Those Whom God Esteems
By Charles Spurgeon

Isaiah chapter 66 verse 2
Has not my hand made all these things? And so they came into being, declares the LORD. This is the one I esteem, he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at my word.

Isaiah ends his prophecy not with sentimental comfort, but with a thunderous revelation of whom the Lord himself esteems, a shocking description that overturns every human assumption. The God who made all these things, the God whose sovereign decree governs all creation, does not esteem the self-assured, the morally upright, or the outwardly religious. Instead, he fixes his favor upon the one marked by three spirit-wrought graces-humility, contrition, and trembling before his word.

Humility
Humility is the spiritual recognition that God is infinitely holy and we are radically dependent upon him. Scripture leaves no room for the illusion of self-sufficiency. Pride is treason against our creator. Humility is the sinner's only sane posture. The humble man sees his nothingness apart from Jesus and casts himself entirely upon God's mercy.

Contrition
To be contrite is to be broken over sin, as David was when he confessed, A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Contrition is not mere emotion. It is the spirit's piercing conviction that one's sin is personal rebellion against the Holy God. True contrition does not drive a sinner into despair. but into the arms of the crucified and risen Jesus, the one who bore our sins in his body on the tree. Where there is no brokenness, there is no repentance. Where there is no repentance, there is no salvation.

Trembling at God's Word
In an age that mocks his authority, God esteems the one who trembles, who receives Scripture as inerrant, infallible, and absolutely binding. This trembling is not terror, but reverence, a profound submission to God's Word. the one who trembles, refuses to twist scripture, and refuses to place human opinion above divine revelation. Instead, he bows before the Word, allowing it to judge him, to confront him, to correct him, and to command him.

Only God's sovereign and saving grace can make a proud sinner humble, a hard sinner contrite, and a rebellious sinner reverent. Hence, every sincere believer grows downward in humility, deeper in repentance, and stronger in reverent love and obedience to God's Holy Word.

The Scriptures are the voice of God in print. The more the Word is studied, the more it grows upon the heart. He who trembles at God's Word is never proud, for Scripture is a great humbler. Low thoughts of self and high thoughts of Jesus mark the man who walks with God. To trifle with scripture is to despise the God who gave it. A sense of littleness before the infinite is the very vestibule of wisdom. The higher a man is in grace, the lower he will be in his own esteem. A broken and contrite heart is the best offering you can bring to God.