words comes wonderful and
strange, a visitation from above. It is well that He spoke, for no one
else could have done it as well; and it is good that we listen. His
words are the essence of truth. He is not offering an opinion; Jesus
never uttered opinions. He never guessed; He knew, and He knows. His
words are not as Solomon's were, the sum of sound wisdom or the results
of keen observation. He spoke out of the fulness of His Godhead, and His
words are very Truth itself. He is the only one who could say "blessed"
with complete authority, for He is the Blessed One come from the world
above to confer blessedness upon mankind. And His words were supported
by deeds mightier than any performed on this earth by any other man. It
is wisdom for us to listen.

As was often so with Jesus, He used this word "meek" in a brief crisp
sentence, and not till some time later did He go on to explain it. In
the same book of Matthew He tells us more about it and applies it to our
lives. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light." Here we have two things standing in
contrast to each other, a burden and a rest. The burden is not a local
one, peculiar to those first hearers, but one which is borne by the
whole human race. It consists not of political oppression or poverty or
hard work. It is far deeper than that. It is felt by the rich as well as
the poor for it is something from which wealth and idleness can never
deliver us.

The burden borne by mankind is a heavy and a crushing thing. The word
Jesus used means a load carried or toil borne to the point of
exhaustion. Rest is simply release from that burden. It is not
something we do, it is what comes to us when we cease to do. His own
meekness, that is the rest.

Let us examine our burden. It is altogether an interior one. It attacks
the heart and the mind and reaches the body only from within. First,
there is the burden of _pride_. The labor of self-love is a heavy one
indeed. Think for yourself whether much of your sorrow has not arisen
from someone speaking slightingly of you. As long as you set yourself up
as a little god to which you must be loyal there will be those who will
delight to offer affront to your idol. How then can you hope to have
inward peace? The heart's fierce effort to pr