he liad made an oration, and the people gave a ^liont, saying, " It is the voice of a god, and not of a man ;" he took tliis glory to himself, the text saith, " And immedi- ately the angel of the Lord smote him, be- cause he gave not God the glory, and he was eaten of worms," Acts xii. 23. Then we glorify God, when we sacrifice the praise and glory of all to God, 1 Cor. xv. 10., " I laboured more abundantly than they all," — a speech, one would think, savoured of pride, but the apostle pulls the crown from his own head, and sets it upon the head of free grace, " yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." As Joab, when he fought against Rabbah, sent for king David, that he might carry away the crown of the victory, 2 Sam. xii. 28., so a Chris- tian when he hath gotten power over any corruption or temptation, sends for Christ, that he may carry away the crown of the victory. As the isilk-worm, when she weaves her curious work, she hides her- self under the silk, and is not seen; so when we have done any thing praise-wor- thy, we must hide ourselves under the vail of humility, and transfer the glory of all we have done to God. Constantine did use to Avrite the name of Christ over his door, so should we write the name of Christ over our duties ; let him wear the garland of praise.
A. 17. We glorify God by an holy life ; as a bad life doth dishonour God : 1 Pet. ii. 9., " Ye are an holy nation, that ye should shew forth the praises of him that hath called you ;" Rom. ii. 24., " The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you." Epiphanius saith, " That the looseness of some Christians, in his time, made many of the heathens shun the company of the Christians, and would not be drawn to hear their sermons." So, by our exact Bible-conversation we glorify God. Though the main work of religion lies in the heart, yet our light must so shine that others may behold it; the chief of a building is the foundation, yet the glory of it is in the frontispiece ; so beauty in the conversation : when the saints, who are called jewels, cast a s])arkling lustre of ho- liness in the eyes of the world, then they ** walk as Christ walked," 1 John ii. 6.
When they live as if they had seen the Lord with bodily eyes, and been with him upon the mount, then they adorn religion, and bring revenues of glory to the crown of heaven.
Use 1. It shews us what should not be our chief end : not to get great estates, — not to lay up treasures upon earth, — this is a degeneracy of mankind since the fall ; their great design is to compass the earth and grow rich, and this they make their chief end ; those never think of glorifying God, — they trade for the world, but are not factors for heaven : Eccles. ix. 3., " Madness is in their heart while they live." Sometimes they never arrive at an estate, — they do not get the venison they hunt for, — or, though they do, what have they ? that which will not fill the heart, no more than the mariner's breath ^vill fill the sails of a ship, — a picture drawn on the ice ! So they spend their time, as Israel, in gather- ing straw, but remember not the end of liv- ing to glorify God: Eccles. v. 16., " WWzX profit hath he that laboureth for the wind ?" And these things are soon gone.
Use 2. It reproves such — I. As bring no glory to God. They do not answer the end of their creation, their time is not time lived, but time lost ; they are like the wood of the A'ine, Ezek. xv. 2.; their lives are, as St. Bernard speaks, " either sinfulness or bar- renness. An useless burden on the earth." God will one day ask such a question as king Ahasuerus did, Esth. vi. 3., " What honour and dignity hath been done to Mor- decai ? So will the Lord say, '■' What ho- nour hath been done to me? What revenues of glory have you brought into my ex- chequer ?" There is none here present but God hath put you in some capacity of glo" rifying him ; the health he hath given you^ — the parts, estate, seasons of grace, — these all are opportunities put into your hand to glorify him ; and, be assured, God will call you to account, to know what you have done with the mercies he hath intrusted you with, what glory you have brought to hira. The parable of the talents, Mat. xxv. 15., where the men with the five talents, and the two talents, are brought to a reck<ming, doth evidently shew that God will call you to a strict account, to know you have trad-
MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD.
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