2. The necessity of paying it to him —
[It might be thought sufficient to honour the Father : and so it was whilst the Father alone was known : but when he had revealed himself in the person of Christ, and " made all his glory to shine in his face ;" when " in Christ he had reconciled the world unto himself," and had " treasured up all fulness in Christ," and invested him with " all power in heaven and earth" for the completion of the great work that had been assigned him ; then he demanded, that all men should honour him in the person of Christ : and, if any should refuse so to honour him, he would reject their persons, and abhor their offerings:
e ver. 41.
yea, whatever reverence they might profess towards him, he would deal with them as rebels against his authority, and as contemners of his mercy.
Thus our Lord obviates the great objections which might be supposed to lie against the validity of his claim. It might have been thought, that the Father would be jealous of his own honour, and consider any communication of Divine glory to his Son as an infringement of his own peculiar rights. But, behold ! the very contrary is here declared : for, not only is that very communication designed by God, but all honour that is not accompanied with that communication is abhorred by him.]
Surely we may see from hence,
1. How defective are the views of the generality —
[The religion of the generality is only Judaism divested of its rites and ceremonies. They acknowledge a God, who, they think, has given us commandments ; in obeying which we shall secure his favour, and by disobedience to which we shall incur his displeasure. It is true, if you begin to speak of Christ, they will acknowledge all that the Gospel relates concerning him : but they make very little account of him in their religious system. How different are their views from those suggested in the text ! There we see, that Christ is the fountain of all spiritual life ; and that he dispenses life to men according to his sovereign will and pleasure. There we see, that to honour Christ is the only true way of honouring the Father. There we see, also, what unsearchable riches of con- solation are treasured up for the believer ; in that the very Person who bought him with his blood, is set over all things both in heaven and earth ; and the very Person who paid that ransom for him, and renewed and sanctified him by his grace, shall judge him in the last day. Ah ! what do nominal Chris- tians lose by their ignorance of Christ! Dear brethren, know that Christ is " the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" in God's account ; and that, if you would be saved by him, you must make him your " All in all."]
2. How defective is the practice of us all —
[We have spoken a little of the honour due unto the Father: but if we would have a fuller apprehension of it, let us contemplate the honour that is paid to him in heaven : let us imagine what are the feelings of all the angelic hosts, and
of all the spirits of the just made perfect Such then
should be our views, and such our feelings towards the Lord Jesus Christ. We should begin our heaven upon earth. True it is, that when we speak of such a state, men will im- mediately begin to caution you against excess : they will tell