FOLLY OF PRIDE. 



115 



ohets, and apostles, and the noble army of mar- 

 yrs, and the exalted stations of the cherubim and 

 serajtfiim, would excite his envy and ambition, 

 and, ere long, he would attempt to sow the seeds 

 of discord, and to introduce anarchy and confu 

 sion among the hosts of heaven. So that the 

 passion of pride, when cherished in the soul as 

 -he governing principle of action, is utterly in 

 compatible with our admission into the regions 

 of harmony and love. 



Let me ask the man in whose heart pride and 

 haughtiness predominate, if he really imagines 

 that he can be a candidate for a glorious and im 

 mortal existence ? Does he not at once perceive 

 the inconsistency of such a thought with the dic 

 tates of reason, and the nature of future felicity ? 

 Of what has he any reason to be proud ? Is 

 he proud of his birth ? of his ancestors ? of his 

 wealth? of his ttation? of his beauty? of his 

 personal accomplishments ? of his gallantry ? of 

 his debaucheries? of his military prowess? or of 

 the thousands of human beings he has slain in 

 battle ? Is he proud of his skill in music, in 

 dancing, in fencing, in fox-hunting, and in gam 

 bling? of his knowledge in languages, in lite 

 rature, in arts and sciences? Or is he proud 

 that h&quot; is subjected to the asthma, the gra 

 vel, the mopsy, and the gout, that his fune 

 ral will be attended by a train of mourners, 

 and that a monument of marble will be erect 

 ed to his memory, when his carcass is putre 

 fying with the reptiles of the dust ? Suppose 

 he were admitted into the celestial mansions- - 

 which of all these topics would he choose for the 

 theme of his conversation, and the ground of his 

 boasting? Would he attempt to entertain the 

 cherubim and the seraphim, by telling them how 

 many rude chieftains he was descended from, 

 how many ancient families he was connected 

 with, and how many acres of land he possessed 

 as a patrimony in that wrutched world which is 

 soon to be wrapt in flames ? Would he tell them 

 of his expertntfss as a marksman, of his dexte 

 rity as a horse-racer, of his adroitness as a boxer, 

 of his skill in manoeuvring an army, of the vil 

 lages he had burned, of the towns he had pil 

 laged, or of the thousands he had butchered in 

 storming a city? He would be overwhelmed 

 with shouts of indignation, and instantly hissed 

 from their abodes. Would he boast of his skill 

 in languages and antiquities, or of his knowledge 

 in arts and sciences? What a poor ignoramus, 

 (if I may use the expression) would he appear 

 in the presence of Gabriel, the angel of God, 

 who has so frequently winged his way, in a few 

 hours, from heaven to earth, and surveyed the 

 regions of unnumbered worlds ! Would a poor 

 worm of the earth, whose view is confined within 

 & few miles around it, boast of its knowledge in 

 .he presence of beings endowed with such capa 

 cious powers, and who have ranged over so vast 

 i portion of the universe of God ? And, if he 



has nothing else to boast of, why is he proud * 

 What a pitiful figure he would make among the 

 intelligent and adoring hosts of heaven ? While 

 such a disposition, therefore, predominates in the 

 mind, its possessor can enjoy no substantial feli 

 city either in this life or in the life to come,. 



On the other hand, the man, who, like his Re 

 deemer, is &quot; meek and lowly in heart,&quot; has &quot;the 

 witness in himself,&quot; that he has obtained the ap 

 probation of his God, that he is assimilated to 

 angelic beings in his temper and affections, that 

 he has the principle of eternal life implanted in 

 his soul, and that he is in some measure qualified 

 for joining in the exercises, and enjoying the 

 felicity of the heavenly state. &quot; For thus saith 

 the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, 

 whose name is holy; I dwell in the high and 

 holy place, with him also that is of a contrite 

 and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the hum 

 ble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.&quot; 



4. Active Beneficence, with all its accompany 

 ing virtues, is another characteristic of the man 

 who is training for the heavenly inheritance. 

 Wherever the principle of love to God and man, 

 and the grace of humility are in exercise, they 

 will uniformly lead the individual who is under 

 their influence to &quot; abound in the fruits of right 

 eousness, and to use every active endeavour to 

 promote the comfort and happiness of mankind. 

 He will endeavour, as far as his power and influ 

 ence extend, to relieve the wants of the poor, 

 the fatherless and the widow, to soothe the dis 

 consolate, to comfort the afflicted, to shelter the 

 houseless and benighted traveller, to instruct the 

 ignorant, and to meliorate the moral and physical 

 condition of every rank of society. He will pa 

 tronize every scheme which has for its object to 

 remove the evils which exist in the social stale 

 to increase the comforts of mankind to improve 

 the soil to facilitate human labour to clear away 

 nuisances from the habitations of men to pro 

 mote order, cleanliness, and domestic enjoyment 

 to train the minds of the young to knowledge 

 and virtue to introduce improvement in the me 

 chanical arts, and to diffuse useful science among 

 all ranks. Above all things he will endeavour, 

 in so far as his station and opportunities permit, 

 to promote the spiritual improvement and the 

 eternal happiness of mankind, and will study to 

 render all his other exertions subservient to the 

 attainment of this most interesting and momen 

 tous object. In contributing to the accomplish 

 ment of this end, he will give his countenance 

 and support to every institution, and to every ra 

 tional scheme which is calculated to promote the 

 knowledge of the scriptures of truth, throughout 

 our own country, and in other lands, and to make 

 known &quot;the salvation of God&quot; over all the 

 earth. In such benevolent exertions he will per 

 severe, even in the face of every species of op 

 position, obloquy, and reproach, through the whole 

 course of his existence in this world, tiU death 



