The Carlisle independent., 1915-12-02
LESSON FOR DECEMBER 5
UZZlAH'S PRIDE AND PUNISH
 MENT.

Agaln We consider the southern kingdom. No better character could have been chosen to illustrate the condition of rulers and people in the declining days of Judahs glory. Uz- ziah ruled for 52 years and his reign was almost midway between the days Of Solomon and those of the Babylon ian captivity.
 l. Priest and Parents, w. Is. The name Uzziah means God has helped me, and no king ever had better ad- Yantages in the way of parents and counselors. To the influence of his parents he yielded in his youth tv. 41, followed the good counsel of Zacha- riah the prophet of God (y 5, and as long as he sought the Lord. God made him prosper" Ancestry and en- Flronment are not. however, a guar ahty Of any perpetuity in character.
 II. Pride, w. 6-15. Uzziah or Azariah tmarg) made a fine start and his reign, considered as a whole, was one of the most brilliant in Judahs history. It bears some striking resem- bIances to that of Solomon in that the dangerous enemies became subject na- tons ". 8. In the conduct of his campaigns Uzziah "waxed exceeding ly strong" (v. R. VI Uzziah also greatly improved and strengthened Jerusalem and gave much heed to stock raising and forestry (v. 10). The secret Of all of this prosperity was that he sought Jehovah. Christen- dom IS not Christianity, yet it is a fact that in those lands where God Is most highly exalted and most near ly followed we witness the greatest prosperity and men living amidst the most comfortable surroundings. Seek Jehovah, know his will as revealed in his word, and do that will when learned, is the only true basis of real and lasting prosperity. Jsiah also gave an exhibition of worldly wisdom that he strengthened the defenses of the nation (v. 9-10). Confidence in God does not paralyze human energy or make us presumptuous and care less q Chron. 27:25-3D. Uzziah brought the army up to a high point or efficiency (v. 13-15), using the best weapons known in his day. We, likewise, may be 'marvelously helped" from the same source and upon the same conditions; viz. that we seek the Lord Eph. 6:10; Phi 5:13). But growing along with all of this prosper ity there was also another develop ment as suggested in the last clause Of verse 14-"he was maryelously helped "till he was strong" There is no greater burden to bear and no harder test for man or a nation 8 character than that which comes with prosperity.
 III. Punishment, w. 16-21. CD Pride -Uzziah's fall and shame is one of the saddest chapters in history. His strength became his ruin When he was strong his heart was lifted up" Poverty, struggle and diversity are not passports to glory though they have strengthened the moral fiber of thousands. The tempting tests of prosperity, gilded, perfumed and at tractiye are, however. far more hard to withstand. Pride always leads to t2) Presum ption-Centurie- before God had warned men that prosperity would lead to ruin (Deut 8:1l-l7; 32:13-15) and Solomon also gave warning (Prov. 16:1S). The subtlety Of pride is the gradual way by which we come to look upon our prosperity as the work of our own hands, there by forgetting the source of our pow CT and becoming filled with a feeling of our own selfsufficiency. The next step was that Uzziah assumed to him. self those duties (y. 16) which right fully and exclusively belonged to the priesthood (see Mum. 16:40; 18:7; I Kings 12 B; 12:1-4; Heb. 5:4). (3) Pro- testing-We now behold the strange spectacle of the king protesting for the wrong and the faithful pries 8 Azariah for the right. A sad specta- cle indeed when the head of a nation openly ayoWs ths wrong and persists in it despite the protests of the serv- ants of God. The last part of verse IS indicates the extent and perver- sity of Uzziah's pride. Admonition BHly dIOuSeu luS anger OI Ile dIl-COH- quering monarch. No honor ever comes from disobeying God q Sam. 2:30; Dan. 5:3O. Uzziah apparently (v 19) was about to use the censer in his hand as a weapon in execution of his wrath, but God interfered q Peter SGD. Azariah is saved and Uzziah becomes a leper.
 Leprosy. like sin, begins and devel- ops in it's incipient stages in secret. and Uzziahs act was but the euI- imitation of the long development of sinful pride.
 Wrath soon passes away. but it's re. suits, physically as well as spiritually. are permanent.
 We must not press the teaching that all sickness is the result of sin tread Job).
 Uzziah was forever separated (v. 21) and was in his death "unclean" be- cause His heart was lifted to his de- struction-"