A vile, creeping, serpentine thing...From Spurgeon's sermon, "Pride and Humility"There is no sin into which the heart of man so easily falls aspride, and yet there is no vice which is more frequently, moreemphatically, and more eloquently condemned in Scripture!There is no trap into which we poor silly birds so easily fly.There is no pitfall into which, like foolish beasts of the earth,we so continually run, as the sin of pride!Pride is the worst monstrosity of all the monstrous thingsin creation; it has nothing lovely in it.Pride, the first-born son of hell, is indeed like its parent-all unclean and vile, and in it there is no beauty.Consider your origin; look back to the hole of the pit whereyou were digged. Consider what you would have been, evennow, if it were not for Divine grace.Consider that among the damned, there are none that wouldhave been more damned than yourself, if grace had not kept youfrom destruction. Let this consideration humble you,that you have nothing whereon to ground your pride.Oh! man, hate pride, flee from it, abhor it,do not let it dwell with you!If you want to have a madman in your heart, embrace pride, for you shall never find one more mad than he.Pride has ten thousand shapes; it is not always thatstiff and starched gentleman that you picture it.Pride is a vile, creeping, insinuating thing,that will twist itself like a serpent into our hearts.It will talk of humility, and prate about being dust and ashes.I have known men talk about their corruption most marvelously,pretending to be all humility, while at the same time they were theproudest wretches that could be found this side the gulf ofseparation.Oh! my friends, you cannot tell how many shapes pride willassume; look sharply at yourself, or you will be deceived by it,and when you think you are entertaining angels, you will find youhave been receiving devils unawares.
_________________CHRISTIAN
Is the sin of pride this revolting to us as described here? Does the church realize the enormity of the sin of pride?I read this last night by Matthew Henry:"Observe, Those whom God advances to honourable employments he humbles and [b]makes low in their own eyes[/b]; and, where God gives grace to be humble, there he gives all other grace."http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc6.x.iv.htmlRobert Murray M'Cheyne on humility and pride, "Oh for true, unfeigned humility. I know I have cause to be humble; and yet I do not know one half of that cause. I know I am proud; and yet I do not know half of that pride."
Roniya wrote:Robert Murray M'Cheyne on humility and pride, "Oh for true, unfeigned humility. I know I have cause to be humble; and yet I do not know one half of that cause. I know I am proud; and yet I do not know half of that pride."
_________________Jennifer Richardson
he also spoke of an excellent book about Humility by C.J. Mahaney. Something he quoted from that book: "There is a virtue which draws the gaze of the Savior." (humility)
Roniya wrote:Jennifer, have you read the biography on Robert M'Cheyne's life by Andrew Bonar?
Jennifer wrote:No, but I'll have to get my hands on one soon. I've heard so much about him.