The Angel of the Lord smote Him

"The Angel of the Lord smote Him, because He gave not God the glory" (Acts 12:23). Giving credit and honor to people and places or taking it to ourselves, when it justly belongs to God, is a folly of which we all have been guilty. It is a thoughtless offense. Nevertheless it grieves God and needs to be covered with the precious blood of Jesus, and we need to pray, "Father, forgive me for this trespass." In my early experience, I praised the old preacher who loved me and prayed me to God. But who made this man of God? I exalted to heaven the camp meeting at which God gave me a clean heart, but who created the camp? How often have I made the impression that I did so much toward obtaining a new heart and later, a pure heart, when the Bible says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5). We must beware of so glorifying flesh and blood that we fail to give God the glory. Let us not take the honor to ourselves, nor give more credit to money, personality, forms and methods than to the Holy Trinity--the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The good Lord does all He can to save us from such vain glory. "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world...and the things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence" (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). It is written, "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31). "God forbid," writes Paul, "that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14). God punishes this weakness in human nature. God dethroned Nebuchadnezzar because he gave no glory to God. "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee" (Daniel 4:30-31). Consider the Pharisee that took all glory for his morality and gave not glory to God. That man went down from the temple unblessed. This might reveal why some of us are so little blessed. We are not to preach self. We are to preach Christ and seek His glory. "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true and no unrighteousness is in him" (John 7:18). "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). Daily we are to give glory to God for the blessings of life: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17). "Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 9:23-24).