“LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.” —Psalm 131:1
Self exaltation is the curse of the human race. It was the tool by which the tempter twisted the heart of Adam in the garden of Eden and brought the catastrophe of sin into our being. Created to reflect the glory of God, Adam and Eve were lured to seek it as their own when the adversary suggested that if they secured what God had forbidden, they would in their own right “be as gods.” (Gen. 3:5)
Self exaltation is the curse of the human race. It was the tool by which the tempter twisted the heart of Adam in the garden of Eden and brought the catastrophe of sin into our being. Created to reflect the glory of God, Adam and Eve were lured to seek it as their own when the adversary suggested that if they secured what God had forbidden, they would in their own right “be as gods.” (Gen. 3:5)
Under the direction of the Holy Spirit the apostle Paul warns believers of the menace of pride, declaring,”I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith [Rom. 12:3].”
Twice in the book of Proverbs we are instructed, “before honor is humility.” Accordingly, James first declares, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble,” then exhorts, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up [James 4:6,10].” The apostle Peter echoes him when he writes, “Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time [I Pet. 5:5-6].”
The Savior, of course, taught the same truth when in Luke’s gospel He declared, “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (See Luke 14:7-11 and 18:10-14) And it is He who said, “Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven [Matt. 18:13].” Certainly for the believer, “the way up is down.”
Many have been barred from the kingdom because they are too proud to admit themselves sinners and helpless to save themselves. Sadly, too many who have passed that test and trusted the Savior have forgotten that humility is not merely a passport to eternal life, but a garment to be worn throughout our journey from here to eternity. You will remember king Saul. When chosen by God, though “head and shoulders” above his fellows and impressive to behold, he responded to Samuel’s announcement, “Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou to me?” But years later when displaced from God’s favor Samuel explained, “When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel [I Sam. 15:17]?” Divested of his earlier humility, he was no longer qualified to serve the Lord. How many saints and servants of God have been similarly disqualified, and many a church suffered in consequence.
Every person who stands in the presence of the Lord will be mindful of his own woeful inadequacy—his heart will not be haughty. He will be aware of his own inability to judge others rightly—his eyes will not be lofty. And he will appreciate something of the limitations of his own understanding, and so able to leave some things to God alone for their resolution, not exercising himself in things beyond his measure, understanding that “the secret things belong unto the Lord [Deut. 29:29].”
That is the spiritual posture exhibited by the Psalmist in this short, but significant psalm. It stands in striking contrast to those vain persons of whom the scripture speaks who, “…walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption [II Pet. 2:10-12].”
May God give us the wisdom and the grace to share the psalmist’s testimony.
"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” — Micah 6:8For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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