This is the import of the expression at the beginning of the verse, — " What doth the Lord thy God require of thee?" Thou mayest cast about in thy thoughts to other things, wherein either thyself may be more delighted, or, as thou supposest, may be more acceptable to God. Be not mistaken; this is the great thing that he requires of thee, — to walk humbly with him.
The grounds of it are : —
1. Every man is most concerned in that which is his great end; the bringing about of that is of most importance to him ; the great exercise of his thoughts is, — whether he shall succeed as to this or not. The chief end of believers is, the glory of God. This, I say, is so, or ought to be so. For this purpose they were made, redeemed to this purpose, and purchased to be a peculiar people. Now, the Scripture everywhere teaches, that the great means of our glorifying God, is by our humble walking with him, according as it was before described. John xv. 8, " Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." You may have many thoughts that God is glorified by
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works of miracles, and the like, amazing and dazzling the e}res of the world. Be it so ; but in the most eminent manner, it is by your bearing fruit. You know the general rule that our Saviour gives his followers, Matt. v. 1 6. It is from our good works that men give glory- to God. Which advice is again renewed by the Holy Ghost, 1 Pet. ii. 12.
Now, there are sundry ways whereby glory redounds to God by believers' humble walking with him: — (1.) It gives him the glory of the doctrine of grace. (2.) It gives him the glory of the power of his grace. (3.) It gives him the glory of the law of his grace, — that he is a king obeyed. (4.) It gives him the glory of his justice. (5.) It gives him the glory of his kingdom ; — first, in its order and beauty ; secondly, in multiplying his subjects:—
(1.) It gives God the glory of the. doctrine of grace, or of the doc- trine of the gospel ; which is therefore called " The glorious gospel of God/' because it so brings glory to him. Walking according to this rule, we adorn the doctrine of the gospel in all things. So the apostle tells us, Tit. ii. 11, 12: " This is that which this grace teacheth us; the substance is, to walk humbly with God." And when men pro- fessing it walk answerable to it, it is rendered glorious. When the world shall see that these are the fruits which that doctrine produceth, they must needs magnify it. The pride, folly, and wickedness of professors, hath been the greatest obstacle that ever the gospel re- ceived in this world. Nor will it, by any endeavours whatever, be ad- vanced, until there be more conformity unto it in them who make the greatest profession of it. Then is the word glorified, when it hath a free course and progress, 2 Thess. iii 1 ; which it will not have without the humble walking of professors. What eminent gifts are poured out in the days wherein we live ! what light is bestowed ! what pains in preaching! how is the dispensation of the word mul- tiplied !— yet how little ground is got by it ! how few converted ! The word hath a free course in preaching, but is not glorified in accept- able obedience. Is it not high time for professors and preachers to look at home, whether the obstacle lie not in ourselves? Do we not fortify the world against the doctrine we profess, by the fruits of it they see in ourselves, and our own ways? Do they not say of us, " These are our new lights and professors; proud, selfish, worldly, un- righteous; negligent of the ordinances themselves profess to magnify; useless in their places and generations; — falling into the very same path which they condemn in others"? Perhaps they may deal falsely and maliciously in these things; but is it not high time for us to ex- amine ourselves, lest, abounding in preaching and talking, we have forgot to walk humbly with God; — and so, not glorifying the gospel, have hindered the free course of its work and efficacy?
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(2.) Humble walking with God gives him the glory of the power of his grace, — his converting, sanctifying grace. When the world shall see a poor, proud, selfish, rebellious, froward, perhaps dissolute and debauched creature, made gentle, meek, humble, self-denying, sober, useful, — they cannot but inquire after the secret and hidden virtue and power which principled such a change. This is given as the glory of the grace that was to be administered under the gospel, — that it should change the nature of the vilest men ; — that it should take away cruelty from the wolf, and violence from the leopard, rage from the lion, and poison from the asp, — making them gentle and useful as the kid and the calf, the cow and the ox, Isa. xi. 6-9. It is not in our nature to humble ourselves to walk with God ; we have an opposition to it and all parts of it : no angels or men can persuade us to it. Our carnal mind is enmity to him, not subject to his law, — nor can be. To have our souls humbled, brought to the foot of God, made always ready, willing, obedient, turned in their whole course, changed in all their ways and principles ; — this glorifies the grace of God which is dispensed in Christ ; by which alone it is that the work is wrought. When men make profession to have received converting and renewing grace from God, and so separate themselves from the men of the world on that account, yet live as they do, or worse, so that their ways and walking are contemptible to all ; — it is the greatest reproach imaginable to that work of grace which they make profes- sion of.