The sin of pride is the most universally prevalent of sins and the least frequently acknowledged. It has its seat deep in the natural heart of man. It is the sin that brought Lucifer down from being an angel of light to be a fallen spirit, from being an archangel to be the Prince of darkness. It is the sin also which allured our first parents from the pristine glory of their created state to the awful depths and depravity of their fallen state.
The sin of pride is like the rock in the sea upon which many noble ships and lesser vessels have struck and floundered and perished. Oh, how many, even in the history of the Church of God, who, though they escaped many another danger in their wilderness course, were brought, if not to ruin, at least to the destruction of their usefulness in the world by the awful sin of pride. It is like a virulent fever affecting all with whom it comes in contact. None appear to be immune from its pursuing grasp except those who have been so weaned from self that they can trust themselves no longer, and have been obliged to commit their keeping to Him who is able to keep them from falling and to present them faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Jude 24. A blessed people they are, who, conscious of indwelling sin and corruption, conscious of the deep depravity of their own heart, the unstableness of their own will, the darkness of their own understanding, must of necessity place their safe-keeping in more powerful hands than their own; and who, conscious that the Lord by His obedience and sufferings and death on Calvary on their behalf, has abundantly — and more than abundantly — earned their confidence in Him, cannot but repose in Him, not only the hope of their salvation but of their safe-keeping as well. Poor, poor sinner; tried, tried believer; yea, all who vex their soul night and day in trying to preserve themselves; all who are weary and faint by reason of the way and fearful of succumbing through the conflicts that meet them every day; oh, by the mercies of the covenant-keeping God of Jacob, place your confidence in Him as surely for your safe-keeping as for your salvation; yea, as surely as you reposes your soul upon His bosom and lay down your head there and find rest in Him for the salvation of your soul for eternity, so rest your soul upon Him, so lay down your head upon His bosom also for your safe-keeping every step of the way on your wilderness journey to the promised land. Is He not able, who delivered you from the lowest hell, to preserve you for the few steps of your journey in this world? Is He not able, who delivered Daniel from the den of lions and yourself from out of an horrible pit, to keep you from the snares and gins of the wicked one? Have faith in God. Trust in Him at all times. In the Lord, the living soul can say, have I righteousness and strength.
But you will say, That is all very well, but what about this giant sin of pride, this Goliath that has slain so many even of the mighty. To you we say: Remember the David of the New Testament. If David of the Old Testament slew Goliath of Gath who was so mighty, so that the damsels sang, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands, how much more may this be said of the Lord Jesus Christ. Has He not slain His ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands? Has He not grappled with foes too numerous to mention and with enemies far beyond the power of man to conquer? And has He not obtained the victory? Has He not overcome death and the grave as well as the powers of darkness? Has He not power, therefore, to overcome and slay in you this giant sin of pride? Despair if you will and as you must of ever conquering this infernal foe yourself, but never despair, no, never, of Christ subduing, overcoming and conquering it in you.
The Apostle had to learn his weakness and his need of the thorn in his flesh. He would have the thorn removed; he would desire never to be troubled with it again. This is the attitude of carnal wisdom towards the occasion and cause of all conflicts. Let these be removed, let me not be tried by reason of them any more — so proceeds human wisdom. How different is the wisdom of God! How easy it would have been for the Lord to remove the thorn in the flesh. But the Lord does not remove it. He says, Let it remain. But He also says, I will give you grace to support you under it so that you may learn that my grace is sufficient for you and that my strength is made perfect in weakness. You are to learn at the same time both the strength of indwelling corruption and your own weakness and inability to resist it. This is not so that you may be overcome by it but to call forth the exercise of His grace in you so that you may be led to look by faith to the Strong for strength, that is, to look out of yourself to Him who is able to do all things for you.
So in our conflicts with the pride of our own heart, we would wish that we were never troubled with this enemy again. But the Lord sees fit to leave it. The land was not to be cleared in one day. There were enemies to be left in the land to prove and to try the people of Israel. So with indwelling corruption and, in particular, with the risings of pride in the hearts of the people of God. Like David when he said of Saul, I will fall by the hand of Saul one day, so it is with the child of God and pride — I will fall by the hand of this Saul one day, he says. No, David, the Lord might have assured His harrassed servant, you will not fall, but Saul will fall one day and you will rise and triumph. Many a conflict lay between David and the time when he would reign triumphantly — and many a battle may lie between you, child of God, and your ultimate victory and triumph, but the outcome is sure. The battle is not your’s but the Lord’s. What a day it will be for the tried afflicted people of God when they shall see this great foe, this sin of pride lie as a vanquished foe on the field of battle. Will they glory in the victory they have obtained? No, surely they will not but will say,
Not unto us, Lord, not to us,
but do Thou glory take
Unto Thy Name, ev’n for Thy truth
and for Thy mercy’s sake.