Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
Human joy in the unsubstantial
“Horns” are signs and symbols of power; here they stand for the military resources with which they fancied that they could conquer every foe. “These delusions of God-forgetting pride the prophet cast down, by saying that Jehovah, the God of hosts, will raise up a nation against them, which will crush them down in the whole length and breadth of the kingdom. This nation was Assyria” (Delitzsch).
I. To rejoice in worldly wealth, is to “rejoice in a thing of nought.”
II. To rejoice in personal beauty, is to “rejoice in a thing of nought.” But is this beauty a thing to rejoice in? Those who possess it do rejoice in it; many pride themselves on their good looks and fine figures. But what is beauty? It is a “thing of nought.”
III. To rejoice in ancestral distinction, is to “rejoice in a thing of nought.” There are those who are constantly exulting in their pedigree. But even had we come from the loins of the intellectual and moral peers of the race, what in this is there for rejoicing? It is truly “a thing of nought.” Our ancestry is independent of us, we are not responsible for it. It is not a matter either of blame or praise.
IV. To rejoice in moral meritoriousness, is to “rejoice in a thing of nought.” There are many who rejoice in their morality. Like the Pharisee in the temple, they thank God they are not as “other men.” Moral merit in a sinner, is a baseless vision, a phantom of a proud heart. No, our righteousness is “a thing of nought.” (Homilist.)
Our own strength a “thing of nought”
The Christian life is something more than what we call a moral life. The mere moral life is one which begins to be and grows simply by voluntary, conscious, self-originating deeds and choices. It is “self righteousness” in Paul’s sense of the word. The Christian life no less has conscious choices, but something more is builded into it, something spiritual and real out of God. Here is an illustration. Plant a grain of wheat in a wet sponge kept moist by a bowl of water. It will grow and grow rapidly, fed on itself and water, but directly its tall stem leans, limp and weak, to break at last., and wither and die before it bears fruit. It was self-nourished; its growth was out of itself. Now plant another like grain of wheat in the earth. It grows, not so quickly; but it is having builded into it lime and phosphorus and iron out of the earth, and its tall stein bends at last also, but with the weight of “ the full corn in the ear,” the fruit of its union with the strength of the earth. So the Christian life and growth are the strength of God, builded by Him into the character. It is the spiritual element, thus wrought into our life by the higher Nourisher of our souls, which gives us character and moral strength; and that process, though unconscious, is a real happening. (S. B. Meeser.)
We take to ourselves the credit of our good things
Why is it we are so slow to realise this? Partly, I think, because we are wont from so much of our life to shut God out. “It is ever the nature of Galloway,” says Mr. Crockett in one of his stories, “to share the credit of any victory with providence, but to charge it wholly with any disaster.” “Wasna that cleverly done?” we say when we succeed. “We maun juist submit,” we say when we fail. And Galloway nature is very much like human nature all the world over. We make God responsible for our evil things; the credit of our good things we put down to ourselves. (Helping Words.)