(2 Chron, 26:15.)

King Uzziah lived in times of the declension of the kings of Judah, but was himself, at the beginning of his reign, a faithful and diligent king."As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper," and' so in every direction he was successful against the enemies of the nation, and "he strengthened himself exceedingly."Not only was he successful with outward foes, but in building up the material interests and defenses of the kingdom. Jerusalem and other cities were fortified; a large army was gathered, and, what was better far than all this, the resources of the kingdom were developed. Wells were digged, and much attention was given to increasing the resources of the nation. He was a lover of husbandry-a good thing to remember often by those who may be called upon to engage much in spiritual warfare. We must seek to cultivate those fields which God's grace has given to us, and to gather in the rich fruits for our sustenance, if we are really to make successful warfare against
our enemies.

"He was marvelously helped until he was strong." The growth and establishment of the kingdom in a day of such weakness was nothing short of marvelous. It is painful to have to see how all this ended by puffing up the king and leading him to that presumptuous blasphemy which brought down the stroke of God upon him. He would intrude himself into the priest's office and offer incense, a function reserved for the sons of Aaron alone. It was in a figure, we may say, that practical denial of the need of the priest,-of the need of Christ as our Priest before God.

But leaving Uzziah and his history, we have in these words a needful and suggestive lesson for ourselves. Of how many of us can it be said that we have been marvelously helped, and may there not be need to remember that if strength has been given us we need to be doubly on our guard lest we, too, presume to pass beyond that which God has placed us in.

Salvation is in one sense the breaking down of all creature strength in order that the sinner may realize his utter helplessness. The natural man is strong; strong, if not in the sense of his own goodness-a thing too common to most-yet in the sense of his ability to do that which is right. One of the most humbling truths to learn is that it was "when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly." Weakness is a crime in the eyes of the natural man, and many who might be willing to admit that they were ungodly would be humiliated at the thought of confessing that they had no strength, no power to be anything else but ungodly; and yet that is just where man must be brought before he will accept Christ as his only Saviour. Thus his strength is taken from him, and he begins his Christian course on the distinct understanding that in him is no strength at all. We do not speak of the rest and the joy and the peace which come from recognizing this – how all struggling ceases, and the poor, puny efforts, which had only added to our distress, give place to that profound rest in the finished work of Christ and in His perfect love.

Now so long as the saint continues in the recognition of his absolute weakness, his Christian life is one happy song; he knows too well his own feebleness to attempt anything in his own strength. The memory of the bondage in Egypt from which he has but lately come prevents his reliance upon an arm of flesh. He is weak and he knows it, and rejoices in the fact; for, does it not shut him up to a divine power which is all-sufficient and his delight ?And yet in the wisdom of God he has got to learn afresh that it is true of him as a saint, in a way perhaps of which he has little dreamed, that there is no strength in him. This accounts for the whole experience that is recorded in the seventh chapter of Romans. It is the saint there, the child of God, not the sinner seeking peace. He desires holiness and to do the will of God, but he turns to the law, and in his own strength is seeking for something good in himself. We do not repeat the humbling story. How many of us can remember how we beat our wings against our cage until, falling down wounded and breathless, we could only cry:"Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me ? "Here is perfect weakness; and what marvelous help came in the moment we realized afresh that weakness! Christ was found to be sufficient as our Deliverer, as He was as our Saviour.

Now, in brief, the whole Christian life is but the elaboration of this simple truth, as Paul puts it in the third of Philippians, we "rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh." One who has confidence in the flesh, so far is occupied with himself. He is so far strong, and therefore in imminent danger of falling:but if he has learnt the lesson as to himself, he is now at liberty to enjoy the fulness of Christ without any distraction. And yet there is for the delivered saint the danger of forgetting that his bonds have been broken, of thinking that again there is something in himself of strength. Paul had to learn this lesson, which we find in the twelfth chapter of 2 Corinthians. A man who had visited heaven and beheld the unspeakable things there, so far as his walk upon earth is concerned, is in danger of self-exaltation. So the messenger of Satan to buffet him, which was such a sore trial to this beloved servant of Christ, was God's mercy to teach him that he must keep in the place of weakness-there was no strength in him. Learning this, the apostle gladly can say:"When I am weak, then am I strong."

Contrast .all this with Simon Peter, whose boast as to his faithfulness to the Lord Jesus, whether it be to prison or to death, was but the prelude to his shameful denial with blasphemy that he knew the Lord. Peter fully meant all that he said when he protested, and he dearly loved the Lord. Let us not doubt it for a moment. But Peter was strong, and his own strength was but weakness. He had to learn this before he could go on as a servant of Christ. King David, King Hezekiah, and many others, emphasize the same lesson for us. Past successes, past service, the memory of strength given for times of trial-all these things need to be carefully guarded or they will lead to present forgetful-ness that we are just as weak as ever and need the strength of Another.

We can all say that we have been marvelously helped in many ways. How wonderfully the Lord has helped us, borne with us. cared for us; through what trials He has brought us, what temptations He has enabled us to resist, what service, it may be, He has permitted us to perform ! We thankfully acknowledge it all, but oh, let us not get strong in the wrong sense. Let us not presume upon all this, and lose our reverence and our sense of dependence upon Him who alone is our sufficiency. Humility, to be truly that, is an abiding thing. The moment we forget that we are nothing, we may well fear some leprous sign to remind us that we have left our true position. May the Lord keep us truly humble and we will ever be marvelously helped, for that is His delight; but He cannot use those who are strong in their own strength.