The Meek

'Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth'.

TO be meek is to be gentle: to inherit the earth is to have it in possession. To be spiritually meek is to live from the Lord, to learn of Him, and keep His laws. Moses did this and 'Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth' (Numbers 12, 3).

Meekness is a result of spiritual need and comes from the submission of our wills to the Lord's will, and it allows heavenly qualities to enter the common things of daily life. The blessing to the poor in spirit is the kingdom of heaven, but to the meek it is the inheritance of the earth: the earth of external life.

The meek man inherits, or possesses, all the faculties of his outer life: they serve him in all that he does. But if man allows his inheritance to pass over to the control of selfish appetites, he becomes their servant. Then he becomes unhappy.

The meek do not struggle for money, power or social position. They are not proud nor self-assertive; nor are they envious of the success of others. Because they are meek they are submissive before the Lord and love to be guided by His commandments. By this guidance the meek man's external life is conjoined with his internal life, thus his heaven within, inherits his earth without.

Merely worldly wealth and pleasures soon end in melancholy emptiness: none though so hardly won can be taken with us. Yet we cannot avoid taking our character, and if that is not gentle how will we find happiness in heaven ?

Meekness is not weakness but strength, a heavenly quality enjoying sweet content and great happiness. The Lord guides the meek in judgement and continually increases their joy.

PRAYER

'Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according unto thy word. Teach me good judgement . . . for I have believed thy commandments' (Psalm 119, 65-66).

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