Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 2906
“Those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1 Samuel 2:30.
GOD is certain, sooner or later, to recompense men according to the rule of Infallible Justice and if it is so among saints, it is equally so among sinners. If we could really know the secret history of any man’s life, we would be able to understand his career better than we now do. There is many a life of which we have had to say to the Lord, “Your way is in the sea, and Your path in the great waters, and your footsteps are not known.” Yet if we had known more about the man, it would have been all plain enough. If we had seen the sin that was hidden from human eyes, we would have understood the sorrow that was evident to all.
That will suffice with regard to the general principle that is enunciated in our text. If we honor God, He will honor us. And if we despise Him, we shall be lightly esteemed. Now, taking only the first clause of the text, there are two things upon which I wish to speak with great earnestness. The first is, here is a plain duty, namely, to honor God and, secondly, here is a very generous reward—“Those who honor Me I will honor.”
I. First, then, HERE IS A PLAIN DUTY—to honor God.
It is the natural duty of every creature to honor its Creator and with such a glorious and blessed God as Jehovah is, it certainly must be incumbent upon all who have any understanding of His existence, to render honor and homage to Him. Such is His personal grandeur, such is the perfection of His Character, such is His almighty power and such are the obligations under which we are placed to Him as our Creator, that altogether apart from spiritual things, it is, undoubtedly, the duty of every creature to honor God!
But what shall I say, Beloved, of those of us who are the Lord’s chosen people? Do I need to prove that we should honor our God? He is our Father and He said long ago, “If then, I am a Father, where is My honor?” Ordinary children are told to honor their father and mother—then how much more should the children of God honor their Father who is in Heaven? He has done so much for us above and beyond our creation—in our election, in our effectual calling, in our regeneration, in the blood-washing, in the daily supply of our needs, in the continual preservation of our souls from going down into the Pit—that we are overwhelmed with indebtedness to Him—and the very least return that we can make to Him is to render Him all the honor that we can. He has made Himself known to us in a way that He has not revealed Himself to the rest of His creatures. His handiwork is seen in the whole visible Creation. In every star His glory shines. But He is not seen there as He is revealed to us in Christ Jesus and, alas, unrenewed men have not eyes with which they can see the resplendent Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But He has given to us this spiritual eyesight! He has taught us much about Himself by His Spirit and the Spirit has revealed to us even the deep things of God. If it were possible for us to not honor Him after all that we know of Him, what criminality would be ours! But the knowledge and the Grace He has given us compel us to honor Him and the more we know of what He is, and of what He has done for us, the more do we feel that we must and will honor Him. Glory be unto Your holy name, O gracious Father, that in our inmost spirits we adore, honor and worship You at this moment! And, by Your Grace we will do so till time shall be no more!
I hope you see clearly that it is your duty to honor God, so let us enquire in what way that duty comes home to each one of us. First, I think that we are to honor God by confessing His Deity in all our prayers, praises and, indeed, at all
times. May none of us ever fall into the various heresies which some have held concerning the Persons of the blessed Trinity in Unity! Of all errors, these most closely touch the very vitals of true religion. I suppose if any man looks long into the Doctrine of the Trinity, he will be like one who gazes upon the sun and will be apt, first, to be dazzled and then to be blinded by the excessive light. If a man asks that he may understand this great mystery and refuses to believe until he does, then he will most assuredly be blinded! How can you, O man, hold the sea in the hollow of your hand? And how can you see God’s face and yet live? Do you marvel that your mind staggers under the load that you try to put upon it and that your reason begins to reel? We cannot comprehend God! But we can honor the Father by worshipping Him and honor the Son by adoring Him—and honor the Holy Spirit by paying homage, reverence and glory unto Him—and never countenancing in our spirit any error which would detract from the Glory of Father, Son, or Holy Spirit, for, if we do, we shall not obtain the blessing promised in our text—“Those who honor Me I will honor.”