Sermon: The Humble Soul the Peculiar Favourite of Heaven

Rev Ebenezer Erskine

This sermon, taken from the 1871 edition of The Whole Works of the Late Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, was preached on the fast-day before the administration of the Lord’s Supper at Orwell, on 27th July, 1721. It has been edited for present day readers to obviate obscurities in vocabulary, punctuation and syntax. The Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology informs us that Ebenezer Erskine (1680-1754), the older brother of the Rev. Ralph Erskine, was licensed by the Church of Scotland Presbytery of Kirkcaldy and ordained to the charge of Portmoak, near Kinross, in 1703. He took a leading part in the Marrow controversy and later became one of the founders of the Secession church. He contributed to the first part of The Assembly’s Catechism Explained, which was completed and revised by James Fisher, and under the title of Fisher’s Catechism was widely influential in Scotland for more than a hundred years. Erskine’s high status as a preacher of the gospel is indicated by the statement of one of his brethren, who asked a young minister, “Did you ever hear Ebenezer Erskine in the pulpit?” The young minister replied that he had not heard him. “Well then, sir,” said the older minister, “you never heard the gospel in its majesty.”

TEXT: Psalm 138:6, “Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly; but the proud he knoweth afar off.“

In the beginning of the psalm, the Psalmist firmly resolves to praise the Lord; and he gives these several excellent grounds of praise and thanksgiving through the body of the psalm:

First, he resolves to praise God for the experience he had of His love and faithfulness, in the accomplishment of His gracious word of promise unto him; verse 2, “I will praise thy name for thy loving kindness, and for thy truth: for thou has magnified thy word above all thy name.” God has a greater regard unto the word of His mouth, than to the works of His hand. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but one jot or tittle of what He has spoken shall never fall to the ground. Some do understand this of Christ, the essential, personal Word, in whom God set His name, and whom He has so highly exalted that He has given Him a name above every name.

Secondly, David resolves to praise God for the experience he had of God’s goodness in hearing his prayers; verse 3, “In the day when I cried, thou answeredst me: and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.” God granted him a speedy answer; for it was in the very day that he cried that he was heard. And it was a spiritual answer; he was strengthened with strength in his soul. Would you have soul-strength for the work you have in view? Then cry for it unto Him who is the strength of Israel; for “he giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.”

Thirdly, he resolves to praise God for the calling of the Gentiles, which he foresaw by the spirit of prophecy; verses 4 and 5, “All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.” The prosperity and enlargement of the kingdom of Christ, is what fills the believer’s mouth with hallelujahs of praise.

Fourthly, he resolves to bless God for His different ways of dealing with the humble and the proud; for His grace to the one, and His contempt and His rejection of the other, in the words of our text: “Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.”

It is the first part of the verse, “Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly,” I design to speak upon. In it we see:

First, the character of the gracious soul; he is a lowly person, one that is emptied, and abased in his own eyes. He sees nothing in himself, either to recommend him to God or man: on which account he is sometimes called “poor in spirit”, Matthew 5:3. He has got something of the mind and spirit of Jesus in him, and so has learned of Him who is meek and lowly, Matthew 11:29.

Secondly, we see here God’s transcendant greatness; He is the high Lord, or Jehovah. He is “the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, and who dwells in the high and holy place, to which no man can approach.” Who can think or speak of His highness in a suitable manner? It dazzles the eyes of sinful mortal worms, to behold “the place where his honour dwells.” O how infinite is the distance between Him and us! There are none among the sons of the mighty that can be compared unto Him. Yea, “the inhabitants of the earth are before him as a drop of a bucket, and as the small dust of the balance.” He is not only high above men, but above angels: cherubims and seraphims are His ministering spirits. He is high above the heavens; for the heaven, yea, the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. And He humbleth himself when He beholds the things that are in heaven. O, sirs, study to entertain high and admiring thoughts and apprehensions of the glorious majesty of God: for “honour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”

Thirdly, we see the amazing grace of this High God: though the distance between him and us be infinite, yet He has a regard to the lowly. The apostle Peter expresseth this by “giving grace to the humble,” 1 Peter 5:5. God is good to all; He distributes His common bounty to the good and bad, to the just and unjust; but he reserves his special grace and favour for the meek and lowly soul.

The doctrine of the text is that the lowly and humble soul is the peculiar favourite of the high God. “Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly.”

This truth is so evidently founded on the text, that I shall not consume time in adducing other texts of Scripture to confirm it; many that I might name will be cited in expounding the doctrine. Through grace, I shall attempt to:

I. Give some account of this lowliness and humility, and shew wherein it consists;

II. Prove, that the humble and lowly soul is the peculiar favourite of heaven;

III. Show why God has such respect to the lowly;

IV. Lay before you some marks or characters of the lowly and humble soul;

V. Offer some motives pressing you to seek after it;

VI. Offer a few directions and advices how it may be attained.

I. The first thing proposed is to give some account of this lowliness and humility, and shew wherein it consists.

Now, lowliness being a relative grace, we must consider it in a relative view; first, as it has respect to ourselves; secondly, as it has respect unto others; and thirdly, as it has respect unto God.

First, considering lowliness and humility with respect to ourselves, it implies: low and under-rating thoughts of ourselves.

The humble soul has low thoughts of his own person; as David had when he said, “I am a worm, and no man.” “I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies,” said Jacob. The lowly soul has low thoughts of his pedigree: he is not like the princes of Zoan, that prided themselves on being the offspring of ancient kings. Some folk think there is none like them because they are of such a clan and such a family, or they have such and such lords and lairds for their relations. But the humble soul makes little account of all these. “Who am I,” says David, “and what is mine house, that thou has brought me hitherto?” He considered himself as the degenerate plant of a strange vine; as a rotten branch of the corrupted and fallen family of Adam. He views the rock whence he was hewn, and the hole of the pit whence he was digged, saying, as in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity: and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Again, the lowly man has low thoughts also of his own abilities for any work or service he is called to in his generation. “O,” says the lowly soul, “I see I am nothing, I can do nothing; I cannot of myself think a good thought.” “I am not sufficient of myself to think any thing as of myself,” says Paul. “I cannot read, hear, pray, communicate, meditate, or examine myself,” says the humble one. “I see such sin and imperfection attending every duty I set about, as may justly provoke a holy God to cast them back upon my face. I am sure my goodness extendeth not to Him. I see I cannot subdue one corruption, or resist the least temptation, when left to myself; I fall before it, and must needs be carried down the stream like a dead fish, unless the Lord’s grace be sufficient for me.”

The lowly man has low thoughts also of his own attainments, whether moral or evangelical. “Oh,” says Agur, “I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.” And Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles, did not reckon that he had attained, or that he was already perfect; but he forgets those things which were behind, reaching forth unto things that were before, Philippians 3:12, 13.

This lowliness and humility with respect to ourselves, has in it, secondly, not only low and under-rating thoughts of ourselves but also a self-abhorrence, which is a degree beyond the former.

The humble man sees so much sin and guilt, so much emptiness, poverty, and vileness about himself, that, with holy Job, he cries out, “Behold, I am vile, what shall I answer thee? I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” As also in Ezekiel 36:31, “Ye shall remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities, and for your abominations.”

Lowliness with respect to ourselves has in it, thirdly, a singleness of heart in the discharge of duty, without vain glory, or Pharisaical ostentation.

It argues a proud hypocritical spirit, to pray, or give alms, or do any duty, to be seen of men, that we may procure a name for ourselves, or the approbation of others. I am afraid, there are many that attend sermons, and sacraments, with a design to maintain their credit and reputation among their neighbours. Verily, such have their reward; but a sorry one it is, when they have got it. The day comes, when this fig-leaf covering shall be torn, and your nakedness, emptiness, hypocrisy, exposed before men and angels. The humble and lowly Christian will make conscience of duty, although none in the world should see him; yea, the more retired he is, the better he loves it. He cares not though, in things of this nature, his left hand did not know what his right hand does.

Secondly, This lowliness and humility, considered with respect to others, has these things in it:

1. A preferring of others above or before ourselves.

Agreeable to this is the apostolic command, “Let nothing be done through strife, or vain-glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves,” Philippians 2:3 Not that a child of God should think a profane reprobate to be in a better state than himself; but every true child of God will see so much in himself as will make him ready to think the worst reprobate as good, or rather better than he is by nature; and he will see, that the least of saints have something wherein they do excel him. This was the disposition of the great apostle: he looked on himself as the chief of sinners, and the least of all saints.

2. Having lowliness with respect to others has in it a looking upon the gifts and graces of others without a grudge.

The humble man will not say, “This or that man darkens me.” No; he rejoices to see the gifts and graces of God’s Spirit abounding towards others. “Would God (says Moses) that all the Lord’s people were prophets.” The lowly one will shun all vain comparison of himself with others: he will not say, “Stand by, for I am holier than thou;” or, with the proud Pharisee, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, or even as this publican.” No, he rather sinks in his own esteem, when he looks on others, as Agur did: “Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man,” Proverbs 30:2.

3. Lowliness with respect to others has in it also an affable, courteous carriage toward all.

“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous,” 1 Peter 3:8. Religion does not countenance a sullen, morose, and haughty carriage; no, on the contrary, we are expressly commanded to be “gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.”

Thirdly, This lowliness and humility of soul may be considered with reference unto God. And so it implies these following things:

1. High and admiring thoughts of the majesty of God.

When God reveals Himself, the man sinks into nothing in his own esteem. “Oh”, the humble soul will say with Moses, “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, amongst the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Exodus 15:11

2. Lowliness in a man with reference to God will have in it a holy fear and dread of God always on his spirit; especially in his immediate approaches unto the presence of God, in the duties of His worship.

That man says, “The very angels cover their faces with their wings before him, crying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. How then shall I, a man of polluted lips, take His holy name into my mouth?” This makes him, with the publican, to smite upon his breast; to stand afar off, crying, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” This is the language of the humble soul, “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” Psalm 15:1; and, “Who shall ascent into the hill of the Lord? and who shall stand in his holy place?” Psalm 24:3.

3. It has in it an admiring of every expression of the divine bounty and goodness toward men in general, and toward himself in particular.

“Oh,” says he, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” and, “Who am I, that thou hast brought me hitherto: Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? and what can I say more?” And what more can be said! for “praise is silent for thee, O God in Zion.” A silent admiration of the grace and condescension of the great Jehovah, is the highest degree of praise we can attain to in this life, while our harps are so mistuned by sin.

4. Lowliness in us with respect to God has in it also a giving God the glory of all that we are helped to do in His service.

When the man is able to discharge duty in any measure comfortably, he will not say, like proud Jehu, “Come, and see my zeal for the Lord.” No, that is not the way of the humble soul; he knows that he has all from the Lord, and therefore he will give all the glory unto him, saying, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be the glory.” “I laboured more abundantly than all the apostles,” said Paul, “yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. By the grace of God I am what I am.”

5. Lowliness with respect to God has in it a silent resignation unto the will of God, and an acquiescence in the disposals of His providence, let dispensations be never so contrary to the inclinations of flesh and blood.

“Here I am,” will the poor soul say with David, “let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.” The man sees awful sovereignty in the dispensation, which makes him to say, “Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?” He sees that his furnace is not ten thousandth part as hot as his sins deserve; and therefore he silences his soul, saying with the church, “Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Thou has punished us less than our iniquities deserve.” He sees that the cup put into his hand is far from the bitterness of that cup that was put into the hand of Christ; and this makes him say, “If these things were done in the green tree, what shall be done to such a withered stick as I am? And therefore I will even be dumb with silence before Him, not opening the mouth, because it is the Lord that doth it.”

Although all these things I have named be the ingredients of true humility with respect to ourselves and others, and to God, yet I think the very soul and essence of gospel-humiliation lies in the soul’s renouncing of itself; its going out of itself and going in to, and accepting of, the Lord Jesus Christ, as its everlasting all; as the all of its light, life, strength, righteousness, and salvation. And I believe that a man never passes into truly spiritual humility, till self-righteousness be dethroned, till the high and towering imaginations of the man’s own righteousness by the law be levelled by the mighty power of the gospel, and he be brought to submit unto the righteousness of God for justification, which is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith.

In short, the humble and lowly believer is content to be nothing, that Christ may be all in all unto him: content to be a fool, that Christ may be his only wisdom; content to be, as he really is in himself, a guilty condemned criminal, that Christ may be his only righteousness; content to be stripped of his filthy rags, that he may be clothed with a borrowed robe. “Oh”, says the humble soul, “surely in the Lord alone have I righteousness and strength: in him will I be justified, and in him alone will I glory,” Isaiah 45:24, 25. “Yea, doubtless,” says humble Paul, “I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: and do count them but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith,” Philippians 3:8, 9. And so much for the first general head, namely, the nature of this lowliness.

II. The second principal thing proposed was, to shew that the lowly and humble soul is the peculiar favourite of Heaven. This will be abundantly evident, if we consider:

First, that when the Son of God was here in our nature, He shewed a particular regard unto such.

You have this in the case of the centurion in Matthew 8:8. He addresses Christ in behalf of his servant, who was grievously tormented by the palsy. Christ promises to come to his house and heal the servant. Well, see in verse 8 the lowliness of the man’s spirit. “Lord,” says he, “I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof.” And what a large commendation Christ gives to the man: “I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel.” Christ grants him all that he asked, saying, “Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” We see the same in the Syrophoenician woman, in Matthew 15:27. The lowliness and humility of her spirit made her to be submissive under all the repulses she met with. When Christ called her a dog, she takes it saying, “Truth, Lord, I am a dog. and shall be content if I may have but a crumb, the dog’s portion.” And what follows this? “O woman, great is they faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Thus, I say, Christ, in the days of His flesh, showed the greatest regard to the humble; and He is the same now in a state of exaltation as He was in a state of humiliation.

Secondly, when God gives the grace of humiliation, it is a sign that He intends more grace for that soul: “He giveth grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5.

You know that men lay up their richest wines in their lowest cellars; so God lays up the richest treasures of His grace in the heart of the humble. And therefore the humble Christian is ordinarily the most thriving and growing Christian. The humble valleys laugh with fatness, when the high mountains are barren; so the humble Christian is made fat with the influences of heaven, when lofty towering professors are, like the mountains of Gilboa, withered and dry, because the dew and rain of the graces and influences of the Spirit are withheld from them.

Thirdly, honour, exaltation, and preferment is intended for the humble soul: “Before honour is humility,” says Solomon.

“He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people,” Psalm 113: 7, 8. They shall be, as it were, His ministers of state that shall attend His throne, and have a place among them that stand by.

Fourthly, God’s eyes are upon the humble.

The eye of His omniscience indeed beholds all the children of men; but His pleasant countenance beholds the humble and upright soul. “Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? for all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord; but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word,” Isaiah 66: 1, 2. The humble soul is the object of his peculiar love and care: “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in their behalf.”

Fifthly, not only God’s eye, but His ear is toward the lowly soul: “Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble; thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear,” Psalm 10:17.

Would you have preparation for a communion table? Would you be brought unto God’s footstool and have a hearing there? Then come with lowliness and humility of soul.

Sixthly, the great Jehovah, the infinite God, dwell in and with the humble: “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place; with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones,” Isaiah 57:15.

God has two palaces where he dwells; the one is in heaven, the other is in the heart of the humble Christian. He says of the humble soul, as he said of Zion, “This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it.” And for what purpose will He dwell in the hearts of the humble ones? It is to revive and comfort them. The new wine of the consolations of God, which are not small, shall be poured into the heart of the lowly soul. He will “comfort them that mourn in Zion, he will give them the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”

Seventhly, as God dwells with the humble, so the humble shall dwell with God in glory for ever: “Blessed are the poor in spirit (which is the same as the lowly in spirit), for their’s is the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew 5:3.

They shall sit not only at His table here below, but also at the high table of glory, and eat and drink with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; yea, with the King of glory Himself. It is the humble that surround the throne above, as you see in Revelation 4. They take their crowns off their heads, and cast them down before the Lamb, saying, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power.” Thus you see that the humble soul is the peculiar favourite of the high God.

III. The third principal thing proposed was, to enquire why God has such a respect unto the lowly.

The first answer is that God has such a respect unto the lowly, not as if this frame of soul merited any good from Him, but because this is a disposition that best serves His great design of exalting and glorifying his free grace.

What do you think was God’s design in election, in redemption, in the whole of a gospel dispensation, and in all the ordinances thereof? His grand design in all was to rear up a glorious high throne, from which He might display the riches of His free and sovereign grace; this is that which He will have magnified through eternity above all His other names. Now this lowliness and humility of spirit suits best God’s design of exalting of the freeness of His grace. It is not the legalist or proud Pharisee, but the poor humble publican who is smiting on his breast and crying, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” who submits to the revelation of grace. And truly, I never think a man really humbled till he be brought so far off his law foundation, on which he stands by nature, as to lie down like a worm at the feet of sovereign grace, heartily content to be indebted to free grace for life, righteousness, pardon, and salvation.

Secondly, God has such respect unto the humble soul because it is a fruit of His own Spirit inhabiting the soul, and an evidence of the soul’s union with the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom alone we are accepted.

Thirdly, this is a disposition that makes the soul like Christ; and the more like Christ a person becomes, the more the love of God is manifested to him.

We are told that Christ was meek and lowly; He did not cry, not lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street; though he was the brightness of His Father’s glory, yet He was content to appear in the form of a servant; though He was rich, yet He was content to become poor, that we through His poverty might be rich. Now, the humble soul, being the image of Christ, who is the express image of His Father, is a soul unto whom God cannot but have a respect and regard. •

To be concluded