To Serve God the Best Way to Prosper in the World
1 Chronicles 28:9-21
And you, Solomon my son, know you the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind…


I. WHAT IT IS TO SERVE GOD

1. To serve God is to sincerely practise all the duties of piety.

(1) We must take heed to our private devotions — reading, meditation, prayer.

(2) We must discharge the duties of public worship.

2. To serve God is to practise all those duties which we owe more immediately to our fellow-creatures and to ourselves.

II. WHAT A TENDENCY THE SERVING GOD IN THIS MANNER HAS TO SECURE HIS FAVOUR AND BLESSING IN ALL OUR SECULAR CONCERNS.

1. This is evident from the promises God has made in His Word (1 Timothy 4:8; Deuteronomy 8:18; Proverbs 10:22; Psalm 34:10; Psalm 84:2; Matthew 5:5; Romans 8:28; Ecclesiastes 2:26).

2. This is apparent from the very nature and connection of things. "Godliness with contentment is great gain."(1) It secures a man the most durable peace, the most valuable possessions, and gives him much more satisfaction and comfort in that share of the world which providence hath allotted to him than the most affluent fortune ever afforded, which I take to be the meaning of the promise, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."(2) It preserves a man from running into vicious habits and customs.

(3) It obliges to the practice of that integrity, wisdom, and industry which have a natural tendency to improve our circumstances.

3. This is confirmed by constant experience and observation. Conclusion: How greatly mistaken are they who think to prosper in the world by stepping aside out of the path of duty, or who dare to violate the sacred obligations of virtue and religion for the sake of a temporal advantage.

(J. Mason, M. A.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

WEB: You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.




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