Section 2
exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted." We should not think that we are somebody. Instead, we should humble ourselves and regard ourselves as nobody and nothing.
THE PRAYER OF THE PHARISEE
In verses 10 through 14 the Lord tells a parable of two men who "went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector" (v. 10). The Lord often used tax collectors and Pharisees as examples. Verses 11 and 12 record the Pharisee's prayer: "The Pharisee stood and prayed these things to himself: God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all, whatever I get." The Pharisee's word in verse 11, where he thanks God that he is not like the rest of men, does not sound like a prayer at all; instead, it sounds like an accusation of others. Likewise, his word in verse 12 about fasting and paying tithes does not sound like a prayer, but rather like an arrogant boast to God. Therefore, in his prayer the Pharisee was accusing others and boasting to God.