Blessed Are The Meek
“Blessed are the
meek: for they shall inherit the Earth.” (Matt 5:5) (KJV)
“Yet a little
while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his
place, and it shall not be. But the
meek shall inherit the Earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of
peace.” (Ps 37:10,11) (KJV)
“Blessed are the meek.” What does that mean? The meek man is happy? What is meek? How can a meek man be happy? These are some things we must ask ourselves if we are to learn the lesson that Jesus has in store for us.
The first
thing we must do is rid ourselves of the idea that meekness is weakness. Sadly, many people have the idea that
meekness is a certain mousy, milk-toast attitude that allows one’s
self to be run over and mistreated all of the time. On the contrary, meekness can at times be
much different than that. Meekness is a
gentle and mild disposition. We know
that Jesus is meek (See Mt
If meekness isn’t weakness, what is it? First of all, meekness is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23). It does not come by human effort. Though there are people in this world who are mild mannered by nature, they are not Biblically meek. Meekness is supernaturally given. It is a change wrought in us by God. Meekness is the kindness that is generated in us by our having realized our emptiness before God (becoming poor in spirit) and repenting of our sins (mourning). Only when we have seen how poor and sinful that we truly are will we ever become meek. This is born out in Paul’s statements concerning our dealings with an erring brother. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.” (Gal 6:1-3) (KJV) When we see ourselves poor and beggarly before God (:3) and recognize that we, too, could have been in the situation of our fallen brother (which should lead to our weeping over our sin and his), then we can indeed be gentle to him and help him put his life aright. Meekness is wrought in us by God when He humbles us to weep over our own sins that we might see that, but for the grace of God, we would be the one who had fallen. Thus, meekness is that gentleness that will help a brother mend his life that has been broken by sin.
We should notice, however, that meekness is a strong sort of gentleness. Though we must help our erring brother, we must also stand firmly against that which is wrong. Jesus, while on Earth, was meek, yet He firmly stood for righteousness. Even when facing controversy and strife Jesus stood firmly against sin. Meekness is gentleness that is firm and strong when and where it needs to be so.
In the Psalms, David gave us a description of the meek person. Note how he contrasts the meek person with the evil person. “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the Earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the Earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” (Ps 37:7-11) (KJV) The meek person trusts in the Lord, does not fret, walks away from wrath, does not stoop to sinning to get the things he desires, but waits upon the Lord. The one who is meek is the one whose faith in God will help him to be kind to his fellow man. While the quest for possessions causes many to mistreat others, the meek person knows that there is no need to do so, because God will bless him in His own time. Meekness is quiet, patient faith.
Another characteristic of meekness is found in our attitude toward God’s word. Have you ever found yourself rebelling against that which you knew was necessary to your life? That is the opposite of meekness. Meekness is that quiet, humble, non-argumentative attitude toward God and His word. It is that spirit that will not get angry before the truth, but will submit to the truth. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:19-21) (KJV) Meekness is also gentleness in teaching the word of God. Often the attitude of a teacher/pastor can become too strident, especially when teaching truth in a setting where opposition is present or is expected. This sort of attitude will provoke the listener to have an attitude toward the truth that is anything but meek. For this reason Paul admonished young Timothy: “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” (2 Tim 2:24-26) (KJV).
Meekness is
also part and parcel of a Christian spirit that loves, forgives, shows kindness
and humility, respects and honors God’s word, seeks peace in the hearts of all
members of Christ’s body, and above all seeks the glory of the Lord. “Put on therefore, as the elect of God,
holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
longsuffering; Forbearing one another,
and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as
Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And
above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,
to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye
thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all
in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
(Col 3:12-17) (KJV) Can you imagine a family or a church in
which this attitude prevailed? What
wonderful peace and fellowship there would be!
This meekness should be characteristic of all of God’s children. In fact, it shall be characteristic of God’s
children, for it is the meek who shall inherit the Earth.
The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth
While it may seem as if the meek get
nowhere in this life, we must remember that the characteristic of the meek
person is that he waits upon the Lord to bless in His own time. The promise that the meek shall inherit the
Earth is indeed true. “Yet a little
while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his
place, and it shall not be. But the meek
shall inherit the Earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of
peace.” (Ps 37:10,11) (KJV) Today we are downtrodden by a sinful
world. Tomorrow we rule and reign with
Christ!
Let us notice some more promises
concerning the meek. “The LORD taketh
pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.” (Ps 149:4)
(KJV) It pleases the Lord to bless
His people. Someday in the not too
distant future God shall joyfully bless His people by redeeming them from out
of this wicked world, fashioning us with glorified bodies, and allow them to
rule and reign with Him. “He that
overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over
the nations: And he shall rule them with
a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even
as I received of my Father. And I will
give him the morning star.” (Rev 2:26-28) (KJV)
“With righteousness shall he
judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the Earth: and he shall
smite the Earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips
shall he slay the wicked.” (Isa 11:4) (KJV)
This is a great promise that the Lord will judge in the favor of the
meek. In fact, He will level the playing
field in that day, because He will judge with equity. There will be no respect of persons in that
day. Today a person is often successful
because of who they are and who they know.
In that day a person will be blessed because they are numbered among the
meek who put their trust in the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
In conclusion, let us notice that
this promise concerning meekness is Gospel preaching. “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me;
because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath
sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and
the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give
unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.” (Isa 61:1-3) (KJV) Notice Jesus’ application of this
promise. “He came to