Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus said the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might… Men think too much of themselves on one account or another — either on account of some external condition, or on account of some internal traits and qualities. Now, it is not to be understood from this declaration of the prophet, that a man shall take no thought of, and have no pleasure in, external relations. There is pleasure to be derived from them but there are a thousand secondary things in this life which we are very glad to have, and which we are glad to be known to have, though we do not put our heart chiefly on them. It is a pleasant thing for an artist to have vigorous health; but that is not his power. It is a pleasant thing for a poet to be a musician; but that is not what he glories in. It is a pleasant thing to an orator that he is rich; but there is something that he glories in besides riches. Wealth alone affords a very small compensation of glory. Knowledge is often regarded as the chief and characteristic reason why a man should think much of himself; but here we are commanded not to glory in "knowledge." There is great excellence in knowledge; but knowledge is relative. Mathematics will exist after we are dead and gone; but knowledge of spiritual elements, knowledge of the highest realm, knowledge of right and wrong, knowledge of character, knowledge of truth — these are all related to our present condition, and are so far affected by our limitations that the apostle explicitly declares that the time will come when the universe will be revealed to us, and when our notions in respect to it will have to be changed as much as the notions of a child have to be changed when he comes to manhood. Our wisdom in this world is so partial that we cannot afford to stand on that. And when you consider what have been regarded as the treasures of knowledge, the folly of it is still greater. Many a man might just as well have been a grammar or a lexicon, dry and dusty, as the man of knowledge that he is, so useless is he. And yet men are oftentimes proud that they know so many things, without any consideration of their use. Go out and see what men know who know something. Men that have useful knowledge, and the most of it, are the men that usually are the most humble, and are conscious of the mere segment of the vast circle of the knowledge of the universe that they possess. Knowledge is a good thing; but a man is a better thing. A man in his essential nature and destiny is larger than any special element or development in this life. Therefore, let not a man glory in his "knowledge." Especially let him not glory in it in such a way as to separate himself from his fellows, and look down upon them. While it may be supposed that these views, derived from the face of Scripture, are applicable to our modern condition, it is very probable that the glorying spoken of by the prophet was that which constituted a peculiarity in the East. In Egypt, and afterwards in many Oriental kingdoms, knowledge was the prerogative of the priesthood. Those who had knowledge became a privileged class, and received honour and respect; and naturally they plumed themselves on it, as men plume themselves on titles today. "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom." In other words, let not a man because he belongs to the learned class have contempt for those who have not the privileges that he has. There are multitudes of men who have not very much to boast of in the way of kindness and humility and gentleness, but who are proud of their culture. "Neither let the mighty man glory in his might." That is, let no man glory in the attributes of strength. In the time of the athlete; in the time of the warrior; in the time when men, being head and shoulders in their stature above all others, as Saul was, gloried in their stature; in the time when men boasted, as David did, of running through a troop, and leaping over a wall; in the time when expertness and skill were in the ascendant; in the time when men were trained to all forms of physical strength and prowess — in such a time men would naturally come to make their reputation stand on these things; and the tendency to do so has not perished yet. Men glory in the fact that they are tall and symmetrical. They glory in their personal beauty. They glory in their grace. They glory in their walking and their dancing. They glory in their riding. These things are not absolutely foolish, although the men who engage in them may be. It is not to be denied that they may be useful, and that they may reflect some credit upon those who practise them. But what if nothing else can be said of a man except that he rides well? The horse is better than he! Low down, indeed, is the man who pivots himself on these inferior and often contemptible qualities. "Let not the rich man glory in his riches." We may as well shut up the Bible, then. That is too much! Yet a man has a right to glory in his riches, provided the way of his glorying is through his own integrity as well as skill. Such are the competitions of business, such are the difficulties of developing, amassing, maintaining and rightly using wealth, that a man who organises it organises a campaign, and is a general; and when a man of simplicity and honesty has come out from the haunts of poverty, and has, by his own indomitable purpose, and industry, and honourable dealing, and truthfulness, accumulated property, about no dollar of which you can say to him, "You stole it"; when a man by integrity has built up a fortune, it is a testimony better than any diploma. It tells what he has been. The true grounds of glorying are given in the next clause of the text: "Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me." The knowledge of God — a knowledge of those supreme qualities or attributes which belong to the higher nature, a knowledge of the great elements which constitute God — this may be gloried in; but men have gloried in their knowledge of gods that were contemptible. There was not a decent god in all antiquity, such that if a man were like it he could respect himself. The passions of men were the basis of their character. Therefore it is not enough that you glory in a god. "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." It is as if He had said, I am the Lord that exerciseth loving kindness without any regard to return, and without any limitation. I am continually developing, through the ages, the good and the bad, the just and the unjust. I am a God of lenity, of goodness, of kindness; but the kindness is not merely superficial — it is kindness springing out from the heart of God" That is the glory of God: and who would not-be-known as glorying in it? Now, knowing this, being penetrated with a sense of having such a God, of living in communion with Him, of beholding Him by the inward sight — having this ideal of life constitutes a knowledge that exalts, strengthens, and purifies men. But take the qualities that make the true man, as set forth in Scripture — the man in Christ Jesus. How many men can glory in themselves because they have conformed their lives to these qualities? If a man, being a mineralogist, has a finer crystal than anybody else, he rather glories in it, and says, "You ought to see mine." If a man is a gardener, and has finer roses than anybody else, he glories in them. He may go to his neighbour's garden, and praise the flowers that he sees there; but he says, "I should like to have you come over and see my roses"; and he shows them with pride. Nobody shuts his own garden gate when he goes to see his neighbour's garden. He carries his own with him. Men glory in such outward things; but how many glory in those diamonds, those sapphires, those precious stones which all the world recognise as the finest graces of the soul? How many men glory because they have the true, universal, Christian benevolence of love? Have you in yourself any ideal? Are you aiming for character, for condition, or for reputation — which is the poorest of them all? It is worth a man's while to be able to answer to himself the question, "What am I living for?" What is it that incites me? Is it vanity? Is it the animal instincts? Is it the external conditions of life? Or, is it the internal elements of manhood, that take hold upon God and heaven? (H. W. Beecher.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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: |
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