Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1105
“I am meek and lowly in heart.” Matthew 11:29.
WE have preached upon the whole of this passage several times before, therefore we do not intend to speak upon it in its full teaching, or enter upon its general run and connection. But we select for our meditation this one expression, which has greater depth in it than we shall be able to fully explore—“I am meek and lowly in heart.” I have felt very grateful to God for the mercy of the past week during which the ministers educated in our College have been gathered together as a devout convocation and have enjoyed a flood-tide of the Divine blessing. Unusually great and special joy has filled my soul and, therefore, I have asked myself, “What can I do to glorify the Lord my God who has been so gracious to me and has so prospered the work committed to me and my Brethren?”
The answer which my heart gave was this—“Endeavor to bring sinners to Jesus. Nothing is sweeter to Him than that, for He loves the sons of men.” Then I said to myself, “But how can I bring sinners to Christ? What means will the Holy Spirit be likely to use for that purpose?” And the answer came, “If you would preach sinners to Christ you must preach Christ to sinners, for nothing so attracts the hearts of men as Jesus Himself.” The best argument to bring sinners to believe in Jesus is Jesus. Has He not, Himself said, “I, if I am lifted up, will draw all men unto Me?” Then I said, “But what shall I preach concerning Jesus?” And my soul replied, “Preach the loving heart of Jesus. Go to the center of the subject and set forth His very Soul, His inmost Self, and then it may be that the heart of Jesus will draw the hearts of men.”
Now it is very remarkable that the only passage in the whole New Testament in which the heart of Jesus is distinctly mentioned is the one before us. Of course there are passages in which His heart is intended, as for instance when the soldier, with a spear, pierced His side, but this passage is unique as to the actual mentioning of the kardia or heart of Jesus by a distinct word. There are several passages in the Old Testament which refer to our Divine Lord, such as— “Reproach has broken My heart, and I am full of heaviness.” And that notable one, in the 22nd Psalm, “My heart is like wax, it has melted within Me.” But in the New Testament this is the only passage which speaks of the heart of Jesus Christ and therefore we will weigh it with all the more care.
Without further preface we shall have two things carefully to do. First, to consider the description here given of the heart of Jesus. And then, secondly, we will labor to obey the exhortations which are connected with this description. For both these matters we shall need the rich assistance of the Holy Spirit and I pray that it may be vouchsafed, since it is the Spirit’s office to take of the things of Christ and show them unto us. We may confidently expect that He will shine upon so choice a subject as the sacred heart of our loving Lord!
I. LET US MEDITATE UPON THE DESCRIPTION OF THE HEART OF THE LORD JESUS, which is presented
to us in the text. It consists of two adjectives—“I am meek and lowly in heart.” There is no pomp or display in either of the qualities mentioned. They both belong to the gentle order of virtues and are but little esteemed among the princes of this world and their warriors. The first is the word, “meek.” It is used in the New Testament in the third Beatitude— “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” And by Peter, when speaking of “the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.” Of our Lord it is also said—“Behold your King comes to you, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.”
The original word has the significations of “mild, gentle, soft, meek.” Such is the heart of Christ. And you will observe that Jesus Christ says this concerning Himself—“I am meek in heart.” There are points of character which a man could not fitly declare concerning himself, or it might savor of self-praise. But the virtue of meekness was of old so little esteemed that a man might claim it without being suspected of seeking approbation. It is remarkable that Moses, also,
has recorded in the 12th chapter of the Book of Numbers the fact that he was remarkable for meekness—“Now the man Moses was very meek above all the men that were upon the face of the earth.”
It has been thought by some that the verse must be an interpolated one and could not have been written by Moses, but I strongly object to the supposition of interpolations, although that method of removing difficulties is now so very fashionable in certain quarters. But I think we ought never to fall back upon that suggestion unless we are absolutely forced to do so. I believe that Moses, guided by Infallible Inspiration, wrote that description of himself for our example, and was utterly free from any vainglory in so doing, just as our blessed Lord, in all lowliness, here spoke concerning Himself, and said, “I am meek and lowly in heart.”