Happy Are the Meek

Heavenly Father, we come to these Beatitudes with the recognition that they are beyond our reach.

Apart from Christ, on our own, in our own strength and in our own righteousness, these Beatitudes are beyond our reach.

So Lord, we ask that you would fill us more and more with your Holy Spirit.

That by him we might live more and more in light of our union with Christ and commune with him.

So we bear the fruit of the Spirit, one of which is meekness.

That we might receive your word.

Lord, give us this morning ears to hear, hearts to receive.

That we might receive with meekness the implanted word, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And that it might bear fruit in our lives.

Save those who are lost.

Mature your saints.

Make them more like your Son, Jesus Father.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

If you are able, please stand to honor God's word as I read from Matthew chapter 5 verses 1 to 12.

Matthew 5:1–12

Seeing the crowd, he went up on the mountain.

And when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

For so they persecuted the prophets who are before you.

This is God's holy, authoritative word.

He made this here.

From between 1760 and the early 1900s, what we call, what the history books call, the age of imperialism,

when the industrializing nations of Europe colonized and annexed many parts of the world, including the notorious scramble for Africa.

And that doesn't seem like such a distant future nowadays when Russia threatens to gobble up Ukraine and China threatens to gobble up Taiwan.

And whether, however seriously, even our own president talks about buying greenland.

Right.

It seems when we look around at our world that the lands, the world, they belong to people who are aggressive, people who are powerful, people who are forceful, people who have military might.

And this seems to be the case, not only in the geopolitical realm, but also in academia, in the media, in the public squares, the internet, social media.

The people who seem to own the world are people who seem self-assured and aggressive.

People who stand up for themselves and demand their rights.

People who assert themselves and express themselves into more and more territory and influence.

But Jesus' third, the attitude turns all of that on its head.

He says in verse five,

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Who possesses and inherits the world?

Not the proud, not the conquerors, but the meek.

Happy are the meek.

That's another way you can translate that.

Blessed are the meek.

Happy are the meek.

For they shall inherit the earth.

First, we're going to look at the character of the meek.

Second, we're going to look at the examples of the meek.

And then third, we're going to look at the inheritance of the meek as we talk about this verse.

It's fitting first as we look at verse five,

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

To go to the Old Testament to learn the meaning of meekness,

because that verse is alluding to Psalm 37, verse 11,

Psalms 37:11

which says,

But the meek shall inherit the land.

And the Hebrew word for meek is actually the same word for poor

that we talked about last week with the first two Beatitudes.

Beatitude number one was,

Blessed are the poor in spirit.

And so that word has a range of meanings.

It can mean poor, humble, afflicted.

Those who are poor in spirit, as we talked about last week,

are spiritual beggars.

People who recognize their own need for God.

People who recognize that they are cripples in need of a crutch.

Sick.

People who recognize their sickness and recognize their need for a doctor.

When we recognize our own poverty of spirit,

we can't help but mourn.

And it's only those who are poor in spirit and therefore mourn

that can be meek, as we talk about in verse.

Five.

Psalm 37 describes something that meekness does,

and then it describes something that meekness does not do.

What does meekness do?

According to verse 2 and verse 5 of Psalm 37,

you're actually, you're welcome to turn there with me

because I'm going to park there for a little bit.

Psalm 37, verse 2 and verse 5,

Psalms 37:2

it says,

Trust in the Lord.

Commit your way to the Lord.

Trust in Him and He will act.

To trust someone is to rely on someone.

To place your security and your confidence in another person.

It comes from a root word that means to fall to the ground.

Because when you fall prostrate on the ground,

it's the exact opposite of a fighting posture.

Ready to pounce and ready to strike,

ready to defend yourself.

When you're on the ground, there's nothing you can do.

You're helpless.

You have placed yourself in the trust of someone else.

In the confidence and security of someone else.

That's what it means to trust God.

To place yourself completely at His mercy.

Instead of keeping your guard up and fending for yourself,

it means to entrust yourself to God,

knowing that He will act on your behalf.

So it means to trust Him.

It's related to the word commit in verse 5.

Commit your way to the Lord.

That's a translation of a Hebrew word

that literally means to roll something away.

To commit your way to the Lord means to roll your fears,

to roll your distress,

and to roll your concerns and needs all over to God.

Say, here you go, God.

This is beyond my pay grade.

I can't deal with this.

Here you go, God.

Rolling it over to God.

It's a form of relinquishment,

surrendering of control.

Sometimes when we pray to God

or commit our way to Him,

we treat it like a game of paddle ball.

I don't know if you guys have played paddle ball before.

Some of my kids came back with a paddle ball

from a birthday party favor.

It's like a wooden racket paddle

with a ball,

but the ball is attached to it

by this stretchy string.

So it's a one-player game

and you're trying to hit the ball

as many times as you can.

It just keeps coming back to you.

And I think sometimes

when we commit our way to God,

when we try to trust in Him

or pray to Him,

we treat it like a game of paddle ball.

Instead of actually rolling things over to Him,

it's like, boom,

and then it comes right back.

Instead of rolling it over to Him,

we say, well, here, God.

Take it.

And then you just never let go of it.

You keep holding on to it.

It's like a botched baton exchange

in a track and field race or something

because you keep holding on to the baton.

But to truly trust in the Lord

is to roll over our way to Him.

The meek are not self-sufficient people.

They recognize that God is sufficient.

The meek are not,

I'll do it all by myself,

the people.

They ask God to act

and they roll over their concerns to Him.

This leads to another action

related to meekness.

Psalm 37, verse 11,

Psalms 37:11

the meek shall inherit the land.

That is paralleled by Psalm 37, verse 9,

Psalms 37:9

which says those who wait for the Lord

shall inherit the land.

The parallel construction suggests to us

that meekness involves waiting on the Lord.

This makes sense

because if we really entrust ourselves to God

and roll over our ways to Him,

then the matter is really out of our hands at that point

and we have no choice but to wait for Him to act.

Verse 7 echoes the same sentiment.

Be still before the Lord

and wait patiently for Him.

We wait patiently,

rather than getting antsy and fidgety.

We are still and silent before the Lord

rather than being busy bees

that are buzzing around everywhere

trying to solve all of our problems.

The Hebrew word for wait

used in verse 9

is sometimes translated as hope.

And it's derived from a Hebrew word

that means taught,

like a guitar string that is taught

rather than loose or slack.

It's a word that means tension,

something that is taught.

It's a very apt word to describe waiting

if you think about it.

When there is tension,

something is not yet resolved.

If a rubber band is stretched out

and it is taught,

there is tension that's waiting to be released

and as soon as you let go,

it returns to its original form.

It springs back.

Similarly,

if you are waiting for something,

then you are waiting for the release

or the resolution of something

that is yet to come.

Imagine waiting for a friend

that has not yet arrived at a cafe.

You're meeting a friend

and you're waiting for your friend.

You're waiting

because you're expecting your friend to arrive.

When you stop waiting

and you leave the cafe,

that's when you have given hope,

given up hope.

You're no longer waiting.

You're no longer hoping.

You don't expect your friend to arrive.

If you don't think that God is actually there,

if you don't think that God's actually going to answer,

if you don't expect God to actually show up

and act in your life,

then you're going to treat your prayers

like praying into the empty air,

never looking for or expecting an answer.

You will think that God helps

those who help themselves

and you'll take matters into your own hands.

Seen in this way,

waiting is not a dreadful thing.

It's actually a very hopeful thing.

You wait because there's still hope.

So to be meek

is to not give up on God,

to hope,

to wait on Him,

to trust in Him,

knowing that still He will act.

To be meek

is to live in this tension

between present reality

or present struggles,

present faith,

and future reality.

When guitar strings are loose,

you can't play any music,

just clattering of metal strings.

It's only when it is taught,

when there's tension,

that it produces music.

The same is true for the believer.

It's only those who live

between the already kingdom,

the kingdom of God

that has already been inaugurated,

and the kingdom of God

that is not yet consummated.

Only people who learn to live

in that tension

between the already

and the not yet,

between Christ's first coming

and His second coming

that can produce

this beautiful music of weakness.

It's this waiting on God

that enables the meek

not to take justice

and vengeance

into their own hands.

Again and again,

if you look at Psalm 37,

it says,

fret not.

Fret not yourself

because of evil doers.

Be not envious

of wrongdoers.

Verse 7 and 9.

7 and 9.

Fret not yourself

over the one

who prospered in His way,

over the man

who carries out evil devices.

Refrain from anger

and forsake wrath.

Fret not yourself.

It tends only to evil

for the evildoers

shall be cut off,

but those who wait

for the Lord

shall inherit the land.

This is where things

get a little harder

for us, isn't it?

As proud people,

it's hard enough already

for us to be poor in spirit

and mourn,

to admit that we are sinners

and to humble ourselves

before God

and to mourn our sins.

That's already hard enough.

And so we daily depend

on the convicting work

and the comforting work

of the Holy Spirit

in our lives

so that we can be broken

and contrite in spirit

before God.

But being humble

and poor

before God

is one thing.

Being meek,

being humble

and poor

before others,

other fellow creatures,

fellow sinners

is another.

That's even harder.

Of course,

we should be meek

and lowly before God.

He is God

and we are not.

He is holy

and we are sinful.

But what about

these other people

who are just as sinful

as I am?

Fellow creatures.

We are their equals.

And in our pride,

we often,

in our self-delusion,

we like to think

that we are better

and more deserving

than those around us

and which is why

we are resentful

and bitter

when others

are doing better

than we are,

when others

are promoted

before us,

when others

get married

before us,

when others

have children

before us,

when others

get published

before us,

we fret.

That's not there.

When we are

disrespected

by other people,

when we are

disregarded

by other people,

when we are

treated like dirt

by other people,

we fret

because who likes

being stepped on

all over?

When evildoers

are not cut off,

when they are

inheriting the land,

we can become

indignant

at the injustice

of it all

and take matters

into our own hands

and get angry,

give way to anger

and wrath,

as it says here.

But God says,

refrain from anger

and forsake wrath.

Fret not yourself.

It tends only to evil.

Instead,

the meek

leave vengeance

to God.

As it says

in Romans 12, 19,

Beloved,

never avenge yourselves,

but leave it

to the wrath

of God,

for it is written,

vengeance is mine.

I will repay,

says the Lord.

The meek

fret not

because

they're not

done

waiting on God

yet.

Yes,

the evil

are not

caught off yet.

yes,

the evil

inherit the land

still,

but I'm not

done

waiting on God

yet.

So they fret not.

The meek

shall inherit

the earth.

This is where

we get the

popular meaning

of the word

meek.

It means,

as Merriam-Webster

Dictionary

puts it this way,

enduring

injury

with patience

and without

resentment.

the meek

are not

defensive.

They are

not sensitive.

They're not

defensive because

they have a

strong defender

in God.

The meek

are calm

and steady

in the midst

of upheaval

and unfair

treatment because

their God

is an

immovable

fortress.

This is why

only Christians

can truly

be meek.

remember what

I said last

week.

God is the

ultimate

blessed one.

So that

state of

blessedness,

happiness,

blessed are

the meek,

cannot be

found apart

from God

himself.

It's part of

the fruit of

the Spirit.

Galatians 5.23,

it's often

translated gentleness,

but it's the same

word as here,

meekness.

These are

Holy Spirit

born traits.

These are not

the natural

temperament of

human beings

or a certain

personality that

people have.

We can easily

confuse this

with people

who tend to

appear to have

a meek

personality or

temperament,

but that's not

the meekness,

that's the fruit

of the Spirit

that is described

here.

D. Martin

Lloyd-Jones is

helpful.

He puts it

this way in his

book,

Studies in the

Sermon on the

Mount,

which is really

just a collection

of his sermons.

He says,

there are people

who appear to be

meek in a natural

sense,

but they are not

meek at all.

They are indolent.

We're lazy.

That is not the

quality of which

the Bible is

speaking,

nor does it

mean flabbiness.

I use the term

advisably.

There are people

who are easygoing,

and you tend to

say how meek

they are,

but it is not

meekness,

it is flabbiness.

Nor does it

mean niceness.

There are people

who seem to be

born naturally

nice.

That is not

what the Lord

means when he

says,

blessed are the

meek.

Nor does it

mean weakness

in personality

or character.

Still less

does it mean a

spirit of compromise

or peace at any

price.

How often are

these things

mistaken?

How often is

the man regarded

as meek who

says anything

rather than have

a disagreement?

Let's agree.

Let's try to

break down these

distinctions and

divisions.

Let's smooth over

these little things

that divide.

Let's all be nice

and joyful and

happy.

No, no, it is

not that.

Meekness is

compatible with

great strength.

Meekness is

compatible with

great authority

and power.

These people we

have looked at

have been great

defenders of the

truth.

The meek man is

one who may so

believe in standing

for the truth

that he will die

for it if necessary.

The martyrs

were meek,

but they were

never weak.

Strong men,

yet meek men.

This is a

needful

qualification.

Meekness is

not the same

thing as

weakness.

The powerless

and the

powerful may

both be

meek in

Christ.

The Greek

word that's

used in the

passage for

meek is

most often

found outside

of the Bible

to describe

animals.

In particular

to describe

animals that

are calm

or tame.

The Greek

philosopher

Xenophon

says this,

As you know,

we call those

creatures noble

that are

beautiful,

great,

and helpful,

and yet

gentle or

meek toward

men.

For example,

a powerful

ox that is

tame and

gentle toward

the farmer.

In one

instance,

Xenophon

comments that

warhorses that

have done

hard work,

that have been

drilled and

have been

run hard,

worked hard,

will stand

meekly together

with other

warhorses.

soldiers.

And he

adds that

soldiers,

when they

are well

drilled,

like these

warhorses,

they will

be certainly

more courageous

in the face

of the enemy.

We can see

from these

illustrations that

meekness does

not refer to

weakness.

Who would

ever call an

ox or a

horse weak?

They are

massive,

powerful animals,

but they are

meek when they

are tamed.

when their

strength is

under control.

A wild,

unbroken

stallion,

despite all

its strength,

is completely

useless in

battle.

But a

meek

stallion,

who heeds

the call of

its master

and can

come to

heal in

a command

in a

moment's

time,

and can

gallop

into the

din of

battle at

one

command,

that meek

stallion

is very

useful.

Great

asset in

battle.

Meekness

also does

not mean

that you

cannot ever

contend for

or argue

for the

truth.

Meekness,

as Martin

Lloyd-Jones

said earlier,

is not

agreeableness,

agreement at

all costs.

That's not

what meekness

is.

Nowadays,

identity

politics is

the name

of the

game,

and people

think that

it's your

identity

that gives

you the

right to

speak.

It's your

identity that

makes you

credible.

If you

belong to

a particular

race,

or ethnicity,

or nationality,

or religion,

or gender,

or sexual

preference,

or caste,

or class,

or disability,

then you're

allowed to

speak.

Then you're

allowed to

speak with

authority on

certain things.

And if you

don't belong to

those classes,

then, well,

you should

just shut up

and listen.

That's what

they say.

But that's

what G.K.

Chesterton

calls the

dislocation of

humility,

or dislocation

of modesty.

He wrote

this in his

book,

Orthodoxy,

in 1908.

What we

suffer from

today is

humility in

the wrong

place.

Modesty

has moved

from the

organ of

ambition.

Modesty

has settled

upon the

organ of

conviction,

where it

was never

meant to

be.

A man

was meant

to be

doubtful

about himself,

but undoubting

about the

truth.

This has

been exactly

reversed.

Nowadays,

the part of

a man that

a man does

assert is

exactly the

part he ought

not to

assert himself.

The part he

doubts is

exactly the

part he ought

not to

doubt,

the divine

reason.

We're on

the road to

producing a

race of

men too

mentally

modest to

believe in

the

multiplication

they are.

He said

this,

can you

guys believe

it,

over 100

years ago.

And we've

already arrived

in 2025.

Cambridge

Public Schools,

I found out

when I went

to the

parent-teacher

meeting with

my daughter,

they've

changed the

way they

teach long

division,

because the

way they have

taught long

division,

they've been

just inequitable.

How is

long division

inequitable?

That's a

dislocation of

modesty.

That's false

humility.

It must be

the problem

with the

way we

teach it,

because surely

it cannot be

the problem

with those

students.

Nowadays,

people say,

well, this

is my

personal

opinion.

When they

say, well,

this is my

personal opinion,

then it's

almost as if

they assume

automatically

now their

opinion is

sacrosanct,

is no longer

contestable.

Well, this

is my

personal opinion.

Yes, everybody

is entitled

to their

personal opinion,

but that

doesn't mean

your opinion

is reasonable.

Nobody is

entitled to

their own

version of

the truth,

because there

is only

one truth.

Meekness

does not

mean that

we make

no claim

on another

person's

opinion or

other person's

belief.

Meekness

does not

mean that

we never

share our

Christian faith

with others.

You believe,

you do you,

and I do me.

You believe what

you believe,

and I'll

believe what I

believe.

Meekness does

not mean that

we never

correct others.

Oh, I think

I would never

do that

personally, but

I'm not going

to say anything

about it.

No, meekness

brings correction.

Meekness speaks

the truth.

Meekness does

not mean we

don't do

these things.

It just

changes the

way we do

these things.

When Paul is

addressing the

Corinthians who

mock him,

Paul is

humble and

face-to-face.

He's only bold

when he is away

from us and

writing his

letters.

That's what

Corinthians were

mocking him.

And then Paul

says to them,

he entreats them,

in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 10:1

10 verse 1,

by the meekness

and gentleness

of Christ.

Paul says to

them in 1 Corinthians

4.21,

what do you

wish?

Shall I come

to you with

a rod or

with love in

the spirit of

gentleness?

Same word,

meekness.

Galatians 6.1

says,

brothers,

if anyone is

caught in any

transgression,

you who are

spiritual should

restore him in

a spirit of

gentleness or

meekness.

Same word.

The Lord's

servant,

it says in

2 Timothy 2.24-25,

must not be

quarrelsome,

but kind to

everyone,

able to teach,

patiently enduring

evil,

correcting his

opponents with

gentleness.

Again,

the same word,

meekness.

And this applies

to all of us,

not just to

the servants

of the Lord.

1 Peter 3.15,

in your hearts

honor Christ

the Lord as

holy,

always being

prepared to

make a

defense to

anyone who

asks you for

a reason for

the hope that

is in you.

Yet do it

with gentleness

and respect.

Same word,

meekness.

Meekness of

wisdom,

James 3.17

says,

is first pure

and peaceable,

gentle,

open to reason,

full of mercy

and good fruits,

impartial and

sincere.

Two people

might disagree

strongly and

even argue

passionately,

but if they

are meek,

they're going

to be

teachable,

they're going

to be

peaceable,

they're going

to be

gentle and

open to

reason,

they're going

to be

impartial and

sincere.

So yes,

we are supposed

to make a

defense for

our faith in

Jesus Christ.

We are supposed

to correct our

opponents and

restore them

to a

caracad

in transgression,

but we do

all of those

things with

meekness,

in a non-quaralsome

way,

non-self-defensive

way.

The goal is

to defend

the truth,

not to

defend

ourselves.

Having defined

meekness,

now let's look

at some

examples of

the meek

from scripture.

We'd be

remiss to

omit Moses,

since we're

told,

it's quite a

compliment in

Numbers 12

Numbers 12:3

verse 3,

Now the

man Moses

was very

meek,

more than

all people

who were

on the

face of

the earth.

That's

pretty amazing.

We learn

that personal

detail about

Moses while

he's facing

intense

personal

criticism,

and not

from anybody,

from people

who are closest

to him,

his own

brother and

sister,

Aaron and

Miriam.

who are

also leaders

in the

Israelite

camp,

with prominent

positions and

influence.

He says in

Numbers 12,

1-2,

Miriam and

Aaron spoke

against Moses

because of

the Cushite

woman whom

he had

married,

for he

had married

a Cushite

woman.

And they

said,

Has the

Lord indeed

spoken only

through Moses?

Has he

not spoken

through us

also?

The

narrator

confirms

Miriam and

Aaron's

accusation

Moses did

marry a

Cushite

woman.

Faithful

Jews should

have

married

other

faithful

Jews

to

continue

their

faith,

protect,

and

safeguard

the

covenant.

Moses,

however,

was married

to a

Cushite

woman.

Miriam and

Aaron were

also right

that God

hadn't only

spoken through

Moses.

It was

true.

God had

spoken through

Aaron and

Miriam,

and we

see that

throughout

the book

of Exodus.

So what

they're

saying is

surface level

and it's

true.

But what

they're

implying,

however,

is very

false.

Because they're

suggesting

Moses doesn't

keep the

law of God.

Moses doesn't

deserve to

lead the

people of

God.

let's

find someone

more

qualified.

Oh,

look,

we're

right

here.

Miriam and

Aaron.

There are

many lines

of defense

that Moses

could have

taken.

If I

were Moses'

lawyer in

this situation,

there are

many things

I could

have said.

Miriam and

Aaron,

don't you

know,

somebody

really powerful

named Pharaoh

was trying

to kill

me.

I was

exiled and

living in the

wilderness of

Miriam for

40 years.

Where am I

supposed to

find a

Jewish woman

to marry?

I never

thought I

would see my

people again.

And plus,

Zipporah and

her family have

only been good

to me and

she is now a

faithful follower

of Yahweh.

You think

that I want

to do this?

I told God

many times I

don't want to

do this.

But he

told me I

have to do

it.

He told me I

have to speak

for him.

He told me I

have to lead

the people of

God.

I didn't

choose this.

God put me

in this

position.

I didn't

choose this.

God put me

in this position.

But what's

amazing about

this passage is

not what

Moses says,

it's what he

doesn't say.

He doesn't

say a

thing.

Do you

know who

says

something?

Not

Moses.

God.

It says in

verse 5 and

10,

Numbers 12,

and the

Lord came

down in a

pillar of

cloud and

stood at

the entrance

of the

tent and

called Aaron

and Miriam.

And they

both came

forward and

he said,

hear my

words.

If there

is a prophet

among you,

I, the

Lord, make

myself known

to him in

a vision.

I speak

with him

in a

dream.

Not so

with my

servant

Moses.

He's

faithful in

all my

house.

With him

I speak

mouth to

mouth,

clearly,

and not in

riddles,

and he

beholds a

form of

the Lord.

Why then

were you not

afraid to

speak against

my servant

Moses?

And the

anger of

the Lord

was kindled

against him

and he

departed.

When the

cloud removed

from over

the tent,

behold,

Miriam was

leprous like

snow.

Probably

because Miriam

was the

instigator.

That's why

her name

is named

first in

verse 1.

This is an

illustration of

meekness.

This is the

reason why

the narrator

inserted that

comment in

verse 3.

Now the

man Moses

was very

meek,

more than

all the

people who

were on

the face

of the

earth.

Because he

was meek,

Moses did

not fret

when his

authority and

his integrity

were unfairly

questioned and

challenged.

He committed

his way to

the Lord.

He rolled

over his

way to

the Lord

and waited

patiently for

God.

And God

graciously

acts.

He doesn't

have to,

but God

acts.

King David

is another

great example,

one of my

various examples.

While he

is still a

servant of

King Saul,

the envious

Saul, who

knows that

David's becoming

more popular

and that

David's the

one who's

destined to

be king,

starts trying

to kill

him.

And David

escapes by a

hair several

times from

Saul's grip.

And then

later on,

when he

has two

opportunities,

not one,

two opportunities

to kill

Saul, take

his life,

he refuses

to raise up

his hand

against Saul.

And the

reason is

because Saul

is still

the Lord's

anointed.

Yes, he's

imperfect.

Yes, he has

sinned, but

he's the

Lord's anointed.

It's remarkable

meekness.

Never mind

that prophet

Samuel earlier

in 1 Samuel

15-26 have

already pronounced

the Lord's

rejection of

Saul.

You have

rejected the

word of the

Lord.

The Lord

has rejected

you from

being king

over his

will.

Never mind

that prophet

Samuel has

already anointed

David to be

the next king

in 1 Samuel

16-13.

It would have

been so easy

for David to

justify killing

Saul.

He tried to

kill me many

times.

This is

self-defense.

And he's

been rejected

by God.

This is

divine

sanction.

I'm supposed

to be king.

This is right.

This is

destiny.

And God

has brought

him right

here and I

can just

kill him.

He's asleep.

And yet he

doesn't do it.

It's as if he

has this

allergic reaction

to doing

anything to

harm the

Lord's

anointed.

It's his

fear of

God.

It stays

his hand.

How can

I touch

the Lord's

anointed?

If God

is going

to

impose

him,

let him

do it.

I will

have no

part in

destroying

the Lord's

anointed.

George Orwell

wrote in the

dystopian novel

1984,

we know

that no

one ever

seizes

power with

the intention

of relinquishing

it.

Power is

not a

means,

it is an

end.

One does

not establish

a dictatorship

in order to

safeguard a

revolution.

One makes

the revolution

in order to

establish a

dictatorship.

isn't this

too often

true in

our sinful

world?

And for

that reason,

we think

this is very

common

knowledge.

This is how

Washington,

D.C.

is run.

People assume

that if you

want power,

you have to

seize it.

But David

does not

seize power.

He does

not seize

authority for

himself.

He waits

for the

Lord to

give him

the kingship

that he

promised.

That's

meekness.

And then,

obviously,

he's not

perfect.

He is

very far

from perfect.

He sins,

commits adultery

with Bathsheba,

and then he

arranges for

her husband,

Uriah,

to be killed.

And because

of that,

he's confronted

by prophet

Nathan,

who comes

to him and

says,

you are the

man who

did these

wicked things.

And in

David's

response,

and this is

the punishment

that's pronounced

on him,

is that he's

going to have

rebellion on

his hand.

One of his

own is going

to overthrow

him.

And he

is going

to sleep

with his

wives in

broad daylight

while everybody's

watching him.

This is the

punishment,

consequence of

his own

grave sin.

And yet,

when that is

told to him,

there's not a

hint of self-defense

or self-justification

or a plea for

the commutation of

his sentence.

David simply

says,

I have sinned

against the Lord.

That's

poverty of spirit.

mourning.

And then

later on,

in 2 Samuel 16,

when Nathan's

prophecy is

fulfilled,

Absalom,

his son,

stages a coup

and overthrows

David.

And then he

proceeds to

sleep with all

of his

concubines that

have been

left in the

palace.

And as he

is fleeing

in shame

with his

soldiers,

his army,

and as he's

leaving,

there's a

man named

Shimei who

is from the

household of

Saul.

And he

starts slandering

him and

reviling him

and cursing

him and

pelting him

with stones,

saying,

Get out!

Get out,

you man of

blood!

You worthless

man!

The Lord has

avenged on you

all the blood

of the house

of Saul,

in whose place

you have

reigned.

And the Lord

has given

the kingdom

into the

hand of

your son

Absalom.

See,

your evil

is on you,

for you are

a man of

blood.

It's quite

an unfair

criticism if

you consider

the fact that

David,

that the length

that David went

to not lay

a hand on

Saul.

And not

only that,

David's not

alone when

he's being

reviled in

this way.

He's surrounded

by his

mighty men.

All the

people and

all the

mighty men

were on

his right

hand,

on his

left,

as he's

being

mistreated

in this

way.

And one

of his

mighty men,

Abishai,

says this

to David,

Why should

this dead

dog curse

my Lord,

the king?

Let me

go over

and take

off his

head.

And then

David says

to him,

if he is

cursing because

the Lord has

said to him,

curse David,

who then

shall say,

why have you

done so?

Leave him

alone and

let him

curse,

for the Lord

has told him

to.

It may be

that the Lord

will look on

the wrong

God to me,

and that the

Lord will repay

me with good

for his

cursing today.

That's what

meekness