Word of God
Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God
Matthew 4:4
The Book of Daniel 5:23
23 But hast lifted thyself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have brought the vessels of his House before thee, and thou and thy princes, thy wives and thy concubines have drunk wine in them, and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood and stone, which neither see, neither hear, nor understand: and the God in whose hand thy breath is and all thy ways, him hast thou not glorified.
Brethren:
We have in this chapter, the riotous, idolatrous, sacrilegious feast which Belshazzar made, in which he filled up the measure of his iniquity, and the alarm given him in the midst of his jollity by a hand-writing on the wall, which none of his wise men could read or tell him the meaning of the interpretation of the mystical characters by Daniel, who was at length brought in to him, and dealt plainly with him, and showed him his doom written. Finally we read of the immediate accomplishment of the interpretation in the slaying of the king and seizing of the kingdom.
"Thou hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven, hast swelled with rage against him, and taken up arms against his crown and dignity, in this particular instance, that thou hast profaned the vessels of his house, and made the utensils of his sanctuary instruments of thy iniquity, and, in an actual designed contempt of him, hast praised the gods of silver and gold, which see not, nor hear, nor know anything, as if they were to be preferred before the God that sees, and hears, and knows every thing.’’ Sinners that are resolved to go on in sin are well enough pleased with gods that neither see, nor hear, nor know, for then they may sin securely; but they will find, to their confusion, that though those are the gods they choose those are not the gods they must be judged by, but one to whom all things are naked and open. That he had not answered the end of his creation and maintenance: The God in whose hand thy breath (See Job 34:14-15) is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified. This is a general charge, which stands good against us all; let us consider how we shall answer it.
Therefore observe:
[1.] Our dependence upon God as our creator, preserver, benefactor, owner, and ruler; not only from his hand our breath was at first, but in his hand our breath is still; it is he that holds our souls in life, and, if he take away our breath, we die. Our times being in his hand, so is our breath, by which our times are measured. In him we live, and move, and have our being; we live by him, live upon him, and cannot live without him. The way of man is not in himself, not at his own command, at his own disposal, but his are all our ways (See Psalm 17:5, 23:3); for our hearts are in his hand, and so are the hearts of all men, even of kings, who seem to act most as free-agents.
[2.] Our duty to God, in consideration of this dependence; we ought to glorify him, to devote ourselves to his honour and employ ourselves in his service, to make it our care to please him and our business to praise him. (See Exodus 20:2-4)
[3.] Our default in this duty, notwithstanding that dependence; we have not done it; for we have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (See Romans 3:23). This is the indictment against Belshazzar; there needs no proof, it is made good by the notorious evidence of the fact, and his own conscience cannot but plead guilty to it.
Therefore by not by owning him as the only true God; ascribing all he was and had unto him, and giving due worship, adoration, and honour to him; but, on the contrary, setting up his idol gods above him, and treating him, and everything belonging to him, with ignominy and contempt, resulting in the losing of all things that had been bestowed upon him, including his life.
Take heed then brethren, for such is the fate (See Hebrews 10:29) that place themselves in such positions. Take caution to not put yourselves above that of our Creator, but instead humble yourselves before Him. The sense herein may be, that he that does not use the talent, or exercise the gift bestowed on him, but lays it up in a napkin, which is all one as if he had it not, even the gift itself shall be taken away from him; and as others receive no benefit by it, he shall receive no honour from it. This would also apply to all blessings bestowed upon us by God. Use them well, and wisely.
No comments:
Post a Comment