GOD
Jer_13:16. The Importance of Giving Glory to God
Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness."’97Jer_13:16.
The prophet had just been describing he calamities which God had declared he would bring upon his rebellious people; and he exhorts them to hear what the Lord had spoken, and not, in the pride of their hearts, to reject the counsel of God. He then prescribes a remedy by which the judgments of God might be averted, and that remedy is specified in the text, "Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness." The text is capable of a personal application. Let us, then, consider,
1. The Important Counsel which is given.
"Give glory to the Lord your God." The subject cannot refer to God’s essential glory, as that is incapable of increase of diminution, and cannot possibly be affected by any of his creatures. Jehovah dwells in light, which nothing can becloud’97in serenity, which nothing can disturb. But, his glory may be declared, acknowledged, exhibited. All nature reflects it, "the heavens declare the glory of God." The bright intelligences who ever minister before him, are constantly celebrating it; and it is the imperative duty, as well as the highest privilege, that man should unite in this holy and reasonable employment. We should give glory to the Lord our God,
1. By a verbal and practical acknowledgment of his being.
"The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." Wicked, unbelieving men, live without God in the world. It becomes us, therefore, to confess that "the Lord is God." And not only are we to affirm this, and thus glorify God with our mouths, but we must show forth this belief in our lives, by always setting the Lord before us. We should give glory to God,
2. By cultivating right views of his character and perfections.
It is of the utmost importance to have correct views of God. Many imagine God to be such an one as themselves; many speak of him as being careless of the creatures he hath made: some represent him as constantly clothed in habiliments of wrath and terror; others describe him as indifferent to the interests of holiness, as absorbed in mercy, and heedless of the rights of equity and truth. God hath described his own character, and revealed his own perfections; let that be our standard: "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty;" Exo_34:6. We should give glory to God,
3. By a humble and contrite confession of our sins before him.
God invites us to confess our sins that we may obtain mercy; and in sincere, humble, contrite confession, we give glory to his justice, whose claims we have violated’97to his holiness, which we have insulted’97to his patience and goodness, which we have despised’97and to his mercy and forgiving love, which we now with brokenness of heart implore. We should give glory to God,
4. By a cordial reception of his own terms of reconciliation.
He has graciously provided for the restoration of fallen miserable sinners. He says unto them, "Return unto me, for I have redeemed you." He hath appointed his own Son to be the Mediator between himself and us. In the person and work of Christ, he is well pleased; and, by faith in his sacrificial death, the sinner is freely justified, and accepted of God. God, therefore, commands the sinner to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and God is glorified when we believe the record he hath given of his Son; 1Jn_5:9-13. We should give glory to the Lord our God,
5. By a sacred consecration of ourselves to his service.
Yes, God is honored when the rebel throws away his weapons of hostility, and becomes a devoted subject to the crown of heaven. When there is a free and hearty surrender of body and soul to his service; when lip, and head, and hand, and heart, and influence are all cheerfully surrendered to him. When the soul with happy delight exclaims,
"Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my life, my soul, my all."
Observe,
II. The Solemn Motive by which this Counsel is enforced.
"Before he cause darkness." God says, by his prophet, "I form light, and create darkness." It is evident, that the word darkness is used metaphorically in the text, and refers to those national calamities which are threatened in the chapter; see verses 14, 16, 19, and 24. The term is variously employed in the sacred writings, and sometimes includes,
1. Temporal visitations of divine displeasure.
Thus, it is employed nationally by Isa_8:22; Joe_2:2, and in the text. Also Eze_32:8. When God visits a nation with war or famine, or pestilence, then it is a time of darkness. When families or individuals are subjected to privations and adversity, plans disconcerted, hopes blighted, disappointments reaped, &c., then it may be said to be a time of darkness; and how easily God can effect this’97how easily touch our arrangements, and utterly frustrate them’97how easily can he cause us to drink of the cup of perplexity, and confusion, and sorrow!
2. Bodily and mental afflictions are seasons of darkness.
Health, and its consequences, resemble the bright cheering day; afflictions, and their effects, the gloom and blackness of night. And how quickly God can give us sickness in exchange for health’97weakness instead of strength’97pain instead of ease, darkness instead of light! How easily can he quench the light of reason, and leave us to wander with the vacant stare of the maniac! Then, how desirable that we should give glory to God, and avoid a calamity so truly overwhelming and terrific!
3. Divine abandonment is darkness.
God is light, and where his favorable presence is, is heaven; the withdrawment of it is darkness, is hell. He said of old, that his "Spirit should not always strive with man." He speaks of Ephraim, and says, "He is joined to his idols, let him alone." Saul’s bitterest wo was expressed, when he said, "God is departed from me;" 1Sa_28:15. O, how dreadful to be left to our own infatuation, for God to take his Holy Spirit from us! Then, "Give glory to God, before he thus cause darkness."
4. The grave is the region of darkness.
Job says of it, "a land of darkness as darkness itself, and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness;" Job_10:22. The rays of the natural or of the divine sun, never shine there. There is neither work nor device; all is undisturbed stillness, and sable gloom. No gospel, no ordinances, no strivings of the Spirit, no means of repentance or salvation. There, the bodies of men remain in custody, awaiting the trumpet’s blast, when they shall be brought forth either to glory or everlasting contempt. Then, let us give glory to God, before he cause us to go the way of all the earth, and surround us with the darkness of that house appointed for all living.
5. Hell is the place of outer darkness.
There dwell the spirits of darkness’97there are chains of darkness’97there is the blackness of eternal darkness. And God hath said that "the wicked shall be turned into hell." That all "whose names are not written in the book of life, shall be cast into the lake of fire, the second death;" Mat_8:12; Mat_22:13; Mat_25:30; Jdg_1:6, Jdg_1:13. Then give glory to God, before he cause you to go down to the doleful region of eternal blackness and despair.
Application
1. Let the subject be urged upon the attention of all. Upon the young and old, the rich and poor, the moral and profane. God demands glory from all men. None are too elevated to be exempted from it; none are too low to yield it.
2. Give glory to God now. He claims it now, he will receive it now, you may derive the advantages now. If refused at present, the day of opportunities may cease, he may cause darkness when compliance will be impossible.
3. Give glory to God in all things and at all times. "Whether ye eat or drink," &c. Glorify him with body and soul. "In all your ways acknowledge him," &c.
Autor: JABEZ BURNS