December 9

Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. - Jeremiah 9:23-24.

THIS prohibition shows us at once the propensity there is in man to glory in man.; it reminds us of the source of his boast, and glorying in some possession or quality of his own,-as we here see, in his wisdom, or in his might, or in his riches. Though these three articles alone are mentioned, they are very comprehensive, and are found to contain all that feeds human vanity and pride. We should always be very careful as to what we glory in, as it at once shows what we are, whether wise or foolish, whether carnal or spiritual, whether earthly or heavenly; and because of its influence, for whatever we much admire, value, and commend will operate so as to convert the mind into its own nature. And whether the subject be virtuous or base, or noble or abject, this will be the result.

If it be little, it will contract the mind; if base, it will degrade it; if noble, it will elevate it; if sacred, it will sanctify it. In what, then, it may be asked, should we glory? Let us turn to the children of light; let us look at the heirs of salvation; let us appeal to the Scriptures of truth. What is the language of the evangelical prophet when predicting the coming reign of the Messiah? “In his name,” says he, “shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.” They shall not only be justified, but they “shall glory” in him. And in what part, so to speak, are they to glory? Not only in his grandeur, but in his love; not in his throne, but in his cross; according to the language of the Apostle Paul, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

Here we see in what this eminent servant of Christ gloried. It was not in his parts as a man, nor in his attainments as a scholar, nor in his privileges as a Jew, nor in his strictness as a Pharisee, nor in his freedom as a Roman, nor in his usefulness as a minister, nor in his gifts and achievements as an apostle. Nay, he rejects the thought, and by a kind of oath exclaims, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”