REFLECTIONS

Desire for God and His Cause

“SOVEREIGN GOD,

Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart,

 and I appeal to Thee with greatest freedom

 to set up Thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns;

Glorify Thyself and I shall rejoice,

 for to bring honor to Thy name is my sole desire.

I adore Thee that Thy art God,

 and long that others should know it, feel it,

 and rejoice in it.

O that all men might love and praise Thee,

 that Thou mightiest have glory from the intelligent world!

Let sinners be brought to thee for Thy dear name!

To the eye of reason everything respecting the conversion of others

 is as dark as midnight,

But Thou can cause great things;

 the cause is Thine,

 and it is to Thy glory that men should be saved.

Lord, use as Thou wilt;

 do with me what Thou wilt;

 but, O, promote Thy cause,

 let Thy kingdom come,

 let Thy blessed interest be advanced in this world!

O do bring in great numbers to Jesus!

 let me see that glorious day,

 and give me to grasp for multitudes of souls;

 let me be willing to die to that end;

 and while I live let me labor for Thee

 to the utmost of my strength,

 spending time profitably in this work,

 both in health and in weakness.

It is Thy cause and kingdom I for, not my own.

O answer Thou my request!”

-A Puritan Prayer from The Valley of Vision  Published by The Banner of Truth Trust  Carlisle, PA  2002 Page 177

REFLECTIONS

Revelation 4:1

“Notice the elder’s words of adoration: they said, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power, v. 11. They do not say, ‘We give Thee glory, and honor, and power’; for what can any creature pretend to give unto God? But they say, Thou art worthy to receive glory. In this they tacitly acknowledge that God is far all blessing and praise. He was worthy to receive glory, but they were not worthy to praise, nor be able to do it according to His infinite excellence.

We have the ground and reason of their adoration, which is threefold:

(1) He is the Creator of all things, the first cause; and none but the Creator of all things should be adored; no made thing can be the object of religious worship.

(2) He is the preserver of all things, and His preservation is a continual creation; they are created still by the sustaining power of God. All beings but God are dependent upon the will and power of God, and no dependent being must be set up as an object of religious worship. It is the best part of dependent beings to be worshippers, not to be worshipped.

(3) He is the final cause of all things: For Thy pleasure they are and were created. It was His will and pleasure to create all things; He was not put upon it by the will of another; there is no such thing as a subordinate creator that acts under and by the will and power of another. As God made all things at His pleasure, so he made them for His pleasure, to deal with them as He pleases and to glorify Himself by them one way or another.”

-Matthew Henry  Expositor, Commentator, Minister 1662-1714