An outcropping near Fredericksburg, Va., is called Meditation Rock. Mary Washington, mother of our first president, often visited this rock to pray for her son. One of her most common prayers for him was, “Lord, keep him humble.”

Our new president is not known for humility, but possibly that’s because he doesn’t hide his pride as well as some do. Sometimes, what passes for humility is just well-disguised pride.

President Donald Trump accomplished a lot in his first days in office: terminating DEI offices and programs, giving an order concerning birthright citizenship, and issuing pardons and commutations for Jan. 6 defendants, to name just a very few.

Assessing Trump as a man and as a president, I’m reminded of two great kings in the Old Testament, Nebuchadnezzar (c. 630 – 562 B.C.) of Babylon and Cyrus (c. 590 – 529 B.C.) of Persia. Just as God used Nebuchadnezzar’s centralizing policies to discipline Judea by bringing them into the Babylonian Captivity for 70 years, so He used Cyrus’s decentralizing policies to facilitate their return to Judea after the discipline was completed.

Historian Will Durant described Cyrus as “one of those natural rulers at whose coronation, as Emerson said, all men rejoice.” Isaiah described him as God’s “shepherd” (44:28) and the Lord’s “anointed” (45:1), saying, “I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the Lord almighty.” I believe God called Cyrus righteous, not necessarily because of his personal character or piety, but because his policies were in accord with the divine plan to restore the Jews to their homeland. Cyrus practiced toleration of Judaism and other religions, but it is unclear whether he personally worshipped the God of the Bible.  

In this way, Trump may resemble Cyrus. Despite the misdeeds of his past, his policies align with the principles of God’s Word. Whether or not Trump is a believer, I pray God will use him, as He uses all of us as flawed instruments, to effectuate His policies: saving preborn children from abortion, protecting children from dangerous transsexual surgery, affording women privacy in their dressing rooms, rebuilding our military, protecting our borders, and preserving freedom of religious expression.

But I hope he resembles Nebuchadnezzar in another way. Nebuchadnezzar is introduced in the Book of Daniel as a pagan king and an absolute monarch. When God enables Daniel to interpret the king’s dream, Nebuchadnezzar respects the God of the Jews as a “revealer of secrets” (Daniel 2:47), but he is certain that no god could deliver Daniel’s friends from the fiery furnace (3:15). When God does deliver them, the king is even more impressed and commands that anyone who speaks badly of the Jewish God is to be “cut in pieces” (3:29).

Still, Nebuchadnezzar remains proud. Despite Daniel’s warning, the king says in 4:30, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” God’s judgment promptly falls upon him, and the great king is driven into insanity for seven years. After this, he finally bows before God in verses 34-35, acknowledging “him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”

Has Trump humbled himself before God as Nebuchadnezzar did? I hope so, both for his sake and the nation’s. Pride prevents us from learning from our mistakes and seeking help when we need it, it leads us to think we are above the law and entitled to break it, it causes us to become angry and resentful when we don’t get what we want, and it corrupts our character as moths eat holes in old clothing. “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

The opposite of pride is not self-effacement. True humility is recognition that we are in God’s hands and willing to be used as instruments for whatever God wills.

I see some signs that God has humbled Trump. After the first assassination attempt, Trump said, “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.” He describes himself as “more of a believer” than before the assassination, and as a “non-denominational Christian.” In recent months, his words have (sometimes) seemed more carefully chosen and reflective than previously.

Trump has the potential to be a great president, but pride could destroy him and his presidency. As Nebuchadnezzar said of God, “Those that walk in pride He is able to abase” (Daniel 4:37). May we all pray for him, as Mary Washington did for her son, “Lord, keep him humble.”

Colonel Eidsmoe serves as Professor of Constitutional Law for the Oak Brook College of Law & Government Policy (obcl.edu), as Senior Counsel for the Foundation for Moral Law (morallaw.org), and as Pastor for Woodland Presbyterian Church (woodlandpca.org) of Notasulga, AL.  He may be contacted for speaking engagements at eidsmoeja@juno.com.