February 14
Daily Gleanings of the Saintly LifeWednesday after Epiphany
But I am a worm, and no man. Psalms 22:6.
Of humility there are many steps. Lay the first solidly, God will lead thee onward. Know seriously, truly, sincerely, thine own nothingness. Many will confess in words their nothingness; they are miserable sinners. It is true and right. We are all. We confess it daily; and we must not confess mere words. It is one thing to own that we are all by nature sinners; very different is it to be ready to own, and that others should believe, that thou thyself art a sinner. But were it not for pride, we should grieve for, not be annoyed by, our own failures or infirmities, from which man in this imperfect state can scarcely be free. It is to rob God to take anything to ourselves, any strength, any gifts of body or mind. What is thy body? "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." How then shall "earth and ashes" be "proud"? What is thy mind? The gift of God, of which He can deprive thee. What is thy soul? Precious indeed above all price, since it is the price of the Blood of Christ! If it is in grace, beautiful above all created beauty, since it partakes of the brightness and glory and image of God!
What man is he that boasts of fleshly might, And vain assurance of mortality, Which all so soon as it doth come to fight Against spiritual foes, yields by and by, Or from the field most cowardly doth fly? Ne let the man ascribe it to his skill, That through grace hath gained victory. If any strength we have, it is to ill, But all the good is God's, the power and eke the will.