Pride humiliated.
The proud cedar is laid low. Assyria falls. The fate of this great empire gives warning for all ages. Magnificence does not secure protection.
I. PRIDE IS THE BESETTING FAULT OF WORLDLY SUCCESS. Many things contribute to the excitement of this passion.
1. The perception of the success. No man can thrive in a worldly way without perceiving the fact.
2. The consciousness of power. The greatest success is that to which a person attains by his own efforts. When he puts forth energy and finds it fruitful, he is naturally tempted to think much of himself.
3. The attraction of the superficial. This worldly success is but a shallow growth. But lying all on the surface, it is very obvious to the eye and appears to be much more important than it really is.
4. The flattery of others. Directly a man is successful a host of flatterers arise about, him, some greedily expecting- crumbs from his table, others slavishly adoring his worldly greatness. Now, flattery accepted makes for pride.
II. THE PRIDE OF WORLDLY SUCCESS IS A GREAT SIN IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.
1. It is false. The success is not so glorious a thing as the proud man imagines it to be. Moreover, it is not purely created by the man who attains to it. He takes many advantages that are given to him by Providence, and claims them as of his own making.
2. It is ungrateful. The gifts of Heaven are held as though their owner were under no obligation to him who sent them.
3. It is impenitent. The proud man will not admit his faults. He attempts to hide his sin under his success.
4. It is selfish. Proud Assyria crushed her subject-nations. All pride is a glorification of self, too often at the expense of others. Pride excludes love.
5. It is worldly. This pride is simply concerned with earthly success. It shuts out all contemplation of the spiritual and the eternal Thus it beclouds the view of heaven and destroys the reverence that should be felt for God; it lowers the soul while it exalts self-esteem.
III. THIS PRIDE WILL BRING ITS OWN DOWNFALL. Because the cedar has lifted himself up in height, God has delivered him into the hands of the mighty one.
1. This is a Divine judgment. God is higher than the highest. He has power over the greatest. No pride can assert itself successfully in face of his wrath. At a touch from the hand of God the grandest pretensions crumble to dust. Empires topple to the earth at a glance from the Almighty.
2. This is brought about through the direct working of pride. It acts inwardly on the proud man and compasses his ruin. The height and breadth of the majestic cedar make it a prey to the whirlwind. The tall tree attracts the lightning. The rich man is waylaid by thieves, who neglect the poor man and so leave him in safety. The successful man is an object of envy. But pride increases the danger tenfold. It destroys sympathy and excites animosity. It also throws a man off his guard, making him think himself safe from attack or strong to defend himself. The false sense of security which it induces lays a snare for the man who harbors it. Our safety lies in the opposite direction—in humility, confession of sin, and trust in the pardoning, protecting grace of God.