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A Discourse on Meekness and Quietness of Spirit
Matthew Henry (18 October 1662 � 22 June 1714) was an English commentator on the Bible and Presbyterian minister.
122 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1699
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About the author
Matthew Henry
1,117Ìýbooks124ÌýfollowersMatthew Henry was an English non-conformist clergyman. Henry's well-known Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (1708â€�1710) is a commentary of a practical and devotional rather than of a critical kind, covering the whole of the Old Testament, and the Gospels and Acts in the New Testament.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 19, 2022
“Meekness is very closely related to that "patience" which our Lord Jesus prescribes to us as necessary to the keeping possession of our own souls. How calm are the thoughts, how serene are the affections, how rational the prospects, and how even and composed are all the resolves of the meek and quiet soul! How free from the pains and tortures of an angry man, who is deprived and dispossessed even of himself, and while he toils and vexes to make other things his own, makes his own soul not so: his reason is in a mist; confounded and bewildered, it cannot argue, infer, or foresee with any certainty. His affections are on the full speed, hurried on with an impetus which is as uneasy as it is hazardous. Who is that "good man who is satisfied from himself?" Who but the quiet man that has no need to go abroad for satisfaction, but having Christ dwelling in his heart by faith, has in Him that peace which the world can neither give nor take away.�
- Matthew Henry
I can’t overstate the gem that is this work of Henry’s. His grasp of the importance of both meekness and quietness is superbly satisfying. His pen was beautifully moved by way of the Holy Spirit, that much must be certain, as he brings to light such a glorious view of the power of meekness in a man, a power paramount to anything even the greatest conquerors among men could boast of. All the things of this world fall infinitely short when stood next to the peace offered us from God, born out of that meekness and quietness of spirit which Henry writes to us about in this book.
- Matthew Henry
I can’t overstate the gem that is this work of Henry’s. His grasp of the importance of both meekness and quietness is superbly satisfying. His pen was beautifully moved by way of the Holy Spirit, that much must be certain, as he brings to light such a glorious view of the power of meekness in a man, a power paramount to anything even the greatest conquerors among men could boast of. All the things of this world fall infinitely short when stood next to the peace offered us from God, born out of that meekness and quietness of spirit which Henry writes to us about in this book.
January 5, 2017
Wow! Wow! I cannot say enough good things about this book! The Lord gave me such a blessing bringing this book before me at this time in my life.
I knew going in that this was going to be very worthy of my time. Matthew Henry's Commentary has ever been and remains one of my very favorites. I really wish I could have known and spent time with this man. Much like Thomas Watson (another favorite of mine), his writings are so Christ-saturated, so full of love and a sweet spirit, and so PRACTICAL, that I just have to shout. BUY THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW AND READ IT THROUGH!!! I pray that it would bless you as much as it did me.
I knew going in that this was going to be very worthy of my time. Matthew Henry's Commentary has ever been and remains one of my very favorites. I really wish I could have known and spent time with this man. Much like Thomas Watson (another favorite of mine), his writings are so Christ-saturated, so full of love and a sweet spirit, and so PRACTICAL, that I just have to shout. BUY THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW AND READ IT THROUGH!!! I pray that it would bless you as much as it did me.
December 11, 2017
It is easy to want to justify ourselves, to fight back when we are unjustly accused (or at least think we are) or to just win an argument. Henry does an amazing job pointing out that we are called to meekness, and while that doesn't mean being mild and effeminate, it does mean striving to keep the peace, not reviling others, and being willing to bear with reproaches against us.
This edition is the only unabridged one I'm aware of, and also has an attached sermon which was originally published with it.
This edition is the only unabridged one I'm aware of, and also has an attached sermon which was originally published with it.
January 27, 2023
“Christians should, above all studies, study to be quiet and labor to be motivated by an even spirit under all the unevenness of Providence�
December 2, 2018
Matthew Henry is absolutely brilliant as so slowly and methodically points out the approval and blessings which God gives to meek.
June 6, 2014
But when the grace of meekness gets dominion in the soul, it alters the temper of it, submits it to management; and now the wolf dwells with the lamb, and the leopard lies down with the kid, and a little child may lead them; for enmities are laid aside, and there is nothing to hurt or destroy. Isa. 11:6, 9.
the easy and quiet submission of the soul to His whole will, according as He is pleased to make it known, whether by His word or by His providence.
the silent submission of the soul to the word of God: the understanding bowed to every divine truth, and the will to every divine precept; and both without murmuring or arguing.
the silent submission of the soul to the providence of God, for that also is the will of God concerning us.
When the events of Providence are grievous and afflicting, displeasing to sense and opposing our worldly interests, meekness not only quiets us under them, but reconciles us to them; and enables us not only to bear, but to receive evil as well as good at the hand of the Lord;
the 56th Psalm, the title of which, some think, speaks of his calm and submissive spirit when the Philistines took him in Gath. It is entitled, The Silent Dove Afar Off. It was his calamity that he was afar off, but he was then as a silent dove—mourning perhaps, Isa.38:14—but not murmuring, not struggling, not resisting,
The language of this meekness is that of Eli, "It is the Lord;" and that of David to the same purport, "Here am I; let Him do to me as seems good to Him." Not only, He can do what He will, subscribing to His power, for who can stay His hand? or, He may do what He will, subscribing to His sovereignty, for He gives not account of any of His matters; or, He will do what He will, subscribing to His unchangeableness, for He is of one mind, and who can turn Him? but, Let him do what He will, subscribing to His wisdom and goodness, as Hezekiah, "Good is the word of the Lord, which you have spoken." Let Him do what He will, for He will do what is best; and therefore if God should refer the matter to me, says the meek and quiet soul, being well assured that He knows what is good for me better than I do for myself, I would refer it to Him again: "He shall choose our inheritance for us."
meek and quiet spirit acquiesces in an assurance that all things shall work together for good to us, if we love God, though we cannot understand how or which way.
the work and office of meekness is to enable us to prudently govern our own anger when at any time we are provoked, and to patiently bear the anger of others, that it may not provoke us.
The office of meekness is to keep reason upon the throne in the soul as it ought to be; to preserve the understanding clear and unclouded, the judgment untainted and unbiased in the midst of the greatest provocations, so as to be able to set every thing in its true light, and to see it in its own color, and to determine accordingly; as also to keep silence in the court, that the "still small voice" in which the Lord is, as He was with Elijah at mount Horeb, may not be drowned by the noise of the tumult of the passions.
advice—Mishma, Dumah, Massa; the signification of which is, hear, keep silence, bear. Hear reason, keep passion silent, and then you will not find it difficult to bear the provocation.
The work of meekness is to calm the spirit, so as that the inward peace may not be disturbed by any outward provocation.
Meekness preserves the mind from being ruffled and discomposed, and the spirit from being unhinged by the vanities and vexations of this lower world. It stills the noise of the sea, the noise of her waves, and the tumult of the soul;
Meekness will curb the tongue, and "keep the mouth as with a bridle" when the heart is hot. Even when there may be occasion for a keenness of expression, and we are called to rebuke sharply—cuttingly, Titus 1:13—yet meekness forbids all fury and indecency of language, and every thing that sounds like clamor and evil-speaking.
Men in a passion are apt to reveal secrets, to make rash vows and resolutions, which afterwards prove a snare, and sometimes to slander and belie their brethren, and bring railing accusations, and so do the devil's work; and to speak that "in their haste" concerning others, Psalm 116:11, of which they afterwards see cause to repent.
law of Christ forbids us to provoke one another, unless it is "to love and good works;" and enjoins us to "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
better say nothing than say that which is provoking. When our hearts are hot within us, it is good for us to keep silence, and hold our peace:
we have been often the worse for our speaking, but seldom the worse for our silence.
yielding pacifies great offenses. Eccl. 10:4.
A needful truth spoken in anger may do more hurt than good, and offend rather than satisfy.
we have a righteous God, to whom, if in a meek silence we allow ourselves to be injured, we may commit our cause, and having his promise that He will "bring forth our righteousness as the light, and our judgment as the noonday," we had better leave it in His hands than undertake to manage it ourselves, lest that which we call clearing ourselves, God should call quarreling with our brethren.
we do thus control our tongues out of a pure regard to peace and love, it will turn to a good account, and will be an evidence for us that we are Christ's disciples, having learned to deny ourselves.
A soft answer is the dictate and dialect of that wisdom which is from above, which is peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated;
will be also a good evidence of our being forgiven of God, if we are ready to forgive those that have offended us; and such yielding pacifies great offenses. Meekness teaches us, as often as we trespass against our brother, to "turn again and say, I repent."
Quietness is the evenness, the composure and the rest of the soul, which speaks both the nature and the excellency of the grace of meekness.
That peace of conscience which Christ has left for a legacy to his disciples, that present sabbatism of the soul which is an earnest of the rest that remains for the people of God, is called "quietness and assurance forever," and is promised as the effect of righteousness.
serve a good Master, whose "Yoke is easy:" it is not only easy, but sweet and gracious, so the word signifies; not only tolerable, but amiable and acceptable. Wisdom's ways are not only pleasant, but pleasantness itself, and all her paths are peace.
Quietness is recommended as a grace which we should be endued with, and a duty which we should practice.
we must keep our spirits sedate and undisturbed, and evidence by a calm and even and regular behavior that they are so. This is quietness.
Peace in our own souls is some conformity to the example of the God of peace, who, though He does not always give peace on this earth, yet evermore "makes peace in his own high places."
quietness of spirit is the soul's stillness and silence from intending provocation to any, or resenting provocation from any with whom we have to do.
We must be quiet as the air is quiet from winds.
"they are glad because they are quiet; so He brings them to their desired haven."
meekness makes these wars to cease, breaks the bow, cuts the spear, sheathes the sword, and in the midst of a contentious world preserves the soul from being the seat of war, and makes peace in her borders.
if we would but more support and exercise the authority of our graces, and guide and control the power of our passions.
Thus a quiet soul, if provoked by the denial or loss of some earthly comfort or delight, quiets itself, and does not fret at it, nor perplex itself with anxious cares how to live without it, but composes itself to make the best of that which is.
A child newly weaned is free from all the uneasiness and disquietude of care and fear and anger and revenge: how undisturbed are its sleeps, and even in its dreams it looks pleasant and smiling. How easy its days; how quiet its nights. If put into a little sulk now and then, how soon it is over, the provocation forgiven, the sense of it forgotten, and both buried in an innocent kiss. Thus, if ever we would enter into the kingdom of heaven, we must be converted from pride, envy, ambition, and strife for precedency, and must become like little children.
We are more than conquerors; that is, triumphers: we live a life of victory; every day is a day of triumph to the meek and quiet soul.
Next to the beauty of holiness, which is the soul's agreement with God, is the beauty of meekness, which is the soul's agreement with itself.
He that in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, that is, in Christian meekness and quietness of spirit, "serves Christ, is acceptable to God and approved of men."
"Yes, all of you be subject one to another:" that explains what meekness is; it is that mutual yielding which we owe one to another, for edification and in the fear of God.
"It is a resolution never to decline any evil of pain, when the choosing of it, and the exposing of ourselves to it, is the only remedy against a greater evil."
True courage is such a presence of mind as enables a man rather to suffer than to sin; to choose affliction rather than iniquity; to pass by an affront though he lose by it, and be hissed as a fool and a coward, rather than engage in a sinful quarrel.
those who are a burden and a terror to others, will not be much otherwise to themselves.
"Great peace have they" that love this law of love, for "nothing shall offend them."
Whatever offense is intended, it is not so interpreted, and by that means peace is preserved.
A meek and quiet Christian lives very comfortably, for he enjoys himself, he enjoys his friends, he enjoys his God, and he puts it out of the reach of his enemies to disturb him in these enjoyments.
"delight themselves in the abundance of peace;"
We may certainly have—and we should do well to consider it—less inward disturbance, and more true ease and satisfaction, in forgiving twenty injuries than in avenging one.
The greatest provocations that men can give would not hurt us if we did not, by our inordinate and foolish concern, come too near them.
The days of old age would not be such evil days if old people did not, by their own frowardness and unquietness, make them worse than otherwise they would be.
The quietness of the spirit will help to suppress depression;
is the excellency of meekness, that it turns our enemies into friends,
that which ought to be our constant concern, that whenever our Master comes, we may "be found of Him in peace,"
every little failure need not be criticized, but rather should be passed by; or if the fault must be reproved and corrected, may it not be done without so much noise and clamor? Is this the product of a meek and quiet spirit? Is this the best badge of your authority you have to put on?
please learn to govern yourselves, and do not disorder your own souls under pretense of keeping order in your families; for though you yourselves may not be aware of it, yet it is certain that by those indications of your displeasure which transgress the laws of meekness, you do but render yourselves contemptible and ridiculous, and rather prostitute than preserve your authority.
Hannah's meekness and quietness was in some degree lacking, when she fretted and wept, and would not eat; but prayer composed her spirit;
It is for lack of meekness that we are so impatient of contradiction in our opinions, desires, and designs, that we must have our own saying, right or wrong, and everything our own way; that we are so impatient of competitors, not enduring that any should stand in our light, or share in that work of honor which we would engross to ourselves; that we are so impatient of contempt, so quick in our apprehension and resentment of the least slight of affront,
willfully doing anything to disquiet others—slandering, backbiting, whispering, talebearing, or the like, is too plain an evidence that we are not ourselves rightly disposed to be quiet.
If we lay the word of God before us for our rule, and will be ruled by it, we shall find the command of God making meekness and quietness as much our duty as they are our ornament.
Zeph. 2:3
"Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth—seek meekness."
prescribed for the attainment of meekness is to seek it. Ask it of God, pray for it: it is fruit of the Spirit, it is given by the God of all grace, and to Him we must go for it. It is a branch of that wisdom which he that lacks must ask of God, and it shall be given him. The God we address is called "the God of patience and consolation;" and He is the God of consolation because the God of patience—for the more patient we are, the more we are comforted under our afflictions—and as such we must look to Him when we come to Him for grace to make us "like-minded," that is, meek and loving one towards another, which is the apostle's errand at the throne of grace.
God's probabilities are better than the world's certainties;
the meek ones of the earth that hope in His mercy, and can venture their all upon an intimation of His good will, shall find to their comfort, that when God brings a flood upon the world of the ungodly, He has an ark for all his Noahs, His resting, quiet people, in which they shall be hid, it may be, from the calamity itself, at least from the sting and malignity of it�"HID," as Luther said, "either in heaven or under heaven, either in the possession or under the protection of heaven."
study these graces, which put such a luster upon holiness, and recommend it to those that are without, as beloved, beloved of God, beloved of man, beloved of your ministers: for love's sake, put on meekness. What winning, persuasive rhetoric is here! enough,
this shows that the fear of man gives greater check to their passion than the fear of God. Our rule is to be meek towards all,
We must "study" to be quiet, that is, study not to disturb others, nor to be ourselves disturbed by others: be ambitious of this, as the greatest honor,
"Let him that will, ascend the tottering seat Of courtly grandeur, and become as great As are his mounting wishes: as for me, Let sweet repose and rest my portion be. ———Let my age Slide gently by, not overthwart the stage Of public action, unheard, unseen, And unconcerned, as if I never had been."
to the disturbing and clouding of the soul. Compose yourselves to this holy rest;
To study the are of quietness is to take pains with ourselves, to have in our own hearts the principles, rules, and laws of meekness; and to furnish ourselves with such considerations as tend to the quieting of the spirit in the midst of the greatest provocations.
against all that which is ruffling and discomposing. Christians should, above all studies, study to be quiet, and labor to be motivated by an even spirit under all the unevenness of Providence, and remember that one good word which Sir William Temple tells us the prince of Orange said he learned from the master of his ship, who, in a storm, was calling to the steersman, "Steady, steady." Let but the hand be steady and the heart quiet, and though our passage be rough, we may weather the point, and get safe to the harbor.
the more we have of faith towards God, the more we shall have of meekness towards all men.
Every word has an air of meekness, and a tendency to peace.
We then "walk worthy of the vocation with which we are called," when we walk "in all lowliness and meekness."
we must, without meditating any revenge, quietly commit our cause to God, who will, sooner or later, clear up our innocence as the light, which is promised in Psa. 37:5, 6; and therefore "do not fret," but wait patiently; "cease from anger, and forsake wrath."
When reproaches provoke our passions, which excite us to render bitterness for bitterness, we thereby lose the comfort and forfeit the honor and reward which the divine promise has annexed to the reproach of Christ; and shall we suffer so many things in vain? We also thereby give occasion to those who had spoken evil of us falsely, to speak evil of us truly;
He who is master of his own passions has the sweetest and surest peace.
if we be troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, yet not in despair, 2 Cor. 4:8, 9; offended by our fellow-servants, but not offending our Master; reproached by our neighbors, but not by our own consciences—this is like Zion's peace, peace within the walls.
Lord, deliver me from that ill man, my own self, and then I am safe enough.
Whatever we lose, we shall not lose our peace, if we do but keep our integrity;
Let us believe that in times of agitation and alarm our strength is to sit still, in a holy quietness and composure of mind: "this is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing;" and it is enough.
It is a very quieting truth—the Lord help us to mix faith with it—that every creature is that to us, and no more, that God makes it to be; and that while many seek the ruler's favor, and more perhaps fear the ruler's displeasure, every man's judgement proceeds from the Lord. Would we but more closely observe, and readily own the hand of God in that which disquiets and provokes us, surely, though we regarded not man, yet, if we had any fear of God before our eyes, that would reconcile us better to it, and suppress all intemperate and undue resentments. In murmuring at the stone, we reflect upon the hand that throws it, and lay ourselves under the woe pronounced against him that strives with his Maker.
learn to call reproaches reproofs, and make use of them as such for our conviction and humiliation
instead of being angry at the man that meant us ill, we should rather be thankful to the God that intended us good, and study to answer his intention.
What is said and done in haste, is likely to be matter for deliberate repentance.
You are angry at others and reproach them, and are ready to abhor them and to revenge yourselves upon them, and your corrupt nature takes a strange kind of pleasure in this. But do you know that all this will at last rebound upon yourselves, and return into your own bosom?
That is truly best for us which is most pleasing and acceptable to God, and a meek and quiet spirit is so.
Remember how gracious and merciful and patient God is; how slow to anger, how ready forgive, and how well pleased He is to see His people resemble Him: remember the eye of your God upon you, the love of your God towards you, and the glory of your God set before you. Remember how much it is your concern to be accepted by God, and to walk worthy of your relation to Him, unto all well-pleasing; and how much meekness and quietness of spirit contributes to this
"This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior," to lead a "quiet and peaceable life."
Learn to pause
"Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter." When at any time we are provoked, delays may be as advantageous as in other cases they are dangerous.
Some have advised, when we are provoked to anger, to take at least so much time to deliberate as while we repeat the alphabet; and others have thought it more proper to repeat the Lord's prayer, and perhaps by the time we are past the fifth petition, "forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us," we may be reduced into temper.
Pray to God by his Spirit to work in you this excellent grace of meekness and quietness of spirit.
When we begin at any time to be froward and unquiet, we must lift a prayer to Him who stills the noise of the sea, for that grace which establishes the heart.
"Lord, keep me quiet now."
the easy and quiet submission of the soul to His whole will, according as He is pleased to make it known, whether by His word or by His providence.
the silent submission of the soul to the word of God: the understanding bowed to every divine truth, and the will to every divine precept; and both without murmuring or arguing.
the silent submission of the soul to the providence of God, for that also is the will of God concerning us.
When the events of Providence are grievous and afflicting, displeasing to sense and opposing our worldly interests, meekness not only quiets us under them, but reconciles us to them; and enables us not only to bear, but to receive evil as well as good at the hand of the Lord;
the 56th Psalm, the title of which, some think, speaks of his calm and submissive spirit when the Philistines took him in Gath. It is entitled, The Silent Dove Afar Off. It was his calamity that he was afar off, but he was then as a silent dove—mourning perhaps, Isa.38:14—but not murmuring, not struggling, not resisting,
The language of this meekness is that of Eli, "It is the Lord;" and that of David to the same purport, "Here am I; let Him do to me as seems good to Him." Not only, He can do what He will, subscribing to His power, for who can stay His hand? or, He may do what He will, subscribing to His sovereignty, for He gives not account of any of His matters; or, He will do what He will, subscribing to His unchangeableness, for He is of one mind, and who can turn Him? but, Let him do what He will, subscribing to His wisdom and goodness, as Hezekiah, "Good is the word of the Lord, which you have spoken." Let Him do what He will, for He will do what is best; and therefore if God should refer the matter to me, says the meek and quiet soul, being well assured that He knows what is good for me better than I do for myself, I would refer it to Him again: "He shall choose our inheritance for us."
meek and quiet spirit acquiesces in an assurance that all things shall work together for good to us, if we love God, though we cannot understand how or which way.
the work and office of meekness is to enable us to prudently govern our own anger when at any time we are provoked, and to patiently bear the anger of others, that it may not provoke us.
The office of meekness is to keep reason upon the throne in the soul as it ought to be; to preserve the understanding clear and unclouded, the judgment untainted and unbiased in the midst of the greatest provocations, so as to be able to set every thing in its true light, and to see it in its own color, and to determine accordingly; as also to keep silence in the court, that the "still small voice" in which the Lord is, as He was with Elijah at mount Horeb, may not be drowned by the noise of the tumult of the passions.
advice—Mishma, Dumah, Massa; the signification of which is, hear, keep silence, bear. Hear reason, keep passion silent, and then you will not find it difficult to bear the provocation.
The work of meekness is to calm the spirit, so as that the inward peace may not be disturbed by any outward provocation.
Meekness preserves the mind from being ruffled and discomposed, and the spirit from being unhinged by the vanities and vexations of this lower world. It stills the noise of the sea, the noise of her waves, and the tumult of the soul;
Meekness will curb the tongue, and "keep the mouth as with a bridle" when the heart is hot. Even when there may be occasion for a keenness of expression, and we are called to rebuke sharply—cuttingly, Titus 1:13—yet meekness forbids all fury and indecency of language, and every thing that sounds like clamor and evil-speaking.
Men in a passion are apt to reveal secrets, to make rash vows and resolutions, which afterwards prove a snare, and sometimes to slander and belie their brethren, and bring railing accusations, and so do the devil's work; and to speak that "in their haste" concerning others, Psalm 116:11, of which they afterwards see cause to repent.
law of Christ forbids us to provoke one another, unless it is "to love and good works;" and enjoins us to "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
better say nothing than say that which is provoking. When our hearts are hot within us, it is good for us to keep silence, and hold our peace:
we have been often the worse for our speaking, but seldom the worse for our silence.
yielding pacifies great offenses. Eccl. 10:4.
A needful truth spoken in anger may do more hurt than good, and offend rather than satisfy.
we have a righteous God, to whom, if in a meek silence we allow ourselves to be injured, we may commit our cause, and having his promise that He will "bring forth our righteousness as the light, and our judgment as the noonday," we had better leave it in His hands than undertake to manage it ourselves, lest that which we call clearing ourselves, God should call quarreling with our brethren.
we do thus control our tongues out of a pure regard to peace and love, it will turn to a good account, and will be an evidence for us that we are Christ's disciples, having learned to deny ourselves.
A soft answer is the dictate and dialect of that wisdom which is from above, which is peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated;
will be also a good evidence of our being forgiven of God, if we are ready to forgive those that have offended us; and such yielding pacifies great offenses. Meekness teaches us, as often as we trespass against our brother, to "turn again and say, I repent."
Quietness is the evenness, the composure and the rest of the soul, which speaks both the nature and the excellency of the grace of meekness.
That peace of conscience which Christ has left for a legacy to his disciples, that present sabbatism of the soul which is an earnest of the rest that remains for the people of God, is called "quietness and assurance forever," and is promised as the effect of righteousness.
serve a good Master, whose "Yoke is easy:" it is not only easy, but sweet and gracious, so the word signifies; not only tolerable, but amiable and acceptable. Wisdom's ways are not only pleasant, but pleasantness itself, and all her paths are peace.
Quietness is recommended as a grace which we should be endued with, and a duty which we should practice.
we must keep our spirits sedate and undisturbed, and evidence by a calm and even and regular behavior that they are so. This is quietness.
Peace in our own souls is some conformity to the example of the God of peace, who, though He does not always give peace on this earth, yet evermore "makes peace in his own high places."
quietness of spirit is the soul's stillness and silence from intending provocation to any, or resenting provocation from any with whom we have to do.
We must be quiet as the air is quiet from winds.
"they are glad because they are quiet; so He brings them to their desired haven."
meekness makes these wars to cease, breaks the bow, cuts the spear, sheathes the sword, and in the midst of a contentious world preserves the soul from being the seat of war, and makes peace in her borders.
if we would but more support and exercise the authority of our graces, and guide and control the power of our passions.
Thus a quiet soul, if provoked by the denial or loss of some earthly comfort or delight, quiets itself, and does not fret at it, nor perplex itself with anxious cares how to live without it, but composes itself to make the best of that which is.
A child newly weaned is free from all the uneasiness and disquietude of care and fear and anger and revenge: how undisturbed are its sleeps, and even in its dreams it looks pleasant and smiling. How easy its days; how quiet its nights. If put into a little sulk now and then, how soon it is over, the provocation forgiven, the sense of it forgotten, and both buried in an innocent kiss. Thus, if ever we would enter into the kingdom of heaven, we must be converted from pride, envy, ambition, and strife for precedency, and must become like little children.
We are more than conquerors; that is, triumphers: we live a life of victory; every day is a day of triumph to the meek and quiet soul.
Next to the beauty of holiness, which is the soul's agreement with God, is the beauty of meekness, which is the soul's agreement with itself.
He that in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, that is, in Christian meekness and quietness of spirit, "serves Christ, is acceptable to God and approved of men."
"Yes, all of you be subject one to another:" that explains what meekness is; it is that mutual yielding which we owe one to another, for edification and in the fear of God.
"It is a resolution never to decline any evil of pain, when the choosing of it, and the exposing of ourselves to it, is the only remedy against a greater evil."
True courage is such a presence of mind as enables a man rather to suffer than to sin; to choose affliction rather than iniquity; to pass by an affront though he lose by it, and be hissed as a fool and a coward, rather than engage in a sinful quarrel.
those who are a burden and a terror to others, will not be much otherwise to themselves.
"Great peace have they" that love this law of love, for "nothing shall offend them."
Whatever offense is intended, it is not so interpreted, and by that means peace is preserved.
A meek and quiet Christian lives very comfortably, for he enjoys himself, he enjoys his friends, he enjoys his God, and he puts it out of the reach of his enemies to disturb him in these enjoyments.
"delight themselves in the abundance of peace;"
We may certainly have—and we should do well to consider it—less inward disturbance, and more true ease and satisfaction, in forgiving twenty injuries than in avenging one.
The greatest provocations that men can give would not hurt us if we did not, by our inordinate and foolish concern, come too near them.
The days of old age would not be such evil days if old people did not, by their own frowardness and unquietness, make them worse than otherwise they would be.
The quietness of the spirit will help to suppress depression;
is the excellency of meekness, that it turns our enemies into friends,
that which ought to be our constant concern, that whenever our Master comes, we may "be found of Him in peace,"
every little failure need not be criticized, but rather should be passed by; or if the fault must be reproved and corrected, may it not be done without so much noise and clamor? Is this the product of a meek and quiet spirit? Is this the best badge of your authority you have to put on?
please learn to govern yourselves, and do not disorder your own souls under pretense of keeping order in your families; for though you yourselves may not be aware of it, yet it is certain that by those indications of your displeasure which transgress the laws of meekness, you do but render yourselves contemptible and ridiculous, and rather prostitute than preserve your authority.
Hannah's meekness and quietness was in some degree lacking, when she fretted and wept, and would not eat; but prayer composed her spirit;
It is for lack of meekness that we are so impatient of contradiction in our opinions, desires, and designs, that we must have our own saying, right or wrong, and everything our own way; that we are so impatient of competitors, not enduring that any should stand in our light, or share in that work of honor which we would engross to ourselves; that we are so impatient of contempt, so quick in our apprehension and resentment of the least slight of affront,
willfully doing anything to disquiet others—slandering, backbiting, whispering, talebearing, or the like, is too plain an evidence that we are not ourselves rightly disposed to be quiet.
If we lay the word of God before us for our rule, and will be ruled by it, we shall find the command of God making meekness and quietness as much our duty as they are our ornament.
Zeph. 2:3
"Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth—seek meekness."
prescribed for the attainment of meekness is to seek it. Ask it of God, pray for it: it is fruit of the Spirit, it is given by the God of all grace, and to Him we must go for it. It is a branch of that wisdom which he that lacks must ask of God, and it shall be given him. The God we address is called "the God of patience and consolation;" and He is the God of consolation because the God of patience—for the more patient we are, the more we are comforted under our afflictions—and as such we must look to Him when we come to Him for grace to make us "like-minded," that is, meek and loving one towards another, which is the apostle's errand at the throne of grace.
God's probabilities are better than the world's certainties;
the meek ones of the earth that hope in His mercy, and can venture their all upon an intimation of His good will, shall find to their comfort, that when God brings a flood upon the world of the ungodly, He has an ark for all his Noahs, His resting, quiet people, in which they shall be hid, it may be, from the calamity itself, at least from the sting and malignity of it�"HID," as Luther said, "either in heaven or under heaven, either in the possession or under the protection of heaven."
study these graces, which put such a luster upon holiness, and recommend it to those that are without, as beloved, beloved of God, beloved of man, beloved of your ministers: for love's sake, put on meekness. What winning, persuasive rhetoric is here! enough,
this shows that the fear of man gives greater check to their passion than the fear of God. Our rule is to be meek towards all,
We must "study" to be quiet, that is, study not to disturb others, nor to be ourselves disturbed by others: be ambitious of this, as the greatest honor,
"Let him that will, ascend the tottering seat Of courtly grandeur, and become as great As are his mounting wishes: as for me, Let sweet repose and rest my portion be. ———Let my age Slide gently by, not overthwart the stage Of public action, unheard, unseen, And unconcerned, as if I never had been."
to the disturbing and clouding of the soul. Compose yourselves to this holy rest;
To study the are of quietness is to take pains with ourselves, to have in our own hearts the principles, rules, and laws of meekness; and to furnish ourselves with such considerations as tend to the quieting of the spirit in the midst of the greatest provocations.
against all that which is ruffling and discomposing. Christians should, above all studies, study to be quiet, and labor to be motivated by an even spirit under all the unevenness of Providence, and remember that one good word which Sir William Temple tells us the prince of Orange said he learned from the master of his ship, who, in a storm, was calling to the steersman, "Steady, steady." Let but the hand be steady and the heart quiet, and though our passage be rough, we may weather the point, and get safe to the harbor.
the more we have of faith towards God, the more we shall have of meekness towards all men.
Every word has an air of meekness, and a tendency to peace.
We then "walk worthy of the vocation with which we are called," when we walk "in all lowliness and meekness."
we must, without meditating any revenge, quietly commit our cause to God, who will, sooner or later, clear up our innocence as the light, which is promised in Psa. 37:5, 6; and therefore "do not fret," but wait patiently; "cease from anger, and forsake wrath."
When reproaches provoke our passions, which excite us to render bitterness for bitterness, we thereby lose the comfort and forfeit the honor and reward which the divine promise has annexed to the reproach of Christ; and shall we suffer so many things in vain? We also thereby give occasion to those who had spoken evil of us falsely, to speak evil of us truly;
He who is master of his own passions has the sweetest and surest peace.
if we be troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, yet not in despair, 2 Cor. 4:8, 9; offended by our fellow-servants, but not offending our Master; reproached by our neighbors, but not by our own consciences—this is like Zion's peace, peace within the walls.
Lord, deliver me from that ill man, my own self, and then I am safe enough.
Whatever we lose, we shall not lose our peace, if we do but keep our integrity;
Let us believe that in times of agitation and alarm our strength is to sit still, in a holy quietness and composure of mind: "this is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing;" and it is enough.
It is a very quieting truth—the Lord help us to mix faith with it—that every creature is that to us, and no more, that God makes it to be; and that while many seek the ruler's favor, and more perhaps fear the ruler's displeasure, every man's judgement proceeds from the Lord. Would we but more closely observe, and readily own the hand of God in that which disquiets and provokes us, surely, though we regarded not man, yet, if we had any fear of God before our eyes, that would reconcile us better to it, and suppress all intemperate and undue resentments. In murmuring at the stone, we reflect upon the hand that throws it, and lay ourselves under the woe pronounced against him that strives with his Maker.
learn to call reproaches reproofs, and make use of them as such for our conviction and humiliation
instead of being angry at the man that meant us ill, we should rather be thankful to the God that intended us good, and study to answer his intention.
What is said and done in haste, is likely to be matter for deliberate repentance.
You are angry at others and reproach them, and are ready to abhor them and to revenge yourselves upon them, and your corrupt nature takes a strange kind of pleasure in this. But do you know that all this will at last rebound upon yourselves, and return into your own bosom?
That is truly best for us which is most pleasing and acceptable to God, and a meek and quiet spirit is so.
Remember how gracious and merciful and patient God is; how slow to anger, how ready forgive, and how well pleased He is to see His people resemble Him: remember the eye of your God upon you, the love of your God towards you, and the glory of your God set before you. Remember how much it is your concern to be accepted by God, and to walk worthy of your relation to Him, unto all well-pleasing; and how much meekness and quietness of spirit contributes to this
"This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior," to lead a "quiet and peaceable life."
Learn to pause
"Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter." When at any time we are provoked, delays may be as advantageous as in other cases they are dangerous.
Some have advised, when we are provoked to anger, to take at least so much time to deliberate as while we repeat the alphabet; and others have thought it more proper to repeat the Lord's prayer, and perhaps by the time we are past the fifth petition, "forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us," we may be reduced into temper.
Pray to God by his Spirit to work in you this excellent grace of meekness and quietness of spirit.
When we begin at any time to be froward and unquiet, we must lift a prayer to Him who stills the noise of the sea, for that grace which establishes the heart.
"Lord, keep me quiet now."
July 22, 2024
This discourse is a must-read for believers and unbelievers alike. It served as a help in understanding God’s commandment to a meek and quiet spirit, called me into repentance, and I will be coming back to it time and again. I only wish I had read it twenty years ago.
April 27, 2023
Top five Christian living books I have read. I think it would be good for me to read this once a year.
July 6, 2023
The best one!! For me, the highlight of this book is really taming anger. That a meek and quiet spirit is slow to anger. Soli Deo Gloria!
September 5, 2016
One the most unexpected gold mines I've stumbled across. An absolute blessing
April 5, 2019
This attribute is not talked about enough. Henry does a superb job at explaining meekness and makes the reader want to become holy on every page.
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