Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount
March 11, 2020
Blessed are The Meek
“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole
earth.”
Matthew 5:5
We know from the Gospels that the
Psalms had a great influence on Jesus as he quoted them often. While he does
not quote a particular psalm in the Beatitudes, the influence is clear. His
pronouncement, “God blesses those who are
humble, for they will inherit the whole earth” is an affirmation of the old
and very wise teacher who crafted Psalm 37. The essential message of the psalm is
in verses 5-6: “Commit your way to the
Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward
shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.” Jesus’
reference to the meek is for those who surrender control of their lives to
God. The meek are those who are willing
to be an instrument of grace used by God. This is a very profound, yet simple,
way to pattern your life.
First, you commit
your life to God.
Second, you exercise
faith in God by trusting Him with your life.
Third, God will act.
This pattern is simple in form,
but very difficult to implement in our lives. We live in a culture that values
strength, independence, and self-reliance. Meekness and humility? Not so much.
The psalmist is not very specific about how God will act, but the description
is rather breathtaking; “. . . your vindication like the noonday sun.”
The psalmist is trying to describe the wonder, beauty, and awe associated with
being in the presence of God.
The reward for faithfulness to
God is being in perfect peace as you rest in the presence of your Heavenly
Father. Seven times the psalmist refers to the blessing of God as, “The godly will possess the land and will
live there forever” (Psalm 37:29). This means the reward is eternal. This
is what it means to “inherit the whole
earth.”
My Takeaway: The Good News is that God’s blessings are His presence
with us, now and forever.
Sē’lah
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(Selah is a word that appears in the
Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my
correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about
these things.)
These
meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his
way of life. The meditations are
published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/
and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may
subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by
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Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight
Publications by Alex M. Knight:
- Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.
- The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.
Unless
otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House
Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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