It is vain to serve God.' The Prophet Zephaniah is more severe. "It shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil" (Zephaniah 1:12). "The prophet condescends to identify himself with those whom he reproves. 'We call the proud happy; yea, we say, they that work wickedness are set up. Therefore it is vain to serve God.' But he suddenly quits the seat of the scorners. He retires aside from the crowd, who proudly rely on their own popular verdicts, vaunting their own intelligence, and setting at naught the decrees of God; and, standing aloft from them, he joins the smaller company of the faithful few who wait and fear the Lord, and think upon his Name."

I. THE SIN OF SERVING GOD FOR THE SAKE OF PROFIT. This is seen in the case of Ananias and of Simon Magus. It is illustrated by Bunyan, in his character of Pliable, the man who was going on pilgrimage for the sake of what he could get. God asks for the service of love. Such service as alone can please him is the service rendered under the impulse of love. It is not possible to serve God acceptably in the spirit of the hireling. It is equally true that God cannot be rightly served under the expectation of pay or reward in the next life.

II. THE SIN OF DOUBTING WHETHER GOD REWARDS SERVICE. It is the sin of unbelief. "He who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is the Rewarder of them that diligently seek him." But it really is a deeper and a more subtle sin than that; it is the sin of self-centredness. Only the man who thinks overmuch about himself questions whether his work will be fittingly recognized. This is a constant secret sin, even of good people. They never master it until they can learn of Christ to work for love, and let rewards come or not as they may. A man never conceives of Divine indifference, or hardness, or unreasonableness, until he gets into a bad frame of mind himself, and then he makes God the shadow of his own badness. It was thus with the persons whom Malachi reproves. Only because they wanted to serve themselves did they think it was vain to serve God. The man who loves God and wants to serve him is sure never to think that.

III. THE SIN OF THINKING THOSE ARE REWARDED WHO SERVE OTHERS AND NOT GOD. (Ver. 15.) The proud, who serve themselves. Good people, like the poet Asaph, are often tempted to think that the wicked have the best of it in this life. To think so is to "offend against the generation of the upright," and to dishonour God, - R.T.

Those who were the immediate objects of the prophet's ministry had departed from the service of God. The priests having broken their covenant, the people were ruined by their vile example, and went back from God by a perpetual backsliding.

I. THE NATURE OF THAT SERVICE WHICH GOD DEMANDS.

1. Our service to God must be sincere. All true religion ceases when the heart is not right with God.

2. Our Christian service must be scriptural.

3. This service must be uniform. There is, in matters of true religion, a balance power — always keeping its possessor in happy and perfect equality.

4. In this service you must be diligent.

5. In this service you must be employed until you die. Having once put your hand to the plough, you are not to look back.

II. THE ADVANTAGES OF THAT SERVICE.

1. It gives, m return, the richest blessings. The Christian service gives us liberty, and liberty of the highest kind; for, if the Son make you free, then are you free indeed. So rich are the blessings this service bestows, that we cannot speak their worth; and so numerous, that to tell their vast amount our efforts are all vain.

2. Another advantage is elevation and honour.

3. This service brings contentment.

4. This service takes away the fear of death.

5. This service will be rewarded in heaven. Apply to four descriptions of persons.

(1)You who are not engaged in this service.

(2)Those who have just entered on this service.

(3)Those who were once engaged in this service; but have left it.

(4)You who are old servants in this good cause.

(R. Croxton.)

I. RELIGION DELINEATED. Three expressions used to represent it

1. To serve God. A great difference between serving God and serving man. In the one case the servant benefits the master, in the other the sole benefit is the servant's. In the one the service is estimated by work actually done; in the other by work earnestly purposed. In the one there is a surrender of freedom; in the other there is an attainment of it. He who engages to serve man must surrender some portion of his liberty; he who serves God alone, secures the highest freedom.

2. To keep His ordinance. This is only a branch of the service, or, perhaps, the method of doing it. God has ordinances or institutes, some are moral, some are ceremonial; the latter may cease to bind, the former are everlastingly in force.

3. To walk mournfully before the Lord. To "walk" before the Lord is religion in perfection, religion in heaven. It implies an abiding consciousness of the Divine presence, and continual progress in the Divine will. Walking "mournfully" characterises the religion of earth; it is associated with penitence, contrition, etc. The walk of religion is only mournful here.

II. HERE WE HAVE PRACTICAL RELIGION DEPRECIATED. "Ye have said, It is vain to serve God, and what profit is it," etc.

1. Men say this when religion does not answer their secular expectations. Many take up with religion in these days because of the secular good they expect will accrue from their profession of it; if the good come not they think it vain.

2. Men say this when they see the truly religious in poverty and affliction. Asaph saw this when he said, "I have washed my hands in vain."

3. Men say this when they have taken up religion from selfish motives. A man who takes up with religion for the sake of good will get no good out of it; nay, will get disappointment, for "he that seeketh his life shall lose it." No truly religious man has said religion is vain, he feels it to be its own reward — the highest reward. In truth, it is the only service on earth that will not prove vain.

(Homilist.)

? — The charge here is, that they who sin, prosper. A similar complaint common to all ages. God takes it as a charge against Himself.

I. THE CHARGE. Those who profess to serve God complain that there is no "profit." They are not happy — not blessed. What is the inference? That the proud, the self-willed, self-confident, self-complacent, are "happy." "The tempters of God," who practically set Him at defiance — dare Him to do the worst — are delivered. Happiness and visible advantage are connected with rebellion.

II. EXAMINE THE FACTS.

1. The religion itself is not that which God requires, and which He has promised to bless.

2. The happiness is only fleshly, imperfect. The deliverance is present and temporal. The happiness is not true — not of She whole man. See the true servant of God; pardoned, spiritually renewed, glorifying God in body and spirit. See him in the peace and joy of his soul. See him walking under the guardianship of providence. Dying in hope. Carried to Abraham's bosom. Accepted in the judgment. Admitted into heaven. Will you say then, "It is vain to serve God," and that there is no profit in walking before Him?

(G. Cubitt.)

The law was not only typical institution; it was a system of government appointed and administered by God Himself. It contains, therefore, references to the great principles, rules, and characteristics of acceptable obedience. The text refers to priests, but not exclusively. It describes the union of formal piety — something must be offered; avarice, producing unwillingness to offer what God required, as being too costly; and cunning, devising an expedient, namely, to "offer the torn, the lame, and the sick." Thus they brought an offering, but it was unacceptable, and, instead of a blessing, produced a curse. Lessons —

1. God requires that we offer Him a sacrifice.

2. Rightly offered, He accepts the offering, and blesses the offerer.

3. While there are those who will offer nothing, there are others who seek to reconcile duty with their own carnal interests. They seek not spiritual preparation for duty, they present partial, formal service, while they live in habitual disobedience.

4. Such persons are, as far as their object is concerned, "deceivers." Actually they cannot deceive God. Practically, and in their own intention, they act as though they could.

5. They are "accursed." God accepts not their sacrifice. They have no positive blessing. If you would accept ably sacrifice, you must give yourselves up entirely to God. For this, spiritual preparation is requisite. You must have spiritual regeneration, healing your soul, that your offering may be acceptable. Thus prepared, the whole must be given, in holy obedience, holy exercises. Your formal religion confesses that something is necessary. You are self-condemned. Your religion, such as it is, aggravates your guilt.

(G. Cubitt.)

They bring a twofold accusation against God, that they received no reward for their piety when they faithfully discharged their duty towards God, and also that it was better with the ungodly and the despisers of God than with them. We hence see how reproachfully they exaggerated what they deemed the injustice of God, at least how they themselves imagined that He disappointed the just of their deserved reward, and that He favoured the ungodly and the wicked as though He was pleased with them, as though He intended the more to exasperate the sorrow of His own servants, who, though they faithfully worshipped, yet saw that they did so in vain, as God concealed Himself, and did not reward their services. That the good also are tempted by thoughts of this kind, is no wonder, when the state of things in the world is in greater confusion (Ecclesiastes 9:2). There is really no occasion for indignation and envy offered to us, but as God designedly tries our faith by such confusions, we must remember that we must exercise patience. Let us learn to form a right judgment as to what our life is, and then let us bear in mind how many are the reasons why God should sometimes deal roughly with us. Thus all our envying will cease, and our minds will be prepared calmly to obey. In short, these considerations will check whatever perverseness there may be in us, so that neither our wicked thoughts nor our words will be so strong as to rise in rebellion against God.

( John Calvin.)

The Jews were required by the Levitical law to offer unto God the best of their flock in sacrifice. This they did in their happiest and purest times. In the age of Malachi their worship had greatly degenerated. It had become, in fact, a totally hypocritical service. Heavy judgments are denounced against them by the prophet for this contempt of God. First, the rejection of their service. Next the abolition of their Church, State, and privileges, and the transfer of them to the Gentiles. And a withering curse upon them, both individually and at length nationally, for their hypocrisy. These things happened to them as examples to us, the people of God under the new dispensation. God requires the best of us, and of what belongs to us. We stand engaged to render this to Him by the acceptance of His covenant.

I. THE NATURE OF THE REQUISITION WHICH GOD HERE MAKES.

1. We must serve Him with our best powers. First and chiefly the powers of the mind. Bodily service, apart from any interest taken in it by the mind, is of little worth. God requires the "heart." We must worship Him in spirit, for He is a Spirit. By the spirit we are to understand the mind with all its powers. The body is the altar, but the spirit is the oblation. The spirit includes memory, judgment, and affections. Bodily service, as the offspring and expression of the mind, is required, and is highly acceptable.

2. We must give Him the best season of life. This is the season of youth. Then our powers are fresh and vigorous; and then we are most beset by other suitors.

3. We must give Him the best portion of our time. Religion must not be regarded as a relaxation, but prosecuted as a business — the great business of life. It is termed a calling and a work.

4. We must give to God the best of our talents and substance. We ought, as Christians, to surpass others in common charity and benevolence; for grace is to improve and heighten all human virtues, as well as to improve those that are Divine.

II. The reasons by which this requisition of our best in the service of God is enforced. God will only accept the best, for the following reasons —

1. His greatness. God is a great king, for the extent of His dominions, the number of His servants, and the reverence paid to Him by them. For the information He receives of our service. For the numerous methods in which He can express His displeasure.

2. His goodness enforces His claim. What have we that we have not received? All the faculties of our mind and organs and members of our body we owe to Him. The same may be said of our substance. To Him we are indebted for the ability, the health, the industry by which it was obtained.

3. The credit of our religion demands this service. This ought to be dear to us; and it is to be maintained and promoted by such a service as has been specified. And how is a religion advantaged when a just picture is given of it in the lives and tempers of its recipients!

4. The evils avoided and the benefits obtained by compliance with the demand, enforce its obligation. How fearful the communication of Christ to the lukewarm Church of Laodicea. What encouraging promises, in the Scripture, meet those who are careful, diligent, and devout in the service of God!Improvement —

1. Let all see that they are properly capacitated for this service. In order to this, a twofold change must take place: in our state — in our character.

2. Let us be thankful for the existence of public worship among us, and seek after its improvement and extension.

3. Let us hail with a spirit of religious joy and co-operation the approaching diffusion of Gospel-worship all over the world.

(J. Leifchild, D. D.)

Jacob, Levi, Levites, MalachiJerusalemAlmighty, And'what, Armies, Black, Carrying, Charge, Clothing, Followed, Gain, Hosts, Instructions, Keeping, Kept, Mourners, Mournfully, Mourning, Orders, Ordinance, Profit, Requirements, Serve, Sorrow, Vain, Walk, Walked, Walking, Worshipping1. Of the messenger, majesty, and grace of Christ.
7. Of the rebellion,
8. sacrilege,
13. and infidelity of the people.
16. The promise of blessing to those who fear God.

Malachi 3:14

     5465   profit
     5818   contempt
     5864   futility
     7160   servants of the Lord
     8710   atheism
     8741   failure

Malachi 3:13-15

     5821   criticism, among believers

Malachi 3:14-15

     1075   God, justice of

The Lord Coming to his Temple
Westminster Abbey. November, 1874. Malachi iii. 1, 2. "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple. . . . But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's sope." We believe that this prophecy was fulfilled at the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that it will be fulfilled again, in that great day when He shall judge the quick and the dead. But it is of neither of these events …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons

January 19. "Prove Me Now Herewith" (Mal. Iii. 10).
"Prove me now herewith" (Mal. iii. 10). We once heard a simple old colored man say something that we have never forgotten. "When God tests You it is a good time for you to test Him by putting His promises to the proof, and claiming from Him just as much as your trials have rendered necessary." There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is to simply try to get rid of the trial, and be thankful when it is over. The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Unchanging Lord
'I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.' MALACHI iii. 6. The scriptural revelations of the divine Name are always the basis of intensely practical admonition. The Bible does not think it worth while to proclaim the Name of God without building on the proclamation promises or commandments. There is no 'mere theology' in Scripture; and it does not speak of 'attributes,' nor give dry abstractions of infinitude, eternity, omniscience, unchangeableness, but lays stress …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Dialogue with God
'Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts. But ye say, Wherein shall we return?'--MALACHI iii. 7 (R.V.). In previous sermons we have considered God's indictment of man's sin met by man's plea of 'not guilty,' and God's threatenings brushed aside by man's question. Here we have the climax of self-revealing and patient love in God's wooing voice to draw the wanderer back, met by man's refusing answer. These three divine utterances taken together cover the whole ground of …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Last Word of Prophecy
'Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts. 2. But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: 3. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'Stout Words,' and their Confutation
'Your words have been stout against Me, saith the Lord: yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against Thee? 14. Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts? 15. And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. 16. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it; and a …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Lord Coming to his Temple
The LORD , whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple; even the messenger of the covenant in whom ye delight: Behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like a fuller's soap, -- and he shall purify the sons of Levi -- that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. W hereunto shall we liken the people of this generation? and to what are they like? (Luke 7:31) …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

The Immutability of God
"Great God, how infinite art thou, What worthless worms are we!" But while the subject humbles the mind it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe. He may be a naturalist, boasting of his ability to dissect a beetle, anatomize a fly, or arrange insects and animals in classes with well nigh unutterable names; he may be a geologist, able to discourse of the megatherium and the plesiosaurus, and all kinds of extinct …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

God's Jewels.
(Schools.) MALACHI III. 17. "They shall be Mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels." There is a legend of old time which tells us how a certain Jewish Rabbi returned to his home after a long absence. His first question was--"Where are my boys?" for his wife had greeted him alone. Then, instead of answering her husband's question, the wife asked his advice. She told him that some years before someone had lent her something very precious, and she would know whether after …
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

The Unchangeableness of God
The next attribute is God's unchangeableness. I am Jehovah, I change not.' Mal 3:3. I. God is unchangeable in his nature. II. In his decree. I. Unchangeable in his nature. 1. There is no eclipse of his brightness. 2. No period put to his being. [1] No eclipse of his brightness. His essence shines with a fixed lustre. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' James 1:17. Thou art the same.' Psa 102:27. All created things are full of vicissitudes. Princes and emperors are subject to …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

All Manner of Precious Stones
Gerhard Ter Steegen Mal. iii. 17 There it is fair, Where thousand, thousand flames for evermore In God's high palace glow, No more they light the dark and misty shore, As long ago: They burn, a crown of every radiant stone, For ever and for ever round the throne, Christ's diadem. Eternal lamps that never can be dim, Fed by the golden oil that flows to them For ever from the Heart whence flowed the Blood, They shine with light of every precious gem, Light of the joy of God. Past, pain and sorrow, …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

They Shall He Mine, Saith the Lord. Mal 3:16-18
…
John Newton—Olney Hymns

The Fellowship of those who Fear the Lord. --Malachi iii. 16-18; iv. 1
The fellowship of those who fear the Lord.--Malachi iii. 16-18; iv. 1. When those who fear'd the Lord of old Met oft, and spoke with one accord, A book was written, and enroll'd Their faithful names before the Lord. They shall be mine, Jehovah said, And as a signet on my hand, A crown of glory for my head, Among my chosen jewels stand. And I will spare them in that day, Even as a father spares his son, When all the proud are swept away, The wicked, root and branch, undone. Then shall my righteousness …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Whether this is True: "God was Made Man"?
Objection 1: It would seem that this is false: "God was made man." For since man signifies a substance, to be made man is to be made simply. But this is false: "God was made simply." Therefore this is false: "God was made man." Objection 2: Further, to be made man is to be changed. But God cannot be the subject of change, according to Malachi 3:6: "I am the Lord, and I change not." Hence this is false: "God was made man." Objection 3: Further, man as predicated of Christ stands for the Person of …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether it was Fitting for Christ to Ascend into Heaven?
Objection 1: It would seem that it was not fitting for Christ to ascend into heaven. For the Philosopher says (De Coelo ii) that "things which are in a state of perfection possess their good without movement." But Christ was in a state of perfection, since He is the Sovereign Good in respect of His Divine Nature, and sovereignly glorified in respect of His human nature. Consequently, He has His good without movement. But ascension is movement. Therefore it was not fitting for Christ to ascend. Objection …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether that Fire Will Engulf the Wicked?
Objection 1: It would seem that that fire will not engulf the wicked. For a gloss on Malachi 3:3, "He shall purify the sons of Levi," says that "it is a fire consuming the wicked and refining the good"; and a gloss on 1 Cor. 3:13, "Fire shall try every man's work," says: "We read that there will be a twofold fire, one that will cleanse the elect and will precede the judgment, another that will torture the wicked." Now the latter is the fire of hell that shall engulf the wicked, while the former is …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Sunday-School Hymns.
SHEPHERD OF TENDER YOUTH. [Greek: Stomion polon adaon] We are assured by repeated references in the patristic writings that the primitive years of the Christian Church were not only years of suffering but years of song. That the despised and often persecuted "Nazarenes," scattered in little colonies throughout the Roman Empire, did not forget to mingle tones of praise and rejoicing with their prayers could readily be believed from the much-quoted letter of a pagan lawyer, written about as long …
Theron Brown—The Story of the Hymns and Tunes

In the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.
(October, a.d. 29.) ^D John VII. 11-52. ^d 11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? [It was now eighteen months since Jesus had visited Jerusalem, at which time he had healed the impotent man at Bethesda. His fame and prolonged obscurity made his enemies anxious for him to again expose himself in their midst. John here used the word "Jews" as a designation for the Jerusalemites, who, as enemies of Christ, were to be distinguished from the multitudes who were in doubt …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Never Changing One.
"JESUS Christ the same yesterday, and to-day and forever" (Heb. xiii:8). Blessed truth and precious assurance for us poor, weak creatures, yea, among all His creatures the most changing; He changeth not. "For I am the Lord, I change not" (Mal. iii:6). "Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall all perish, but Thou shalt endure: yea all of them shall wax old like a garment, as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed; …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Sinner Sentenced.
1, 2.The sinner called upon to hear his sentence.--3. God's law does now in general pronounce a curse.--4. It pronounces death.--5. And being turned into hell.--6. The judgement day shall come.--7, 8. The solemnity of that grand process described according to scriptural representations of it.--9. With a particular illustration of the sentence, "Depart, accursed," &c.--10. The execution wilt certainly and immediately follow.--11. The sinner warned to prepare for enduring it. The reflection of a sinner …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant
"I give thee for a covenant of the people."--ISA. xlii. 6, xlix. 8. "The Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in."--MAL. iii. 1. "Jesus was made Surety of a better covenant."--HEB. vii. 22. "The Mediator of the Better Covenant, established upon better promises . . . The Mediator of the New Covenant. . . Ye are come to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant."--HEB. viii. 6, ix. 15, xii. 24. WE have here four titles given to our Lord Jesus in …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

Troubles of Lingering at the Crossing
TROUBLES OF LINGERING AT THE CROSSING Some time ago I consecrated to God for entire sanctification and thought I was sanctified. Then I began to doubting whether I was wholly sanctified; so I consecrated again. This I have done a number of times; in fact, so many times that I don't know what to do. Can you help me any in this difficulty? I am in doubts about my consecration. I am as consecrated as I know how to be, yet there is a feeling of unreality and uncertainty about it that is distressing, …
Robert Lee Berry—Adventures in the Land of Canaan

His Schools and Schoolmasters.
(LUKE 1.) "Oh to have watched thee through the vineyards wander, Pluck the ripe ears, and into evening roam!-- Followed, and known that in the twilight yonder Legions of angels shone about thy home!" F. W. H. MYERS. Home-Life--Preparing for his Life-Work--The Vow of Separation--A Child of the Desert Zacharias and Elisabeth had probably almost ceased to pray for a child, or to urge the matter. It seemed useless to pray further. There had been no heaven-sent sign to assure them that there was any …
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

Whether God is Altogether Immutable?
Objection 1: It seems that God is not altogether immutable. For whatever moves itself is in some way mutable. But, as Augustine says (Gen. ad lit viii, 20), "The Creator Spirit moves Himself neither by time, nor by place." Therefore God is in some way mutable. Objection 2: Further, it is said of Wisdom, that "it is more mobile than all things active [Vulg.'mobilior']" (Wis. 7:24). But God is wisdom itself; therefore God is movable. Objection 3: Further, to approach and to recede signify movement. …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

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