1 Chronicles 29:5 The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers… I do not know a question in the sacred volume more full of import, or more adapted to press upon the heart. I. WE SHALL EXPLAIN WHAT WE REGARD AS THE CONSECRATION OF SERVICE TO GOD. 1. There must be correct views of the Divine character and claims, as they are revealed in the record of His word. You must receive Him as He there appears. (1) The God of creation. (2) The God of providence. (3) The God of redemption. 2. A practical obedience to the will of God, whether expressly declared, or whether to be inferred from His revealed attributes. 3. The use of active exertion to promote the Divine glory in the world. Religion does not only direct our attention to duties which pertain exclusively to our own personal characters and interests; it also prompts a concern for the improvement and welfare of our fellow-men. It is not equivocal testimony that your own hearts are given to God in faith and true holiness when you desire to be instrumental in restoring the authority of His law over the minds and lives of others. II. WE SHALL PRESENT THE CONSIDERATIONS WHICH OUGHT TO URGE TO AS ENGAGEMENT IN THE SERVICE OF GOD. 1. We are placed under universal and imperative obligation to do so. 2. The influence His service has in preventing the degradation and promoting the dignity of our nature. The habits of men must always according to their moral nature tend to degrade or dignify. He who is truly devoted to God, whatever be his deficiencies and disadvantages in other respects, is placed on a far higher eminence than can ever be attained by the most arduous aspirations of the carnal mind. Must not that bestow transcendent dignity which writes the law of Jehovah on the heart, renders the body a living temple and an habitation of God, places the thoughts and employments of men in a sphere where they become associated with prophets and apostles and martyrs of the Redeemer and the Redeemer Himself, and where they are blended with the sublime realities of the invisible and eternal world? The service of God ennobles all that it comprehends; it is as the rose which gave its fragrance to the very clay; it is as the sunbeam which tints with a fresh hue of beauty and splendour the forms of earth, and causes them to reflect its own glory. 3. The true and solid pleasure His service communicates to the soul. Here is — (1) Peace with God. (2) Freedom from the dominion of sin. (3) Redemption from the terror of the curse. (4) The confidence of rectitude and pardon. (5) The inspiration which springs from a participation in the triumphs of pure benevolence and love. (6) The possession of privileges which, from the consolations of time, shall rise to the happiness of eternity. 4. The glorious recompence by which the engagements of His service are consummated. III. WE SHALL IMPRESS THE QUESTION BY WHICH, TO AN ENGAGEMENT IN THE SERVICE OF GOD, YOU ARE EMPHATICALLY CHALLENGED. "Who is willing?" What excuses can you propose to justify a negative. You are too young. "Suffer little children to come unto Me." You are too poor. The Saviour came to "preach the gospel to the poor." You are too guilty. "The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." You are prevented by worldly attachments. "He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me," etc. You are deterred by threatening of persecution. "Whosoever will save his life shall lose it," etc. (James Parsons.) Parallel Verses KJV: The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD? |
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