September 24, 2017

HYMN OF THE DAY

Precious is the name of Jesus,
Who can half its worth unfold?
Far beyond angelic praises,
Sweetly sung to harps of gold.
Precious when to Calv'ry groaning,
He sustained the cursed tree,
Precious when His death atoning,
Made an end of sin for me.

Precious when the bloody scourges,
Caused the sacred drops to roll;
Precious when of wrath the surges,
Overwhelmed His holy soul.
Precious in His death victorious,
He the host of hell o'erthrows;
In His resurrection glorious,
Victor crowned o'er all His foes.

Precious Lord, beyond expressing,
Are Thy beauties all divine;
Glory, honor, pow'r, and blessing,
Be henceforth, forever thine
Precious is the name of Jesus,
Who can half its worth unfold?
Far beyond angelic praises,
Sweetly sung to harps of gold.

Tune: “Come Thou Fount” pg. 17

GOD’S GLORY

Now, what is God's glory? Theologians make a general distinction between God's intrinsic glory and ascribed glory. Ascribed glory is the glory that we give to God. Ascribed glory is the worship and the honor and the praise and the adoration that we give to God, and if we withhold that worship and that glory, we rob God of his glory and he is a jealous God and he will not share his glory with another. This is the highest purpose for which God has made us, that we would give glory to our God. But there is also intrinsic glory and it is the intrinsic glory of God that is the sum and the substance of all that God is. It is the being of God, the attributes of God, the essence of God, the holiness of God, the righteousness of God, the omnipotence of God, the omniscience of God, the omnipresence of God, the truth, the mercy, the grace, the kindness, the wrath, the truth. All of the attributes of God come together to comprise the intrinsic glory of God. There is nothing that you and I can do to add to the intrinsic glory of God. God is who God is. "From everlasting to everlasting, you are God." He is the God who was and who is and who shall be forever and there is nothing that I can do or not do that in any way will withhold or add to the intrinsic glory of God. - copied

“GOD IS NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS” – Acts 10:34

These words do not mean, as many imagine, that God treats all men alike in providence and grace. He does not, “God’s grace is His own; and He dispenses it according to His own sovereign will and pleasure” (Charles Simeon). God sovereignly distinguishes men from one another (I Cor. 4:7), in election (II Thess. 2:13), in redemption (John 10:11, 15, 26), in providence (Rom. 8:28) and in His saving grace (II Tim. 1:9). The illustrations of God’s distinguishing grace in the Scriptures are numerous. The Lord accepted Abel but not Cain. He chose Isaac and rejected Ishmael. God loved Jacob and hated Esau. God gives light and withholds light, gives grace and withholds grace entirely according to His own sovereign will, without any regard to man’s person. (Matt. 11:20-26).

The text simply means that God has no regard to those things that distinguish men from one another in this world: wealth or poverty, morality or immorality, learning or ignorance race or face. God does not prefer any man or despise any man because of his earthly condition. God’s grace is entirely free and sovereign. He says, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion, So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy… and whom He will He hardenth” (Rom. 9:15-18). No earthly condition, hereditary descent, outward circumstance or religious heritage will secure God’s saving grace, or even make a man a likely candidate for salvation. And none of these things will keep God from saving any man, or make him less likely to be saved than others.