Ecclesiastes 10:7

Upstarts frequently usurp the highest places, while the truly great languish in obscurity. This is a riddle in providence whose solution will one day make glad the hearts of the upright; but it is so common a fact that none of us should complain if it should befall us.

When our Lord was on earth, although He is the Prince of the kings of the earth, yet He walked the footpath of weariness and service as the Servant of servants. Is it any wonder if His followers, who are princes of the blood, should also be looked down upon as inferior and contemptible people?

The world is upside down, and therefore, the first are last and the last first. See how the servile sons of Satan lord it on the earth! What a high horse they ride! How they lift up their horn on high! Haman is in the court, while Mordecai sits in the gate; David wanders on the mountains, while Saul reigns in state; Elijah is complaining in the cave, while Jezebel is boasting in the palace. Yet who would wish to take the places of the proud rebels? And who, on the other hand, might not envy the despised saints? When the wheel turns, those who are lowest rise, and the highest sink. Patience, then, believer; eternity will right the wrongs of time.

Let us not fall into the error of letting our passions and fleshly appetites ride in triumph, while our nobler powers walk in the dust. Grace must reign as a prince and make the members of the body instruments of righteousness.

The Holy Spirit loves order, and He therefore sets our powers and faculties in their proper rank and place, giving the highest position to those spiritual faculties that link us with the great King. Let us not disturb this divine arrangement, but ask for grace that we may keep our body under control and bring it into subjection. We were not created anew to allow our passions to rule over us, but that we, as kings, may reign in Christ Jesus over the triple kingdom of spirit, soul, and body, to the glory of God the Father.