"The meek will He guide in judgment; and the meek will He teach His way." (Psalm 25:9)
But there is nobody who is naturally meek. "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evileye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness." (Mark 7:21-22) "Pride compasses them about as a chain." (Psalm 73:6)
Meekness can be learned only from Christ. He says, "Come unto me, all you that labor 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 you shall find rest unto your souls. To be meek is to be like Christ." (Matthew 11:28-29) "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance; against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)
Meekness then is identical with perfect obedience to the law of God through the Spirit. It is the same thing as love, which "vaunts not itself, is not puffed up, Does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own." (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)
And, "Love is the fulfilling of the law." (Romans 13:10) "[In Christ] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2:3) "[He is] the power of God, and the wisdom of God." (1 Corinthians 1:24)
The Spirit of the Lord is "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord." (Isaiah 11:2)
Therefore he who learns of Christ, the meek and lowly One, and possesses the Spirit, whose fruit is meekness, must necessarily have sound wisdom and knowledge and discretion. We read: "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves." (Philippians 2:3)
This is an exhortation to meekness, but how shall the thing be done? It is not an easy thing for a man to think others better than himself. The answer is indicated in Romans 12:3, where the exhortation is repeated: "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith." (Romans 12:3) "faith ... is the gift of God," (Ephesians 2:8) "and the measure of faith which He has dealt to every man is" (Romans 12:3) "the faith of Jesus," (Revelation 14:12) which of course carries with it His meekness. It is not possible that any man should, of himself, think others better than himself. But when God reveals himself to him, and he realizes his own sinfulness by contrast, it is impossible for him to imagine that any other can be as bad as he is. Thus he can, with Paul, declare himself to be the chief of sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15)
There are very many who have this experience at times; to be continually in that condition is another matter. How can it be maintained? Only by "Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher [Perfecter] of faith." (Hebrews 12:2)
His faith, His trust in the Father, by which self was kept out of sight, that the works might be seen to be only the Father's, will work the same in us. Then may be fulfilled in weak men and women the words of Christ, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." (John 14:12)
The power that can do those works through human agents, can also preserve in them the meekness that will not become puffed up by them. Thus meekness brings wisdom and power.--Present Truth, September 6, 1894--Original title: Front Page--Psalm 25:9.