Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.
“Though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar” (Psalm 138:6, ESV). God knows all people, and he doesn’t have any problem discerning the differences among them. The lowly, the haughty, people on different ends of the spectrum, all are known to God.
What does he do with the haughty, those who are arrogant, self-satisfied, and self-sufficient? These are people he humbles, for the very simple reason that he has exalted his name and his word above all others (v. 3). What will God do with us when we try to exalt our name, our word? It will prove ineffectual. While God is not pictured as some sort of jealous tyrant, he also doesn’t leave room for those who would make themselves like him. When we exalt ourselves we don’t have a place to stand. This is God’s world, his creation, the place he sustains by his mighty hand. We are out of line when we claim the credit.
What does God do with the lowly? When he “regards” the lowly, he sees they are humble not only before the rest of the world, but also before him. He pours out his care and concern upon them. What do the lowly need? They need God’s provision. What are the lowly ready to hear? They are ready to hear the words of comfort and grace the Lord God has for them.
Our hope, then, our goal, is to be found as the lowly before God, that he may lift us up by his mercy. Then he fulfills his purpose in me. He lifts me up in his love. He does not forget that I am the work of his hands.
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