2 Samuel 9:8 (NIV)
8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant,
that you should notice a dead dog like me?”
If Mephibosheth was humbled by David's kindness, what shall
we be in the presence of our gracious Lord? The more grace we have, the less we
shall think of ourselves, for grace, like light, reveals our impurity. Eminent
saints have scarcely known what to compare themselves to, their sense of
unworthiness has been so clear and keen. "I am," says the godly
Rutherford, "a dry and withered branch, a piece of dead carcass, dry
bones, and not able to step over a straw." In another place he writes,
"Apart from their open outbursts, I am too much like Judas and Cain."
The meanest objects in nature appear to the humbled mind to
have a preference above itself, because they have never contracted sin: A dog
may be greedy, fierce, or filthy, but it has no conscience to violate, no Holy
Spirit to resist. A dog may appear to be worthless, and yet by a little
kindness it is soon won to love its master and is faithful to death; but we
forget the goodness of the Lord and do not follow His call. The term dead dog
is the most expressive of all terms of contempt, but it is not too strong to
express the self-abhorrence of well-taught believers. They do not display false
modesty; they mean what they say; they have weighed themselves in the balances
of the sanctuary and discovered the vanity of their nature.
At best we are but clay, animated dust; but viewed as
sinners, we are monsters indeed. Let it be published in heaven as a miracle
that the Lord Jesus should set His heart's love upon people like us. Dust and
ashes though we be, we must and will magnify the exceeding greatness of His
grace. Could His heart not find rest in heaven? Does He need to come to these
tents for a spouse and choose a bride from the children of men? Let the heavens
and earth break forth into song and give all the glory to our sweet Lord Jesus.
Thought for today:
Do I consistently demonstrate humility?
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