Humility – Dwight Lyman Moody

I suppose Isaiah thought he was as good as most men in his day, and perhaps he was a good deal better than most men, but when he saw the Lord, he cried, “Woe is me, for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.” When he saw the Lord, he saw his own deformity, and he fell in the dust before the Lord. And that is the proper place for a sinner. As I have said before, until men realize their uncleanness they talk of their own righteousness, but the moment they catch a sight of Him their mouth is stopped. If we hear a man talking about himself, we may be sure that he has not seen God. Look at that man Daniel. Not a thing can be found against him, but see when he came within sight of God. He found that his comeliness turned to corruption. And look at Job. One would have thought that he was all right. He was good to the poor, liberal to all charities; not a better man within a thousand miles. If they wanted to get a thousand dollars to endow a university, a thousand dollars to build a synagogue, if they wanted a thousand dollars for any charitable object, why, he was the man. Why, you would have liked to get him into your Presbyterian, or Methodist, or Baptist churches; if you wanted a chairman of a benevolent society you couldn’t have found a better man. yet look at him when God came near him. It is altogether different when he comes within our sight. It is one thing to hear Him, and another thing to see Him. He had heard Him with his ears, but now He saw Him with his eyes, and then he was silent. You couldn’t get another word from him. Before he saw Him, he could argue as well as they could; but the moment Job saw Him he was silent. When He said, “Gird up thy loins like a man,” from that time he put no more questions to Him. He had got a lesson. No man can come into His kingdom till he knows he is vile, till he sees Him. He must come down to that. That is God’s alphabet.