7640. 'How long do you refuse to humble yourself before Me?' means disobedience. This is clear from the meaning of 'refusing to humble oneself' as not obeying. The reason why it means this is that the words here are addressed to those ruled by evil, who are incapable of humbling themselves before the Divine. For self-abasement involves the recognition of the following two things: That one is altogether evil, and in comparison with the Divine almost nothing, and that the Divine is altogether Good, and infinite. The recognition of these two things is not possible with the evil because they are full of self-love. If they do humble themselves, they act out of fear, or to the end that they may acquire important positions or make material gain. Thus when they humble themselves they do so merely with the body and not at all in the mind, which sometimes is mocking; such is the nature of self-abasement when prompted by fear or engaged in for the sake of making gain or attaining important positions. The same is true of the evil in the presence of God, though they are not aware of it. For inwardly those who are ruled by evil as a result of self-love regard and magnify only themselves; and they turn away from all who are not favourably disposed towards them. Since no self-abasement exists with the evil, obedience is meant in the internal sense by 'humbling yourself', and so disobedience by 'you refuse to humble yourself'.