Essays on the Distinguishing Traits of Christian Character - Part Two

Extract

Essays on the Distinguishing Traits of Christian Character — Part Two
Gardiner Spring

Contents
Essay 13. Devotion to the Divine Honour and Glory 1
Essay 14. Spirit of Prayer 6
Essay 15. Brotherly Love 9
Essay 16. Separation from the World 12
Essay 17. Growth in Grace 17
Essay 18. Practical Obedience 21
Conclusion 28

Essay 13. Devotion to the Divine Honour and Glory Intimately connected with the spirit of self-denial, is supreme devotion to the honour and glory of God. From the formation of the first angel of light down to the period when the heavens shall pass away as a scroll, the Creator of the ends of the earth had his eye steadfastly fixed on the same grand object. As all things are of him, so all will be to him (Rom. 11:36). He who made all things for himself, cannot fail to pursue the end for which he made them, and to obtain it at last. When the proceedings of the last day shall have been closed; when the assembled worlds shall have entered upon the unvarying retributions of eternity; when the heavens and the earth shall have passed away, and a new heaven and a new earth, the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, shall have come down from God out of heaven: He that sitteth upon the throne shall say, “it is done; I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end!” In the winding up of the scene, it will appear that God himself is the first and the last; not merely the efficient, but the final cause of all things. The vast plan, which has for its object nothing less than the brightest manifestation of the divine glory, has an unalienable right to the most unreserved devotedness of every intelligent being. To the advancement of this plan, God therefore requires every intelligent being to be voluntarily subservient.
All the strength and ardour of affection which we are capable of exercising, must be concentrated here. Every faculty, every thought, every volition, every design, must be devoted to this great cause. …