Humble Hands, Steady Hearts

The people of God are not gathered by pride, noise, or force, but by the Lord who defends the humble and teaches them His way. In the day of Abijah, Judah stood not on numbers alone, but on the truth that they had not cast off the priesthood and worship appointed by God. Yet even a right cause is not a cause for boasting, for wisdom cuts down every proud thought: “since it is written, Who shall boast that he has a clean heart, or who shall boast that he is pure from sins? Proverbs 20:9” (Cyprian, Treatises). Therefore the shepherd must not lord it over the flock, and the flock must clothe itself with humility.

Micah shows the end toward which the Lord is leading His people: the nations streaming to His mountain to be taught obedience. As Origen says, “and they will teach us His way, and we will walk in His paths: for a law shall go forth from Zion, and a word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” This peace is not laziness, nor is it won by drunkenness, deceit, or meddling. It is learned by those who refuse vain strife, who work with clean hands, who accept correction, and who cast their anxieties on God without casting off vigilance.

Peter therefore joins humility to watchfulness. The devil hunts the careless, especially the self-assured. Stand firm, then: sober in body, guarded in speech, steadfast under trial, content to suffer for a little while. God will lift up those who stoop under His mighty hand. He gives grace, but not to flatter our sloth; He gives grace to strengthen endurance, to steady the church, and to make a peaceable people fit for His kingdom.