Homilist Micah 4:5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. It is trite to say that man has a religious nature. This verse suggests the wrong and the right development of this nature. I. THE WRONG DEVELOPMENT. Idolatry. Polytheism proper is, and generally has been, the most popular religion in the world. Whence comes polytheism? The one great cause, which comprehends all others, is depravity. Which — 1. Involves moral corruption. What are heathen gods, as a rule, but the deification of the lower passions and vices of mankind? 2. Involves carnality. Hence they want a god they can see and handle and touch. 3. Involves thoughtlessness. Polytheism cannot stand reasoning. II. THE RIGHT DEVELOPMENT. What is that? Practical monotheism. "We will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever." 1. This is rational. The one God is the sum total of all moral properties, the Proprietor of all resources, and the Bestower of all existences and all the blessings therewith. What can be more rational than to walk in His way? 2. This is obligatory. No man is bound to walk in the name of an idol; nay, he is commanded not to. But every man is bound to walk in the name of the Lord — bound on the ground of His supreme excellence, His relations to man, and the obligation springing therefrom. 3. This is blessed. To walk in His name is to walk through sunny fields abounding with all beauty and fruitfulness. (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. |
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