Prevalent evils-Offensive to God.

Jn. 9:31 We know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

Heb. 11: 6 Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. [See 165, 589.]

547. Prayer not agreeable to the wicked.

Job 27: 8 What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? 10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? [See 22.]

548. God displeased with prayerless persons.

Jer. 10: 25 Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate. [See 230.]

PRIDE AND SELF-CONCEIT.

549. Pride, and self-conceit, prevalent evils.

Gen. 11: 4 They said, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Ps. 10: 2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor. -73: 6 Pride compasseth them about as a chain: violence covereth them as a garment. 7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. 8 They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. 9 They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.

Ezk. 16: 49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. [See 696, 703.]

550. Pride and self-conceit, offensive to God-threats.

2 S. 22: 28 The afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.

Offensive to God.

Ps. 12: 3 The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: 4 Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?-18: 27 Thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. 119: 21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments. 138: 6 Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly but the proud he knoweth afar off.

Pr. 8: 13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

15: 25 The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow. 16: 5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

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Is. 2: 12 The day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low. 3: 16 The LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: 17 Therefore the LORD will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion. 18 In that day the LORD will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon. 19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, 20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings, 21 The rings, and nose jewels, 22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping-pins, 23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. 13: 11 I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. - 26: 5 He bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.65: 5 Stand by thyself; come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

Dan. 4: 30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? 31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee: 32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen,

1

Tend to a fall.

and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

Mat. 23: 12 Whosoever shall exalt himself, shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself, shall be exalted. 29 Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore, ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

2 Th. 2: 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

Jam. 4: 6 God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. [See 513.]

551. Pride tends to a fall.

6

Esther 3: 5 When Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. — 7: 9 And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon.

Pr. 16: 18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. - 18: 12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility.- 26:12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.-28: 26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.—29: 23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. [See 733.]

388

Earthly Retribution Imperfect-Probation Limited.

PROBATION.

552. Retribution imperfect during this life.

Ps. 103: 10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

Ec. 8: 11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 9: 1 For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. 2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. [See 565.]

553. Probation limited to this life - its immeasurable importance.

Pr. 1: 24 Because I have called and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26 I also will laugh at your calamity: I will mock when your fear cometh: 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.

Ec. 9: 10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

Is. 55: 6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.

Jer. 8: 20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

Zec. 9:12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope. Mat. 25: 10 While they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

2 Cor. 6: 2 (He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

[See 390, 572, 727.]

Mat. 5: 22 Whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire. — 16: 25 Whosoever will save his life, shall lose it and whosoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? [Lk. 9: 24.]

Mk. 9: 43 If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire: 48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. [Mat. 18: 8.]

Lk. 12: 4 I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that, have no more that they can do. 5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. [Mat. 10: 28.] - 13: 23 Then

said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be

able.

Heb. 4: 1 Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

1 Pet. 4: 17 The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? [See 563.]

555. Probationary conduct determines our final state; or salvation conditional.

1 Ch. 28: 9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.