"Beautiful Forever"
(No. 2508)
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, MARCH 14, 1897.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, JULY
5, 1885.
"He will beautify the meek with salivation." Psalm 149:4.
I FIND that the text bears other interpretations. I will mention two of
them. It might be read–and I think correctly–"He will beautify the
afflicted with deliverance." Let me speak about that meaning first of
all, for it is worth retaining. God's own people are frequently made to
mourn. Their Lord takes pleasure in them, but yet, for their good, He
often sends them grief. At times they are distressed and their enemies
appear to triumph over them. They are brought into sore straits and
burdened and surrounded with difficulties, but, though "many are the
afflictions of the righteous," "the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken."
The day will come, dear Friend, when your cheeks, all fouled with
weeping, shall be washed and made fair to look upon. Your eyes may be
weary with waiting and watching, and red with weeping, but that weeping
shall endure only for a night. "Joy comes in the morning," as surely as
the morning comes after the night! Bear your sorrows bravely, for they
are appointed by your Heavenly Father in supreme wisdom. Bear them
joyfully, for they will bring forth to you the peaceable fruits of
righteousness. You shall not be losers by your trials, you shall be
gainers, and when your face has been washed by the rolling billows of
the briny wave, you shall lift up your head and your countenance shall
seem more beautiful than if it had not been thus submerged. You shall
come up from your sorrows like the sheep from the washing in the days
of the shearing. You shall be made white as snow through these very
trials which now so sorely distress you. Therefore, I say, anticipate
the joys of the future and let not the grief of the present quite
swallow you up! Think not so much of the stormy sea that you traverse
today as of the sunny shore upon which you soon shall stand, never to
be tempest-tossed again!
There may be at this moment but a step between you and Heaven–you
cannot tell how soon you may get away from all that worries you–you do
not know how near you have come to the gate of pearl. Oh, did you know
it–did you know that within a month your hands shall strike the harps
of joy and wave the palm branches of victory, and the pure white
raiment shall be about you, and the immortal crown shall deck your
brow–did you but know all this, you would very patiently plod on
through the few weeks of trial that would remain to you here! Remember
that you are going Home and that your home of bliss is eternal!
Therefore, comfort one another with the words of our text as they are
thus rendered–"He shall beautify the afflicted with deliverance." You
shall come again rejoicing, for "the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. They
shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
Another rendering of our text which also seems to be accurate, is
this–"He will beautify the meek with victory" This is a very wonderful
expression. In this world, as a rule, it is not the meek who appear to
get the victory–they are trod on and trod down, and a meek-spirited
man is often much despised among his fellow men. Therefore, when Moses
writes of himself, "The man Moses was very meek," I do not see the
least reason why he should not have written it, though many think it
would have been impossible. But, indeed, in that age and now, also, it
is not self-praise but rather self-humiliationto confess that you are
meek! When a man is not willing to go to war when others clamor for it.
When the sacred honor of this dignified country needs that we dip our
spears in blood, it is with a sneer that a man is called "white-livered
and meek." And if he, himself, were to say, "Yes, I am meek," there
would be no pridein that confession, for the most of men would count
that he was confessing to a weakness! Therefore I think that Moses
might deliberately write, "the man Moses was very meek," for nobody
would accord him any honor for such a declaration in that age and not
very much, even, in this age, for menhave not yet come to value
meekness as Godvalues it, but still look upon it as a kind of
cowardice. They like a man who goes about the world with his fist
always doubled, ready to knock down everybody who dares to think that
the braggart is not the king of all his fellows. They admire the great
hero who will not have anything said or done against his superlative
dignity and, although that pride is earthly, sensual, devilish, yet
there are many who admire it. And when it goes by the name of "British
pluck," then, probably, "a mean-spirited man" is the mildest
appellation that they give to one who is really meek!
Now, the Lord, seeing that those who are truly meek would have to
battle for it, and would be persecuted, and even cast out by their
fellows, has given them this gracious promise, that, "He will beautify
the meek with victory." The victory of the man who gives a kiss for a
blow is not the thing desired by most men, today, but the Lord will
beautify the meek with victory! The turning of the cheek, instead of
rendering rafting for railing, does not appear to give the promise of
victory, but the promise is true, "He will beautify the meek with
victory." In the day when our King's white horse shall be brought forth
from its stable and the meekest of all men, clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood, shall ride forth at the head of the heavenly armies,
the meek of the earth shall follow Him on their white horses, too, for
that shall be the true triumph which Jehovah, the King of Kings, shall
give to them at the last! Inasmuch as they have little victory set to
their account among their fellow men, they shall have it in that Day
when angels, principalities and powers shall look down with delight
upon the conquest accorded to gentleness–and sing and clap their hands
with holy exultation! Therefore, Beloved, bear and forbear, be gentle
and lowly, remembering this blessed promise, "He will beautify the meek
with victory."
But now, taking the text as it stands in the Authorized Version, "He
will beautify the meek with salvation," there is a pretty thought which
comes to me out of the position of my text, "Jehovah takes pleasure in
His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation." You remember
that Jacob had 12 sons and he had a measure of love to all his
offspring, so "the Lord takes pleasure in His people." But there was
one among his children whom Jacob loved better than all the rest, and
that was Joseph–and how did he show his love to Joseph? It was not in
a fashion that you and I would follow, but according to the Oriental
method it was the correct one. Because he loved him above the rest of
his sons, he adorned him with a coat of many colors. Now read the text
in that sense, "He will beautify the meek with salvation." They shall
have the coat of many colors, they shall be beautified with salvation
because, out of all the Lord's people, He takes most pleasure in those
who are of a meek and quiet spirit. These are most like Jesus and,
inasmuch as the Father delights best in the Well-Beloved, He delights,
also, in those who are most like He. He sees in them the image of the
Only-Begotten and He takes special pleasure in them and beautifies them
with salvation.
I shall try to speak, first, concerning the character to be aimed at,
that is, meekness. Secondly, of the favor to be enjoyed–"He will
beautify the meek with salvation." And thirdly, if we have time, we
shall think of the good results to be expected–the advantages which
come out of being beautified with salvation.
I. First, then, let us think of THE CHARACTER TO BE AIMED AT. Who are
these meek people? Who are those whom God will beautify with salvation?
I am afraid we are not all meek, perhaps not all who are God's people
have yet learned to be meek and lowly. But this is what they all ought
to be and, therefore, let us hold up the perfect Law of the Lord to you
that you may look into it until, by looking in it you shall be
transformed into the image you desire to reach.
What is this meekness? I should say, first, with respect to our
relation towards God, meekness means entire submission to the Divine
will. The meek, whom God will beautify with salvation, are a people who
do not quarrel with God. They have left off that pernicious habit. They
do not find fault with God's teaching. What they read in God's Word
they are willing to believe without asking any questions. They see,
there, much that is mysterious, but if God conceals the meaning of it,
they believe that it is to His Glory to have it concealed, and they do
not attempt to pry within the veil. There is much in God's Word that is
difficult–they are not sorry for that, for there is so much more room
for the exercise of their faith! They do not expect to be as God–he
who could fully understand God must be, himself, a god! These meek
people are satisfied to be the children of God. And as the children of
a man do not expect to understand all that their father says, but are
willing to believe very much which they cannot comprehend, so is it
with the children of God who are meek and teachable. They open their
hearts for the Lord to write His Truth thereon and they do not say, "We
cannot receive this," or, "We cannot accept that." It is written, "All
your children shall be taught of the Lord," and it is so in a very
special sense with God's meek children–they submit themselves to His
teaching.
They submit themselves to God's chastening as well as to His teaching.
If he scourges them, that scourging is no more pleasant to them than it
is to others, but they do not resist the rod, but ask that it may be
sanctified to them and they prepare themselves to endure all the will
of God. There are some nominally Christian people who quarrel a great
deal with God–some who have lost friends and they have never forgiven
the Lord for taking them away–some who have become poor and they have
a standing grudge against the Most High because He has dealt with them
as He has done. This kind of conduct brings no good to anybody and it
often causes increased suffering. The more the ox kicks against the
goad, the deeper is the sharp point driven into its flesh. Our sorrows
are multiplied tenfold by our rebellions! If we were not only resigned,
but actually acquiescent to the Divine will, we would not smart nearly
as much as we do. This, then, I take it, is part of what it is to be
meek–to be perfectly submissive to Divine teaching and to Divine
chastening.
If a man is truly meek, he yields himself up to all the influences of
the Spirit of God. You know that if you see a cork out in the river, if
there is but a tiny ripple, it moves. If there is only a breath of
wind, it goes up and down at once. But if some great ship is lying
there, it does not stir, it stays quite still. I daresay you think, "I
want to be just as responsive to the Divine will as that cork upon the
surface of the stream is to every movement of the water. I wish to be
as the feather that is wafted by the breath of God whichever way He
pleases. Oh, that He did but will anything, and that I did it at once!
Oh, that He did but speak, yes, oh, that beforeHe spoke, I might catch
the very glance of His eyes and do what He desires!" His promise is, "I
will guide you with My eye," and He says, "Be you not as the horse, or
as the mule, which have no understanding; whose mouth must be held in
with bit and bridle, lest they come near to you." Oh, to be so meek as
to feel at once the motion of the Spirit of God upon the soul–and to
yield oneself to it, as the plastic clay that can be molded into any
shape by the potter's fingers. The Lord make us such–for these are the
people whom He will beautify with His salvation!
I have spoken of meekness towards God, but those who are truly meek are
also gentle towards their fellow men. I wish that all Christians had
this character and that they might not be rough, overbearing, proud,
and intimidating as some are. There are some who seem to think that
nobody would esteem them if they did not kick everybody as they went
along. They seem to fancy that all other people as well as themselves
are made of iron and that their power will not be known unless they
dash themselves against all who come near them! But it should not be so
among the children of God. Oh, that we might learn that holy courtesy
which is one of the true marks of a Christian! Oh, that we might have a
tender regard for other people's feelings because we have a
fellow-feeling with them and that we might pass through the world, not
anxious to be noticed, but rather to be unnoticed!Not desirous to be
great, but willing to be little, eager rather to wash the saints' feet
than to have them crown our heads, desirous not so much to be
ministered to as to minister, for true greatness lies in the sacrifice
of self for the good of others! Remember how our Lord said to His
disciples, "Whoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant"?
This is always the rule in the Church of Christ–God makes it to be so,
though it seems not according to the usual bent of human nature. The
Lord takes great delight in those who are of such a meek, quiet, humble
and lowly disposition.
These meek people bear, and forbear, and forgive, even though they have
just cause for resentment. For a man to be good-tempered when he is
never provoked is no great credit to him. It has been said that the
devil himself is good-tempered when he is pleased–and I daresay he is.
But for a man who is much provoked, for one who is foully slandered,
for one who wishes to do good, but who is misrepresented in all that he
does–for such a man to still feel, "It really does not matter. I shall
not take any notice of it. I wish I had not even observed it. It is for
me to be just as kind as ever I was to those who are most
ungrateful–in fact, to heap coals of fire upon the head of him who
does me injury, and to do the more good to those from whom I receive
the most ill"–this is the way to go through the world feeling that you
will not take offense at anything that people say or do! It takes two
to make a quarrel and if I will not quarrel with you, then you cannot
quarrel with me! Blessed are these peacemakers who keep the peace,
themselves, by readily forgiving the wrong done to them by others.
They, also, are meek who can continue to love with much perseverance.
To love the unlovely–this is the love which the Spirit of God works in
our hearts! To love those who are not only unlovely, but actually
unloving, and who return evil for our good and cursing for our
blessing–this, indeed, is to be a child of God!
Now, my Brothers and Sisters, I have shown you who the meek are towards
God, and towards men. Will you judge whether you deserve that title?
Such people are also lowly in themselves. "Oh!" says one, "I will try
to be meek." No, my Friend, do not tryto be meek, because he who is
meek is meek without trying! I do not know anything that is more
nauseous than the attempt some people make to be amiable, Their pride
pokes out at every corner and though they try to be very gentle, there
is no real gentleness in them and, consequently, it cannot come out of
them! Dear Friend, will you learn this lesson? You are a poor
sinner–therefore, be meek. You may well forgive others, for you have
good cause to ask others to forgive you. You may well be patient with
those who provoke you, for you have often provoked your God, yet He has
been wondrously patient with you. You may well put up with affronts
from your fellows, for who are you, after all? If you have a right idea
of yourself, you are so little and so inconsiderable, that whoever
affronts you, affronts a mere nobody–so it does not matter! Whoever
treads on you does but tread upon the dust, for you are dust–so who
shall blame him? "You are setting us hard lessons," says one. I know
that I am! And unless the Lord shall teach you, you will never learn
them! It takes a long time to put out the fierce fires of pride–and
when you think you have really become meek and lowly in heart, it is
sadly surprising how, with a little breath, the ashes begin to
glow–and soon the old fires are burning up again! Some people say,
"You know, it is a natural pride," as if its being a natural pride made
it any better! Oh, that God would tread out the last spark of it, so
that we might obey that blessed command of our Lord, "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."
II. Having described the truly meek people, now let us consider, in the
second place, THE FAVOR TO BE ENJOYED BY THEM. God says that "He will
beautify the meek with salvation."
It is a circumstance worthy of your notice that there are mentioned in
Scripture three men whose faces shone. I do not recollect more than
three. The first was Moses, the man who was very meek, and you remember
how it is recorded that his face shone so that he had to put a veil
over it. God had beautified that meek man. Another of the meek ones was
Stephen, whose dying prayer for his murderers proves how meek and
forgiving he was. It is written of him that when he was accused before
the council, they "saw his face as it had been the face of an angel."
This was the second meek man. And the third was–but you long ago
anticipated me–and wondered that I did not mention Him first! Not only
did His face shine, but His whole Person shone and His garments were
whiter than any fuller could make them–that was our blessed Lord, who
could truly say, "I am meek and lowly in heart."
See, then, how God puts the beauty of His own brightness upon meek men!
Not upon great men. Not upon those who profess to be great. Not upon
obstinate and hard-hearted men. I do not think that even Elijah, great
as he was, ever had that beauty upon him. And John the Baptist, though
the greatest in the former dispensation, had not that beauty upon him.
There is a certain sublimity of roughness about the two Elijahs, but
the meek have the beauty of the Lord, our God, upon them. That very
softness and, what some men think the weakness of their character, is
the background upon which God throws His brightness, so that they
become beautiful in His sight. "He will beautify the meek with
salvation."
What is this beauty that God puts upon the meek? O dear Friends, there
are some of you who would like to be beau-tiful–"beautiful forever," I
have no doubt. There have been silly women who have been trapped with
those words as an advertisement–but my advertisement is a true one!
Here is the way to be beautiful forever–"He will beautify the meek
with salvation."
The Lord beautifies the meek, I think, in this way–He puts into them a
peace of mindwhich fiery spirits never have–and which quick spirits do
not know. They are not easily ruffled or disturbed. They have, as
others have, much to annoy them, but they are so put into Christ that
they cannot be put out. They are rendered so deeply calm, so solidly
patient by the indwelling of the Spirit of God, that they bear without
seeming to bear–and that which would crush another seems to have no
weight with them. The deep peace of mind of a truly meek Christian is,
I think, a very beautiful thing.
Over and above that, these meek people have a delightful contentment.
Whatever happens to them, they accept it as God's will. "Good day!"
said one, and the other said, "Sir, I never had a day that was not
good, for God arranges all." "Oh!" said the first speaker, "but it is
good weather today." "Ah!" was the reply, "but whatever weather comes,
to me it is good, for God sends it and I am happy, let it be what it
may." When self rules, you are never pleased. It is too hot for some of
you today, is it not? Not many months ago it was too cold. When it
rains, though it is raining bread from Heaven for millions of people,
you cry out in a fret, "What a pity it is such a wet day!" And when the
sun shines, you would like to be delivered from the burning heat,
though that heat is ripening the corn for man and the grass for the
cattle. He that will not be pleased with God is never pleased with
himself. But he that is of a meek and quiet spirit goes through the
world feeling that all is right, whatever comes, and he continues to
praise and bless the Lord. I have known some Christians of this sort–I
wish I could say that I knew more. There was a dear man of God, an
elder of this Church, who, when he came to me one Lord's-Day morning,
when I was half-choked with a horrible November fog, said cheerfully,
"Dear Pastor, may we have a happy Sabbath today! It is foggy
outside–may it be all bright within! I hope the Lord will strengthen
you to be full of holy courage because some people may feel dull
through the bad weather. At any rate, let us rejoice and be glad in our
God." I have some such Friends around me, now, thank God, but may we
have many more!
Sometimes, God puts upon the meek the beauty of great joy, as if the
light of Heaven shone right through them. The light that God has
kindled in their hearts shines through their faces and you can see that
they are among the happiest of men because God has beautified them with
salvation!
Then He puts upon these meek people a beauty of holy character. I
daresay you know some persons of this sort, as I rejoice to say that I
do. I always feel that it is a great honor to be in their company. They
are not very famous people, or very clever people–they will never do
very much which the world will notice and put in the papers–but when I
get near them, I seem to be like a ship that has entered the harbor, or
that has come under a huge bluff where it is sheltering from the wind
that is blowing out at sea. They are so good and so gracious that it is
a blessing to be with them! I was with such an one this week and I
looked up to the truly grand old man with the utmost reverence as he
spoke of what God had done for his soul in foreign lands, and of how
the Lord had helped him to bear hardship and trial for Christ's sake. I
experienced a great delight as I listened to his holy words and felt
the unction that rested upon him. Dear Sister or Brother, God can make
youjust such a saint as that! He can make you to be full of holiness so
that everybody who comes near you will see that there is a Divine
beauty upon you! That is poor beauty which consists merely in bright
eyes and rosy cheeks, or in the fair whiteness of the lily that will
fade like the lily or like the rose. But that beauty which God puts
upon us by the Grace that shines from within–the beauty of holiness
such as there was upon Christ–this we ought to cultivate, praying to
God to fulfill in us the promise of the text and to beautify us with
His salvation!
As men and women who are what they ought to be in Christ, grow old,
their temper mellows and their whole spirit ripens. There are some
godly matrons and some venerable men whose words are most weighty and
wise–you cannot hear them speak without remembering their very tones,
for there is a long and deep experience at the back of their testimony.
When I listened to George Muller, some years ago, I do not think there
was very much in what he said if I took the words apart from himself.
But then it was George Muller who said it, with that holy blessed life
of faith at the back of every word–I was like a child, sitting at a
tutor's feet, to learn of him! I pray God to make you, my Brothers and
Sisters, men and women of that sort! May He not only save you, but
beautify you with salvation! May He not only make you penitent, but
make you meek! May He not only take you to Heaven, but bring Heaven
down to you and pour it into your soul that you may begin to enjoy the
bliss of Heaven even while you are here below!
III. So I come to my last point, which is, THE GOOD RESULTS TO BE
EXPECTED–the advantages which come out of being beautified with
salvation. If you and I, by God's Grace and the power of His Spirit,
become truly meek and are beautified with His salvation, this will be
the result of it all.
First, God will be glorified. God was not glorified by you, Brother,
when you made that fiery speech the other night. You were very zealous,
I know, but you used some very strange language and God was not
glorified by it. Sometimes, in a dispute, a person who does not know
anything about the quarrel can tell which of the two is right by seeing
which one controls his temper the better. Use hard arguments, Brother,
hard arguments but soft words.And if you can get the two together, you
will win the victory! If we are not meek, we do not adorn the doctrine
of God our Savior in all things. But if we are meek, then God is
glorified.
Further than that, by our meekness Christ is manifested. When a man can
bear provocation and does not utter an angry word, then those who are
round about say within themselves, "That is the spirit of Christ." They
cannot see
Christ, Himself, for He has gone into Glory, but when they see the meek
Believer, they say, one to another, "Surely that must be something like
what Christ was when He was here below." God grant that you, dear
Friends, may be living photographs of your Divine Lord!
I feel sure, too, that this meekness makes a Christian attractive. Your
high and mighty man is not wanted in any company. Here is one who is
wonderfully good in his own estimation–he is so holy that he cannot
mix with his fellow men! You feel, when he comes into the room, "Here
comes the perfect man–let us get out of the way. He is so
superlatively good that he will make some of us feel very bad before
long, for we do not like holiness set in that kind of frame." I know
some people who seem as if they meant to make religion as objectionable
as ever they could–and as if they had attained to a high degree of
Christianity when they had made everybody dislike them–but it should
not be so! O Brothers and Sisters, we must be meek and be beautified
with salvation, for then we shall be able to attract others to Christ!
If we want to draw them to Him, we must let them see how sweetly
blessed is the Christian life and how a man can be sternly upright and
yet, at the same time, be blessedly cheerful! How he can be dead
against sin and yet full of holy love to the sinner–how he would not,
to save his life, budge an inch from that which is right and true and
yet would give his life away if, by blessing another, he might bring
glory to the Lord Jesus Christ!
The Lord beautify us thus with salvation and great good will come of
it. May the Lord grant to some of you, who are not meek, but the very
reverse, that you may come under the touch of His renewing Spirit and
be born again! Then will you be capable of becoming truly meek–and
then will God beautify you with His salvation through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
EXPOSITIONS BY C. H. SURGEON: PSALM 149; MATTHEW 5:1-12.
Psalm 149:1. Praise you the Lord. This is a Hallelujah Psalm. It begins
with, "Praise you the Lord," and finishes in the same way. It is a
complete circle of praise. The long streams of the Psalms end in
glorious cascades of hallelujahs. One after another these jubilant
notes roll out, as in Handel's magnificent Hallelujah Chorus.
1. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and His praise in the congregation of
saints. There was an old song previous to this new one–in the 148th
Psalm–the Psalm for sun and moon and stars, for deeps and dragons, for
old men and maidens, and so on. But this is a Psalm for saints, so it
is "a new song" for the new creation. Therefore, let all the new
creatures of God sing it from their hearts!
2. Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him. This is the best and
highest form of creation–the making, not only of men, but of men of
God, the making of Israels, the making of prevailing princes.
2. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them rejoice
that their Maker reigns, that He rules over them, and that He rules
over all things–"Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King."
3. Let them praise His name in the dance: let them sing praises unto
Him with the timbrel and harp. That is, let them repeat the joy of
Israel at the Red Sea, when Miriam "took a timbrel in her hand, and all
the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances; and Miriam
answered them, Sing you to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously."
So, O you children of God, let the praises of your God and King ring
out as with the music of the timbrel and harp!
4. For the LORD takes pleasure in His people. Then, should not they
take pleasure in Him? If He looks upon them with Divine delight, should
not they look up to Him with adoring gratitude? What is there in us to
give Him any pleasure? But if His delights are with the sons of men,
surely the sons of men should have their delights in Him–"For the Lord
takes pleasure in His people."
4, 5. He will beautify the meek with salvation. Let the saints be
joyful in glory. Let them glory in God and be joyful in Him. Let their
spirits seem to rise even beyond Grace up to the anticipation of
Glory–"Let the saints be joyful in glory."
5. Let them sing aloud upon their beds. If they are sick, or if they
lie awake at night, or if they have enjoyed sweet rest, let them not
fail to praise God for it–"Let them sing aloud upon their beds."
6. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth and a two-edged sword
in their hand. But let it be a spiritualsword, that two-edged sword of
God's Word which will cut through coats of mail. And as they wield it,
let them ever rest satisfied that victory shall surely be theirs. One
of the poetical versions of this Psalm rightly renders this verse–
"You saints of the Lord; as round Him you stand, His two-edged sword,
His Word, in your hand, To sound His high praises your voices employ!
To victory He raises, and crowns you with joy."
7. To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the
people. So they had to do in those old times. But we, happily, have not
to do so, now, except it is in a spiritualsense that, with the sword of
God's Word we are to cut down the idols of the heathen and subdue the
nations to our King.
8. To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of
iron. Reading the passage in a Gospel sense, we lead men captives in
the bonds of love that are stronger than fetters of iron! O soldiers of
Christ, army of the living God, this is the battle you have to
fight–be this your victory, too!
9. To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all His
saints. Praise you the LORD. So the Psalm ends upon its
keynote–"Hallelujah." "Praise you the Lord.' Now let us turn to the
5th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew and see what we have to
rejoice in there.
Matthew 5:1. And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and
when He was set, His disciples came unto Him. You notice that the
Preacher sat down and that His disciples stood around Him. If you find
it somewhat warm and trying, tonight, remember that you have the best
of it, for you sit while the speaker stands! Concerning our Lord, we
read, "When He was set, His disciples came unto Him."–
2. And He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying.–Perhaps someone
says, "He could not have taught them without opening His mouth!" I have
found that a great many try to teach without opening their mouths, but
the earnest preacher speaks with all his might. So did Jesus in the
open air on the mountain side–"He opened His mouth and taught them."
Such grand things as He had to say ought to come from open portals, so
He mumbled not, but, "opened His mouth, and taught them, saying."
3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the Kingdom of
Heaven. ' 'Blessed." See how Jesus begins His Sermon on the Mount? He
begins with benedictions! He is a cloud that is full of rain and that
empties itself upon the earth. The moment you begin to know Christ, you
begin to have blessings! And the more you know of Him, the more blessed
you will be. "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Not those who boast
themselves of spiritual riches and personal goodness, but the lowly,
the meek, the trembling, the humble, the poor in spirit, "for their's
is the Kingdom of Heaven."
4. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Let them
now be comforted in the prospect of future comfort. There are no
mourning hearts that mourn over sin and mourn after God that shall be
deserted by their God– "they shall be comforted."
5. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. They do in
the truest sense enjoy even this life–their contented spirit makes
them monarchs. The great man, with all his wealth, is often uneasy with
a craving ambition for more, but the quiet spirits of God's people find
a kingdom everywhere. The mountains and the valleys belong to him who
can, with happy eyes, look upon them and then lift his face to Heaven
and feel, "My Father made them all."
6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.
They want to be better. They are hungry and thirsty after more
holiness. They boast not of personal perfection, they are hungering and
thirsting after righteousness, but they have not attained to it yet.
6. For they shall be filled. God will fill them and when He fills men
with His fullness, they are full, indeed!
7. Blessed are the merciful The forgiving, the generous, the kind.
"Blessed are the merciful." 7, 8. For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed
are thepure in heart: for they shall see God. There is such a
connection between purity of heart and purity of understanding that the
man whose eyes are clarified by holiness shall see God!
9. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children
of God. They shall not only be the children of God, but people shall
callthem by that name. There is something so God-like in trying to put
away discord, to remove anger and to promote love that it makes men
feel that peacemakers must be the children of God.
10, 11. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake:
for their's is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you, when men shall
revile you, andpersecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against
you falsely, for My sake. It is not when men truthfully speak evil
concerning you, but when they say it falsely. Not when they say evil
against you because of your ill temper which provokes them, but when
they do it falsely, for Christ's sake, then, "blessed are you."
12. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your rewardin
Heaven: for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you. And
you are treading in their steps, so you are entering into their
heritage. You have your beginning with them and, 'you shall have your
end with them. If persecuted with them, you shall also reign with them.