II. Having thus examined the nature of the principle, let us proceed to show its operation in sanctifying the common actions of life.
It is not often that the best of men have a due sense of the value of Christian principle, in this point of view. And as to the world at large, they can scarcely understand the application of it. With them, religion is confined to acts of worship; morality is the principle of our duty to man; and interest, inclination, custom, convenience are to direct the vast variety of human actions, which are less perfectly of the moral kind. Thus, in all the ordinary conduct of their lives, in their business and their amusements; in the connections they form, and the society they frequent: in the use of their time, their influence, their fortune, or their talents; in the management of their families; in their habits of personal indulgence; in their common discourse; in their general bearing and behavior, they live altogether without regard to God. Of any end besides their own gratification; of any control, but from themselves or the world; of any duties, except decency and discretion, they have no thought; and if the glory of God be adverted to, they do not understand how it is to be made the object of their concern. There are, perhaps, few more fatal mistakes, than to suppose that God is glorified only by expressions of reverence, or acts of worship. We glorify him just as truly, when, through the whole progress of ordinary life, we keep his designs, his honor, his cause, in view, as we keep in view our own interest, or the reputation and wishes of a respected parent; when instead of counteracting, affronting, or injuring him, we do him homage and service as we have occasion, and make it, generally, our object to please him. Such a principle will sanctify our whole conduct. It will set a sacred stamp of sanctity and honor even on little things. In the bold imagery of the prophet Zechariah, “there shall be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness to the Lord.” What is meanest and most insignificant shall have its use in his service, and enjoy the full privilege of a consecration.
But let us take a particular instance or two. Take first the duties of any humble and laborious calling;—of an husbandman, of a mechanic, of a servant, of one who must labor for a subsistence, and whose whole time is occupied in the work of his vocation. If a man submits to this lot, as a mere act of necessity: if he goes through his toil with cheerfulness, because he thus supplies his wants, or procures, his humble comforts, or hopes, one day to improve his condition; though he may be acting well and wisely, in some points of view, he does nothing to the glory of God. But suppose that he thus reflects on his condition, and that he habituates himself to act from such considerations as these: “I am poor indeed, and must labor that I may live: but who has placed me in this situation? Was it not God who made us all, and who ordains for each of us what he thinks fit, making some poor and some rich; dispensing health and strength to some, and sickness or infirmity to others; bestowing on some great parts and great advantages, while he affords to others only a narrow understanding and scanty means of improvement? What though I am doomed to labour—is it not the common doom? Has not God ordained that man shall eat bread in the sweat of his brow? Is it not, in the present state of things, the necessary condition of the greater part of mankind’ And, as he has appointed this lot for me, am I not doing his will when engaged in my daily occupations, as much as one who, with more leisure, is more constantly engaged in attendance upon his worship? I will therefore go to my labor cheerfully: I will pursue it diligently, as God’s appointment: I will consider this as my place in the great family of his creatures, and endeavor to serve him in it; doing the duties of my station with a humble, thankful, devoted mind; honoring him before men by its appropriate virtues; looking to him for my support; thanking him for my success; acting always under his eye, and as bound to consult his pleasure.” Such views would consecrate the labors of the day. Thus would a man be glorifying God, not only on the Sabbath, but throughout the whole week; not only while he bowed his knee in prayer, but while he was occupied in the common business of his calling. Let it be well observed, however, that it is not by his diligence or his cheerfulness, considered in themselves, that he thus gives glory to God; but by this diligence and cheerfulness, as they spring from true religious principle; from a regard to the great Master who has assigned him his place, and prescribed his duties in the world.
But there may be a question of some importance here. Are these reflections to be continually passing in the mind? Or, is nothing done to the glory of God, when we do not place it thus distinctly before us, as our express and particular object? I answer, When the principle exists and thrives, such reflections will of course be frequently occurring. Under the influence of that Spirit, “without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy,” it is by these representations of truth and duty that we must maintain it against other principles which will be struggling in the bosom. But when it is well formed and established, we shall act by it, on all common occasions, not so much from reflection as from habit; and be led into the feelings and duties which our object demands, without recalling it expressly to our thoughts. A parent who lives for the welfare of her child, has no need to reason with herself upon the matter; nor, in every single act which promotes her object, to have it strongly or expressly in her eye. She feels, rather than reasons, she acts rather from habit than deliberation. And so they who live to the glory of God, having formed the habits of their life upon that principle may go on regularly in those habits, with all suitable feelings, and in the practice of all required duties; yet referring to the principle itself in serious moments, and on graver occasions alone. We act, in general, from habit rather than from reflection; and, for want of attending to this, many persons of scrupulous minds have been led into great perplexity. They have possessed the principle of regard to God, but they have mistaken the mode of its operation. They have looked back, therefore, upon a day of useful labor in the duties of their calling, as a day, if not lost, yet not spent to his glory, because not passed in acts of worship, nor in express purposes of honoring him: and, reviewing their whole lives in this spirit have rendered themselves unhappy by the very uprightness of their intentions. Just views, however, of the subject are far from having a tendency to distress the upright heart: on the contrary, they will do more than any thing else to alleviate its burdens. How cheerfully would a good man go forth to his labor, could he regard his daily occupations as the service of his God! Under this persuasion, how calm and tranquil would his mind be kept! How well would he be guarded against murmuring or sloth, and consoled under the little disappointments and petty vexations of his existence! How light and peaceful would those slumbers be which he should have procured by conscious diligence, under the eye of his approving Master in heaven! God exacts no superstitious regard; and he reckons the conscientious discharge of our duties as his appointment, among the services which he will own and recompense.
2. Let me briefly show the operation of this same principle in another instance.—There are various peculiar duties attached to every rank and relation in life;—to parents and children, for example; to husband and wife; to master and servant. The duties of these relations may be performed, and decently performed, without any regard to God. A heathen parent may have a tenderness of affection for his children, which all mankind must admire. A husband and wife, without any principle of religion, may yet be united in the closest bonds of love. And a master may be kind, or a servant faithful, on whom the authority of their common Master in heaven would have no influence. In such cases, natural affections, or ordinary motives, do that, in part, which the aid and control of a higher principle would enable them to do much better;—and God is only so far glorified, as the general order and harmony of his creatures demonstrates the perfection of the Creator. But where the heart is renewed, and a regard to God implanted, the influence of this principle will extend to the various relations of life, and all their duties be placed on a new footing. St. Paul explains this, in his Epistle to the Colossians: “Whatso ever ye do,” says he, “in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” How? He proceeds to show us: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.” “Children, obey your parents in all things; for this is well pleasing to the Lord.” “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
It is thus, then, that our regard to God’s honor should appear. It is thus that the consideration of his will, of his presence, of the duty which we owe to Him, and the recompense we may expect from Him, are to bear upon the relations and upon the whole conduct of life. Whatever we do, there must be an aim and object beyond all that sense, or worldly prudence, or natural feelings, would suggest. Some reference directly, or remotely, to the will of God, to our business in life as his appointment; to the credit and advancement of his cause in the world; to our own spiritual benefit, should be a ruling motive of our conduct: something which leads us, in a variety of instances, to deny ourselves, and to act as we should not act merely for our own gratification: something which would propose an end above that of worldly men, even in common cases—even where the action, as distinct from its principle, appeared the same. Thus our very amusements and relaxations should be enjoyed upon principle. As far as they are subservient to right ends, they may be indulged with a good conscience, nay, considered even as a duty; but when they transgress their proper bounds; when they engross the heart, or dissipate the mind, or waste our time, or unfit us for the service of God—then the principle of regard to his glory should lead us to retrench or abandon them.
Thus, too, the food and rest which we require should be taken upon Christian principles.—When we eat, or drink, or sleep, for the needful refreshment of nature, are thankful to God for such refreshment, and desire that the strength thus recruited may be spent in his service,—we do it to the glory of God. But if on the other hand, we give way, in any of these things, to immoderate indulgence; if we have no end in view but the gratification of carnal desires, no wish but to prolong a life of pleasure and of sin, we are acting in direct opposition to this precept of the Apostle. Thus our principle should be called into exercise on all occasions. Do we receive an insult, or are we treated with neglect? It should induce us to curb the pride and indignation of our hearts, and make us respect the command of Christ;—to “put away wrath,” and “follow after meekness.” It should lead us to follow his example, “who, when he was reviled, reviled not again: when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to God” as his Judge.—Do we meet with trials and disappointments? There should be a ready recurrence to the principle which teaches us to “hear the rod, and him who hath appointed it;” to “possess our souls in patience;” and to testify our regard to God by a calm and humble resignation to his will. In a word, the principle upon which we act, if we desire to glorify him, should be one which manifests itself more or less clearly, in all the occurrences of life.
Such, then, are the objects we shall keep in view, and such the motives from which we shall act, in proportion as we feel the power and possess the true spirit, of the Gospel.—And now let us turn to our own consciences and hearts. What is our prevailing principle? Is it the fear and love of God? Or is it our own gratification, or temporal advantage alone? I say alone, because we may conscientiously seek our own advantage when it is in subserviency to the will of God. That will and our own interest point frequently to the same line of conduct. But, at all events, we should, in general, judge of our state, not so much by any single action, whether good or bad, (for this seldom determines the character) as by the general inclination of our minds and the grand principles upon which we act through life. For there is one ruling principle with us all: we live either to God or to ourselves. By nature, every man lives to himself. By grace, he begins to live to God; and in proportion to the better knowledge he obtains, and the greater degree of love to God and to Christ which his faith in the Gospel inspires, in that proportion he not only enlarges the sphere of his duties, but performs them more and more “after a godly sort.” Grace in the heart is like a little leaven, which, by degrees, leaveneth the whole lump. It is a principle infused which, by little and little, extends its influence through all the actions of life. It regulates our words and our thoughts; moderates our desires; corrects our tempers; accompanies us into our closets, and into the scenes of our worldly business; teaching us that, in all things and by all ways, we should glorify the name of God, and abound in the fruits of righteousness which are by Christ Jesus to his praise.
Again: Let this subject convince us of the error of those who confine religion to devotional duties. No: religion is not merely an act of homage paid upon our bended knees to God; it is not confined to the closet and the church, nor is it restrained to the hours of the Sabbath: it is a general principle extending to a man’s whole conduct, in every transaction and in every place. I know no mistake which is more dangerous, than that which lays down devotional feelings alone as the test of true religion. He, indeed, whose piety is genuine, will pour forth his heart to God in supplication, or in ascriptions of holy praise. A cold and heartless form is foreign to the very nature of Christian worship. But there is such a thing as being very constant in this duty, and feeling much under the preaching of the Gospel, while the common principles of action are of a worldly kind, and the conduct such as by no means “shines before men, so that they may glorify our Father which is in heaven.” Let us be convinced that all prayer, all preaching, all knowledge, are but means to attain a superior end; and that end the sanctification of the heart and of all the principles upon which we are daily acting. Till our Christianity appears in our conversation, in our business, in our pleasures, in the aims and objects of our life, we have not attained a conformity to the image of our Saviour, nor have we learned his Gospel aright.
Lastly: would we possess this principle of doing all things to the glory of God, let us first seek to have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts. The effect is a great one; the motive which produces it must therefore be powerful. Let us love God and we shall serve him faithfully and universally. And here we perceive the efficacy of the Gospel to produce this great change in man. “We all,” says the Apostle, “beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.” The Gospel shows us our ruin without God. It discovers to us the misery of our fallen nature; always mistaking the path of happiness, and striking into many devious paths where happiness never can be found. It reveals a Saviour to us; an heavenly Director, to guide our feet into the way of peace. It proclaims the forgiveness of sins through his blood, and the sanctification of our souls by his Holy Spirit. Thus pardoned, thus encouraged, we seek to run the way of his commandments. Gratitude and affection begin to rule in our breasts. The love of Christ now constrains us to live no longer to ourselves, but “to Him who loved us and gave himself for us.” Thus we begin to serve God, and thus we continue to obey him. Fresh displays of his power and mercy overcome our continual propensity to backslide, and lead us to “run with patience the race that is set before us.” Self-denial is cheerfully practiced. The operation of Divine grace is extended through all branches of our conduct; and we endeavor, in earnest, “whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, to do all to the glory of God.”
Amen.
John Venn. Sermons of John Venn, M.A. Rector of Clapham, Vol. II. Boston: R. P. & C. Williams, 1822.
All for the Glory of God 