Expositional Archives - Page 82 of 109

Wisdom From Above III

Joe Harby on February 3, 2013

Introduction

This passage contains the phrase that gives the title to this entire series of messages, the phrase “the wisdom from above.” But this wisdom from above is not an abstract set of rules. Never forget that our wisdom from above has a name, and His name is Jesus. He is the wisdom from above.

The Text

“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole
body . . .” (Jas. 3:1-18).

Summary of the Text

James tells us here that not many should want to be teachers (v. 1) because teachers come under a stricter judgment. We all stumble in many ways, including in our words, and teachers do it up in front of everybody (v. 2). If a man controls his tongue, then that means he is able to control himself entirely (v. 2). A bit is a horse’s mouth is small, but can direct the whole animal (v. 3). A ship of great size, and in a great storm, is still directed by a small helm (v. 4). The tongue is small but influential in the same way (v. 5). The tongue is a fire, a cosmos of iniquity, which is set on fire by Hell, defiles the whole body, and sets the entire wheel of life on fire (v. 6). Every kind of beast has been tamed by man (v. 7), but the tongue not so much (v. 8). The tongue is schizophrenic, blessing God and cursing the image of God (v. 9). Blessing and cursing gush out of the same mouth (v. 10), which is not fitting. Does a fountain do that (v 11)? Does a fig tree bear contrary to its nature? Does a vine (v. 12)? Neither does a fountain.

The tongue is a helm. Who is the helmsman? If we want to know who the wise man is, we look for a good way of life and meekness of wisdom (v. 13). But if envy and strife is residing in your heart, then stop vaunting in your glory, and stop lying against the truth (v. 14). This wisdom (for some call it “wisdom”) does not come down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish (v. 15). Where this heart is, then confusion, disorder, and every vile practice follow (v. 16). The wisdom that does come from above, and which Jesus is the perfect embodiment of, is pure, peaceable, easily entreated, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and honest (v. 17). Those who make peace are sowing peace, and the harvest is righteousness (v. 18).

Where We Actually Are

Whenever a minister announces that he is going to preach on “tongue,” the response is this: And all God’s people said uh oh. But we often hide our real problems under a veil of hyper-sensitivity to the wrong things. This passage is not at all describing a couple of church ladies chatting about who might get engaged next. Why do we always assume this is about gossip? Gossip isn’t even mentioned here. This is all about ambition, power struggles, envy, strife, in-fighting, cursing, throwing elbows, and so on. And before we say something like, “Oh, that’s a relief then,” we need to do a little spiritual inventory. James seems to think this problem is far more common than we tend to think.

Not Many Teachers

Teachers operate in a stand of trees; their calling puts them in a forest. And on top of that, teachers labor with their tongues, with words. This means that if the “unregulated fire” of their words gets loose, the result is a forest fire.

Claimants to Wisdom

James is not just comparing two kinds of people. He is comparing two kinds of people, each kind claiming to be the rightful possessor of something called “wisdom.”The question is “who is the wise man?”Who has true knowledge? The answer is that real wisdom is meek (v. 13). There is a kind of wisdom that isn’t, that wants to glory in its envy and strife, wants to lie against the truth, and still call it wisdom (v. 15). James calls it wisdom too, after a fashion, but he says that it is earthly, sensual and devilish. And like a squid spraying ink, it frequently gets away with this response because when everything gets disordered and confused enough, nobody can tell who did or said what.

Real wisdom, the kind that comes from above, is peace-seeking, gentle, full of mercy and sweet reasonableness. It is marked, not by claims to impartiality, but by impartiality. It is marked, not by claims that it is easily entreated, but by being easily entreated. Real wisdom does not conjugate the verb this way—I am firm, you are stubborn, he is pig-headed. In the final analysis, if you want to know what was planted, look at the harvest.

Wisdom from Above

Remember the perfections of Jesus, and marvel at this crowning perfection—the fact that He was not totally exasperated all the time, in every conversation He ever had. But look at how He lived. He emptied Himself, took the form of a servant, and was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Not only did He spend His time with us, He spent His life for us.

Envy and strife do not set their face to go to Jerusalem to be crucified by the chief priests and scribes. They don’t see any future for self in that. Self-centered glory does not set a child in the midst of disciples jockeying for position and tell them that they must be like that. Self-centered glory rather tries to keep the children away. Devilish ambition does not teach us to take the lowest seat so that God may be the one who promotes us. Devilish ambition cannot help itself, and must seek its own glory.

Jesus is the wisdom of God, and lest you assume that this meekness means becoming a doormat in the face of evil, remember that this meekness from God cleansed the Temple with a whip, rebuked the Pharisees with high satire, and was enough of a firebrand that the authorities had Him crucified as a public menace.

Wisdom from Above II

Joe Harby on January 27, 2013

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Introduction

The central issue for evangelical faith is always the presence or absence of life. Recall that in the previous chapter, God Himself is the one who brought us to life of His own will (1:18), and He is the one who sustains and nurtures us in that life. The issue is not rule-keeping, but life. It is not moralism, but life. It is not doing good works while earning your salvation, it is doing good works while alive.

The Text

“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? . . .” (Jas. 2:1- 26).

Summary of the Text

James tells us that we must not be class snobs in our faith (v. 1). Suppose a rich man comes swanking in, and a poor man also does (v. 2). Suppose further you give the prospective big tither a seat of honor and put the poor guy in the corner on the floor (v. 3). Isn’t this partiality (v. 4)? Hasn’t God shown more honor to the poor than that (v. 5)? But the Christians James is addressing have despised the poor (v. 6), even though it is the rich who tend to hassle believers. Rich folks are the ones who blaspheme the name by which we are called, right (v. 7)? The rule we should follow is the royal law of Scripture—love your neighbor as yourself (v. 8), which is to do well. But if you play favorites, you are committing sin, and are convicted as transgressors (v. 9).

The law of God is a plate glass window, and it doesn’t much matter where you put the hole (v. 10). All the different commandments come from the same God, and so to break His Word is to break His Word (v. 11). So speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of liberty (v. 12). If you don’t show mercy, you will have judgment and no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment (v. 13).

Where is the profit if a man says that he has faith, but he has no works? Can a naked profession of faith save him (v. 14)? Suppose someone is lacking clothes or food (v. 15). Suppose someone else pats him on the head patronizingly, and says that he should go off and get a job (v. 16). What good is it? A faith that does not move around (as is seen in works) is solitary, stationary, and therefore dead (v. 17). A man may reasonably say to the professor of naked faith that he cannot see that invisible faith which is apart from works, and that whenever he sees genuine works, he sees the faith behind it (v. 18). You believe there is one God in the sky? Good for you and the devil both (v. 19). Does the vain man really need to have it explained to him that faith without works is dead (v. 20)? Wasn’t Abraham justified at the altar of Isaac (v. 21)? His faith took him there (v. 22). That was the point where Scripture was fulfilled (v. 23). A man is justified by works over against naked faith, dead faith (v. 24). We can say the same thing about Rahab the harlot (v. 25). As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (v. 26).

Royal Liberty

James is speaking throughout of a response to the Word. We are to receive the engrafted Word with meekness, that Word being what can save our souls (1:21). We are to be doers of this Word, not hearers only (1:22-23). He then uses, as a synonym with the Word, the phrase “the perfect law of liberty” (1:25). This continues in chapter 2—when he refers to the royal law of Scripture (2:8) and again to the “law of liberty” (2:12). Rightly understood, since he is talking about the engendering of life, we are talking about the gospel.

Rahab

God loves to mess up our pious hair-dos for us. Not only was Rahab justified by works, but it appears to us that she was justified by the work of telling some people a lie (v. 25). She was justified by works when she sent the messengers out by another way than she said she did. Whatever shall we do with that? Well, we should start by remembering that Scripture is the mirror we should use to examine ourselves, and it should be a mirror that is not covered over with the post-it notes of our pious traditions. We should know more about the Hebrew midwives and Gideon in the wine-vat than we do.

The Friend of God

Abraham is called the friend of God by Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20:7), and by Isaiah (Is. 41:8). Scripture tells us in Gen. 15:6 that Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him as righteousness, and James quotes this verse. The incident that James references in v. 21, the sacrifice of Isaac, occurred 15-20 years later. Abraham was living by faith that entire intervening time, but the reality of his faith was fulfilled in a climatic way at the sacrifice of Isaac. Fulfilled means many things, but it does not mean “come into existence.” And notice how faith is growing up, taking shape, becoming mature, being made perfect (v. 22).

Living Faith

As classical Protestants, we exult in the doctrine of sola fide, justification through faith alone. So what do we do with the fact that the only place in the Bible where the phrase “faith alone” occurs is in order to condemn it (2:24)? Well, fortunately, we also believe in sola Scriptura, which means we are allowed to read the verses before and after this. James is condemning dead faith. Dead faith is not alone—being dead, it isn’t at all.

Remember the gospel brings life. The gospel quickens. The gospel is received by the instrumentality of faith alone, and because faith alone (in the Protestant sense) is the gift of God, we must recall that there is only one kind of faith that God gives—living faith. Living faith grows up into living, breathing works, and all of glorifies the exhaustive grace of God.

Wisdom from Above I

Joe Harby on January 20, 2013

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Introduction

James, the Lord’s brother, wrote this remarkable letter. Some Christians have found it a little deficient in “gospel,” but this is largely the result of a deficient view of Scripture, coupled with a deficient view of the nature of the gospel. God’s gospel kindness to us is woven throughout the epistle.

The Text

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience . . .” (Jas. 1:1-27).

Summary of the Text

The letter from James is a general one, written to the “twelve tribes” out there (v. 1). When various trials arise, reckon it to be your joy (v. 2). The reason for this is that the trials are not senseless (v. 3). There is a point to them, which is our maturity (v. 4). If any of us lack wisdom (about what is going on in this process), we should ask God, and He will provide it for us (v. 5). In such requests, we must not waver (v. 6). Wobbly prayers in this regard don’t go far (v. 7). This is because a double-minded man is unstable in all things (v. 8), and not just in his prayer life. A low position is actually an exalted one (v. 9). This world’s riches are the inverse of that (v. 10). The rich man browns up nicely, just like the flowers in a high meadow in August (v. 11). But the man who endures trial receives the crown of life when all is said and done (v. 12).

But temptation does not come from God (v. 13). Temptation arises from within (v. 14). This process leads steadily downward to death (v. 15). Don’t make a mistake about what comes from where (v. 16). Good gifts come down from the immutable God of Heaven (v. 17). And it was His will to bring regeneration about in us (v. 18).

So then, be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger (v. 19). Man’s anger is not doing God’s work (v. 20). So set aside the attitudinal junk (v. 21), and quit saying you can’t. James just told you to. Do the Word, and don’t just listen to it (v. 22). Hearers only are absent-minded mirror-gazers (vv. 23-24). But look into the text, the perfect law of liberty, and you will truly see yourself there (v. 25). Vain religion is the religion of the unbridled tongue (v. 26). True religion rescues others from their troubles, and stands pure and apart from the world (v. 27).

Asking for Joy

Now it is the easiest thing in the world to lift v. 5 out of context, and say that if you lack wisdom about any decision whatever, all you have to do is ask, and God will supply the answer. This job or that one? This major or that one? This car or that one? But the context here is plainly saying that if anyone lacks wisdom about how to receive trials with joy, learning patience to the point where we lack nothing, then that person should ask God to supply the requisite wisdom. Don’t be dishonest or double-minded in it, and God promises to give this sort of wisdom liberally, abundantly. The crown of life awaits us on the other side of an endured trial—provided we love the Lord (v. 12).

This doesn’t mean that you cannot pray for wisdom about other decisions (of course not), but it does mean you can’t do that if you are not praying for wisdom to rejoice in your troubles. If you do that, you are inverting the promise, not expanding it. You are trying to treat God as a giant convenience store in the sky.

Trials and Temptations

In Greek, the word for trial and the word for temptation are the same word, with our distinction for them certainly present, but contextually determined. James tells us here that we are to consider trials a joy (v. 2), but also says that temptations do not come from God (v. 13). Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:1). A few chapters later, He teaches us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer with a request that our Father lead us not into temptation (Matt. 6:13). Who is doing what? The same situation is a trial or a temptation based on the perspective of the one testing or luring. Given the Lord’s time in the wilderness, what did the devil want and what did the Spirit want?

The Transience of Wealth

A man with the right sort of troubles is a man who is matriculating in God’s character course. Rejoice that you have been accepted into the program, and rejoice in the challenging work that comes with it. The rich man is deceived—if he accepts the present moment as a permanent moment, which is what the temptation usually is. A rich man should rejoice in the transience of his wealth, so that he might have true wealth. The poor man rejoices in the true wealth that is ahead of him, and he knows what God’s intention for him is.

The Genesis of Sin

Sin is not dropped on us from Heaven. Let no one say when he is tempted that God is seeking to lure him into sin. Where does sin come from then? Each man’s lust (desire) leads to sin, and sin leads to death.

True Religion

True religion begins with regeneration (v. 13). Of His own will, He begets us. God works mysteriously, inexorably, and we cannot fully understand it. From our perspective, what are we to do? We recognize the problem with our rashness and anger (vv. 19-20). We are called to “lay aside” our sinfulness, and we are told to “receive with meekness” the engrafted word—which then does the work of saving our souls.

When this happens, a man starts to do what he reads. He stops looking in the mirror of forgetfulness. This man does what he reads because he sees himself in the mirror—he doesn’t hold up the mirror to look around the rest of the congregation. He therefore guards his tongue. He therefore is kind to the widow. He therefore keeps himself aloof from worldliness. This is the regenerate man.

Psalm 70: On Telling God to Hurry Up

Joe Harby on September 9, 2012

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Introduction

There are two fundamental approaches to God, as far apart as Heaven and Hell. One sees the Lord God Almighty, high and lifted up. The other is the domestic animal approach to God, where the ostensible worshipper keeps a god on hand, the way you might keep a cow, for the milk. We know the former is the way to go. But then we don’t know what to do when the Lord, high and lifted up, tells us to ask for anything. We act like Ahaz, and in the name of a high view of God, refuse to obey Him (Is. 7:12).

The Text

“Make haste, O God, to deliver me; Make haste to help me, O LORD. . .” (Ps. 70:1-5).

Summary of the Text

This psalm is a shorter version of Psalm 40, with some changes—YHWH for Elohim, for example. The psalmist is in trouble, as he frequently is, and he cries out to God. He beseeches God to get a move on (v. 1). Not only does he want God to come quickly, he knows what he wants God to do when He arrives. He wants Him to shame and confound the adversaries of his soul (v. 2). Those who desire his hurt he wants to be turned all around and put to confusion (v. 2). Those who taunt the godly, saying aha, aha, need to be turned around as recompense (v. 3). By way of contrast, those who seek God should be blessed—let them rejoice and be glad in the Lord (v. 4). Let those who love the salvation of the Lord be continuous in magnifying the God of Heaven (v. 4). The psalmist is poor and needy, and this is the argument he uses to plead for God’s need to make haste (v. 5), God is his help and deliverer, and so he urges God again—do not tarry (v. 5).

Hurry Up, O Lord

The psalmist urges divine haste four times in this psalm. He begins with it, repeating himself, and he repeats this twice at the end as well. But this is not the command of a superior, commanding a servant to get the lead out. He knows his condition—he is poor and needy— and that is the basis for the urgent plea. Praying this way magnifies the Lord. When He delivers us, we boast in His mighty works.

It is not a high view of God to magnify a pristine definition of a God of the philosophers. The triune God of Scriptures sent His Son down to earth in order that He might have His diapers changed. You think this irreverent? If that is irreverent, who is less reverent of His majesty than God? Who redefined reverence forever when that same boy grew up to be a man, a teacher of upside down things, who offended the religious elite (the reverent), had His skin shredded in a brutal flogging, and who was then nailed to a cross of wood? Reflect again. What sort of religion is this?

It does not reflect a high view of God to refuse to do what He says, or to refuse to think about Him in the categories He gives us. To throw yourself upon His mercies in urgent desperation does not dishonor Him. When we are concerned to magnify the Lord in accordance with His Word, that is what we will do.

To Plead in Faith

Be that as it may, how can we know if we are out of line? Can this teaching not be abused? Of course it can! But why should that even slow us down?

What kind of prayer honors God, and what kind of prayer dishonors Him? The answer of the Bible is constant from beginning to end—without faith it is impossible to please Him. Urgent faith pleases Him. Urgent unbelief just sins faster. Urgent unbelief that wants to be something else pleases Him (Mark 9:24).

“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark11:24).

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Faith arises in response to what God has said. Are you doing what He invites you to do? Are you running ahead with the health-and-wealthers, or lagging behind with the Reformed? Do all your prayers meet the building code requirements for emergency egress? “O God, if it be thy will, which we all know it isn’t”? We often want deliverance from the burden of asking God for things more than we want deliverance from our troubles.

Note the context of the promise. On one side of it we have prayers of imprecation—the fig tree of Israel was cursed. And if you say to this mountain, be cast into the sea, it will be. What mountain? The one they were standing on at the time, this mountain. On the other side of the promise, there is the requirement to forgive all of the slights and sins committed against you. So there it is—pray for God’s judgments first, forgive all your enemies second, and then shoot the moon.

Aha, Aha

The petty and vindictive spirit that the psalmist complains about reaches its zenith in the account of the crucifixion.

“And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mk 15:29-32).

When Christ was condemned by the Sanhedrin, the motion was made, seconded, and entered in the minutes. The rules were scrupulously followed, down to what account the blood money went into when Judas returned it. But the whole thing was a sham, a farce. When the nails went in, the malice could not be contained, and out it came like hot lava.

The veneer of hypocrisy is not thick enough to cover everything it needs to cover. Dogs will bark, roosters will crow, and haters will hate. In our day, the haters of righteousness have tried preemptively to seize the high ground, so that they could be the peace and love faction —but the realities remain what they are. They wanted to define what hatred was (differing with them), but it has not come close to working. It is striking how the slightest provocation is sufficient to bring out the vitriol. So for us, believing the propaganda the enemy produces would be a bad move. In Proverbs, Wisdom declares that all who hate her love death (Prov. 8: 36). This is a reality that cannot be undone; God has fixed it in stone. However much they strive to redefine righteousness, the secularists are just polishing turds.

So when we come to the crux of the matter, which is of course the cross, there are only two ways to go. There are only two options. You either trust in Him for the salvation of your everlasting soul . . . Or you mock Him. Which is it? Which will it be?

Psalm 69: What Makes the Humble Glad

Joe Harby on September 2, 2012

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Introduction

The wisdom of Scripture does not just offend the carnal heart here or there. Rather, God’s ways of operating are offensive to the unconverted heart across the board.

The Text

“Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: Mine eyes fail while I wait for my God . . .” (Psalm 69:1-36).

Summary of the Text

As this is a longer psalm, we are going to summarize it from an altitude that is just a bit higher. The first section lays out the complaint of the psalmist to God (vv. 1-4). His enemies are numerous (v. 4). The reason he gives for this trouble he is in is the zeal that he carries for the house of God (vv. 5-12). All of this is for God’s sake (v. 7). In the third section, the psalmist is pleading for help (vv. 13-21). Reproach is what has broken his heart (v. 20). In the next section, he calls for justice to be meted out against his enemies (vv. 22-28). The wrath of God is real, in both testaments (vv. 24-25). In the last section, he returns to his petitions, and anticipates a positive response (v. 33). The Lord prefers thanksgiving to ritual (vv. 30-31).

Anchor Points

This is a psalm that is frequently quoted in the New Testament, and from those citations we see it is clearly messianic. At the same time, it is a prophetic life, a type with an antitype, which means that not every detail is fulfilled in the life of the Messiah (e.g. v. 5). Jesus quotes v. 4 and explicitly applies the fulfillment to himself (Jn. 15:25), saying “that the word might be fulfilled.” The same phrase is found in Ps. 35:19. If God knows the number of hairs on your head, and your enemies are the same as the hairs on your head, then God knows the number of your enemies.

The first part of v. 9 is quoted as something the disciples recalled after Jesus cleansed the Temple (Jn. 2:17). And the second half of v. 9 is quoted by Paul in Rom. 15:3, applying it in another way to Christ.

The last two quotations from this psalm are from the imprecatory section. Paul is talking about Israel closed up in unbelief, and he applies vv. 22-23 to the judicial blindness and unbelief that has closed up the Jewish nation for a time (Rom. 11:9-10). We should note the allusion to vinegar as a drink in v. 21. And a few verses later, we find v. 25 cited in Acts 1:20 when Peter was explaining the fate of Judas. This would seem to entail Judas in the same kind of judicial blindness that had overtaken the Jewish nation as a whole.

A Word About Judas

We do not have this laid out explicitly, and so we shouldn’t call this anything more than educated speculation. But Judas had seen the power of Jesus. He had cast out demons, and had healed the sick himself. He saw Jesus walk on the water, and feed the multitudes. He knew the Lord’s power, front row seats. Combine this with the fact that he, as soon as he saw that Jesus was going to die, hanged himself. What was his motivation? I believe that the only narrative that makes sense of this is that Judas was trying to force Christ’s hand, trying to make Him devastate the Romans. And he wasn’t above helping himself as he tried to manipulate the Messiah into delivering them all from Rome.

When Zeal Consumes

When zeal consumes a servant of God, this is what creates a desire among the ungodly to consume that servant as well. Zeal consumes the way fire consumes the burning bush, engulfing it without devouring it. The ungodly want to devour, and leave nothing behind.

Late Night Comedians

David knows that God knows his foolishness (v. 5). His sins are fully in view, and God knows them all. Nevertheless, it is not because of his sins that he is mocked, even though those sins give occasion. It is for God’s sake that he bears reproach (v. 7). The drunkards sing about him, and the late night comedians have a field day, and what they are pointing at and laughing at is the unrighteousness. But the reason they are doing so is because of the surrounding context of righteousness. This is why the godly who wait upon God are ashamed because of some sin or other (v. 6). But there is a larger picture.

Add Iniquity to Iniquity

There is a glib assumption made by many Christians that treats David’s deadly imprecations as somehow unworthy of him, or of the Bible, or of God, or something. It is also assumed, with very little reflection, that the arrival of the New Testament does away with “all that.” The problem lies with passages like this one. The imprecations are not erased here; they are fulfilled.

Not only so, but they are fulfilled in terrible ways. Damnation is a horrible reality, and the hellfire and damnation preacher of the Bible is the Lord Jesus. People like to pretend that the God of the Old Testament was a God of (all together now) wrath, and the God of the New Testament is a God of (all together now) love. But where do we get this idea?

What Makes the Humble Glad

David resolves to give thanks to God with a song. That song will be one of thanksgiving (v. 30). He then makes a comparison which lies at the heart of all evangelical religion. He sets a thankful heart over against external ritual conformity to the sacrificial laws of God (v. 31). He says bluntly that the Lord will be pleased with a thankful song more than with an ox, or a bullock with horns and hooves. This reality is seen and acknowledged by the humble, and it will make them glad.

Why make this contrast at all? Why does the Bible do it repeatedly? The reason is that there is a kind of person who latches onto the external requirements that God gives us, and manipulates those externals in a way that is conducive to their pride. When something comes along to topple pride, that is what makes humility rejoice.