Yesterday I received a note from my friend, Dr. Lee Cope, of Jackson, Mississippi, about a friend of his who said, “The Andrew Murray book on humility changed my life, possibly more than any single thing outside of the Bible itself. It has haunted me. I memorized the passage in Philippians (on having the mind of Christ as a servant) and rehearse it in my mind and prayer life regularly.” In my last two entries, I’ve described this 1858 book. Now here are some excerpts, which are particularly good, not only for personal meditation, but for use when preaching or teaching on this subject.
From the Introduction:
There is nothing so divine and heavenly as being the servant and helper of all. The faithful servant, who recognizes his position, finds a real pleasure in supplying the wants of the master and his guests.
I stand amazed at the thought of how little humility is sought after as the distinguishing feature of the discipleship of Jesus.
From Chapter 1
Humility, the place of entire dependence of God, is… the root of every virtue. And so pride, or the loss of this humility, is the root of every sin and evil….
Hence it follows that nothing can be our redemption, but the restoration of the lost humility, the original and only true relation of the creature to its God. And so Jesus came to bring humility back to earth…
Humility is the only soil in which the graces grow.
In the life of earnest Christians, of those who pursue and profess holiness, humility ought to be the chief mark of their uprightness.
From Chapter 2
When the Old Serpent, he who had been cast out from Heaven for his pride, whose whole nature as devil was pride, spoke his words of temptation into the ear of Eve, those words carried with them the very poison of hell.
All the wretchedness of which this world has been the scene, all its wars and bloodshed among the nations, all its selfishness and suffering, all its ambitions and jealousies, all its broken hearts and embittered lives, with all its daily unhappiness, have their origin in what this cursed, hellish pride, either our own, or that of others, has brought to us.
Study the humility of Jesus. This is the secret…
From Chapter 3
Because Christ had thus humbled himself before God, and God was ever before Him, He found it possible to humble Himself before men too, and to be the Servant of all. His humility was simply the surrender of Himself to God, to allow Him to do in Him what He pleased, whatever men around might say to Him, or do to Him.
From Chapter 4:
Just as water ever seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds the creature abased and empty, his glory and power flow in to exalt and to bless.
From Chapter 5
We find many professors and ministers, evangelists and workers, missionaries and teachers, in whom the gifts of the Spirit are many and manifest, and who are the channels of blessing to multitudes, but of whom, when the testing time comes, or closer intercourse gives fuller knowledge, it is only too painfully manifest that the grace of humility, as an abiding characteristic, is scarce to be seen.
From Chapter 6
The humble man feels no jealousy or envy. He can praise God with others are preferred and blessed before Him. He can bear to hear others praised and himself forgotten….
From Chapter 7
The holiest will ever be the humblest…
PS – I have one last quote from this book that I’d like to share in tomorrow’s blog. Stay tuned.