"But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace" (Psalm 37:11). Gentleness is another word for meekness or humility. In the New American Standard, Psalm 37:11 states, "But the humble will inherit the land..."the gentle. Gentleness of meekness is the opposite of being
out of control. It is not weakness, but supreme self-control empowered by the
Spirit (cf. Gal 5:23). The statement that the meek "shall inherit the earth" is
quoted from Ps 37:11.
As we have previously looked at, in order to come to Christ (in order to be saved) you must be "poor in spirit" (Mt 5:3), you must mourn over your sins (Mt 5:4), and now we learn that you must be gentle or humble (Mt 5:5).
We must see our poverty of spirit, that we are wretched sinners and can in no way save ourselves. We must mourn over the fact that we are wretched sinners, deserving of God's wrath. We must humble ourselves before God and cast all of our pride, all of our sin away from us. We have to be humble and say that we are indeed poor in spirit and we need Christ's forgiveness. For a self-righteous, proud, arrogant sinner, this is hard. A spiritually blind man wants in no way to humble himself and admit he is blind and needs a Savior. "... Jesus said to them, 'With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"
"Thus says the LORD, 'Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,' declares the LORD 'But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:1-2). The Lord dwells with him who is humble.
So, humble yourself before God. Cry out to Him today! Repent of your sins and put your trust in Christ if you haven't already. "Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble" (Proverbs 3:34). "... God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5).
In Christ,
Kirsten
1 comment:
I love the beatitudes. Im a bit different regarding which books I like the best, most people choose psalms or new testament stuff. I love Esther because of that bit in chapter 4 about being brought to the palace 'for such a time as this'. I apply that to my life whenever I feel like I can't get through something.
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