It is a heavenly grace!

(Maria Sandberg, "Glimpses of Heaven!" 1880)

LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

"All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God!" Revelation 7:11

What a view do we here obtain of the humility of those glorious and sinless beings, the angels of God! They "fall on their faces before the throne" when they worship God.

How humble, then, ought we to be, who are not pure and sinless creatures—but vile and sinful dust and ashes, who have forgotten God, and insulted Him times without number!

Humble, indeed, we ought to be—yet we are proud; we dislike humility, except so far as God graciously teaches us. Oh! it is He alone who can humble our proud hearts, and thus prepare us for the worship of Heaven. This He does by means of providential chastenings and afflictions. His design in them is to humble us, and prepare us for glory.

And shall we shrink from the process? No, let us lay our proud souls at His feet, imploring Him to undertake the gracious work of teaching us humility. Let us not fear the needful discipline. God is a tender Father—He only wants to make His creatures truly happy. We shall taste real happiness, only as we possess in any degree this heavenly grace of humility. It is a heavenly grace, for it is, as we see here, the disposition of the inhabitants of Heaven. It is a heavenly grace, for it brings into our souls a portion of the happiness of Heaven.

Oh! let us not be afraid to lie low at the foot of the cross!

The valley of humiliation is a pleasant and a fruitful place:
  there the smiles of the reconciled countenance of our God are seen;
  there fellowship with Jesus is felt;
  there love to man flourishes;
  there the painful and trembling feelings of pride and selfishness are mortified.

It is, however, only in Heaven that we shall attain to the perfection of this grace of humility, when we shall fully know:
  ourselves,
  our vileness, our unworthiness, and
  what we owe to redeeming grace and love.

Then only shall we be truly humble; then only shall we be truly happy.

Then shall we bid farewell to the misery of sin, and taste the enjoyment of full conformity to the Divine image of Jesus!

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 5:3