SELF-EXALTATION by Eliza H. Morton

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 21, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 41.

SELF-EXALTATION.

By Eliza H. Morton

BY ELIZA H. MORTON.

To EXALT is to magnify, to extol, and to sound the praises of. Satan magnified himself when he sought to be like the Most High, and it is natural for the human heart to delight in self-exaltation. Satan's great object is and ever has been to lead individuals and nations to exalt themselves.

Rome magnified itself when it gave sentence of death against Jesus Christ and thus stood up against the Prince of princes. France exalted itself when the Bible was discarded, and the existence of the Deity denied. The Papacy magnified itself by exalting the pope "above all that is called God or that is worshiped." Individuals exalt themselves whenever they seek positions of honor, or in any way call attention to self. But if the Lord magnifies a man or woman as he did Joshua in the sight of all Israel (Josh. 3:7), it is all right, for it is for His own glory.

Christ, though equal with the Father, "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name."

If we are Christ's servants, then it becomes us to exalt our Master and ignore self, waiting until in God's own good time we are exalted by him, for we read that "he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." The meek of the earth magnify the Lord with thanksgiving. They magnify God's law and make it honorable, and, if permitted to hold positions of responsibility in connection with God's work in the earth, they magnify their office but not themselves. We may exalt God's word and his name, and, if Christ abides in us by faith, we may magnify him continually in our bodies.

"O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." North Deering, Me.