"I waited patiently for the Lord;
 And He inclined to me,
 And heard my cry."  Psalm 40:1

We are looking into three things brought out in this verse: waiting on God, divine condescension and prayers heard.  Last week looked into what Scripture said of waiting on God.  This week we will see what Scripture tells us of divine condescension.

Divine condescension (God, in His glory and majesty, reaching down from lofty grandeur to sinful man):
"Who is like the Lord our God,
 Who dwells on high,
 Who humbles Himself to behold
 The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?"  Psalm 113:6

"Who remembered us in our lowly state,
 For His mercies endure forever."  Psalm 136:23

"Though the Lord is on high,
 Yet He regards the lowly;
 But the proud He knows from afar."  Psalm 138:6

"For thus says the High and Lofty One
 Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
 'I dwell in the high and holy place,
 With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,  To revive the spirit of the humble,  And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'"  Isaiah 57:15

Then we have this act of God's great love and grace that is beyond comprehension, "For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life."  John 3:16  The Amplified Bible

 After conception Mary visits Elizabeth and says of God, "For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant." Luke 1:48

The following two scenarios are a picture of Jesus, the very Son of God, meeting sinful man right where he is and teaching him truth.
John 13:4-5 tells us of Jesus washing the disciple feet, a lowly humble task!
Jesus,  "Rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.  After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded."
Then in verse 14, Jesus tells the disciples, "If I then, your Teacher and Lord, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."  (Read Vs. 1-17 for a more complete picture.)

In John 20 we see Jesus' love and grace reaching out to Thomas.  Remember after the disciples had seen the risen Lord they said to Thomas, "'We have seen the Lord.'  But he said to them, 'Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believer.'"  Vs. 25 Then after eight days Jesus appeared to them again.
"Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side.  Do not be unbelieving, but believing.'"  Vs 27

Here is The Lofty Risen Savior God reaching out to unbelieving man in love, grace and mercy!  And Hallelujah, He continues to do so!

How?
Through His Body, the Church!  Before He ascended He said to His Disciples, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit."  Matthew 28:19

Remember Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:
"You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden."  Matthew 5:14 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Vs. 16

Thank you Father for Your great loving kindness and tender mercies to those You created.  You purchased our salvation at a cost that is beyond our
comprehension.  We can do nothing but bow down and worship You!   Our prayer
is that You teach us how to worship You rightly in spirit and truth.  Amen