is the cause of hard judgments and hasty words?  What is the cause of estrangement between friends?  What is the cause of evil speaking?  What is the cause of selfishness and indifference to the feelings of others?  Simply this:  the pride of man.  He lifts himself up, and he claims the right to have his opinions and judgments as he pleases.  The salvation we need is indeed humility, because it is only through humility that we can be restored to our right relation to God.

“Waiting upon God,”—­that is the only true expression for the real relation of the creature to God; to be nothing before God.  What is the essential idea of a creature made by God?  It is this:  to be a vessel in which He can pour out His fullness, in which He can exhibit His life, His goodness, His power, and His love.  A vessel must be empty if it is to be filled, and if we are to be filled with the life of God we must be utterly empty of self.  This is the glory of God, that He is to fill all things, and more especially His redeemed people.  And as this is the glory of the creature, so this is the only redemption, and the only glory of every redeemed soul, to be empty and as nothing before God; to wait upon Him, and to let God be all in all.

Humility has a prominent place in almost every epistle of the New Testament.  Paul says:  “Walk with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  The nearer you get to God, and the fuller of God, the lowlier you will be; and equally before God and man, you will love to bow very low.  We know of Peter’s early self-confidence; but in his epistles what a different language he speaks!  He wrote there:  “Let the younger be subject to the elder, and all of you be subject one to another; humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in His own time.”  He understood, and he dared to preach, humility to all.  It is indeed the salvation we need.  What is it that prevents people from coming to that entire surrender that we speak of?  Simply that they dare not abandon themselves, and trust themselves, to God; that they are not willing to be nothing, to give up their wishes, and their will, and their honor to Christ.  Shall we not accept the salvation that Jesus offers?  He gave up His own will; He gave up His own honor; He gave up any confidence in Himself; He lived dependent upon God as a servant whom the Father had sent.  There is the salvation we need, the Spirit of humility that was in Christ.

What is it that often disturbs our hearts, and our peace?  It is pride seeking to be something.  And God’s decree is irreversible, “God resisteth the proud; He gives grace only to the humble.”  How often Jesus had to speak to his disciples about it!  You will find repeatedly in the Gospel those simple words:  “He that humbleth Himself shall be exalted; he that exalteth himself shall be humbled.”  He taught His disciples: