The 'Queen of the Christian
graces'
Humility may well be called the 'queen of the
Christian graces'. To know our own sinfulness
and weakness, and to feel our need of Christ,
is the very beginning of saving religion.
Humility is a grace which has always been the
distinguishing feature in the character of the
holiest saints in every age. Abraham, and Moses,
and Job, and David, and Daniel, and Paul--were
all eminently humble men. Humility is a grace
within the reach of every true Christian.
Would we know the root and spring of humility?
One word describes it. The root of humility is right
knowledge. The man who really knows . . .
himself--and his own heart;
God--and His infinite majesty and holiness;
Christ--and the price at which he was redeemed;
that man will never be a proud man!
He will count himself, like Jacob, "unworthy
of the least of all God's mercies!"
He will say of himself, like Job, "I am vile!"
He will cry, like Paul, "I am chief of sinners!"
Ignorance! nothing but sheer ignorance! ignorance . . .
of self,
of God,
of Christ,
is the real secret of pride! From that miserable
self-ignorance may we daily pray to be delivered!
He is the wise man who knows himself! And he
who knows himself, will find nothing within to
make him proud.
- J. C. Ryle, The Gospel of Luke, 1858
Be content with the lowest
place
"A dispute arose among them as to which of them
was considered to be greatest." Luke 22:24
See how firmly pride and love of preeminence
can stick to the hearts of Christian men.
The sin before us is a very old one . . .
ambition,
self esteem, and
self conceit
lie deep at the bottom of all men's hearts, and
often in the hearts where they are least suspected.
Thousands imagine that they are humble,
who cannot bear to see an equal more honored
and favored than themselves!
The quantity of envy and jealousy in the world
is a glaring proof of the prevalence of pride.
Let us live on our guard against this sore disease,
if we make any profession of serving Christ. The
harm that it has done to the Church of Christ is
far beyond calculation.
Let us learn to take pleasure in the
prosperity
of others, and to be content with the lowest
place for ourselves.
J. C. Ryle, The Gospel of Luke, 1858
Knowledge increases
humility
(by God's grace)
The less a man knows,
the more he thinks he knows.
The more he
really does know,
the more he realizes his
ignorance and his limitations.
- H. A. Ironside
The highest grace that can
adorn the Christian character
And Mary said: "My soul
glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in
God my Savior, for He has been mindful of
the humble state of His servant." Luke
1:46-48
Mark Mary's deep humility. She who was
chosen of God to the high honor of being
Messiah's mother, speaks of her own "humble
state," and acknowledges
her need of a "Savior."
She does not let fall a word to show that
she regarded herself as a sinless,
"immaculate" person. On the contrary, she
uses the language of one who has been taught
by the grace of God to feel her own sins,
and so far from being able to save others,
requires a Savior for her own soul. We may
safely affirm that none wouldbe more forward
to reprove the honor paid by the Romish
Church to the Virgin Mary, than the Virgin
Mary herself.
Let us copy this holy humility of our Lord's
mother, while we steadfastly refuse to
regard her as a mediator, or to pray to her.
Like her, let us be lowly in our own eyes,
and think little of ourselves.
Humility is the highest grace that can adorn
the Christian character. It is a true saying
of an old divine, that "a man has just so
much Christianity as he has humility."
Humility is the grace, which of all is most
suited to human nature. Above all, humility
is the grace which is within the reach of
every converted person.
All are not rich. All
are not learned. All are not highly gifted.
All are not preachers. But all children of
God may be clothed with humility.
- J. C. Ryle, The Gospel of Luke, 1858
Humility
"He who thinks little of
God,
thinks much of himself."
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Be compassionate and humble
"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be
sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble."
1 Peter 3:8
'Austerus' is a solid and exemplary Christian. He has a
deep extensive, and experimental knowledge of Divine things
inflexibly and invariably true to his principles, he stems with
a noble singularity the torrent of the world, and can neither be
bribed nor intimidated from the path of duty. He is a rough
diamond of great intrinsic value, and would sparkle with a
distinguished luster--if he were more polished. But, though the
word of God is his daily study, and he prizes the precepts, as
well as the promises, more than thousands of gold and silver,
there is one precept he seems to have overlooked--"be
compassionate and humble."
Instead of that gentleness and
humility which will always be expected from a professed follower
of the meek and lowly Jesus, there is a harshness in his manner,
which makes him more admired than beloved; and those who truly
love him, often feel more constraint than pleasure when in his
company. His intimate friends are satisfied that he is no
stranger to true humility of heart; but these are few. By others
he is thought proud, dogmatic, and
self-important; nor can this prejudice against him be
easily removed, until he can lay aside that cynical air which he
has unhappily contracted.
How lamentable are such
blemishes in such a person!
Newton's letter on, Blemishes in Christian
character
Gospel doctrines are
humbling to human pride
There are thousands around us
who loathe the distinctive doctrines of
the Gospel on account of their
humbling character. They cannot tolerate the
atonement, and the sacrifice, and the substitution of Christ.
His moral teaching they approve. His example and self-denial
they admire. But speak to them of Christ's blood--of Christ
being made sin for us--of Christ's death being the corner-stone
of our hope--of Christ's poverty being our riches--and you will
find they hate these things with a deadly hatred. Truly the
offence of the cross is not yet ceased!
- J. C. Ryle, The Gospel of John
Humility is necessary for
spiritual understanding
Humility
is the frame of mind which we should labor and pray for, if we
would not be offended by scriptural teaching. If we find any of
Christ's sayings hard to understand, we should
humbly remember our present
ignorance, and believe that we shall know more by and bye. If we
find any of His sayings difficult to obey, we should
humbly recollect that He will never
require of us impossibilities, and that what He bids us do, He
will give us grace to perform.
- J. C. Ryle, The Gospel of John
Dwell upon God's mercy and love to humble your heart
Dwell much upon the greatness of God's mercy and
goodness to you. Nothing humbles and breaks the
heart, like God's mercy and love. In Luke 7, the Lord
Jesus shows mercy to that notorious sinner, and then
she falls down at His feet, and loves much and weeps
much, etc.
Oh, if ever you would have your souls kept humble,
dwell upon the free grace and love of God to you in
Christ! Dwell upon . . .
the firstness of His love,
the freeness of His love,
the greatness of His love,
the fullness of His love,
the unchangeableness of His love,
the everlastingness of His love, and
the ardency of His love.
If this does not humble you, there is nothing
on earth which will do it. Dwell upon what God has
undertaken for you. Dwell upon the choice and
worthy gifts which He has bestowed on you. Dwell
upon that eternal glory and happiness which He has
prepared for you--and then be proud if you can.
Thomas Brooks, The
Unsearchable Riches of Christ
A truly humble man
A truly humble man is
sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence
on Him; of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom;
and that it is by God's power that he is upheld and provided
for, and that he needs God's wisdom to lead and guide him,
and His might to enable him to do what he ought to do for
Him.
- Jonathan Edwards
The Happiest Christians
They are the happiest Christians,
who have the lowest thoughts of themselves,
and in whose eyes Jesus is most glorious and precious.
John Newton's Letters
"Unto you who believe He is precious." 1
Peter 2:7
Work
for God's eye
"Be careful not to do your
'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If
you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."
Matthew 6:1
No grace shines more brightly in a Christian, than humility.
Wherever SELF comes in--it mars the beauty of the work we
are doing. Seek to do your work noiselessly. Do not try to
draw attention to yourself--to make others know that you did
some beautiful thing. Be content to pour your rich life into
other wasted, weary lives--and see them blessed and made
more holy--and then hide away and let Christ have the honor.
Work for God's eye--and even then, do not think much about
reward. Seek to be a blessing--and never think of
self-glory.
"Then your Father, who
sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:4
J. R. Miller,
In Green Pastures
The more God uses us,
the less we think of ourselves
“The sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will
not despise.”
Psalm 51:17.
If you and I have a broken spirit, all idea of
our own importance is gone. What is the use of a broken heart?
Why, much the same as the use of a broken pot, or a broken jug,
or a broken bottle! Men throw it on the dunghill! Hence David
says, “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not
despise,’’ as if he felt that everybody else would despise it.
Now, do you feel that you are of no importance? Though you know
that you are a child of God, do you feel that you would not give
a penny for yourself? You would not wish to claim the first
place. The rear rank suits you best and you wonder that you are
in the Lord’s army in any rank at all. Oh, Brothers and Sisters,
I believe that the more God uses us, the
less we shall think of ourselves, and the more He fills us with
His Spirit, the more will our own spirit sink within us in utter
amazement that He should ever make use of such broken vessels as
we are! Well now, indulge that feeling of nothingness and
unimportance! Not only indulge it as a feeling, but go and act
upon it! And be you in the midst of your Brothers and Sisters
less than the least—humble yourselves in wonder that God should
permit your name to stand on the roll of His elect at all.
Admire the Grace of God to you and marvel at it in deep
humiliation of spirit. That is part of the sacrifice that God
will not despise!
- C. H. Spurgeon, Repentance After Conversion,
No. 2419
A
"proud" Christian
"I hate pride and
arrogance!" Proverbs 8:13
"God opposes the
proud, but gives grace to the humble." 1
Peter 5:5
Humility may be defined as consisting in:
1. a profound self-abasement before God,
arising from a deep sense of our sinfulness;
2. and in a low estimation of ourselves, as
we stand related to our fellow creatures,
whatever is the extent of our attainments,
or the importance of the station we occupy.
Upon this subject, too much stress cannot be
laid--for without humility, true religion
cannot possibly exist. A proud Christian is
a contradiction in terms. We might as well
speak of a wise fool, of a wicked saint, of
a sober drunkard, or of a chaste harlot--as
of a proud Christian! We may as soon expect
delicate flowers to flourish in the frozen
and barren regions of Siberia--as that true
piety should grow in the heart that is proud
and haughty. A vine might as well thrive
when a worm is gnawing at its root--as that
the soul should prosper and be in health,
when its arrogance and pride are not
subdued.
One of the Fathers of the Church, when asked
which was the first principle in religion,
replied, Humility. When asked which was the
second, he said, Humility. And when asked
which was the third, he again answered,
Humility. So important was this grace in his
estimation, that he regarded it as the
beginning, the middle, and the end of true
godliness. And we may truly say that where
humility is absent, everything else in
religion, is in vain. A person may possess
the most splendid talents--he may have the
gift of miracles, and the knowledge of all
mysteries--but without true humility he is,
in the sight of God, nothing but sounding
brass or a tinkling cymbal.
- John MacDuff, The Footsteps of Jesus,
1856
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