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Like a weed upon a dung-heap!
(Philpot, "Wilderness
Hunger and Heavenly Manna")
"I hate pride and arrogance!" Proverbs 8:13
Our hearts are desperately proud.
If there is one sin which God hates more than
another, and more sets Himself against, it is
the sin of pride.
Like a weed upon a dung-heap, pride grows
more profusely in some soils, especially when
well fertilized by . . .
rank,
riches,
praise,
flattery,
our own ignorance,
and the ignorance of others.
We all inherit pride from our fallen ancestor
Adam, who got it from Satan, that "king over
all the children of pride."
Those, perhaps, who think they possess the
least pride, and view themselves with wonderful
self-admiration as the humblest of mortals, may
have more pride than those who feel and confess
it. It may only be more deeply hidden in the dark
recesses of their carnal mind.
As God then sees all hearts, and knows every
movement of pride, whether we see it or not,
His purpose is to humble us!
When I look back upon my life, and see . . .
all my sins,
all my follies,
all my slips,
all my falls,
my conscience testifies of the many things
I have thought, said, and done, which . . .
grieve my soul,
make me hang my head before God,
put my mouth in the dust, and
confess my sins unto Him.
When I contrast my own exceeding
sinfulness with . . .
God's greatness,
God's majesty,
God's holiness, and
God's purity . . .
I fall down, humbly and meekly before Him,
I put my mouth in the dust,
I acknowledge I am vile.
"I am nothing but dust and ashes." (Abraham)
"Behold, I am vile!" (Job)
"Woe to me! I am ruined!" (Isaiah)
"I am a sinful man!" (Peter)
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