25. The Evil of Pride
"God resists the proud." James 4:6
There are two principles which rule and govern the hearts of natural men-
Pride and sensuality. These two evils are continually in operation, the one,
against the soul-humbling, the other, against the soul-purifying, doctrines
of the Gospel.
Salvation by grace, through faith in the blood of Christ, is most offensive
to the pride of the natural man. The idea of being wholly indebted to
another for admission into the kingdom of heaven, is extremely disgusting to
self-love. Such an idea is rejected with disdain by every heart, unhumbled
and untaught by the Spirit of God. Fallen man needs to have some share in
the great work of salvation, to have something whereof to boast. But God has
declared that this shall not be. No flesh shall boasts in his presence. "He
that boasts, let him boast in the Lord."
From this principle of self-righteous pride have arisen all those
perversions of the Gospel which have abounded in every age, and which Paul
so warmly reprobates in his Epistle to the Galatians. It is a principle
deeply rooted in our fallen nature, and which nothing but the Holy Spirit
can eradicate. It forms a part of that remnant of corruption which believers
feel and bewail, and against which they daily fight and pray. In proportion
as it operates, it occasions obscurity in their views of divine truth, and
deadness in their affections to spiritual things. It grieves the Holy
Spirit, and tarnishes the glory of the Cross. Pride, assuming every form,
either worldly or religious, can go with us into our closets, or attend us
at the sanctuary. Like a subtle poison, it can insinuate itself into our
prayers and praises. Unseen, and unsuspected, it mars our best duties, and
creates that self-admiration, that desire for human applause, which corrupts
the heart, and steals it away from God.
O blessed Jesus, what need have I to look unto You for grace and strength.
Save me from pride and vain-glory. Often do I feel and lament their baneful
influence. If I speak for you, O, how does the poison work unseen by every
eye but Yours! As you alone can behold this hidden evil of the heart, so do
you in mercy destroy its influence. To You, blessed Savior, do I look. You
know what is in me. Your eyes are on all my ways. Oh! wash me in the
cleansing fountain of your precious blood. Purge me from this foul stain of
corrupted nature. Make me truly humble and abased before You. Purify my
soul, then shall I become as a little child in simplicity, teachableness,
and humility. The work is all your own. To You be all the praise.
The more exalted views I have of the Holiness and Purity of God, and of the
extent and spirituality of the divine Law; the deeper sense I have of the
evil of sin, and of the depravity of human nature; the more shall I value
the precious doctrine of Justification by faith only, through the blood and
righteousness of Christ; the more shall I feel the necessity of the
regenerating influences of the Holy Spirit, and the more shall I acknowledge
salvation to be all of grace, flowing freely from the love of God the
Father, displayed in the voluntary sufferings of God the Son, and made
savingly known to sinners, through the power of God the Holy Spirit.
But, if I reverse all this, if I have low views of the divine Holiness,
making the Almighty such an one as myself; if I consider the Gospel merely
as a mitigated law, lowering the standard of holiness, that all may be
admitted into heaven- if I have high conceptions of the dignity of human
nature, and inadequate views of the evil of sin; in that proportion the
glory of the Gospel will appear dim in my eyes, the righteousness of Christ
will be considered as a make-weight in the scale of human merit, and the
operation of the Holy Spirit as nothing more than an auxiliary to the
natural powers of man.
The former view exalts the glory of God, and humbles the sinner, while
holiness is promoted; but the latter, springing from pride, eclipses the
splendor of the Deity, obscures the bright beams of the Sun of
Righteousness, like a dark cloud intervening between us and the orb of day;
while the wretched worm of the earth, inflated with pride, sinks into
endless woe. Which of these two statements, I would ask, may we reasonably
suppose to be a revelation from God? Let conscience speak. Let the word of
truth speak. Let the convinced sinner speak. All will proclaim, "Let God be
glorified."
Oh! what cursed pride dwells in the heart of man. But what will become of
proud looks, and proud pretensions, when Christ shall sit on the throne of
his glory, and render unto every man according to his works? Then will the
contrite soul, who, while on earth was trodden down by the foot of pride, be
exalted to the heights of glory; then will the proud sinner, once admired
and applauded, be hurled into the depths of hell.
Lord, clothe me with humility. Empty me of all overweening thoughts of
myself. Make Christ more precious to my heart. Draw me to Yourself. Then
shall I form a part of your little flock; and be found among your people, in
the day when you make up your jewels.
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall;" but,
"before honor is humility." By nature, I am blind to my real state and
character. Pride and self-love form an impenetrable veil, which hides me
from myself. Others can see, and point out my defects. Hence arises the
value of a faithful friend. Blessed Spirit of Holiness, remove the veil,
open my understanding, and discover to me the true state of my soul.
It is a fact, in spiritual things, that we never know that we are blind,
until we are taught by the Spirit. The Pharisees said to our Lord, "Are we
blind also? Jesus said unto them, If you were blind, you should have no sin;
but now you say, We see; therefore your sin remains." These very men, who
said, "We see," were addressed by our Lord as blind. "Woe unto you, you
blind guides." "You blind Pharisee! cleanse first that which is within." It
is only when the Spirit opens the eyes of our minds, that we see and feel
our ignorance, and can mourn our spiritual darkness. Until then, we fancy
ourselves to be very wise and good, notwithstanding we are wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.
O you lowly Savior! impart unto me lowliness of mind. When on earth, "your
voice was not heard in the streets." You abstained from every display of
your almighty power, except when called forth in acts of love and pity. All
your miracles were wrought to bless our race, or to manifest forth your
glory. Devils and diseases fled at your command; winds were hushed to
silence; and the raging waters sank into a calm. At your all-powerful voice,
the dead arose; and nature, through all her realm, confessed You to be the
Lord. But man confessed You not! The world was made by you, and the world
knew you not. You came unto your own, and your own received you not. Oh!
give me grace to receive you in faith and love, that I may have the
privilege of becoming a child of God, being born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Hide pride from me.
Give me a single eye, which aims at nothing but your glory. Keep me from the
proud insinuations of Satan, from the swellings of a corrupt and carnal
heart.
It is of great importance in the Christian life to obtain a right knowledge
of ourselves. This can only be obtained by earnest prayer for divine
illumination, by a diligent study of the Word of God, and by frequent and
impartial, self-examination. While thoroughly searching our hearts, we shall
find much within us to mortify our pride; but the more we are enabled to
discover the hidden evils of our hearts, and to crucify the flesh, with the
affections and lusts, the more we shall value and delight in the Gospel plan
of Salvation. At the Cross of Christ we shall learn to know ourselves, and
Him, of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets did write. We shall see, in
letters of glory, those messages of grace, which proclaim a free pardon and
everlasting life to all who believe in, and receive, Christ crucified.
Oh! that I could, at this moment, throw wide the doors of a willing mind to
admit the Lord of Glory, that he may henceforth reign as King supreme over
every affection of my heart. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!
Though the heart be renewed by divine grace, the infection of nature does
remain in those who are regenerated, and too often rebels, notwithstanding
the watchfulness and care of the believer. "In me," says Paul, "(that is, in
my flesh) dwells no good thing." This indwelling sin may not, through grace,
be allowed to break out into open acts of vice, but it struggles and fights
within; "When I would do good, evil is present with me." "I find a law in my
members, warring against the law of my mind." This inbred evil excites to
pride, sloth, spiritual indifference, earthly-mindedness, fleshly lust,
self-confidence, carnal ease, and a thousand other evils destructive to our
peace, and grieving to the good Spirit of our God.
To whom, then, can I look for deliverance from these evils, but to Him who
has said, "My grace is sufficient for you." "A new heart will I give you,
and a new spirit will I put within you." This is the great and gracious
promise of the New Covenant, for which I am encouraged to pray in the name,
and through the merits, of the blessed Jesus. Lord, vouchsafe this blessing,
the pledge of every other blessing which flows to our ruined world through
the death and intercession of your dear Son.