The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1939-08-24

p4GlH HlIIlSSu snail De GxaleQ.-Luke 10. IA.
Pride goeth before destruction
and naughty spirit before a fall''
prov. 1919.
A mans life may begin with
every promise of greatness and he
may prosper in everything for years
as he honors God, and then by pre-
sumptuous disobedience he may
bring it all to sudden destruction,
living the closing years of his life
IN disgrace and going down to his
grave in sorrow. That fact is writ
ten so large on the pages of history
that one marvels that "wayfaring
men though fools" need to "err
therein" lisa. $3.50. Pride makes
a man blind to his own weakness
and so presumptuous that he walks
right into trouble The story of W.
ziah points a moral both obvious
and needed by all of us.
1. Prosperity wv. 3-5).
"As long as he sought the Lord,
God made him prosper" ". 81.
With heart right toward God,
the background of a rearing by God
fearing parents chow much that
means!) and the counsel of a man
who was an expert" in his under
standing of the ways and the will
of God, Uzziah prospered greatly.
Chapters Is to 81 of II Chronicles
reveal him as man of affairs, a
successful warrior, a capable agri-
culturist, an able gvernment adj
ministrator, and king whose fame
was known far and wide For one
who took over the government of a
nation at the tender age of Is, fol-
lowing the tragic death of his IA
Their, Uzziah made a remarkable
and commendable record
ii. Presumption ". 16).
when he was strong, his heart
was lifted up to his destruction
". 49,. What sad words! Pros
perity ruined man who had made
a name for himself in times of ad-
versity. In presumptuous pride he
attempted to take the place of the
priest ordained of God, in effect de-
claring that the State was over the
Church, as we would put it in our
day.
There is no greater danger at
taching to the life of Christian serv-
ice than the danger of presumptu-
GUS pride. l mean the pride which
manifests itself in an independence
Of the ordinary means of grace, of
prayer, and of the Word of God. I
am convinced that that is the cause
Of much of the failure in many lives
there. 1t is a pride which says: 4
can dispense with the Word of God;
which persists in living on a mini
mum of prayer and communion
with God, and in yet going about
the work of God as of old; pride
which, like Uzziah's, seeks carnal
prominence in spiritual things. For
that was his sin. He sought car
nal prominence in service which
God had ordained was to be of an
entirely spiritual order" q. Stuart
Holden).
III. Punishment wv. 17-2D.
1.-THE king was a leper and
was cut off from the house of
the Lord" ". 2D. The priests of
God had holy boldness in rebuking
the king, quality which one could
hope would never be missing in the
testimony of Gods servants. The
king, however, resented their wise
words of counsel, and punishment
from God, both swift and terrible,
came upon him.
If the judgment upon Uzziah
seems too drastic, let us remember
that the king was presuming to set
aside an order established by God.
It was a question of whether God
was to rule or the king. We should
also bear in mind that what looks
like a single outward bit of pre-
sumption was really the expression
of heart that had long since gone
far from God. When men in high
position either in the State or in
the Church fall into sin, it is not
very often the result of yielding
to sudden temptation, but rather
the inevitable showing forth of what
has long been true in the inner life.
The leprosy of Uzziah's heart now
showed forth in his face, and he had
to be shut off from his people and