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The Commoner
MAY, 1922
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Mr,
Bryan's
THE OR EAT PERIL OF SUCCESS
Bv WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
BIDLE TEXT LESSON FOR APRIL 2 2
(II Chron. 2GJ3-5. 15-21)
t;ixiceii ear3 old was Uzziah when lie began to
-igii, ami he reigned fifty and two years in .leru-
relffn
salcm
the
did
lAnd he did that which was right In the sight of
ie Lord, according to all t,hat his father Amaziah
...J 1. unllirllt CcA In llio (In Vet nf 'rwiVutrlnti vrtln
had understanding in the visions of God: and as
long ns he sought the Lord, God made him to prob-
And lie made in Jerusalem engines, Invented by
cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the
bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones, withal..
And his name spread far abroad; for ho was mar
velously helped, till he was strong.
But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up
to his destruction: for he transgressed against the
Lord Ids God, and went Into the temple of the Lord
to burn Incense upon the altar of incense.
And Azariah the priest went in after him, and
with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were
valiant men:
And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said
unto him. It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah
to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests
the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn in
cense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast tres
passed neither shall it be for thine honour from
the Lord God.
Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censor in his
hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with
the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his fore
head before the priests in the house of the Lord,
from beside the incense altar.
And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests,
looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in
his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence:
yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord
had smitten him.
And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of
his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a
leper; for lie was cut off from the house of the
J-ord. and .Totham his son was over the king's
house, judging the people of the land.
"Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he be
gan to reign, and ho reigned fifty and two years
in Jerusalem."
Uzziah is one of the most interesting of the
many kiiigs mentioned in the Old Testament.
With one exception, he sat longer on the throne
of David than any of Judah's rulers, and a
unng quite unusual he was made king by de
cision of the people themselves.
He was a man who seized upon and used new
ueas. "And he made in Jerusalem engines,
invented by cunning men, to- be on the towers
and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and
great stones withal." He became a great nil-"
jr. Under him the power of JUdah was might
iiy increased. His name spread far abroad.
anii f ' ?l the yery aPsee of his prosperity
lei,, Q' h?, gave t0 the world or all time a
p ,..in. W1 ul conduct that none interested
m timstian Jiving can afford to ignore.
thJi1'?1; the kinff' as our tGXt tells us, "did
SnrS h WQS rIght iU the SiSht 0f the Lord'
HeC3 to ?" that his father Amaziah did."
ine th ied, the g00d in hi father's life, Sgnor
Uzzh . conduct worthy of sons today.
in iSL S0Usht God'" but Jt was evidently due
2echn?ini,mea.?u?0 t0 the ittfluence of the priest
vSoiSif'ri ,ho llad understanding in the
J hov h God: Iu nis desir to do that which
a man ireqU.,red o hIm tlle kin&, many
turn at Sl?ce' found how helpful it is to
lth tiL i?1?8 one wno has close communion
tu llle living God.
PROSPERITY OP RIGHTEOUSNESS
Uzziali'cfV6 come t0 the first great lesson in
lone J hi g and eyentful career: "And as
Prosper." SUg ht the Lord' God made him to
terminSiMnnr?flec,tion on any man that his de
knowledMnfVu d0 rMfc is strengthened by a
ous to nrL, the f act tl?at God makes the righte
t'one of t?.i' . Tne Bibl abounds in declara
Uaked LI Ct tuat the Hoavenly,'Pather has
The p , ed With g00dness.
that waiton ,st announces, "Blessed is the man
nor stanS V .in the cunsel of the ungodly,
ia the HnVf ? Q wav oC sinners, nor sitteth
have been L? the scornful." And again,, "I
nt seen fh iB; and now am old; yet have I
beSSing brp.ii fsuteoua forsaken, nor his seed
the advan n7, , Solonn repeatedly points out
ntabe f right doing, "For the upright
oible
ialks
shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall
remain in it," and "The blessing S? he Lord
t maketh rich, and he addeth no Vorrow wllh
rlcht?11 "S, coctivoly prosper by doing
light. Righteousness exalteth a nation- but
TimoVv1'01 any 1!001,le-" PauliurS
U nf, " ''Godliness is profitable unto all
things In Job we find that even Satan knew
that there was a relation between prosperity
now J g teUS.Ue,S3' alth0K he regarded pros
perity as an inducement to righteousness when
it was a reward for righteousness. Christ gives
us the beatitudes, each one of which crowns
virtue with reward.
REWARDS GREATER THAN WEALTH
It must not be understood, however, that re
ward promised is necessarily measured by dol
lars and cents. There are rewards immeasur
ably greater than money can buy; in fact, money
itself is not always a blessing. A big fortune
in anticipation has ruined more young men than
it has ever blessed. An estate has often sepa
rated families after its enerativng influence
has sapped the strength of the children and
made them a prey to luxury.
Other things being equal, righteousness brings
a net result of good in auy business or occupa
tion. A merchant may profit temporarily by dis
honesty, but if he expects a prolonged success
he must build upon a basis of fair dealing.
A lawyer may win a few cases by trickery,
but in the long run character, probity and truth
fulness win out. The lawyer who deliberately
tries to obscure the line between right and
wrong will finally find himself unable to discern
the line when he looks for it. while the lawyer
who conscientiously observes the oath which
he takes to aid in the administration of justice
and who endeavors to aid the judge and the
jury in finding and applying the truth will in
crease his power to discern the truth, and thus
become more valuable to his clients.
THE ONLY ROAD TO REAL SUCCESS
Even in politics (the word "even" is merely
a concession to popular prejudice) it pays to
be upright. Character is the power of endur
ance in man, and nowhere more than in poli
tics. But suppose that one could, by short cuts in
business, in the professions, or in politics win
more than he could by righteousness, "What
shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole
world and lose his own soul? Or what shall
a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Prosperity cannot be measured by the amount
of food that one takes into his body, by the
amount of clothing that one puts upon his back,
or by the magnificence of the roof that shelters
him. These things minister to the body. They
are necessary, but the body is the least of
man's possessions.
The possessions of the mind, though seem
ingly less necessary are more precious than the
things that supply man's physical wants, and
the satisfactions of the soul are still greater and
more lasting than the things that give mental
pleasure.
Prosperity is the securing of that which is
best for us, and righteousness is the only road
that leads to real success.
UZZIAH'S PRIDE AND PUNISHMENT
The king sought the Lord in the days of his
growth. "But when Uzziah was strong, his
heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he
transgressed against the Lord his God." Or, as
the Revised Version has it, "His heart was
lifted up, so that he did corruptly, and he trans
gressed against Jehovah his God."
His sin may seem trivial to those who put a
light estimate upon the secret springs of action
,i fh beginnings of evil. He "went into
the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the
, ' J innana" This was the duty of the
UltUl Ul JUXVUUV.
. , mt. i.j, 1.0,1 nn mnrft niithoritv in such
Sat ers than the caretaker of the temple; he
had no right to exercise priestly func ions
That he did not inadvertently sin is evident
iterance 'liwould'auickly have withdrawn
Sen his attention was called to the law. But
instead o?tuat he resisted the four-score priests
of Jehovah whom Azariah the chief, prient'qall
Gd to his assistance. Thee defenders of tllo
law withstood the king and said unto him, "It
appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn in
censo unto the Lord, but to the priosts, the aomi
or Aaron, that are consecrated to burn Incense."
But Uzziah was wroth and while he attempted
to usurp the place of the priests "the leprosy
even rose up in his forohcad before tho priests
or the house of the Lord, from besldo the In
cense altar." He recognized his punishment and
inrtdo no further defense whon he was thrust out
of tho temple; "yea, himself hasted also to go
out because the Lord had smitten him."
GOD'S INCOMPREHENSIBLE LAWS
Those who minimize tho offense aro apt to
find fault with the punishment;, bocauso they
think the sin relatively insignilicunt, they regard
the punishment as relatively excessive. It is not
necessary that man's finite mind shall compre
hend God's laws in order to make them worthy
of our respect and obedience.
Some who aro prone to criticise the revealed
will of God profess great reveronce for God as
He reveals himself in nature. They charge God
with cruelty if Ho visits a severe punishment
upon these who disobey His revealod command
ments and, yet, they see about them in nature
punishments more severe for acts which arc due
to ignorance or neglect. They see the careless
paring of a toenail cause death from blood
poisoning; or exposure to the weather cause cold,
followed by a fatal attack of pneumonia. They
profess great respect for the lower forms of life
and yet a few mosquitoes can depopulate a com
munity by introducing yellow fever, and a few
rats can spread a plague. Man is but a little
lower than the angels and yet an invisible germ
can usher him into eternity.
THE PENALTY OF PRIDE
The sin for which Uzziah was punished was
one of the most common and, therefore, one
that could not be overlooked "Pride goeth be
fore destruction, and an haughty spirit before
a fall."
Pride suppresses sympathy by building arti
ficial barriers between neighbors; pride has
been the fruitful cause of war. In the case of
Uzziah, it was a conspicuous sin in a conspicu
ous person. The evil' example would have been
greater than if the sin had been committed by
one of the common people and the Influence ox--erted
by the punishment was likewise more
salutary.
In Uzziah we see a very common type. Ho
was virtuous until pride,' inspired by success,
brought his downfall. It requires more moral
strength to withstand great success than to en
dure the ordinary failures.
"HERE AM I; SEND MK"
By" WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
BIBLE TEXT LESSON FOR APRIL 30
(Isaiah vl, 1-8)
Tn thp year that Klnp Uzziah died T saw also the
Tionl silting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and
his train filled the temple.
Above It stood the seraphinis: each one had six
wings; with twain lie covered his face, and with
twain lie covered his feet, and with twain ho did
fly.
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy. holy,
holy. Is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth Is full
of his glory.
And the posts of the door moved at the volco of
him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; be
cause T am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in
the midst of a peopVe of unclean lips: for mine
eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
Then flew one of the seraphlms unto me, having
a live coal In his hand, which he had taken with
the tongs from the altar:
And lie laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this
hath touched thy lips: and thine Iniquity Is taken
away, and thy sin purged.
Also T heard the volco of the Lord, saying, Whom
shall I send, and who will go for us7 Then said I,
Hero am I; send me.
Today we are introduced td. one of the great
est of prophets, Isaiah.
Some of the critics have suggested the exist
ence of two Isafahs, or rather that two persons
instead of one are responsible for that which is
.contained in the book which bears the prophet's
name. They base their opinion upon a supposed
difference in style, contending that the writing
of the two parts is so different as to Indicate
a dual authorship.
Reference is made to this criticism merely to
call attention to a common characteristic of the
Bible critic. He does not look for things to ap
prove Or to enjoy, but for things with 'which to
find. fault. The critics of Isaiah illustrate this.
Here is a book that is in a class by itself; in
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