"Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy."— Matt. V. 7.
HE Divine simplicity of the Beatitudes covers a Divine depth, both in regard to the single precepts and to the sequence of the whole. I have already pointed out that the first of the series is to be regarded as the root and germ of all the subsequent ones. If for a moment we set it aside and consider only the fruits which are successively developed from it, we shall see that the remaining members of the sequence are arranged in pairs, of which each contains, first, a characteristic more inward and relating to the deep things of individual religion; and, second, a characteristic which has its field of action in our relations to men. For example, the " mourners " and the "meek" are paired. Those who "hunger and thirst after righteousness" and the "merciful" are paired. "The pure in heart" and "the peacemakers" are paired.
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"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."--Matt. V. 6.
WO preliminary remarks will give us the point of view from which I desire to consider these words now. First, we have seen, in previous sermons, that these paradoxes of the Christian life which we call the Beatitudes are a linked chain, or, rather, an outgrowth from a common root. Each presupposes all the preceding. Now, of course, it is a mistake to expect uniformity in the process of building up character, and stages which are separable and successive in thought may be simultaneous and coalesce in fact. But none the less is our Lord here outlining successive stages in the growth of a true Christian life. I shall have more to say about the place in the series which this Beatitude holds, but for the present I simply ask you to remember that it has a background and set of previous experiences, out of which it springs, and that we shall not understand the depth of Christ's meaning if we isolate it from these and regard it as standing alone. 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."— Matt. V. 5.
[|HE originality of Christ's moral teaching lies not so much in the novelty of His precepts as in the new relation in which He sets them, the deepening which He gives them, the motives on which He bases them, and the power which He communicates to keep them. Others before Him had pronounced a benediction on the meek, but our Lord means far more than they did, and, both in His description of the character and in the promise which He attaches, vindicates the uniqueness of His notion of a perfect man. The world's ideal is, on the whole, very different from His. It inclines to the more conspicuous and so-called heroic virtues; it prefers a great, flaring, yellow sunflower to the violet hiding among the grass, and making its presence known only by fragrance. "Blessed are the strong, who can hold their own," says the world. "Blessed are the meek," says Christ. "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."— Matt. T. 4.
N ordinary superficial view of these socalled Beatitudes is that they are simply a collection of unrelated sayings. But they are a great deal more than that. There is a vital connection and progress in them. The jewels are not flung down in a hoap; they are wreathed into a chain, which whosoever wears shall have " an ornament of grace about his neck." They are an outgrowth from a common root; stages in the evolution of Christian character. "Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."--Matt. V. 3.
We are not come unto the mount that burned with fire, nor unto the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of 'awful' words." With such accompaniments the old law was promulgated, but here, in this Sermon on the Mount, as it is called, the laws of the Kingdom are proclaimed by the King Himself; and He does not lay them down with the sternness of those written on tables of stone. No rigid " thou shalt" compels, no iron " thou shalt not" forbids; but each precept is linked with a blessing, and every characteristic that is required is enforced by the thought that it contributes to our highest good. It fitted well Christ's character, and the lips "into which grace is poured," that He spake His laws under the guise of these beatitudes. |
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