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I shall first describe to you the several kinds of pride among mankind, and show you their folly and wickedness; and, secondly, point out to you the beauty and advantage of their opposite virtue, humility.

I. The vice of pride PUTS ON A GREAT VARIETY OF APPEARANCES, AND IS FOUND IN EVERY RANK AND CONDITION OF HUMAN LIFE. Pride of station claims our first notice. "Man being in authority," is too apt to be "proud at heart"; to be "puffed up" with this distinction; to consider himself as a being of a higher order than the rest of his fellow sinners; and to look upon those with disdain who are lower in the scale of society than himself. But what do the Scriptures say to such a vain and foolish mortal as this? They tell him that "man will not long abide in honour, seeing he may be compared to the beast that perisheth." They tell him that "men of high degree are a lie; to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity."

2. Nor is the pride of birth less unreasonable than that of rank. Even a heathen in ancient times could see its absurdity, and say, "for as to family and ancestors, and what we have not done ourselves, we can scarcely call those things ours."

3. Of the same wicked and foolish character is pride of riches. Reason tells us that riches cannot give dignity of character, superiority of intellect, vigour of body, endowments of mind, peace of conscience, cheerfulness of heart, or any one of those advantages which form the chief blessings of life; and, therefore, are a very insufficient foundation for "pride of heart."

4. Pride of talent, and pride of learning, also ill become "man that is born of a woman." A disease, an accident, "a sudden terror," may overset the mind, and turn all our light into "utter darkness." Of the pride of beauty, in order to show its folly, it need only be said, in the language of inspiration, "surely all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field

; the grass withereth, and the flower fadeth."

5. The pride of judgment, also, which is too often the pride of the young and ignorant, is of the like foolish description, and is equally rebuked by the Holy Scriptures. It is a common and a true observation, that those who know least generally imagine that they know most, and know best.

6. But, of all kinds of pride, spiritual pride, or the conceit and boast of being holier than others, is the worst description of this bad passion: most hateful to God, and most dangerous to our souls.

II. Opposite, however, as the mid-day sun to "utter darkness," is THE CHARACTER GIVEN IN CRIPTURE OF LOWLINESS OR HUMILITY: AND THE VIEW OF THE BLESSINGS WHICH ARE PROMISED UPON THOSE IN WHOM IT IS FOUND. "When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom." When we consider the nature of man, fallen and far gone from original righteousness, one might well think that men should of their own accord see the propriety, the necessity, of the grace of humility in their character. Our Lord has bound meekness and poverty of spirit upon our consciences by His injunctions, and encouraged our obedience to His injunctions by assuring us that "the meek and the poor in spirit shall inherit the kingdom of heaven." He has declared to us that those who "humble themselves shall be exalted"; and finally, to give the greatest possible weight and effect to what He said, He left us, in His own practice, the most perfect example of the graces which He enjoined to His followers: for "He made Himself of no reputation," etc.

(R. Warner.)

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KJV: When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.

WEB: When pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility comes wisdom.