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Promises
To The Humble
"Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble:
thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause shine ear
to hear." Psalms 10:17.
"My soul shall make her boast
in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be
glad." Psalms 34:2.
"A man's pride shall bring him
low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit."
Prov. 29:23.
"For God resisteth the proud,
and giveth grace to the humble." I Peter 5:5.
"But he giveth more grace.
Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth
grace unto the humble." James 4:6.
"And whosoever shall exalt
himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself
shall be exalted." Matthew 23:12.
The advantage of a life of humility
is herein plainly set forth. The rich blessings and deep
things of the secrets of the Lord cannot be found anywhere
else. It is here where God prepares the heart to respond
to every whisper of His will, and plants His own holy
desires there so He can ever incline His ear to the
whispers of that heart. This is a blessed life. The ear of
the humble soul is always open to the voice of God, and
the ear of God is always open to the prayers and whispers
of that soul. I Peter 3:12. This makes life delightful;
for it is one of continual communion and harmony with God.
Many a dear child of God has had
seasons of such a blissful life in the past. Perhaps this
perfect communion has gradually become less perfect, and
the voice of God that had been so distinct and clear has
grown indistinct and dim; and yet there has been a loss to
know just what has caused this. In many cases this
condition is brought on through a lack of humility. By a
careful self examination there will be found a time or
place in the past, where there was a glance or look upon
something else than the perfect will of God. Instead of an
immediate turning away from it, the soul has taken counsel
with itself and thereby lost the perfect communion.
There are many little things that
can come in our way, which must be at once ignored, else
they will surely prove to our hurt in this respect. The
same is true with reference to additional light that comes
to us through the Word of God. The perfect communion can
only be maintained by an immediate obedience and measuring
up to every ray of light as it flashes upon US, humbling
ourselves under the mighty hand of God. This is where the
glorious harmony will continue to increase and the riches
of God's grace continue to flow in an unbroken stream,
until our life becomes like a watered garden, bountifully
bearing the delightful fruits of the Spirit.
The humble soul that learns how to
let God have His own way in everything, will reach the
blessed state of harmony where God will let him have his
way in everything. God will honor him who loses his own
honor under the mighty hand of God; not with the vain
honor of this world, but with that which is from heaven.
"He giveth grace to the humble," and everything
in the context warrants us in the assertion that the more
humility, the more grace. The proud have no promise but
utter resistance. The humble have all the grace.
No wonder there is such a
barrenness of the grace of God in the professing religious
world. In sectism, everywhere, the cry is heard from such
as have yet a spark of life remaining, "We need an
old fashioned revival." The cause of this is,
"God resisteth the proud." Grace and pride can
never dwell together. They are as opposite as day and
night. Humility always precedes grace, and the two are
inseparable. Pride and sin are alike in harmony with each
other.
O Beloved, let us seek deeper
humility! May it so illuminate our lives that we may shine
like a brilliant star in the midst of this dark. vein
world of pride, pomp, and show. May the exceeding riches
of grace, through the necessary channel of Bible humility,
become so manifest in the Church of God that she may be
indeed a crown of glory, and a royal diadem in His hand.
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