“But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 37:11 Mean?
"The meek shall inherit the earth" — the verse Jesus quotes in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:5). The meek (anavim — humble, lowly, gentle) receive the earth as an inheritance. Not the powerful. Not the aggressive. Not the ones who seize by force. The meek. They inherit.
The word "inherit" (yarash) means to possess as a legal heir — not to conquer, not to steal, not to earn through effort. The earth is given to the meek the way a father gives an estate to his children. The possession is relational, not military. You receive it because of who you are, not because of what you can take.
"Delight themselves in the abundance of peace" — the inheritance isn't just land. It's peace. Abundant peace. Shalom in overflow. The meek don't just get the earth. They get to enjoy it — without the anxiety that comes from having taken it by force. The peace is the fruit of the meekness. The gentleness that receives the inheritance also produces the environment to enjoy it.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Are you trying to 'take' what God has promised to give — seizing by force what meekness would receive as inheritance?
- 2.What's the difference between meekness (power under control) and weakness (no power at all)?
- 3.Does 'abundance of peace' describe the quality of life that comes with what you've acquired — or is your acquisition producing anxiety?
- 4.How does Jesus' quoting of this verse (Matthew 5:5) confirm David's vision of the kingdom?
Devotional
The meek inherit the earth. And they delight in the abundance of peace.
The aggressive take the earth. The powerful seize it. The violent conquer it. And none of them can enjoy it — because the violence that acquired it produces the anxiety that poisons it. You spend your life defending what you stole. You sleep with one eye open in the house you took by force.
The meek inherit. They receive. The earth comes to them the way an inheritance comes to a child — not because the child earned it, but because the father decided to give it. The meek don't take. They receive. And what they receive, they can enjoy.
"Delight themselves in the abundance of peace" — this is the part the powerful never get. They get the land but not the peace. They get the house but not the rest. They get the territory but not the joy. The meek get it all: the earth AND the peace. The possession AND the delight.
Jesus quoted this verse (Matthew 5:5) because it describes His kingdom: the kingdom where power looks like gentleness, where acquisition looks like receiving, where the strongest person in the room is the one who doesn't need to prove it.
Meekness isn't weakness. Moses was the meekest man on earth and he confronted Pharaoh. Jesus was meek and He drove money-changers from the temple. Meekness is power under control. Strength that doesn't need to dominate. Capacity that chooses restraint. And that — according to David and Jesus — is what inherits the earth.
The aggressive inherit anxiety. The meek inherit peace. Choose your inheritance.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
The wicked plotteth against the just,.... Forms schemes to make him uneasy, uncomfortable, and unhappy:
and gnasheth…
But the meek shall inherit the earth - See the notes at Psa 37:3. On the meaning of the word here rendered “meek,” see…
In these verses we have,
I. The foregoing precepts inculcated; for we are so apt to disquiet ourselves with needless…
The promise is reaffirmed in a larger sense in the beatitude of Mat 5:5, the language of which reproduces the rendering…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture