The Lord Is In Your Boat is a message given by Carolyn Mahaney. I listened to it not long ago in the car while I had to drive a distance, and I found it to be very encouraging. And I thought maybe some of you would benefit from hearing it too. Just click on the link…you can download the message or listen to it right on the website.
This past week, the kids and I listened to my John Rutter CD during breakfast (I usually choose something for us to listen to while we eat), and I was reminded how beautiful this song is. I thought you’d enjoy hearing it.
I’m embedding a video here of the highly talented Cambridge Singers performing this, but if you get this via email, the video won’t work. So, you can either click on the post title to come watch the video on the blog, or you can click here to watch it right on YouTube. The person who put the video together chose sort of an odd group of pictures to go with it, but it had the nicest sound quality of the videos I found.
This post is a reprint of a post from John Piper’s blog, which you can find here.
Lewis and Edwards on the Layers of Self-Admiration
As a new Christian in 1930, C. S. Lewis was learning terrible things about his heart—the unfathomable layers of pride. It is astonishing how similar his description of his own heart was to the description Jonathan Edwards gave of our inscrutable strata of self-admiration.
Here is Lewis writing to his friend Arthur, amazingly within a year after his conversion:
During my afternoon “meditations,”—which I at least attempt quite regularly now—I have found out ludicrous and terrible things about my own character. Sitting by, watching the rising thoughts to break their necks as they pop up, one learns to know the sort of thoughts that do come.
And, will you believe it, one out of every three is the thought of self-admiration: when everything else fails, having had its neck broken, up comes the thought “what an admirable fellow I am to have broken their necks!” I catch myself posturing before the mirror, so to speak, all day long. I pretend I am carefully thinking out what to say to the next pupil (for his good, of course) and then suddenly realize I am really thinking how frightfully clever I’m going to be and how he will admire me…
And then when you force yourself to stop it, you admire yourself for doing that. It is like fighting the hydra… There seems to be no end to it. Depth under depths of self-love and self-admiration. (quoted in The Narnian by Alan Jacobs, 133)
Then we go back 200 years to the1740s when Jonathan Edwards was struggling to sort out what was wheat and what was chaff in the emotions of the Great Awakening in New England. In one of his greatest books, Religious Affections, he gives the most penetrating descriptions of Christian humility I have ever seen. The part that foreshadows Lewis goes like this:
If on the proposal of the question [Are you humble?], you answer, “No, it seems to me, none are so bad as I.” Don’t let the matter pass off so; but examine again, whether or no you don’t think yourself better than others on this very account, because you imagine you think so meanly of yourself. Haven’t you a high opinion of this humility? And if you answer again, “No; I have not a high opinion of my humility; it seems to me I am as proud as the devil”; yet examine again, whether self-conceit don’t rise up under this cover; whether on this very account, that you think yourself as proud as the devil, you don’t think yourself to be very humble. (quoted from the online works of Jonathan Edwards)
One of the reasons these two are such giants of influence is the depths of their own biblically informed self-knowledge. Layer after layer until they despaired of knowing themselves humble. Humility, it turns out isn’t the kind of thing that can be spotted in oneself and prized.
Humility senses that humility is a gift beyond our reach. If humility is the product of reaching, then we will instinctively feel proud about our successful reach. Humility is the gift that receives all things as gift. It is the fruit not of our achievement but of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It is the fruit of the gospel—knowing and feeling that we are desperate sinners and that Christ is a great and undeserved Savior.
Humility is the one grace in all our graces that, if we gaze on it, becomes something else. It flourishes when the gaze is elsewhere—on the greatness of the grace of God in Christ.
One of the most helpful concepts I gleaned from Mahaney’s book on humility was on this topic. I’ve often wondered, as a parent, how to encourage and praise my children without puffing them up, and until I read this book, I was kind of at a loss.
Mahaney suggests that when we encourage other believers, we do it in a way that gives the glory to God and that acknowledges that good works in our lives are evidences of God’s grace working in us.. For instance, if a child is cheerfully sharing with a sibling, instead of saying, “You are so good at sharing! Great job!”, you can say something like, “When you shared just now, I could see Jesus in you.” or, “I can see that God was helping you to do a good job of sharing!”, which directs the glory to God. The exact words don’t matter…the point is that you are supposed to encourage others by pointing out what God is doing in them.
Mahaney also points out that looking for evidences of grace in others’ lives will help to cultivate humility in ours…a prideful heart can only see the faults of others and is usually blind to the evidences of grace exhibited in others’ lives.
In a way, understanding this has also helped me to understand better how to accept encouragment from others. When I see other people’s encouragment as an acknowledgment of God’s grace working in my life (even if the encourager doesn’t phrase it that way), I am far less prone to self-admiration and congratulation. Instead, I am more likely to rejoice that God has used me to bless and serve someone else.
I don’t do nearly as good a job of explaining this as Mahaney does, though, so you really should just go read the book! 
Several years ago, I first had the privilege of reading C.J. Mahaney’s book titled “Humility:True Greatness”, and when Tom preached about this topic on Sunday, I was reminded that I’d been wanting to recommend this book to all of you. I’ve found it to be a most helpful tool in my struggle with pride. While I still certainly struggle to put my pride to death, this book helped gave me a new perspective and God has used it to help chip away at my prideful nature.
The book is not long, and it’s not difficult to understand (which will be qualities appreciated by those of you with small children and little sleep!), but it is, as Martin Luther would say, a “right pithy book”. C.J.’s approach, as in all his books, is very gospel and grace centered but also very practical. I don’t think there’s a Christian out there who would not benefit from reading (and rereading!) it.
The book is on sale right now at Sovereign Grace’s website for $9. You can also get a used copy on half.com but since SG usually offers free shipping, you’ll be better off buying it from them. I own a copy (because I need to reread it at least once a year!), but if you’d like to borrow it, let me know.
This is the hymn that Sophia and I played yesterday for the offertory, and I thought you all might like to read the words of all the verses.
Below is a YouTube of this hymn being played on the organ (or you can click here to watch/listen). I’m sort of partial to hearing it played with violin and piano (hee-hee), but I’ve had no luck finding such a thing on YouTube!
Breathe on me, breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do.
Breathe on me, breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with Thee I will one will,
To do and to endure.
Breathe on me, breath of God,
Blend all my soul with Thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.
Breathe on me, breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with Thee the perfect life
Of Thine eternity.
Sophia and I played this hymn for the offering two weeks ago, and so I thought I might share the words with you this week. I meant to do it last week, but that obviously didn’t happen!
My mom taught me this hymn when I was younger, and the first line often runs through my head when I’m out for an early morning walk. When I walk down the roads in my neighborhood that are near the water, the rising sun illuminates the clouds in such a beautiful way and this hymn reminds me to offer up praise when I see such a lovely sight.
If you’d like a refresher on the melody, you can watch this YouTube video (those of you who get this via email will need to click on the title of this post to see the video).
When Morning Gilds the Skies
1. When morning gilds the skies
my heart awakening cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer,
to Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
2. The night becomes as day
when from the heart we say:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
The powers of darkness fear
when this sweet chant they hear:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
3. Does sadness fill my mind? A solace here I find,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Or fades my earthly bliss? My comfort still is this,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
4. Let all the earth around
ring joyous with the sound:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
In heaven’s eternal bliss
the loveliest strain is this:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
5. Be this, while life is mine,
my canticle divine:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this th’ eternal song
through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
In case there are any of you out there that don’t get the Yahoo group emails, I thought I’d post our new song for July here on the women’s blog. This is a Sovereign Grace song that Tom has chosen for us to learn, and Sunday will be our first time singing it. As always, you can click on the title of the song to hear it once through.
I Will Glory in my Redeemer (Click to hear the song)
I will glory in my Redeemer
Whose priceless blood has ransomed me
Mine was the sin that drove the bitter nails
And hung Him on that judgment tree
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who crushed the power of sin and death
My only Savior before the Holy Judge
The Lamb Who is my righteousness
The Lamb Who is my righteousness
I will glory in my Redeemer
My life He bought, my love He owns
I have no longings for another
I’m satisfied in Him alone
I will glory in my Redeemer
His faithfulness my standing place
Though foes are mighty and rush upon me
My feet are firm, held by His grace
My feet are firm, held by His grace
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who carries me on eagle’s wings
He crowns my life with lovingkindness
His triumph song I’ll ever sing
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who waits for me at gates of gold
And when He calls me it will be paradise
His face forever to behold
His face forever to behold
His face forever to behold
My husband sent this one to me last week (he has a widget on his homepage that gives him quotes from past and present Christians), and I thought that you all might be inspired by it.
“Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.” -Martin Luther
This song is from Sovereign Grace’s Valley of Vision CD. As usual, you can click on the song title to hear part of the song.
Jesus, I am blind, be my light
Darkened in my mind, be my wisdom
Bend my stubborn will to Your own
Open up my ears to hear Your Spirit
Melt my conscience once again
Help me hate the slightest sin
And when Satan comes to tempt me
I come running to You, when I fear, when I’m tried
I come running to You, to Your blood, to Your side
And there my soul finds rest
There my soul finds rest in You
Shepherd of my soul, lead me on
To the pastures green in Your Scriptures
Make me to lie down by waters still
Fill me with Your peace in the tempest
I take my refuge in Your cross
By your sacrifice I’m washed
And when Satan comes accusing
Once I was Your foe, a slave to sin
A stranger to Your love, a hopeless outcast
But You have brought me near, I’m bought with blood
Now I’m Your precious child, an heir with Jesus
You pour heaven into my soul
Your wondrous love, it overflows
And I marvel how You love me
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