I want us to turn for our text
this evening to Matthew chapter 5 and the Beatitudes turning in
particular to verse 5 Matthew chapter 5 and verse 5 Blessed
are the meek for they shall inherit the earth You may recall that
last Thursday evening we were considering the opening two verses
of this chapter and the setting for what follows Christ's sermon
upon the mount seeing the multitude he went up into a mountain and
when he was said his disciples came unto him and he opened his
mouth and taught Among other things we remarked are that in
this we have the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, those
words of Isaiah chapter 25, where he speaks of the rich provision
of the Gospel day. Isaiah 25 and verse 6, in this
mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast
of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full
of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And here I say
we have that scripture fulfilled in the ministry of the Lord Jesus
Christ as he begins to set forth the great riches of the gospel
of the grace of God. Are not these opening words of
his sermon, these verses that we often refer to as the Beatitudes,
are they not gospel words? Here we see that man who is blessed
in Christ's gospel. In verses 3 to 11 we see that
the words Blessed is used some nine times, and as I said on
Thursday, it is in fact a plural noun. Blessedness is more literal,
or we might render it happiness. A happy man is that man who knows
that grace of God which is spoken of in these particular verses. But tonight, as I said, I want
to concentrate for a little while on what Christ says concerning
meekness. Here in verse 5 we see something
of the inheritance of the meek. Blessed are the meek for they
shall inherit the earth. And in some ways we can say it's
an echoing of The word that we read in Psalm 37, that Psalm
of David, Psalm 37 verse 11, the meek shall inherit the earth,
says David. Again at verse 22, such as be
blessed of him that is blessed of God shall inherit the earth. The blessed man, the man whom
God is pleased to pour his blessing on as an inheritor. the meek
man has an inheritance and we see how the Lord Jesus Christ
as he were brings those two verses from the psalm verses 11 and
22 together as he utters these words blessed are the meek for
they shall inherit the earth. Well as we turn to consider this
particular beatitude tonight. I want to divide what I say into
two very simple headings. First of all, to consider something
of the beauties of the meek, the beauties of that meekness
that Christ is speaking of, and then to consider the blessings
of which the Lord is also speaking. First of all, the beauties. There
is a certain subjective beauty with regards to that of which
the Lord is speaking here. The word meek, blessed are the
meek, literally means to be soft, to be mild, to be gentle, meekness. Meekness, of course, is not to
be confused in our minds with weakness. There's nothing weak
about being meek. Moses was renowned for his meekness. Numbers chapter 12 and verse
3. The man, Moses, we are told,
was very meek, above all men upon the face of the earth. Remember
how in the Old Testament these various characters are spoken
of with regards to certain graces of the Spirit of God. Abraham
is the father of the faith. Abraham is the father of believers. He is renowned for his faith.
Job is spoken of by James as that Manu is a wonderful example
of patience or endurance. You have heard of the patience
of Job. These various characters, and
it's not that they are without other graces, but there were
certain graces that were so conspicuous in their lives. And of Moses,
we're told there in Numbers 12 that he was very meek. But there
was nothing at all weak with regards to Moses. He is a very masculine man and
we see that right at the beginning of course, in the way in which
he reacts when he sees the persecution that his people are having to
suffer. He had, in the mysterious providence of God, been brought
up in the royal court, he'd been brought up in Pharaoh's house,
raised amongst all the riches and wisdom of the Egyptians but
he did not forget from whence he came he was really of the
subject people the Hebrews and there in Exodus chapter 2 verse 11, it came to pass in
those days when Moses was grown that he went out unto his brethren
and looked on their burdens and he spied an Egyptian smiting
an Hebrew one of his brethren and he looked this way and that
way and when he saw that there was no man he slew the Egyptian
and hid him in the sand. Then The matter is brought to
the notice of Pharaoh. And so Moses has to flee for
his life. Verse 15 there in that second
chapter of Exodus. So when Pharaoh heard this thing
he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face
of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian and he sat down by
a well There the priest of Midian had seven daughters and they
came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's
flock. And the shepherds came and drove
them away. But Moses stood up and helped
them and watered their flock. He is no weak man at all, this
man Moses. He is bold. He is a very masculine
man. He's spoken of, of course, in
the 11th chapter of Hebrews, that great chapter in which we
have set before us those of the Old Testament, those of that
Old Testament dispensation who were men and women of Faith. And concerning Moses, many things
are said, verse 24, by Faith Moses. when he was twenty years,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a season. Esteeming the reproach of Christ,
greater riches and the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect
unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not
fearing the wrath of the king for he endures as seeing him
who is invisible. There is nothing weak here. Here
is a man of great faith, great endurance, choosing rather to
suffer affliction with the people of God, esteeming the reproach
of Christ greater than the greater riches and the treasures of Egypt. By faith he forsook Egypt. Here
then is one who is clearly a great warrior, a soldier of the Lord
Jesus Christ, a man who fights that good fight of faith and
yet he is renowned for his meekness. The meekest man, they're told,
upon the face of the earth. We're not going to confuse meekness
and weakness. To be meek, as I said, is to
be mild, to be gentle, to be soft, in a sense not to be easily
provoked, to be one who is pleased patiently to bear things, something
of that spirit that the wise man speaks of in the Proverbs,
he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he that ruleth
his spirit than he that taketh the city. That's Moses, is it
not? A meek man. But not only Moses,
we're directed of course primarily in scripture to one far greater
than Moses. The law was given by Moses, grace
and truth came by Jesus Christ ultimately we have to look to
the Lord Jesus Christ himself and see how Peter speaks of him
as he writes in his first epistle and there in chapter 2 at verse
21 even here unto where you called
says Peter because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an
example that he should follow his steps who did no sin neither
was guile found in his mouth who when he was reviled reviled
not again when he suffered he threatened not but committed
himself to him that judges righteousness knew his own self bear our sins
in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sin should
live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were a sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Oh, that Spirit that we see then,
evidenced in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, He is surely
the meekest of all men that ever lived upon the face of the earth
and remember how he speaks such gracious words in the gospel
to sinners and here in the end of Matthew chapter 11 we have
it where he invites the burden and the heavy laden sinner to
come unto him and what does he say? Learn of me for I am meek
and lowly in heart. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
one then who manifests so wonderfully in his life and in his ministry
this grace of meekness, this gentleness, the way in which
he doesn't break the bruised rib, nor does he quench the smoking
flax, how tenderly We see him dealing with people. He is ever
always the meekest of men. Now, when we look to ourselves,
when we examine ourselves, we have to acknowledge, do we not,
that our sinful nature is the very opposite of all of this. Sin is the opposite of this meekness.
What does the serpent say to Eve there in the garden? Ye shall
be as gods. We are by nature not those who
are humble and gentle. We are those who in our fallen
nature are haughty and proud. We are children of wrath. That's
what we are by nature. Children of wrath even as others. And so we must seek after meekness. It's not something that is ours
in a natural sense. It is one of those blessed graces
of the Spirit of God. And we have to look to Him and
we have to pray to Him and call upon Him and seek Him that He
would grant to us such a grace. John Newton says, froward heart,
make me teachable and mild, upright, simple, free from art, make me
as a weaned child, pleased with all that pleases the Lord. Oh,
that's what we should desire, that we might have that meekness
of spirit, that quietness of heart. This is what we see here
then when we think of this grace in a subjective sense, the beauty
of it. And of course, remember how Peter,
when he speaks of the wife, writing there in the third chapter of
his first epistle general, we have that lovely expression,
the ornaments of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight
of God of great price. the ornament of a meek and quiet
spirit, not only for the wife, but surely that should be the
desire of all those who are in Christ, all those who make up
the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ, to know that quietness of heart,
that meekness of spirit, the beauty of meekness in a subjective
sense. But then we can also think of
beauty that belongs to the meek in a more objective way. What
is that beauty? Is it not the beauty of salvation?
That's what God bestows upon those who come and seek of Him
that meekness. Psalm 149 and verse 4 The Lord taketh pleasure in his
people. He will beautify the meek with
salvation. He will beautify the meek with
salvation. Oh, what is that salvation? Their
beauty, this, their glorious dress, Jesus the Lord, our righteousness. You see how these things go hand
in hand. There is a subjective aspect
here. There is that grace of meekness. It will be evident in those who
are the slaves of the Lord, who are those that God beautifies
with salvation. They are those whom God has first
humbled onto his mighty hand and they come to him and they
seek him and they pray to him. That's what we read there in
Zephaniah. Zephaniah chapter 2 and verse
3 doesn't just say seek meekness but there is an exhortation there
in the words of the prophet as he speaks to those who are
the meek. Zachariah chapter 2 and verse
3, Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought
his judgment. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. It may be ye shall be hid in
the day of the Lord's anger. God does bless his people with
that spirit of meekness as they come to him then, and as they
seek him. And what does he do? He grants
to them a righteousness, a salvation. It's a salvation of course that
is outside of themselves that comes to them. It's that work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's all that Christ has done
in their place, in their room and in their stead. It's that
obedience that Christ has wrought. and obedience to the Holy Lord
of God. He has magnified that Lord. He
has made that Lord honourable. How has He done it? By His obedience. The active obedience of that
sinless life. You see, He's always about His
Father's business. He has that work to fulfil that
the Father has given Him in the eternal covenant. I must be about
my Father's business, He said. I must do the will of Him that
has sent me. I must finish His work. These
are the words that the Lord so often speaks and He goes about
and He does good. He is that one who is the holy
man, holy and harmless and undefiled and separate from sinners. But
He is not only obedient in living, He is obedient in dying, obedient
unto death. even the death of the cross. This is that beauty that God
is pleased to give to his people. He beautifies the meek with salvation. Salvation is Christ. Salvation
is the person of Christ. Salvation is the work of Christ. And so we see How the people
of Christ are those who are brought ultimately to rejoice and to
rejoice in Him and all that the Lord has done for them in Him. The end of the 61st chapter there
in Isaiah, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be
joyful in my God for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments,
and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. God beautifies
the make. And this is something of what
the Apostle Paul was brought to rejoice in, is it not? as
he expresses his desire there in Philippians chapter 3, to
be found in him, he says, not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. All this salvation, how it suits
those who are meek and those who are humble. All this grace of meekness, Blessed
are the meek, says the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know this meekness? Is he not one of the marks of
election? Paul says in Colossians chapter
3, put on therefore as the elect of God, meekness. Amongst other things he speaks
of them putting on meekness. This is a mark that they are
of the election of grace. We have to give diligence to
make our calling and our election sure. You might say to me, what
is the point of anything if I'm not of the election of grace?
You might say to me that there is from this pulpit that constant
emphasis upon the sovereignty of the grace of God that Christ
has come and that Christ has accompanied salvation for a certain
particular people, that we are by conviction particular Baptists
in that sense. We believe in a limited atonement,
limited with regards to It extends that it doesn't mean that Christ
has died for everyone, to make all men salvable. But we say
no, Christ has died to actually save a certain particular specific
number of people, the elect. And you say this is the constant
emphasis that is made in this chapel. And if I'm not elect,
what's the point of anything? And it troubles you. which troubled
many others before well the Lord knoweth them that
are his none of us know who the elect are the Lord knoweth them
that are his but we have that exhortation in Peter to give
diligence to make our calling and our election sure and observe
the order that Peter uses it, he puts the calling before the
election. The election is that that is
first, the election takes place in eternity. Before the foundation
of the world, God chose a people in Christ. The calling is that
that actually takes place in time, the effectual call. And
yet, Peter puts the order the other way around. He says make
your calling and election sure. How do you make your election
sure? By attending to your calling. Have you known what it is to
be called? Called by the grace of God. Have
you ever been able to think of any time in the course of hearing
many sermons when you felt that it was God's word. It wasn't
just the word of a preacher, it was God. And you felt that
the word spoken had a particular application to you, the Lord
was speaking. That's God's calling you, sir.
That's God suiting his word. This is how we have to examine
ourselves in the light of those things that are associated with
election. And I say that this grace of
meekness is one of those things. The elect are marked by a meekness
of spirit. Not something that is natural
to them, something that is quite supernatural in a sense. It's
the work of God's spirit in their hearts. The elect are those who are meek. or with those friends who know
anything of the beauties of this meekness, this mildness, this
gentleness, this softness of spirit. Some of us are not like
that, obviously not like that naturally speaking, but we desire
that we might know that rather. And we might be those who know
that great objective beauty of God granting to us salvation,
How He beautifies the meek with salvation, He beautifies them
with Christ. It's not that grace of meekness
in them that is their salvation. Their salvation is outside of
themselves. Their salvation is in Christ
and it's Christ's work. It's Christ's obedience, His
obedience unto death, even the death of the cross. It's His
blood, it's His righteousness that beautifies them. But how
this suits the meek and the humble soul. They see all their salvation
in Christ. Let us turn in the second place
to consider the blessings. The Lord speaks of the meek as
a blessed one. Blessed are the meek, for they
shall inherit the earth. Now what is this inheritance?
Well, they receive the Lord Jesus Christ. They receive the Lord
Jesus Christ. James says, receive with meekness
the engrafted work that is able to save your souls. Is that what we desire as we
come under the Word of God? We have God's Word, we have it
in our hands, we can read it for ourselves. When we come together
there is much emphasis upon the word, there is the public reading
of it and the preaching we trust is that, that is an opening up
of the word of God and we constantly say we should desire something
of that spirit of the Bereans to be always examining the scriptures
in the light of what's being said, we go to the Lord and to
the testimony and if a man speaks not according to this word it
is because there is no light in him We appeal then to the
objective truth of the scriptures, the word of God. But it's not
enough, is it, that we just have the word in that sense. It must
enter into our hearts, we must receive it into our souls. Receive
with meekness, says John. The engrafted word, that is the
implanted word. That is the word coming into
our souls. And it saves the soul. This is the promise of the new
covenant, is it not? What does God say in Jeremiah
31 and verse 33 concerning that new covenant? This shall be the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those
days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts,
and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they
shall be my people and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor
and every man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall
all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them
saith the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember
their sin no more this is the new covenant, this is the gospel
is it not? And here he's got a promise in the Gospel that
he will put his law in their inward parts. He will write it,
he says, upon their hearts. Written, as we read in 2 Corinthians
3, written in fleshy tables of the heart. There's a difference
between law and Gospel. The law we read there in that
third chapter of 2nd Corinthians is written upon tables of stone. Ah, but the gospel! It is written
upon fleshy tables of the heart, received with meekness. The engrafted
word. It's the meek who receive it,
you see. We referred already to those
gracious words of Christ at the end of chapter 11 he says come
unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give
you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek
and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls for
my yoke is easy and my burden is light. That's how the meekest
of all men that ever lived speaks. Those gracious words, those gospel
words. You see, when that word, the
word of God is received with that meekness of spirit, there's
no carping at the word. There's no quarrelling with the
words of God. But there's a submission to it. There's that venturing, or the
venturing of faith. What a venture it is. What does
a man have to do? A man has to deny himself. And that's very hard, is it not? I think it was one of the Erskine
brothers, Ralph or Ebenezer, who said, Oh, that I am not a
myself. how myself, my sinful self constantly gets in the way. I can't deny myself, why I have
such an ego? I'm so full of myself. Well, we need then that grace
of meekness if we would but deny ourselves, that venturing. Joseph
Hart says, we're to venture to be north. That's no easy thing
to be a nothing, to be a cipher, to be a zero. And yet that is
what we are called to. If we are those who are truly
receiving the Word of God, if we are those who are receiving
the Lord Jesus Christ. See how God's Word is clearly
addressed to specific cases here in the Beatitudes. In verse 3, Christ says, Blessed
are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What does he say in chapter 11
and verse 5? The poor have the gospel preached
to them. All the gospel you see, the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, it is so suited to those who are poor in spirit. and they are the blessed ones
theirs is the kingdom of heaven it says and then at verse 4 it
says blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted oh
there is comfort there is comfort in the gospel comfort for those
who are mourning those who are mourning over their sins those
who are grieving over their sins those who have such a sense of
their sinnership We turn back to Isaiah again, familiar words
there at the beginning of the 40th chapter. Comfort ye, my people, saith
your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned, For she hath received of the Lord's hand double for
all her sins. This is reference of course to
the ministry of John the Baptist in particular. The harbinger
of Christ, the voice of Him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare
ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway
for our God. What is this ministry that is
commencing? It's a ministry of comfort. Purdue
is the comfort for, it's for those that mourn, for those who
are grieving over their sins. The Gospel I say, here we see
suited to various cases and conditions and so here in verse 5, Blessed
are the meek, says Christ, for they shall inherit the earth. And again in Isaiah chapter 61
he tells us himself, those to whom he is sent to preach good
tidings unto the meek. Or it would be those who are
truly receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. How can we receive Him? There must be that meekness.
With meekness. Receiving the engrafted Word
that is able to save the soul of Christ, remember, is the word
incarnate, as the Bible is the word inscripturated. If we would
receive Him then, we must know something of this meekness. This
is a blessing, is it not? The blessing of the man who is
meek. Blessed are the meek, for they
shall inherit the earth. They receive Christ, And what
further do we see with regards to their blessings? They are
content. They are content in this world. Psalm 22, verse 26, the meek
shall eat and be satisfied it says. They
shall praise the Lord that seek him, your hearts shall live forever. Or are we those who eat and are
satisfied? To be satisfied in this world.
These, you see, they inherit the earth because they are content
in this world. They are those who receive all that they could
ever desire in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus. They are those that use this
world as not abusing it. For the fashion of this world
passes away. Is that true of us, friends?
We have to examine ourselves. Are we content? Are we content
to have Christ? What matters anything else? This
is the one thing needful, is it not? that we are those who
have the Lord Jesus Christ, we are those who know the Lord Jesus
Christ and we know Him as our God and our Saviour. Paul speaks
of contentment. Remember how he writes to Timothy
in his first epistle? What does he say there in chapter
6 and verse 6? Godliness with contentment is
great gain for we brought nothing into this world and it is certain
we can carry nothing out and having food and raiment let us
be there with content but they that will be rich fall into temptation
and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown
men in destruction and perdition for the love of money is the
root of all evil which some coveted after which some are which while
some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God,
flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith.
lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also caught, and hast
professed a good profession before many witnesses. O God, grant
grace that we might heed such exhortations as the Apostle is
given there in that sixth chapter of 1 Timothy. Godliness with
contentment, to be content with such things as we have the one
thing needful to know that we have the Lord Jesus Christ and
then we will not abuse the things of this present world. Remember
the words of the psalm that we read verse 11 the meek shall
inherit the earth and again at verse 22 such as be blessed of
him shall inherit the earth. There are many The verse is there
in that psalm that speaks to our text tonight. Verse 3, trust
in the Lord and do good, so shall thou be fed. This is a great
thing, is it not? To know the Lord, to be trusting
in the Lord. Again at verse 16 he says, a
little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of
many wicked. Who are those who inherit the earth other than
me? They are those who have with meekness received the engrafted
Word. They are those who know that salvation that is in the
Lord Jesus Christ. They are those who are blessed.
They have their priorities all right. What does Christ go on to say
later in the psalm in chapter 6 and verse 33? Seek ye first
the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be
added unto you. O friends, this is the one thing that is needful,
is it not? That with those who are concerned
that we might know the Lord Jesus Christ, that most meek, gentle
and tender of men, even the Saviour himself, and to know those blessings
of which he is speaking here at the beginning of his sermon,
these gospel words, the blessings of his grace, these wondrous
words that fell from the lips of him who we refer to only on
Thursday as the Prince of all preachers. Now His disciples
came unto Him, and He opened His mouth and taught them. And
in the course of that teaching, what did He say unto them? Blessed
are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Might you
know something of the beauties of that meekness? and the blessings
of that meekness. Might the Lord himself be pleased
to grant to us such a grace of his blessed spirit. The Lord
then bless to us his word tonight for his name's sake. Amen.