My subject this morning is “Humility.” As much as the Bible has to say about this, I can truthfully say that in all my many years of experience as a preacher, I have never heard any other Seventh-day Adventist minister preach on this subject. I have preached on it a few times. [Voices of ministers on the stand: We have preached on it.] We preach on faith, because “without faith it is impossible to please God.” We preach on love, that precious grace that is so evident in our Saviour’s life and work, and which we all know is the great distinguishing feature of the true child of God. We also preach on various other subjects of importance. I want to preach on humility because I hope we may know a little better how to get more of this grace.GCB June 3, 1913, page 241.1

We all know that as a people we are not standing in the full light, as the children of God were on the day of Pentecost. We are all praying that the Lord will pour out upon us the latter rain. We want it. It is very proper that we should desire it. If we do really want it, we shall want to know what are the steps that lead up to it. There are some things necessary before the latter rain can fall upon us. Humility is one of them.GCB June 3, 1913, page 241.2

What is humility?—Humility is defined by Webster as “a sense of one’s own unworthiness through imperfection and sinfulness.” We may have such a sense of our own unworthiness that we will always be humble, always desirous of being nearer to God,—with a sense of our human weakness and imperfection and sinfulness. There is no man so good but that he needs to feel this deeply. We always ought to feel that we are poor, weak, unworthy creatures ourselves; that, if we are able to accomplish anything for God, it is because he has given us his Spirit and blessings from on high. Humility is a grace that gives us a sense of our real standing before God. We should sense our own condition, and not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. Humility will enable us to think of ourselves just as we are. It will open our eyes and understanding to a sense of our weakness and unworthiness before God, and, instead of taking glory to ourselves when God accomplishes something through us, cause us to give glory to him to whom it belongs.GCB June 3, 1913, page 241.3

PHOTO-DELEGATES AND REPRESENTATIVES FROM AFRICA

Let us see what the wise man says about it: “The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility.” Proverbs 15:33. It seems to me that there are two senses in which humility is before honor. In the first place, it is before it in value, in worth. It is more valuable than honor; for humility is a sense of our own real condition before God. Is not that valuable, brethren and sisters? I think it is very important and essential that we should know something of our standing. Humility. God sees, is necessary in order for us to make the proper use of his blessings, to have a proper conception of them. So, before he can bless us very much, he wants us to have a sense of our condition. The Lord is not going to give a hard-headed, high-spirited man a blessing. It would become a curse to him. He wants to save every one, wants to make every one of us a blessing to mankind; but he wants us to be in such a condition of mind that his blessing will not prove a curse to us, and leave us in a worse condition than before.GCB June 3, 1913, page 241.4

Let us take Moses for an illustration. Moses was one of the greatest characters of all times, a man that God used in a great crisis in the world’s history, the meekest man that ever lived. Moses was a man mighty in word and deed. Stephen in his discourse stated that “Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.” Now, considering the fact that he was the adopted child of Pharaoh’s daughter, he stood high in court, and was trained in all the science and wisdom of that marvelous people. He was let into all their secrets, and was learned in all that they could teach him. He was an eloquent man, the commander of the armies of Egypt.GCB June 3, 1913, page 241.5

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.”GCB June 3, 1913, page 241.6

Just think of that! Sometimes we do not like to bear the reproach of Christ, do we? But Moses esteemed that reproach of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, for it says, “He had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” He looked over to the time when the Lord of glory is to come and take his people home, and give them eternal life amidst all the glories of the heavenly world. His godly mother had taught him about those things in the days of his youth, and there came to him, amidst all the glories of Egypt, hours of reflection when those early lessons came to his mind. He saw that all these glories were to pass away in a little while, and he saw that if he went that way he would be a lost man. Brethren, he was a very sensible man. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and by faith he “forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible..GCB June 3, 1913, page 241.7

Finally Moses went away from all that, and went and joined a poor, despised, enslaved people. He left the honors of Egypt, to go with a race of slaves. When there came a quarrel between some men, he separated them, and killed the Egyptian who was oppressing his brother; and away he went into the desert. He knew then that his life was in danger, of course. He had thought himself so great a man that he would be able to lead his people out at once; but, instead of that, he had to flee for his life. He was not ready yet for God’s work. Some instruction was necessary back there, and I think it is just as necessary here.GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.1

Now, my friends, I wish to read a little more in Proverbs in regard to this grace of humility. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Proverbs 16:18. Here is the same comparison that we had before,—“The fear of the Lord is instruction, and before honor is humility.”GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.2

Again we read: “Every one that is proud in hearts is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.” Humility is the opposite of pride. Pride says, “I am some great one, I know how to do things, and I am capable of doing them.” Humility says, “All true good, all true blessings, come from God; and if you do anything that amounts to anything in this world, it will be because you trust in God. So give God all the honor of it.” Do we always give him the honor, brethren? As preachers, do we give him the honor for some fine discourse he has helped us preach? Through trials and afflictions God will bring us into hard places until we find out our weakness, and realize our need of his help.GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.3

Humility is necessary for a revival among our people. “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” James 4:5, 6. What is grace?—It is unmerited favor. But “he giveth grace to the humble, and resisteth the proud.” God will resist us if we have pride in our hearts, and in this affliction we realize our great need of God to help us. “Submit yourselves therefore unto God.” Is not that the cry of this meeting here? Do we not wish to submit ourselves to God; to resist the devil, so that he will flee from us; to draw nigh to God, so that he will draw nigh to us? You have been doing this, brethren and sisters, in this meeting. “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.” This is a portion of scripture that needs to be very fully understood. It is the very root of all true reform; because to humble ourselves is to have a proper conception of our condition.GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.4

Turn to another scripture which speaks on that (2 Corinthians 13:5), “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.5

Now there is something necessary for us to do as Christians. It is not for us to suppose that we are as good as we ought to be, that we are all right. It is necessary at times, especially when we are not conscious of God’s special blessings, to begin to consider, Am I in a condition where God’s blessing rests upon me? Am I filled with his Spirit? Am I right in his sight? Am I prepared to step from earth and its wickedness into the heaven of glory? That is the question. Everything in the plan of salvation refers to individual experience. We are not going to be saved in a great camp-meeting. We are going to be saved if our individual preparation has been properly made, and we have found out by experience the blessed characteristics of divine grace. I have found it necessary in my own experience to do some humbling of heart a good many times in order to keep myself in a position where I knew that God, blessed me. When we get to the place where we have wrestled with God, we learn by experience what humility is. When we cry out to God in our utter weakness to be delivered from our sins, then God pours the blessing of his Spirit into our hearts, and we have the sweet satisfaction of knowing that we are his and he is ours. That is the experience that every single soul wants in his every-day life.GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.6

I shall refer to a few facts to show you the power of humility, what it has done for very weak men. In the Bible the name of Ahab is a synonym for everything that is wicked, tyrannical, and evil. His name is referred to all through the history of the Old Testament as one notorious for wickedness, and urged on to greater sin by his wife, Jezebel. On a certain occasion when Ahab was anxious to possess the vineyard of his neighbor, the owner of the vineyard refused to let him have it. So Ahab mourned sore. Then Jezebel told him to destroy Naboth and take the vineyard, and he did. About that time Elijah had a message for Ahab, which is recorded in the twenty-first chapter of I Kings. Elijah told Ahab that he had sold himself “to work evil in the sight of the Lord.” That was a terrible denunciation, one of the most powerful to be found in the Bible. We would think that there was not any sort of hope for Ahab. But when Ahab heard the words, he rent his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He felt the force of the terrible denunciation of the prophet of the Lord, and saw that something must be done. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, “Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days.” The evil was deferred until after Ahab’s death. He did not feel any of the effects of these terrible denunciations of the prophet of the Lord himself, personally, because he gave some evidence of repentance.GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.7

Another remarkable case is that of Manasseh. I do not know that any character in all the Bible is pictured as doing more wicked things than Manasseh did, and he the king of Judah. In 2 Chronicles, the thirty-third chapter, we read how he built altars in the house of the Lord, caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of Hinnom, observed times, used enchantments, set up graven images, and put an idol in the temple of the Lord. Because of all these terrible crimes that he committed, the Lord was angry with him. “Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.”GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.8

This shows how the Lord regarded his work. He brought about a train of circumstances that landed Manasseh, the king of Judah, in chains in Babylon. There he had opportunity to think, to consider matters, and see what a wicked man he had been. While there in his affliction, he besought the Lord, and humbled himself greatly, “and prayed unto him: and he was entreated of him.” And the Lord heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem, unto his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.9

When we sin, and rebel against God, our only hope is to humble ourselves, to examine ourselves to see what kind of persons we are, and come to think of ourselves as we are. That is what the grace of humility will do for us.GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.10

Let us see what the Saviour says about this matter. We find the record, in Luke 18:9 and onward, in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee despised others, and trusted in himself. He fasted twice in the week, gave tithes of all that he possessed, and was very religious. Indeed, he seemed to make more effort to serve God than many of us do. He told the Lord that he was not unjust, and thanked the Lord that he was not as other men were. Why was the Lord not pleased with him?—It was because he had such a high opinion of his own worthiness. That is all I can see about it. He was not a bad man outwardly, doubtless living a life that many today would think very excellent; but he prided himself on his own goodness, so much that he told God how good he was.GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.11

The publican felt that he was a lost man. He stood afar off in the temple, and beat upon his breast, and said, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” How did the Lord regard that?—The record is, “This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.12

O, I wish we could all learn the lesson here, to humble ourselves before God. Is there a man or a woman in this congregation, dear friends, who can be proud of his or her own record?—I believe there is not one. Notice this statement: “Every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” This statement is repeated over and over, it is in three separate scriptures. I do not know of any other statement of the Saviour that is found in the Bible three times.GCB June 3, 1913, page 242.13

Humility is a leading principle; it is the principle that God acts upon. He who lifts himself up to high positions, who tells how good he is,—that person needs to be converted. All the publican could say was, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” And God accepted him on the spot, and blessed him. If we get the spirit in our hearts that that man did, we shall get the blessing, too.GCB June 3, 1913, page 243.1

In the fifth chapter of Matthew we have the sermon on the mount, that we have all read so many times. These beatitudes are something like the steps going up to a room. The first one is a sort of foundation step for the others, and they continue on to the very highest steps of the Christian’s privilege. Now what is this foundation scripture? It is found in the third verse: “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The poor in spirit are those who are humble. Then come the promises: “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” The foundation is the most important part of the building; we must have that in order to build successfully. So our first necessity for building a Christian character, is this grace of humility, a sense of our imperfection, and our great need of God’s help. Says one, “Should not the Christian always rejoice?”—Yes, but the Christian should also realize when he rejoices that it is the Lord’s blessing that enables him to rejoice. The laying of this foundation is to consider always our need of help, our weakness, and to cry to God. Then God will hear us; he says he will. I believe that the servant of God who goes before the people ought to feel this need, and present before the people the great importance of continually enjoying newer and fresher experiences in God’s service.GCB June 3, 1913, page 243.2

The case of Nebuchadnezzar, as recorded in the fourth chapter of Daniel, shows the way of God’s working. Nebuchadnezzar was raised up by the providence of God to humble all the nations of that age. Jeremiah says that they could not withstand Nebuchadnezzar, because he was called of God to do a certain work. He was a wonderful man. He conquered all the known world in his time, and then went to beautifying the city of Babylon, and made it the most beautiful city in the world. It was called one of the seven wonders of the world. This great and powerful man, who had conquered all the world, and perhaps had been a tyrant in some things, was himself called to account. So God sent him a wonderful dream. It was about a great tree, in which the birds of heaven lodged; and the beasts of the field took refuge under it. But an angel of God came, and cut down that tree. The king wondered a great deal to know what this dream meant. At last he called in Daniel, and Daniel told him what it meant. I will refer to it but briefly.GCB June 3, 1913, page 243.3

After Daniel had told Nebuchadnezzar that the tree meant the king himself, we find these words, in the twenty-seventh verse: “Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.” Here God was working with him. But twelve months went past, and Nebuchadnezzar did not learn his lesson. One night when he was out looking at his beautiful city, and all that he had accomplished, he said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.”GCB June 3, 1913, page 243.4

This was fulfilled, and for seven years Nebuchadnezzar was out in the grass of the field, acting as if he were a beast. “At the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.... Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.” That is the last we hear of Nebuchadnezzar. But I believe, brethren, that we shall see him in the kingdom of God. Inspiration leaves him acknowledging the true God, acknowledging his own sins, and giving God the honor for his blessings.GCB June 3, 1913, page 243.5

Another instance showing how God regards this grace of humility is found in Philippians 2:5, and onward: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” That is to say, Christ himself did not make any effort to grasp what his ambition might desire, or to be on an equality with God. Satan did all that. He became desirous of further greatness, although he was an exalted being; yet he wanted to equal or be superior to God himself. Christ did not. Let us see what he did, in the seventh verse and onward: “But made himself or no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 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.”GCB June 3, 1913, page 243.6

O my dear friends, if you think this subject of humility is a matter of small moment, if you think you do not want to be reminded of your weaknesses and your sins, I want you to reconsider this matter solemnly. Right here we have presented the Lord of glory humbling himself. Why?—To be an example for you and me to follow. How did God regard it?—He added to him a great and an additional glory: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him.” He suffered upon the cross, dying for the sins of mankind; but he humbled himself before God and man.GCB June 3, 1913, page 243.7

I tell you, dear friends, I have come to the conclusion that if we get enough of that spirit, God will exalt us. But let us beware of taking Satan for an example, and trying to exalt ourselves. O, may God help us to be humble and lowly, and be willing to do anything God would have us do, and that at last it may be said of us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”GCB June 3, 1913, page 243.8

DAILY PROGRAM (Except Sabbath)

Conference Proceedings. TWENTY-SEVENTH MEETING