1. That when the work of faith is fulfilled with power, Christ Jesus is glorified in his servants.
2. That in promoting the glory of Christ we do also promote the salvation of our own souls ; for when he is glorified in us, we are glori- fied in him.
3. That our glorified estate is to be ascribed to the mere grace and goodness of God in Christ.
First point. That when the work of faith is fulfilled with power, Christ Jesus is glorified in his servants.
To evidence this I will consider — (1.) How many ways God and Christ is glorified ; (2.) That when the work of faith is fulfilled with power, Christ is thus glorified.
First, How many ways God or Christ may be said to be glorified.
I answer — Two ways — (1.) Passively and objectively ; (2.) Actively, and by our voluntary concurrence.
1. Passively. God is glorified in all his creatures and works, as his glorious excellencies are visibly represented in them. Now there are two sorts of creatures in the world — some that may be called merely natural, others that are free and voluntary agents. The mere natural agents are heaven and earth, and the beasts of the field, &c. ; these all declare the glory of God, Ps. xix. 1, 2. The free and voluntary agents are men and angels : Ps. cxlv. 10, ' All thy works praise thee, and thy saints bless thee.' All his works offer matter of praise, but men and angels do voluntarily ascribe it to him, and not the rest of the creation. Now, God is glorified merely passively and objectively in the dumb and senseless creature, but both objectively and actively too in the saints and angels. As, for instance, God is glorified objectively in the new creature ; his very being is to the praise of his glorious grace, Eph. i. 12. Though the man be silent, yet the work of the new creation speaketh for itself. And in the new creature, discovered in its fruits, there is a greater appearance of God's excellency than in any other being on this side heaven ; so that this objective way of glorifying God in his saints is the discovery and appearance of God in his holy ones, or the impression of his excellency upon us.
2. Actively. So men are said to glorify God, as they do conceive and declare his excellency in word or deed. Three ways we may be said to glorify God — in our hearts, tongues, and lives.
[1.] In our hearts, by estimation and love : Luke i. 46, ' My soul doth magnify the Lord.' We are said to magnify or greaten the Lord, as we conceive more largely of his excellency, with suitable affections, fearing, loving, trusting, delighting in him above all, with such a fear as banisheth the fear of man from our hearts. All the fears and frowns of a worm are more contemptible to us in comparison of that reverence and dread that we have of God : Isa. li. 12, 13, ' Who art thou that
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art afraid of a man, and forgetteth the Lord thy maker ? ' So for love, so that other things are as nothing to them : Ps. lxxiii. 25, ' Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.' So trust ; they have a full security in God's promises, and count God's word better than man's performance, than anything man offereth or can bestow upon them : Isa. xxvi. 3, ' Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.' Delight : Ps. iv. 6, 7, ' Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance on us : thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and wine increased.' They reckon their happiness by his favour, and this is more than the highest enjoyments ; that which is most precious and desirable is nothing worth without it : Ps. lxiii. 3, ' Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.'
[2.] They glorify God with their tongues, as they do declare his excellency : Ps. 1. 23, ' Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth me.' They give God his due, and express what they conceive and esteem ; for praise is nothing but the breath of love, joy, esteem, or gratitude. Our tongues were given us for this end and purpose : James iii. 10, ' Therewith we bless God, even the Father.' Angels have minds ; they adore and admire God, but have no tongues ; beasts have tongues, but they have no reason ; but we have tongues, and have reason and speech also ; therefore, unless we be the mouth of the whole creation of God to declare his excellencies, we frustrate God's end, who brought man into this lower world as the admirer and praiser of all his works.
[3.] In our lives we glorify God ; as Job said the sides of the poor blessed him, so must our lives bless God. Thus we glorify God two ways — (1.) By fixing his glory as the end of our lives and actions ; (2.) By doing such things as may most suit with this end.