9. Surely men of low degree are vanity. Here the
word is only again; only vanity, nothing more. They are many and enthusiastic,
but they are not to be depended on; they are mobile as the waves of the sea,
ready to be driven to and fro by any and every wind; they cry “Hosanna” today, and “Crucify
him” tomorrow. And men of high degree are a lie. We gain little by
putting our trust in the aristocracy; they are not one whit better than the
democracy. May we not trust the elite? Surely reliance may be placed in the
educated, the chivalrous, the intelligent? For this reason are they a lie:
because they promise so much, and in the end, when relied upon, yield nothing
but disappointment. The more we rely upon God, the more we shall perceive the
utter hollowness of every other confidence. To be laid in the balance, theyare altogether lighter than vanity. Judge them neither by quantity nor by
appearance, but by weight, and they will no longer deceive you. A feather has
some weight in the scale, vanity has none, and creature-confidence has less
than that; yet such is the universal infatuation that mankind prefers an arm of
flesh to the power of the invisible but almighty Creator; and even God’s own
children are too apt to be bitten with this madness.
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