I. I begin with the first, the glorifving of God, 1 Pet. iv. 11., " That God in all things may be glorified."" The glory of God is a silver thread which must run tln-ousrh all our actions; I Cor. x. 31., " Whether thci-efore ye eat or (b'ink, or Avhatsoever ye do, <h) all to tlie glory of God." Every thing works to some end in things natural and artilicial ; now man being a rational cTea- tiire, must propose some end to himself, and tliat is, that he may lift up God in the world; aiid better lose his life; than lose the end of liis living; so then, the great truth asserted is this, that the end of every man's linng, is to glorify God; this is the yearly rent that is paid to the crown of heaven.
Glorifying of God hath respect to all the persons in the Trinity ; it respects God tiie Father, who gave us our life ; it respects God the Son, who lost his life for us ; it respects God the Holy Ghost, who produc- eth a new life in us ; we must bring glory to the whole Trinity.
When we speak of God's glory, the ques- tion will be moved,
Q. JVIiat we are to understand by God's glory ?
Ans. There is a twofold glory: 1. The glory that God hath in himself, his intrin- s-ical glory. Glory is essential to the God- head, as light is to the sun; he is called the ' God of glory,' Acts vii. 2. Glory is the sparkling of the Deity ; glory is so co- natural to the Godlicad, that God cannot be God without it. The creature's honour is not essential to his being ; a king is a man without his regal ornaments, when his crown and royal robe arc taken away,
MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD.
but God's glory is sucli an essential part of his being, that he cannot be God with- out it; God's very life lies in his glory. This glory can receive no addition, because it is infinite ; this glory is that wliich God is most tender of, and which he will not part with, Isa. xlviii. 11., " My glory I will not give to another." God will give tem- poral blessings to his children, such as wis- dom, riches, honour ; he will give them spi- ritual blessings, — he will give them grace, — he will give them his love, — he will give them heaven, — but his essential glory he will not give to another. King Pharaoh parted with a ring off his finger to Joseph, and a gold chain, but he would not part with his throne, Gen. xli. 40., ' Only in the throne will I be greater than thou.' So God will do much for his people ; he will give them the inheritance ; he will put some of Christ's glory, as mediator, upon them ; but his essential glory he will not part with ; ' in the throne he will be greater.'
2. The glory which is ascribed to God, or which his creatures labour to bring to him*. 1 Chron. xvi. 29., "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name," and, 1 Cor. vi. 20., " Glorify God in your body and in your spirit." The glory we give God, is nothing else but our lifting up his name in tlie world, and magnifying him in the eyes of others : Phil. i. 20., " Christ shall be magnified in my body."
Q. W/iat is it to glorify God, or U'hereiti doth it consist ?
A. Glorifying of God consists in four things : 1st. Appreciation, 2d. Adoration, 3d. Affection, 4th. Subjection. This is the yearly rent wc pay to the crown of lieaven.
1. Appreciation. To glorify God, is to set God highest in our thoughts, — to have a ve- nerable esteem of him : Ps. xcii. 8., "Thou, Lord, art most high for evermore ;" Ps. xc^di. 9., " Thou art exalted far above all gods." There is in God all that may draw forth both wonder and delight ; there is in him a constellation of all beauties ; he is pri- ma causa, — the original and spring-head of being, who sheds a glory upon the crea- ture. This is to fflorifv God, when we are God-admirers ; we admire God in his at- tributes, wliich are the glistering beams by
which the di\ine nature shines forth ; wo admire him in his promises, which are the charter of free grace, and the spiritual cabi net where the pearl of price is hid ; we ad- mire God in the noble effects of his power and wisdom, viz. tlie making of the world, tliis is called tlie ' work of his fingers,' Ps, viii. 3., such curious needle-work it was, that none but a God could work. This is to glorify God, to have God-admiring thoughts; we esteem him most excellent, and search for diamonds only in this rock.