2. An invasion of his prerogative —
" God has made all things for himself " and " his glory he will not give to another." But, if we take to ourselves the glory which is due to him, we put ourselves, as it were, into his place, and become a god unto ourselves. This may appear
•' -2 Cor. v. 5. b Deut. viii. 7, 11—11, 18, 19.
too strong a representation; but it is the very construction which Jehovah himself puts upon such conduct. The city of Tyre was greatly enriched, and raised to a high rank among the surrounding nations : and the governors, instead of acknow- ledging the providence of God in their elevation, ascribed it wholly to themselves, and confided in it as a source of con- tinued security. Hear now how God speaks to them respect- ing it: " Son of man, say unto the Prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God ; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, ' I am God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas ;' yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of Godc." Nor let it be imagined that this is done only by an actual assumption of these honours to ourselves: Herod did not claim the honours that were ascribed to him ; but he was pleased ivith them ; and acquiesced in the judgment of his admirers, instead of reproving it. Paul and Barnabas, when divine honours were offered to them, rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, and expostulated with them in the strongest terms'1 : and it was Herod's sin that he accepted the flattery, instead of reprobating it with indignation. In like manner the receiving with com- placency the flattering unction of human applause, trifling as it may appear to us, is a very heinous sin in the sight of God.]
The evil of his sin may be further seen in the greatness of, II. His punishment —
Pride, above all things, provokes " a jealous God:" and the whole creation are ready to vindicate the honour of his injured Majesty. As, in the plagues of Egypt, frogs and lice were ready to inflict punish- ment on the hardened monarch, so, in Herod's case, " worms" sprang forth, as it were, into existence, to avenge the quarrel of Jehovah. Nor shall such an impious disposition ever pass unpunished.
1. God has punished it in many instances — [See where man has made himself the author of the great things which have been wrought by him ; how strongly has God resented itc' ! See where man has made him- self the end of his own actions ; how fearfully has God mani- fested his indignation against the offending personf!
See where only an undue complacency has been felt, as
c Ezek. xxviii. 2 — 10. Compare also I lab. i. 15, 16.
d Acts xiv. 9 — 15. e Isai. x. 12 — 15. and xxxvii. 23 — 29.
f Dan. iv. 30— 33.