Click to Play
5 plays
Sign in to like or dislike songs
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
These two statements of Jesus form the foundation of the theme: meekness and promise. One declares a *blessing* and an *inheritance*; the other declares a *yoke* and *rest*. Many believers admire these words, but few understand their depth, and fewer still walk in their power.
Jesus links:
The lyrics echo these truths:
> Blessed are the meek,
> for they will inherit the earth.
> …
> Gentle hearts, humble spirits—
> God’s promise stands forever.
We are dealing here with a spiritual law of the Kingdom. In the world, the strong, assertive, and self-promoting appear to rule. In the Kingdom of God, the meek—those who submit to God’s will—are the ones destined to inherit.
To understand this promise, we must see what Scripture says, in its context, in its language, and in its spiritual logic.
---
### The Setting of Matthew 5:5 – The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5:5 appears in the opening section of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), commonly known as the Beatitudes. Jesus is addressing His disciples in the presence of the multitudes (Matthew 5:1–2). He is presenting the laws of His Kingdom—laws that often stand in direct opposition to the values of this world.
The Beatitudes are not pious wishes or religious poetry. They are declarations of fact: “Blessed are…” indicates a condition and a destiny. The word “blessed” (Greek: *makarios*) means more than “happy.” It signifies a state of being approved by God, favored by God, under the smile of God.
So when Jesus says:
> “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5),
He is not saying, “It would be nice if we were meek.” He is describing the kind of person who is in alignment with God’s Kingdom and therefore destined to inherit.
Furthermore, Jesus is not inventing a new idea. He is echoing Psalm 37:11:
> “But the meek will inherit the land
> and enjoy great peace.”
He is taking an Old Testament promise and lifting it up to its full Kingdom meaning.
### The Setting of Matthew 11:29 – A Call to the Weary
Matthew 11:28–30 records a different moment:
> “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
> Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
> for I am gentle and humble in heart,
> and you will find rest for your souls.
> For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Here Jesus speaks to those who are exhausted—crushed under religious legalism, sin, and life’s burdens. He does not say, “Learn principles from Me.” He says, “Learn *from Me*.” He presents Himself as the pattern and the teacher.
And what does He emphasize about Himself?
> “I am gentle and humble in heart.”
The One who will judge the world reveals the core of His heart: gentle and humble.
This is the same quality He commends in Matthew 5:5, now embodied in His own life. In other words:
The lyrics reflect this invitation:
> Take my yoke upon you
> and learn from me,
> for I am gentle and humble in heart,
> and you will find rest for your souls.
We are not merely called to admire meekness in Jesus, but to receive His yoke, learn His ways, and share His inheritance.
---
### 1. “Meek” – *praus* (πραΰς)
The word translated “meek” in Matthew 5:5 is the Greek *praus*. This word is often misunderstood. In modern English, “meek” is associated with weakness, timidity, or passivity. That is not the biblical meaning.
*Praus* was used in Greek to describe:
Thus, *praus* does not mean lack of strength; it means strength under authority.
Biblical meekness is:
When the lyrics say:
> Gentle hearts, humble spirits—
> God’s promise stands forever.
They reflect the idea of *praus*: a heart that is not self-willed, but aligned with the will of God.
Jesus Himself is described in Matthew 21:5 (quoting Zechariah 9:9):
> “See, your king comes to you, gentle (*praus*) and riding on a donkey…”
The King who has all authority in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18) is *praus*—meek, submitted to the Father, not self-promoting.
### 2. “Gentle” and “Humble in Heart” – *praus* and *tapeinos* (ταπεινός)
In Matthew 11:29, Jesus says:
> “I am gentle (*praus*) and humble (*tapeinos*) in heart…”
We have again *praus* – meek, gentle, power under control.
The word *tapeinos* means:
Philippians 2:8 uses a related term of Jesus:
> “He humbled (*tapeinoō*) himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
Humility in Scripture is not mainly a feeling; it is obedience. To be *tapeinos* is to take the place of submission to God’s will.
So when Jesus says He is “gentle and humble in heart,” He is saying:
This defines the “yoke” He offers us: a life of surrendered strength and obedient humility.
This deepens the lyrics:
> Gentle hearts, humble spirits—
> God’s promise stands forever.
The promise is not to the religiously impressive, but to those whose hearts and wills come under God’s authority, as Jesus Himself did.
---
Let us now move through the themes of the lyrics and connect them to Scripture.
### A. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
This line is repeated several times in the lyrics because in the Kingdom, repetition signals importance. It is a central decree of Jesus.
#### 1. “Blessed” – Positioned Under God’s Favor
The blessing here is not circumstantial but positional. Many of the meek, in this age, appear to lose—passed over, misunderstood, trampled by the proud. But Jesus declares a different verdict from heaven.
Psalm 37, which Jesus echoes, contrasts the wicked and the meek:
> “For those who are evil will be destroyed,
> but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.” (Psalm 37:9)
> “But the meek will inherit the land
> and enjoy great peace.” (Psalm 37:11)
The wicked may flourish temporarily. They may seize land and power by force, manipulation, and pride. But God has already decreed the final outcome: the meek will inherit.
#### 2. “Inherit the earth” – Not Ownership by Force, but by Promise
The word “inherit” is crucial. Inheritance is not earned by effort; it is received by relationship and legal right.
In the Old Testament, the promised land was Israel’s inheritance (Deuteronomy 4:21). In the New Testament, the scope broadens:
> “It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.”
> “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
> and they will reign on the earth.”
The meek shall inherit not just a strip of land, but the renewed earth under Christ’s reign.
Hebrews 2:5 speaks of “the world to come, about which we are speaking.” That is where this promise finds its fullness. The coming Kingdom will not be governed by the proud, but by those who have learned meekness under the yoke of Christ.
The lyrics proclaim this Kingdom reality:
> The meek will be lifted high—
> they will receive the earth as their own.
Lifted high when? Ultimately, in the age to come, at the return of Christ, when the last become first and the first become last (Matthew 19:30).
### B. “Gentle hearts, humble spirits—God’s promise stands forever.”
This refrain speaks of character and certainty.
#### 1. The Internal Condition: “Gentle hearts, humble spirits”
The Beatitudes all focus on inner conditions: poor in spirit, pure in heart, meek, hungry for righteousness. God works from the inside out.
Meekness and humility deal especially with the will. The proud heart insists, “My will be done.” The meek heart echoes Jesus in Gethsemane:
> “Not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)
This is not weakness; it is alignment with the Almighty.
#### 2. The Divine Certainty: “God’s promise stands forever.”
The inheritance of the meek is not wishful thinking; it is covenant promise. God’s Word is His oath.
> “The grass withers and the flowers fall,
> but the word of our God endures forever.”
> “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
So the lyrics rightly stress the permanence of the promise: it stands forever. Human systems rise and fall. Empires appear and vanish. The proud dominate for a moment, then are removed. But the word of Jesus—“they will inherit the earth”—cannot be annulled.
### C. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…”
Here we move from description (“Blessed are the meek”) to invitation and discipleship.
#### 1. “Yoke” – Symbol of Submission and Partnership
A yoke joins two animals together and directs their work. To “take my yoke” is to:
We live in an age that exalts independence. But the Kingdom of God operates under yoke: Jesus is Lord. There is no authentic meekness without yoke. Many want the *rest* of Jesus without the *yoke* of Jesus. That is impossible.
#### 2. “Learn from me” – Meekness is Learned
Jesus does not say, “Be meek.” He says, “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.”
This means:
Hebrews 5:8 says of Jesus:
> “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered…”
If the sinless Son “learned” obedience through suffering, how much more must we learn meekness in the school of life—through trials, misunderstandings, and the discipline of God.
### D. “…for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Here Jesus reveals both His character and the outcome for those who share it.
#### 1. His Character: The Pattern of True Meekness
Jesus did not merely teach meekness; He embodied it.
> “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;
> when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”
That is
No more songs available