She Hath Glorified Herself and Lived Deliciously.
By F. D. Starr
CONCERNING whom is this spoken? It is of course spoken to some one to whom it would be applicable, and this would be any one who has done the thing mentioned. As originally pronounced, in Rev. 18: 7, it applies to Babylon the great, and Babylon is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. But Babylon is composed of millions of individuals, and the only way that Babylon could do these things would be by the individual members of whom she is composed performing these acts. Individuals, God's people, are warned to come out of Babylon that they partake not of her sins. And what are her sins? What was the sin of her prototype—Sodom? "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." Eze. 16: 49. The sin of Babylon is similar: "She hath glorified herself and lived deliciously." This is the point on which her destiny turns. "How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her." "In the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double." How natural it is for individuals to glorify self! As will be seen by Ps. 49: 16, 17, glory consists in one sense in riches. The message for this time is to fear God and give glory to Him. Can one truly and fully give glory to God and retain his riches for himself? Who are living deliciously?—Surely the man who was "clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day," was living deliciously, lavishing money on self. Who of us will dare do it? The rich man in the parable was not an isolated case, but a sample of many in our world to-day. We have come out of Babylon, have we not?—Yes, for we have abandoned her heterodoxal creeds. But what will sink one in perdition the most surely, her creeds or her deeds? "Partake not of her sins." What are her sins?—Prominently, glorifying self and living deliciously. Are you doing such a thing? God forbid it. Where is the man who would dare to stand before the great white throne at last and hear it said of him, "He hath lived deliciously"? Where is the woman who wants to hear the irrevocable decree: "She hath glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her"? Let us look over the inventory given in Rev. 18: 12-14 and see how many of these articles we are holding in our possession to glorify self, and live in pleasure on the earth. God is no respecter of persons and of whomsoever the fearful words of Rev. 18: 7 may be spoken, the doom that follows will be his. Let us take warning.