July 28

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time!’ — i Peter v. 6.

is tantamount to a promise: if we will bow down, the Lord will lift us up. Humility leads to honour: submission is the way to exaltation. That same hand of God which presses us down is waiting to raise us up when we are prepared to bear the blessing. We stoop to conquer. Many cringe be fore men, and yet miss the patronage they crave; but he that humbles himself under the hand of God shall not fail to be enriched, uplifted, sustained and comforted by the ever-gracious One. It is a habit of Jehovah to cast down the proud, and lift up the lowly.

Yet there is a time for the Lord’s working. We ought now to humble ourselves, even at this present moment; and we are bound to keep on doing so whether the Lord lays his afflicting hand upon us or not. When the Lord smites, it is our special duty to accept the chastisement with profound submission. But as for the Lord’s exaltation of us, that can only come “in due time,” and God is the best judge of that day and hour. Do we cry out impatiently for the blessing? Would we wish for untimely honour? What are we at? Surely we are not truly humbled, or we should wait with quiet submission. So let us do.