627. MAL 1:11. THE UNIVERSAL GREATNESS AND GLORY OF GOD’S NAME

Mal_1:11. The Universal Greatness and Glory of God’s Name

By Rev. B. W. Matthias, M. A., of Trinity College, Dublin.

"For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great, among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts."’97Mal_1:11.

The prophet Malachi lived at a period when the Jewish nation had sunk into a deplorable state of immorality and impiety. The people had forgotten the lesson which their captivity seems to have taught them for a time; as they had previously forgotten that which was intended for them by the dispersion of the ten tribes belonging to their original family. Acknowledging God in their profession, they appear, at this particular period, to have in every other respect denied him.

The eternal God expostulates with the people by his prophet, and reminds them of the special kindness which he had bestowed on Jacob their ancestor, and the privileges which he had granted to him beyond those bestowed on Esau; and, marking the little effect which these things had on them, he declares that he had no pleasure in them, and would receive no offering at their hands, Mal_1:10. But "from the rising of the sun even. unto the going down of the same," Jehovah declares, "my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering." As though he had said, "You refuse to bring me offerings? Know, that pure offerings shall be presented to me, and in abundance’97not from one solitary nation, consisting of comparatively but few individuals, but from all people on the face of the earth’97from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same! In all the vast extent of my lower creation, I shall be celebrated and honored; my name shall be great; and my creatures, influenced by my Spirit, shall be found willing to present, not the maimed, the blind, and the lame,’97but the incense of prayer and thanksgiving; and the pure offering of a heart cleansed by my Spirit, and washed from its stains in the blood of my Son." In this prediction, we shall consider,

I. The subject brought before us.

It is, that the name of the Lord shall be great among the heathen; and that, in every place, incense shall be offered to his name, and a pure offering. The first thing stated here is, that,

1. The name of Jehovah shall be great. "My name shall be great among the Gentiles." Melancholy, in every respect, is the view of the heathen world! Whether we consider its present corruptions, or its future prospects, its state is most awful! And all arises from this’97that they know not God. But they shall know him!’97and so know him, that his "name shall be great."

(1.) They shall know him as the only "living and true God," 1Th_1:9; and that all the idols which they have worshipped, are but vanities and lies, and things that cannot profit, Jer_2:11.

(2.) Jehovah shall be further known among the heathen, not only as "the living and true God," but as a Holy God, a God of rectitude and purity’97the very reverse of their present deities! What are the characteristics of these gods? Abomination! What, frequently, is their worship? Abomnation! How miserably, then, is the human mind degraded, when its god and its worship are both abominable! Into what a wretched state of degradation, I say, must a human being be plunged, when the god whom he worships, and the worship which he offers, are all defilement and all impurity!

(3.) They shall likewise know him to be a gracious God, as well as holy (Psa_86:16; Psa_111:4, &c.) What must be the state of mind of that creature, who approaches his god in the morning, trembling and agitated, with an earnest cry, "Do not kill me!" To such a man, can we not make known "the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort?" 2Co_1:3. And even, on the common feelings of humanity alone, can we stand by unmoved, while the goodness of our God is thus unknown to three-fourths of his intelligent creatures? Can you remain inactive, when you may, by his blessing, rescue them from the thraldom of such a bondage, and make them acquainted with him, whose nature and whose name are Love? 1Jn_4:8, 1Jn_4:10, &c.

(4.) Jehovah shall be known among the heathen, in the only character in which man can know him with safety and comfort’97he shall be known as God the Saviour, 2Co_5:19. Towards the close of the forty-fifth chapter of the prophecies of Isaiah, the inspired writer, when speaking of the idolatry of mankind, and the character under which God shall be known among them, "a just God and a Saviour;" adds, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else."

When we speak of his being known under the character of "God the Saviour," how many delightful reflections burst on the mind! He shall be known, to use the words of him who knew him best, and, therefore, could best describe him’97his beloved Son’97he shall be known as that God, who of his own mere mercy "so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," Joh_3:16. When he is thus known among them, his name shall be great and honored.

2. And what shall be this honor? "In every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering."

(1.) Incense shall be offered, in every place, to the name of the Lord. The import of the expression in the text, that incense shall be offered to his name, is:’97that prayer shall be made. But, in considering this point, let us advert to the connection. The sacrifices preceded; and the prayer, externally exhibited by the incense, was afterwards offered. This is calculated to teach us a most important lesson. It is this: that that prayer only is efficacious in the sight of heaven’97that that prayer only comes up before God as incense, which is connected with and dependent on the merits of the Great Atonement. In the view of this atonement it is that David says, "Let my prayers be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice," Psa_141:2.

(2.) It is added’97"and a pure offering; for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts." The apostle Peter describes Christians as a "holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ," 1Pe_2:5. Such a holy priesthood shall the heathen become, under the powerful influences of the grace of the Holy Spirit; and such sacrifices shall they offer!

But what are these offerings? David says, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise," Psa_51:17. Through the knowledge of the gospel, the heathen shall be broken down under a sense of their guilt, corruption, and misery. They shall come to God, not to plead their own merits, but, smiting on their breasts, like the publican in the temple (Luk_18:13), they shall offer the acceptable sacrifice of "a broken heart," and "a contrite spirit!" St. Paul speaks of another offering’97"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies"’97yourselves, not the bodies of animals’97"a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom_12:1). This sacrifice also shall the heathen present: they shall offer unto the Lord, themselves, their souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto him. Believing in Christ, as the Saviour who redeemed them to God by his blood, Rev_5:9; and knowing themselves to be part of his "purchased possession," Eph_1:14, they shall feel that "they are not their own, but are bought with a price;" and shall therefore glorify God in their bodies, and in their spirits, which are God’s, 1Co_6:19, 1Co_6:20.

Finally. Praise and thanksgiving to God, and every exercise of Christian benevolence towards man, are parts of that pure offering, which shall be presented to the eternal God. In the last chapter of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews, the apostle dwells on this subject. Speaking of Jesus, he says, "By him let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. But," he adds, "to do good and to communicate, forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." The sacrifice of a devoted heart, the sacrifice of a grateful tongue, expressing itself in praise and thanksgiving, and the sacrifice of a benevolent soul consecrated to the service of God and of human kind’97these are well-pleasing sacrifices: these are the blessed offerings which the now perishing heathen shall be enabled to present to the Most High God. Let us now consider,

II. What ground we have to conclude that this prediction shall be accomplished.

He makes the assertion at the beginning, and he repeats it at the end of the verse, to assure us of its certainty:’97"For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my. name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts." We may argue the accomplishment of this promise,

1. From the truth of the eternal God. "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" Num_23:19. "Ask of me," Jehovah says to the Saviour, "and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, "and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession," Psa_2:8. Has not the Redeemer claimed this inheritance? We may infer the accomplishment of this promise,

2. From the power as well as the truth of God. It has been said, that there are insuperable difficulties in the way of converting the heathen’97that it is an idle thing to look forward to such an event’97that you must first civilize them; and, till you have conferred that benefit on them, you cannot make them Christians. But what says matter of fact? Preach the gospel to them, as they can be brought to comprehend it: that will be the most powerful of all instruments in civilizing them. Let the great work in the South Sea Islands bear witness! Let the rapid improvement of the liberated negroes in Sierra Leone testify! Let the elevation to social enjoyments of even Hottentots, and Greenlanders, and Esquimaux, point out the path to civilization! The grace of the gospel tempers the soul of even savage man, and fits it to seek after whatever may exalt human nature.

3. The zeal which God has for his own glory, presents another and a most forcible argument in proof that this promise shall be accomplished.

Having now offered such evidence as naturally presents itself, in proof that this glorious prediction shall be accomplished, it becomes us to bring the subject home to ourselves, and to consider,

III. The line of conduct these truths devolve upon us.

It pleases God to work by second causes; and, if this great prediction is to be accomplished, means must be used for that end. It is, therefore, one of the first duties incumbent on Christians, in order that this prediction may be accomplished,

1. That those of them who are qualified for the work, should proclaim the truth as it is in Jesus, to the perishing heathen.

2. You should advance the cause of missions by your influence. Your time and talents will be most nobly employed, in exciting in others a feeling and interest in the cause of the heathen.

3. You should advance the cause of missions by the pecuniary means which God has given you. The silver and the gold are his, Hag_2:8 : a portion of them has, through his providence, fallen to you; and it is but right; therefore, that you should use them for his glory and the good of his creatures.

4. But prayer and supplication are still more important than the silver and the gold. Oh, bear ever in mind, what it is that supports the hands of missionaries in the important and difficult work in which they are engaged’97it is that grace and influence which God has promised to bestow on them.

Application

1. Christian friends,’97ere we part, permit me to ask you, or, rather, let each one ask himself, What am I doing? or, How am I affected in this cause?

2. Much, undoubtedly, has been done, of late years, by the Christian world; much has been done by Great Britain; and much has been done by the Society, on behalf of which I am now pleading. But look to the world, and let me ask you, Has enough been done?’97No! not one thousandth part of what should have been done!

3. In this labor of love, Christians, we must abound more and more. If ever, then, you prayed for the cause of Christ among the heathen before, pray more earnestly now; if ever you have used influence for the advancement of his glory before, use more now; if ever you have contributed before, contribute more now’97that you may hasten the accomplishment of this Divine prediction, "For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my lame shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts!"

Autor: JABEZ BURNS