In the NT use of the word, meekness (rpoi-nys, j TrpaoTTjs) is commonly interpreted as meaning ! gentleness of disposition, peaceableness of temper i in the face of provocation and ^^Tong. It is the spirit of one who is not easily provoked, but keeps j under control the natural instinct to a.ssert oneself I and to retaliate. It is the oppo.site of irascibility and the spirit of revenge. That is to say, it is conceived as a disposition re>tricted in its exercise to a mans relation with his fellow-men. But in i reality Hieekness has a deeper and wider signifi- cance. Cit is, to begin with, a disposition towards God, the humble submission to the Di\-ine will, the quiet acceptance of the discipline of life as coming from One who in infinite wisdom and love directs the destinies of menN This is made clear by the Biblical histoiy of vpats. In the LXX, irpai's is most fi-equently employed as the tr. of ij^' — one who bows himself down in lowliness be- neath the hand of God. The wpaeh are the class of atHicted ones who accept their sorrows without murmuring, and yield themselves in trust and in hope to the will of God. When Jesus pronounced His blessing on ' the meek,' it was this class of humble, uncomplaining. God-fearing suflerers that He had in view. His appropriation of the words in Ps 37" is conclusive proof of that. That ' the meek ' of the Beatitude have so often been ex- clusively conceived as those who are peaceable and unvindictive in their dealings Avith their fel- low-men, is due to the fact that the Greek concep- tion of Tf>avTT]s * has governed the interpretation, instead of the conception represented by the under- lying Hebrew word. At the same time, this common interpretation of vfxivnjs is not to be rejected as alien to the NT meaning. The attitude of humble submission to the will of God carries with it of necessitj' a disposition of gentleness and forbear- ance towards men who are harsh and provocative in their dealings, not only because they are to be regarded as the instruments of the Divine discip- line, but because only through the loving restraint of angry and A^ndictive feelings can the gracious will of God be done in human relationships. The primary significance of meekness is the calm and trustful acceptance of God's vdll, when it is ad- verse, as meaning our good ; but this involves in regard to our fellow-men the quiet and patient endurance of scorn, annoyance, and opposition.
2. Meekness in relation to God. — Regarded as the submissive attitude of the soul towards God, meekness has its root in a humble, childlike faith. To use the words of Gregory of Nyssa, humility is ' the mother of meekness.' Humility and meek- ness are kindred virtues ; hence thev are often mentioned together (Eph 4-. Col 3'-, cf. Mt 11"-^). Humility is the soul's attitude induceti by a proper sense of ones creaturely weakness, ignorance, and unworthiness in presence of the Most High ; meek- ness is the attendant disposition, bom of humility, which constrains the soiil to bow without com- plaining before the will of God in the hard and perplexing experiences of life. The soul that thus bows meekly beneath the Di\-ine discipline is not open to the reproach of feebleness or insensibility ;
* See, for the Greek conception of r^pxi-rr;, Aristotle, yic Elh. iv. 7.
160
MEEKNESS
MEEKXESS
it is meek, not because it is too callous to feel the pain of sorrow and misfortune or too spiritless to jjrotest aj^ainst it, but because it bends in lowly and childlike trust before the unsearchable wisdom and love of God. "Wliere there is faith in the uni- versal operation of tlie all-wise love of God, meek- ness shows itself in the unmurmuring surrender to the Divine will and in the patient endurance of that will. And from this attitude towards God there flows the blessing of peace. Meekness is the channel by which the gracious love of God is com- municated to the soul as waters of refreshment and rest. This is the truth taught under a dif- ferent figure in Mt IP^. Meekness is the easy yoke of Jesus which enables the weai'y and heavy- laden to bear the discipline laid upon them with- out chafing and complaining. Amid outward conditions which are hard and oppressive, they who like Jesus ai'e ' meek and lowly of heart,' who bow before God with a profound sense of His in- finitely wise and perfect will, find ' rest unto their, souls ' ; tiiey are freed from that inward restive- ness anld discontent which aggravate the outward burden and wear away the strength. Not only is meekness a strong and heroic quality which curbs the natural impulse to fume and rebel against God's will, but it is the means whereby the soul is reinforced by a Divine power to endui'e life's discipline with courage.
Meekness before God is, then, tlie natural ethical outcome of humble faith in the Divine Father who in unerring wisdom and holy love orders the life of men. It is seen in its crowning manifestation in Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Co 10^), for whom alike in the tasks which He undertook and in the sorrows which He bore tiie Fatlier's will was supreme. When faitlifulness to His mission brought upon Him unmerited sufl'ering, He endured it in meekness, assured that it was God's iioly will for Him. That His meekness was not merely a passive virtue, but one tiiat was pervaded bj' a moral vigour and strength of purpose, is made clear by the conflict in Gethsemane. In the prayer of lowly submis- sion, ' Not my will but thine be done,' we see the meekness of Jesus, in respect of God's dealings with Him, in its Divinest light. The agony and the bloody sweat, the prayer, ' If it be possible, let this cup pass away from me,' not only set in vivid relief the moral grandeur of Christ's willing accept- ance of His Fatlier's will, but they show with con- vincing power tliat true meekness is not the easy outcome of insensibility or tameness of spirit, but the victory of a strong nature over personal desires wiiicli conflict with the will of God.