Untitled article by G. I. Butler

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Third-day, March 24, 1868

FromReview and Herald, Vol. XXXI, No. 15

The Sermon.

By G. I. Butler

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; PREACH THE WORD. 2 Tim. iv, 2.

THE GRACE OF HUMILITY.

BY ELD. G. I. BUTLER.

TEXT.—“Before honor is humility.” Prov. xv, 33, and xviii, 12.

In entering upon a brief examination of this important grace, I would do so with the greatest diffidence; far from feeling qualified to do justice to the subject, or able to impress its importance upon others in a suitable manner.

We are informed by the wisest of men in two different places in the book of Proverbs, that humility takes the precedence of honor. It becomes therefore interesting, as well as important, to all of us to inquire into this statement, for honor is something which is very dear to the hearts of all the children of men by nature; and that honor which is consistent with the principles of religion, it is right for all Christians to desire; and certainly Solomon was one well qualified to speak on this subject, having enjoyed the highest honors which have been bestowed upon the children of men; all that wealth and power and wisdom could bring into this world, and what was much better, in some parts of his life, the honor which comes from God only, the exalted privilege of speaking by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, standing in the favor of God, and being specially endowed with such wisdom as but few mortals, if any, have ever enjoyed. This statement of the wise man, then, we may accept with the fullest assurance of its truth. Let us, then, examine it more particularly.

To do so, it will be proper to inquire, What is humility? It is defined by Webster to be: 1. “The state or quality of being humble; freedom from pride and arrogance; lowliness of mind; a modest estimate of one’s own worth; a sense of one’s own unworthiness through imperfection and sinfulness.”

No doubt this last definition expresses the meaning of the word as used generally in the Scriptures and in our text. Webster defines humble to mean: “Thinking lowly of one’s self; claiming little for one’s self; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; thinking one’s self ill-deserving, or unworthy when judged by the demands of God; lowly, meek, modest.”

In the words of another, “Humility consists in rating our claims low; in being willing to waive our rights, and take a lower place than might be our due. It does not require of us to underrate ourselves. The humility of our Saviour was perfect, and yet he had a true sense of his own greatness.”

I have been thus particular in getting the meaning of this term, because it is very essential to an understanding of the subject.

We may therefore conclude that when we view ourselves through the grace of humility we shall see ourselves just as God, the all-seeing One, who knows the thoughts and intents of the heart, who knows all our most secret motives, all the hidden springs of action, knows us; in other words, precisely as we are. But perhaps some, who naturally have a pretty good opinion of themselves, would think they could stand pretty well, viewed through this medium, or weighed in the scales of humility; that if all their good qualities were prized at their true value; all their abilities taken into consideration; all their good and benevolent actions known, they would really stand as high in the opinion of others as they now do in their own. Let us linger for a moment upon the point, and give it a slight examination. We find ourselves living in this world, under varied circumstances and conditions. Some born in affluence, enjoying all the numerous blessings that wealth and honor can bring, and others born in the most abject poverty and degradation, and others in all the varying scale between these two points. How many do we see, who are living under favored circumstances, swell up with pride, and hardly deign to speak to those below them, puffed up with pride in view of their wealth and greatness, and feel insulted if they do not receive the honor which they consider their due? looking with the greatest complacency upon themselves, and feeling that honor and wealth are theirs by right? Let us see if it is really so. How did they get it? Did they originate it, or create those things which constitute their wealth? Oh, no! If they were born rich, of course they had nothing whatever to do with acquiring it. If they got it by labor, they receive their strength and ability to labor from God; and if by trade, they received that ability from God by creation, and all the objects which constitute what we call wealth are given by the Creator; and were the laws of Providence by which we live and work, reversed but for a very short period, not only should we not be able to acquire or retain wealth, but our very being itself would be destroyed in a moment. Where, then, is the propriety or right to feel elevated by wealth or social station? This feeling is entirely out of place.

Many others who would not feel proud of riches, do feel complacent when viewing their talents or achievements; and we cannot doubt that the supreme motive by which many or most of our so-called great men are actuated, if we may judge by their actions, is that of appearing able or talented, either to themselves or others, and many a minister who has been set apart to the especial service of God to give up worldliness and popularity, pride and the applause of men, to follow the lovely Nazarene who was specially distinguished by being meek and lowly in heart, so far forget their vows of ordination and the nature of the service in which they are engaged, that their hearts swell up with pride and self-complacency when surveying themselves and bringing to remembrance their success, their smart sayings, their ability to meet opponents in discussion, their power to interest an audience, their gift in prayer or exhortation, or their learning. Is man any more excusable for cherishing pride on account of talent and ability, natural and acquired, than for wealth or station? All talent is capacity to acquire knowledge or to use it; and it is all received through the laws of God. All is given by another, and, therefore, have as much as we may, it is nothing that we have reason to boast of, or glory in. The glory all belongs to another; all through his word God claims this glory for himself; therefore there is no class who have so little excuse for feeling a sense of their importance as those who especially take that word as their textbook, ministers of the gospel, but perhaps no class is more liable to be puffed up.

We see, therefore, by a very slight examination, that man has no reason to feel proud or self-complacent when viewing himself, whether he be rich as Croesus, or wise as Solomon. That the possession of wealth or ability does not in itself give the least right to feel elevated in our own estimation, even when this wealth or talent is used as not abusing it; for it is all given by creation, or through the providence of God, which is beyond our reach; and reason itself would teach the duty of giving all praise and service, all the honor to Him on account of those blessings which he is ever so abundantly bestowing, even had we never abused these mercies. What shall we think, then, of the unreasonable and wicked course of those who indulge in pride of heart and feelings of their own consequence when contemplating themselves, when we know that there has never lived a son of Adam yet, if we except our Lord Jesus Christ, but has abused privileges, misused the wealth, and prostituted the abilities, which God alone has bestowed? We see almost the whole world astray on this point. Never, perhaps, was there a time in the history of man when there was so much pride of heart as at the present time. The

tendency of the age is in this direction. In many respects, this is an enlightened age of the world. Great light and glorious blessings are ours, but the tendency of the age is toward man-worship and adulation. Praise and boasting are everywhere. Any one can see a great difference in this respect when reading the papers and books of this age and the productions of ages past; and perhaps in nothing more is it to be observed than in biography. It is almost sickening to read the fulsome praises heaped upon the heroes of the present time. It matters not how roundly they may have been abused in their lifetime, and thought to be nobodies; when they die, if not before, they immediately take their places among the objects of worship.

Thousands and millions live from day to day with seemingly no other motive than the praise of poor, puny man; and in no direction is this more noticeable than in religious biographies. Take up a life of Luther or Wesley, or any other biography of men who were truly good, perhaps, which have been written within a few years past, and compare it with the Bible lives of such men, as Moses or Daniel, Elijah or Paul, and every one can see the difference.

The Bible never indulges in such puffing. It is truly saddening to see how this spirit has taken possession of most of the religious reading of the present time; to see how the popular ministers of the day, like Beecher and Spurgeon, and many others, are puffed, and their praise sounded in every direction. Truly none but those who are wholly blind can help seeing that everything is tending in this direction. Would to God that this spirit had never entered among us; but truth obliges us to admit that it has had a strong hold in our very midst. The course of many of those who have gone out from us furnishes us with an important lesson in this direction. The testimonies of the Holy Spirit, which we are receiving from time to time, should also be heeded upon this point, as the Lord comes nearer to us. May the Lord help us to see this tendency of the age, and our danger in reference to it, and be warned in season.

We have seen that all the blessings we receive, all the abilities of which we are possessed, are received from God, and we have no right to feel puffed up in our imagination, if we possess them to any extent. We also see how poor and wretched and wicked we are, in consequence of our misusing so many mercies, and that we live by the sufferance of God alone, every one of us having forfeited all right on our part to claim the blessings we receive of a temporal nature, and still more those of a spiritual nature. Can we not see, then, that reason alone teaches most emphatically that humility is the only feeling that we should ever allow when viewing ourselves, and that, in the language of Mr. Webster’s definition, “a sense of one’s own unworthiness through imperfection and sinfulness,” should ever be cherished by us when viewing ourselves and thinking of our own rights, powers, or performances, because that is the real and true state of the case; that is in reality just as we stand before God. When we see ourselves, therefore, as we really are, we shall see ourselves in this light. Every reasonable mind would desire to see himself as he truly is, and not flatter himself with a lie. When God requires us to be humble, then he requires nothing but what is perfectly right and just, nothing that a reasonable mind could object to.

Perhaps we are now prepared to examine more particularly our text. Prov. xv, 33. The whole verse reads: “The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility,” and Prov. xviii, 12: “Before destruction, the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility.” The first verse quoted seems to carry the idea that humility takes the precedence of honor because of its superiority; because it is preferable, as is expressed in Prov. xvi, 19. “Better is it to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.”

How few there are in this world, comparatively, who believe this; and yet, when we consider with care how true it appears, we see all the world, as it were, acting as though this sentiment were false. We see the Alexanders, the Caesars, the Napoleons, and the numerous tribes of imitators deluging the earth with blood; stopping at nothing; allowing not the piteous wails of widows and orphans, the moans of the dying, the ruins of cities, nations, and empires to hinder them in their onward career. All for what? That they may have a name upon the scroll of fame; that they may have the praise of men, who are as a vapor that appeareth for a little season, and then vanisheth away. And so with many who pass for statesmen. What toil, what struggles, what labor by the midnight lamp! What efforts to override and crush their antagonists, gain the victory, and rise among the great and wealthy of earth, and all to gain the applause of men. The calls of duty unheard; the cry of the oppressed, unless that be for the time being the popular cry, disregarded. Do these classes enjoy peace of mind? Do they enjoy the sweet satisfaction of having done that which duty required? that inward peace which passeth all understanding? No! alas! anything but that; the troubled waters of their mind cast up mire and dirt. They meet, more or less, the upbraidings of conscience, and those unpleasant forebodings of the future day of reckoning, which wicked, proud man can never wholly obliterate from the mind. At best, only a few succeed in gaining their object, the honor and applause of men; and that only to be enjoyed a few brief years, perhaps at the expense of losing eternal life. That looks foolish enough with the most successful. But how melancholy the thought, of those multitudes who fall entirely short of honor in this life, and of a hope in the next; suffering the pangs of disappointed ambition, the upbraidings of conscience, a wasted life of frustrated hopes, losing the sweets of religion bought by the grace of humility we are considering, and at last confronting the horrors of the future state with no hope, and without a shelter from the wrath of God.

This is a very imperfect picture of those seeking worldly honor. The reality is ten thousand times worse. Let us look at the few who choose the path of humility. And there are only a few, very few indeed, who agree with the wise man in the sentiment expressed, as to the superiority of humility to worldly honor. These are the real followers of Jesus. The warfare they enter upon is a reality indeed, as truly so as that engaged in by men with sword and shield, with musket and cannon. The struggle to bring under control the proud heart; to bring it down to the acknowledgment that God is above all; that we are poor, weak, sinful, and erring creatures, existing by the sufferance of God our Creator; that all we do that is right we do because of his assisting grace, that our highest ambition is to do his will and bring proud self down to a place where we can be satisfied if we do take a place lower than we might justly claim. Oh, this is a noble struggle! a struggle for what is right and true; but how hard for the natural heart of man! It seems almost impossible sometimes to bear more, to go further. But when we gain the victory in this direction, and our proud hearts do submit to the proper, just, and reasonable claims of God, what sweets we find! such as the world cannot appreciate, and none fully realize, but those who have experienced them. Then what love fills the heart! What sympathy we feel for others in distress; and above all, how we delight in the contemplation of God and his works; his dealings with us, and his love and mercy. Oh, how great and wondrous they appear! And then, when we contemplate the future state, what joy we experience as we behold through the promises of God the blessings he has prepared for those who are humble and little in their own estimation. And how many heart-burnings the humble soul escapes! All the rebuffs and scorn of the wicked, proud worldling, rest lightly upon him; and all those envious, jealous, hateful feelings which the proud heart experiences at the elevation of others, the humble soul escapes. And when we realize how many in this world are constantly exercised by jealousy and hatred, how glad we should be, how thankful to God that he has ever assisted us to bring our hearts down so low that we can live free from these hateful passions.

Thus with a slight examination we see the truth of Solomon’s proverb, “Before honor is humility.”

Let us now consider Prov. xviii, 12. “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility.” The sentiment here taught is, that humility goes before honor, true honor, in point of time. The meaning is illustrated by the words of the Saviour, Luke xiv, 11: “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

God will never truly honor those whose hearts are lifted up. There are many reasons for this, some of which we will consider. And first, he cannot consistently bestow the blessings of his Spirit upon those who have no true sense of their relations to himself. That sense is expressed by our definition: A sense of one’s own unworthiness through imperfection and sinfulness. Therefore, if we have no true sense of this condition, how can God bestow his Spirit upon us or honor us in any way? He cannot consistently do it, for it would cause us to think our ways well pleasing to him if we enjoyed his Spirit and he honored us with his presence, when in reality they were not. And secondly, we are not in a condition to be entrusted with important responsibilities when we do not have a true sense of our relation to God; for we should not discharge those responsibilities aright, while in such a state of mind; we should take glory to ourselves which rightfully belonged to another; robbing God of that which belongs to him; thus breaking the commandments which say, “Thou shalt not steal,” and “Thou shalt not covet.” We cannot truly realize the claims of God upon us, until we possess a good measure of the grace of humility. We are led to run after our own interests too much, and think too lightly of the claims God has upon us, while we have too high an opinion of ourselves, and too low an opinion of God’s greatness and our accountability to him.

The true rule seems to be, the more genuine humility we possess, the more God can bless and honor us; for the reason that we should be so much less likely to misappropriate and misapply that honor. If we look at all those whom God has especially blessed in past ages as recorded in the Bible, we believe in every instance we shall find they were very humble men. The case of Abraham is an interesting one, “the father of the faithful;” although it is nowhere stated in so many words that he is an example of humility, yet, when we consider his reverence for God, his implicit obedience to all his requirements, his faithfulness in all his house, his training his children in the commandments of the Lord, his trust and confidence in his word, we may be certain that he possessed this grace in an eminent degree. Moses was an illustrious example of humility. Num. xii, 3. “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the whole earth.” Meekness is defined by Webster, 1. “Mild of temper; not easily provoked, or irritated; given to forbearance under injuries; soft, gentle, yielding.” 2. Specifically submissive to the divine will; patient and gentle from moral and religious motives.” Such was Moses, above all who had lived upon the earth. Now, this meekness is a direct outgrowth of the grace of humility, as we have seen it is one of the words by which Webster defines humble; and when a person possesses humility of heart, his conduct will ever be gentle and forbearing toward others. And in some instances these words are used interchangeably in the Holy Scriptures. They are closely related to each other, meaning nearly the same thing. So when it is stated that Moses was the meekest of men, it is equivalent to saying he was the most humble. No doubt God gave him a special training in this direction to prepare him for the duties, labors, and responsibilities, as well as the trials, perplexities, and provocations, which were to be placed upon him. His early years were spent amid the influences of royalty, in the enjoyment of the honors and wealth of the reigning family, proficient in all the learning of Egypt, “mighty in word and deed;” not a good place certainly to gain the grace of humility. From this position he was obliged to flee for his life to the regions of the desert, to wander forty years amid its solitudes, dependent upon others, far from friends and kindred, engaged in the humble occupation of a shepherd. In affliction, sorrow, and distress, is ever the place in which to learn humility. Here, no doubt, God taught Moses those lessons which were to fit him not only to lead out and direct his people, to bear with patience all the murmurings, rebellions, and cruel reproaches, but to come in closer relationship to the God

of Heaven than has ever been permitted to other mortals; to talk with the Ruler of the universe as friend talks with friend.

Here, then, we see the relation humility bears to honor: It goes before, and prepares us to rightly appreciate and use the honors God bestows, because we see and have a true sense of our relation to him as poor, dependent beings, fallen and sinful, unworthy of the least of his mercies. Here we see why Moses was permitted to come nearer to God than others, because he was more humble.

The case of David, the sweet singer of Israel, is another illustrious example. Called from the sheepfold to lead the people of God; from being a humble shepherd boy, to be one of the mightiest potentates of earth; exalted above all of his older brothers, and all his associates; growing up in experience, and wisdom, and power, in spite of all the persecutions and snares of Saul, the reigning monarch, who followed him that he might take his life, and rid himself of a hated rival; finally stepping into Saul’s vacant throne, made vacant by pride and stubbornness; monarch of one of the most powerful kingdoms of ancient times. And above all these earthly honors, the blessing of God, the exalted privilege of speaking by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writing those Psalms which have been the delight of millions of the people of God in ages succeeding. What was the cause of all this honor? Why was it bestowed upon this poor shepherd boy? Because he was little in his own estimation at first. Afterward, when he became proud and haughty, God brought judgments upon him and punished him.

The case of Daniel is another very interesting one. No one can read the book of Daniel without being certain that Daniel was a very humble man. How careful he was, before informing Nebuchadnezzar of the wonderful dream of the great image, to tell him he knew nothing of it because of any wisdom that he possessed above any living. Dan. ii, 30. He would not even remain silent and let the king draw his own conclusions, for fear he would give the glory to Daniel rather than to God. What an example to us! Who can read his wonderful prayer recorded in Dan. ix, 3-19, without being astonished that the man who was so “greatly beloved” could make such confessions? The prophet seems to place himself upon the very level of the Jews in all respects. “We have sinned.” “To us belong confusion of faces;” and “because for our sins,” these heavy chastisements have come upon us. He was terribly in earnest over the matter. He sought the Lord with “fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes,” and this earnest, humble prayer moved the arm of Jehovah. And “whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.” The angel informed him he had come to give him skill and understanding. He talked with him familiarly as friend to friend; and he told him further, “Thou art greatly beloved.” Surely, then, God was not displeased with Daniel for making such a humble confession; therefore none of us need fear of confessing ourselves very unworthy. If the holy prophet of God could make such a confession and it be acceptable, surely we who are so cold, so backward, so worldly, so far from God, need not fear in confessing ourselves poor, sinful beings, having long ago forfeited all claims on our part to anything more than mercy. We see very plainly, then, that the prophet Daniel, who stood so high in the estimation of Him who judgeth righteously, was a most illustrious example of humility; and surely none of whom record is made in the word of God, enjoyed more of his favor.

The case of the apostle Paul is another eminent example of the grace we are speaking of. He says in his farewell discourse to the elders of the church of Ephesus, Acts xx, 18, 19, “Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility,” &c. Surely then, if he served the Lord with all humility, he was a very illustrious example of this grace. His life and ministry teach the same thing more emphatically than words can. Nothing but fully realizing his true relation to God as one of his creatures, under the greatest obligation to him for every blessing, every talent, and every mental endowment; and that God required of him the use of these in his service, whether pleasant or painful, whether his path was strewn with flowers or filled with thorns, whether meeting the applause of men, or all the persecution they could inflict upon him. This was nothing to him; his business was to render to God the use of those talents committed to his care.

This high sense of duty, this perfect self-abnegation on the part of the great apostle to the Gentiles, shows more plainly than words can, that the grace of humility was fully understood, and highly appreciated by him. These instances abundantly prove the proposition that in all the eminent examples of piety and holiness brought to view in the Bible, humility was a conspicuous grace in their characters; in fact I believe there is not a single exception.

As a last example we will come to our blessed Saviour, who was to be our example and pattern in all things. He came from the realms of glory. He was with the Father before the worlds were created, and he was the agent by which that work was accomplished. With him the self-existent God consulted before he made man, when he said, “Let us make man in our image.” He was exalted high above all the angelic host. This glory far transcends anything that the imagination of man can conceive. What should we expect would be his attitude toward a weak and fallen race of rebels, who had forfeited all their rights by their sinful and abominable conduct. Were such a being as this to appear among them, judging according to the manner of men, we should expect him to assume a lordly air, and give all to understand, who came near him, that he was highly exalted above them, and must be approached with the greatest deference. This is the course of conduct which many of the great of this world follow, and is generally imitated by those of lower station, in all the varying scale below. But oh! how different from our blessed Lord. Of him we read, Phil. ii, 7, 8, “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being formed in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross;” the most degrading death of that age. And not only this, but we ever see him easily approached. He said, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.” Oh! what condescension! What a tender, childlike spirit! He was found mostly in company with the poor and lowly of earth, and was most in union with such, from the fact that they possessed more nearly the same spirit. Not with those who were degraded and vile from sin; not with those who were pursuing a low, vicious course, filthy and slovenly in their habits, and destroying their reason by a destructive course of life. These were not the spirits our Saviour loved to associate with; but those who were poor in this world’s goods; low in station, but trying to come up to the exalted standard of God’s word.

Our Saviour says of himself, Matt. xi, 28, 29, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls.” Yes, this is the attitude our blessed Saviour occupies toward us; he is lowly of heart. He does not feel above the poorest and weakest of earth. What a gracious invitation, coming from such a source! And this important lesson we are to learn of him who was with the Father before the world was created. What amazing condescension! And the important statement is made, that this course will bring rest to the weary soul; and the truth is, it is the only course that will bring rest. This shows the mighty importance of humility. This is the key that opens the whole subject of our Saviour’s ministry upon earth. With his infinite wisdom, with his perfect knowledge of man’s nature and wants, and of his relation to God, his creator; of his lost and fallen condition; of his blindness in consequence of sin; and of his mistaken notions in regard to true happiness; thinking it comes of exalting the creature, instead of the Creator; when it really comes of exalting God above all, and bringing self down to its true position. The Messiah, having a true view of all these things, comes to earth to set before fallen man the lesson of humility, of lowliness of mind, as the true road to rest, or happiness. There are but few, comparatively, who realize the beauty and truth of this idea, with anything like its proper force. This is evident when we see how many are so intent upon building up self; making it appear that they are possessed of ability, and designing to occupy an exalted station, and have the applause of their fellow men. If they succeed according to their full desire, it will not bring rest. All history proves this. The so-called great of earth are not the happy. Many of them die confessing they never knew more than a few hours of happiness; their lives were continually wretched. No; seeking and obtaining personal advancement will never bring true happiness, for it is proceeding upon a wrong principle. What, then, shall we say of those who seek, but do not obtain? They are still more wretched. Added to that lack which those feel that we have just mentioned, they have disappointments, envy at the success of rivals, jealousies, wounded pride, and all the evil train growing out of the unsubdued passions of the natural heart.

We see then, if we would find true rest in this world, we must learn of Jesus the lowliness of mind which he was pleased to manifest. But when we fully realize that the character we form in our day of probation, is to determine our condition hereafter; that it is necessary to learn true meekness and lowliness of mind here, to see and understand our true relation to God, as poor, weak, unworthy, dependent beings upon his bounty, in order to be admitted to a state of future life and bliss; then we see the importance of this subject; and also why Christ was willing to take this position among the children of men, to set them such an example; and if he was willing to set such an example, how important it is for us to follow it. We learn from the apostle Paul, in Phil. ii, 5, and onward, in regard to this spirit, that we are to manifest the same spirit our Saviour manifested; that this same spirit must be in us, that was in our Saviour, “Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,” &c. In verses 9-11, we learn how God regarded this act of his Son. “Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow; of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Thus we see how God regards the conduct of his beloved Son, and what he regards as our duty. (To be concluded next week.)