O may this be the daily study of our hearts and the constant practice of our lives! "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to the Lord, for the marriage of the Lamb is come." Rev. 19:7. He is our husband: we are espoused to him by faith. Consider the work of honoring the Lord, and the reason for it.
What! can I, a worm of the earth, honor the Lord of heaven? Yes, thou art called to it, and formed for it: this honor have all his saints: it is our greatest honor on earth to honor our Lord in heaven: "All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord, and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power. To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom." Psalm 114:10, 11, 12. So they honored the Lord of old, in displaying the glory of his grace; this work you are called to, if you have seen the glory of his kingdom, felt the power of it, and entered into it by faith: "Honor the Lord with thy substance."
Do not put such a dry, shrivelled comment upon the word substance, as though it meant giving a trifle now and then to the poor. Remember, "the liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things he shall stand," or be established. Isa. 32:8. Do not dispense shadow when the Lord requires substance. If thy soul is liberal, thou wilt devise liberal things. This text will not only remind you of liberally dispensing of your substance to the poor and needy; but also of honoring your Lord by the faith of your heart, the love of your soul, placing your whole affections upon him, and devoting your substance, your whole spirit, soul and body, to him; you will not be content with notions without life, form without spirit, worship without the heart, religion without the soul.
Consider the reasons for thus "honoring the Lord." God has put the highest honor upon you; "He has called you into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ." I Cor. 1:9. He has blessed you with all spiritual blessings in him. Eph. 1:3. There is no blessing God has to bestow, or of which Christ is possessed, but it is treasured up for you in Christ, and shall be received out of the fulness of Christ. Can you walk in the fellowship of Christ and not delight to honor God with your substance? Again, you received all this freely, therefore you ought to give freely: you are a pensioner upon God, and God is, as it were, a petitioner to you. Can you refuse him who speaks? Can you withhold any thing from him by whom you enjoy your all? Think also, you have but a little while to honor your Lord: let the faith of this stir you up to exert all your might: only call in and consult faith and 1ove and act under their influence to God's glory.