55. Furthermore man
is “crowned with glory and honour,”
Ps. viii. 5. and “glory, honour and peace”
are laid up by promise “to every man that worketh
good.”
Rom. ii. 10. There is
moreover a special and peculiar glory for Israelites “to
whom,” it is said “pertaineth the adoption and the
glory…and the service,”
Rom. ix. 4.
and the Psalmist speaks of a certain glory of his own, “that
my glory may sing praise to Thee
Ps. xxix. 12.;” and
again “Awake up my glory”
Ps. lvii. 8.
and according to the Apostle there is a certain glory of sun and
moon and stars, cf.
1 Cor. xv.
41. and “the
ministration of condemnation is glorious.”
2 Cor. iii.
9. While then so many things are
glorified, do you wish the Spirit alone of all things to be
unglorified? Yet the Apostle says “the ministration of
the Spirit is glorious.”
2 Cor. iii.
8. How
then can He Himself be unworthy of glory? How according to the
Psalmist can the glory of the just man be great cf.
Ps. xxi. 5. and according to you the glory of the
Spirit none? How is there not a plain peril from such
arguments of our bringing on ourselves the sin from which there is
no escape? If the man who is being saved by works of
righteousness glorifies even them that fear the Lord cf.
Ps. xv. much less would he deprive the Spirit of
the glory which is His due.