How to Humble Ourselves (1)

How may we come to humble ourselves as we should?
(1) Get poor spirits, spirits that see the want in ourselves; the emptiness of all earthly things without God's favour; the insufficiency of ourselves at the day of judgment. Let us consider our origin. From where do we come? From the earth, from nothing. Where do we go? To the earth, to nothing. And in respect of spiritual things, we have nothing. We are not able to do anything of ourselves, not so much as to think a good thought. Likewise, consider the guilt of our sins. What do we deserve? Hell and damnation, to have our portion in that 'lake that burns with fire and brimstone.' Let us have before our eyes the picture of our sinful nature: how we are drawn away by every object; how ready to be proud of anything; how unable to resist the least sin; how ready to be cast down under every affliction; that we have no strength of ourselves to perform any good; in a word, how that we carry a nature about us indisposed to good, and prone to all evil. This consideration humbled Paul, and made him to cry out, 'O miserable man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?' (Rom. 7:24). By this means we come to be poor in spirit.
(2) If we would have humble spirits, let us bring ourselves into the presence of God. Consider his attributes, his works of justice in the world and upon ourselves. Compare his wisdom, holiness, power, and strength, with our own. Job, when he brought himself into God's presence, said, 'I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes' (Job 42:6). 'I am not worthy,' says John the Baptist (John 1:27). So Paul: 'I am not worthy to be called an apostle' (1 Cor. 15:9). So the centurion: 'I am not worthy thou should come into my house' (Matt. 8:8). Let us come into the presence of God, under the means of his word, and then we will see our own vileness, which will work humiliation.

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Richard Sibbes 'Refreshment for the Soul.'
Josiah's Reformation, pp. 51-54 [41-43]
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