The Outlaw Expositor

Series Introduction:

I have many times been struck by the prayers of the Puritans. If you’re like me, sometimes your prayer life is not where you’d like it to be. Many times we struggle to find the right words to say or we may even feel unworthy to approach the throne of God with our concerns and needs. When I feel this way, I regularly pick up one of the Puritan prayer books I have in my library and read what they prayed. Not always, but most of the time I find myself either bursting into praise or weeping as I read their words. Robert Elmer in his book, Piercing Heaven, writes this in his introduction about Puritan prayers, “Their aim was neither casual nor perfunctory prayer. The prayers of the Puritans shook lives to the core, pled with a sovereign God for mercy, and praised him in the brightest sunshine of grace.” In this series on Puritan Prayers, I will be selecting some of my favorites and sharing a few words of commentary. I hope these will encourage you as much as they have me.

“In Humility” – Robert Hawker

“Dearest Lord Jesus, I blush when I think of how your glory was veiled in humiliation; and then I compare it to how often my poor fallen nature has been hurt by some imagined, trivial offense.
I desire the same attitude as yours, Jesus, when you humbled yourself.
Amen.”

(Prayer taken from, Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans edited by, Robert Elmer, 2019. Lexham Press)

Commentary:

Dearest Lord Jesus – The superlative, dearest, a term we only use to one that we are deeply close to. Christ is dear to his beloved people, for we are his and he is ours. A close friend, a beloved.

I blush – When we read or hear the word, blush, what comes to your mind? I think of my bride, when I tell her a compliment she wasn’t expecting, she blushes. Or I think about an embarrassing moment in front of friends, we blush in embarrassment. It’s a more casual term today than how Hawker is using it here. Here in this context, Hawker is emphasizing his feelings of shame when comparing his shortcomings and pride to the humility of Christ. When reflecting on the humility of Jesus compared to his own, Hawker has an emotional response of shame and embarrassment. For what offense could we possibly face compared to what our Lord experienced?

glory was veiled in humiliation – Often when we think about the theological concept of the humiliation of Christ, we think of how Christ was mistreated, beat, spit upon, crucified. This truly righteous God-man treated like a criminal. It bothers us. How could anyone treat Jesus this way? But, that is not all that Hawker is pointing out. You see, the humiliation of Christ did not begin when he was arrested by the Roman authorities. Jesus’ humiliation began when he stepped out of heaven and put on our flesh. The glorious Christ would humble himself through his incarnation. That as the Nicene Creed says, “…the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God…” would become like us! Although he is God, he did not cling to his divine privileges. He was fully man and fully God. He hungered, he was tired, he sweated from the heat of the sun, he faced temptation, he felt agony, he wept, his muscles ached from the weight of a cross, and he bled from the lashes of a whip. That this God would humbly put on our flesh and hide his true glory is something to marvel at. This is what Hawker is considering in this prayer.

poor fallen nature has been hurt by some imagined, trivial offense – When considering the humility of Christ and all he endured it puts a different perspective on all the offenses you and I face. How often does our pride swell within us over the most trivial of things. A casual word from a family member that rubs us wrong, the person in traffic that pulls out in front of us or doesn’t immediately accelerate when the light goes green. How trivial those things appear when reflecting on Christ? This is not to say that we don’t truly face offenses and mistreatment, or that we don’t actually face trauma or distress. And thanks be to God that he sympathizes with us. The Psalmist writes, “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” (Psalm 56:8) Our Lord counts your tossing and turning when you’re in distress. But, Hawker rightly points out that in the face of whatever we may face, we should strive to emulate the humility of our Savior. For he endured the greatest of humiliations and did so without sin.

Thoughts for Reflection:

• When was the last time you truly reflected on the humiliation of Jesus?
• Consider praying that the Spirit will help you emulate the humility of Christ.
• Feeling anxious, distressed, depressed? Consider your sympathetic Savior and go boldly to the throne of Grace (Heb 4:14-16), there and only there you can find grace in your time of need.

Robert Hawker Bio:

Robert Hawker lived from 1753-1827. He was an influential Anglican clergyman and prolific writer. He trained and worked as a surgeon and then pursued ordination in the Church of England. He served as vicar of Charles Church for 43 years. Some of his most well known works: The Poor Man’s Morning Portion, The Poor Man’s Evening Portion, and Commentaries on the Old and New Testaments. His writings are known for being Christ centered and devotional.

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