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went up into a mountain: and
when he was set, his disciples. Luke vi. 21.

came unto him:

2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

3 'Blessed are the poor in spirit; for their's is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek: for 'they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful: 'for they shall obtain mercy.

8 'Blessed are the pure in heart: for 'they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaven.

11 'Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of "evil against you *falsely, for my sake.

a Mark iii. 13, 20.-b Luke vi. 20. See Psa. li. 17. Prov. xvi. 19, & xxix. 23. Is. lvii. 15, & lxvi. 2.-c Is. lxi. John xvi. 20. 2 Cor. i. 7. Rev. xxi. 4.-d Ps. xxxvii. 11 -e See Rom. iv. 13.-f Is. lv. 1, & lxv. 13.-g Ps. xli. 1; ch. vi. 14. Mark xi 25. 2 Tim. i. 16. Heb. vi. 10. Jam. ii. 13.-h Ps. xv. 2, & xxiv. 4. Heb. xii. 14. i1 Cor. xiii. 12. 1 John iii.

2, 3.-k 2 Cor. iv. 17. 2 Tim. ii. 12. 1 Pet. iii 14.Luke vi. 22. m 1 Pet. iv. 14. ↑ Gr. lying.-n Luke vi. 23. Acts v. 41. Rom. v. 3. Jam. i. 2. 1 Pet. iv. 13. o Neh. ix. 26. 2 Chr. xxxvi. 16; ch. xxiii. 34, 37. Acts vii. 52. 1 Thes. ii. 15.

Reader.

We have now arrived at a very important portion of the sacred record,―our Saviour's Sermon on the Mount; a discourse delivered by the great Prophet of the church, concernfrom heaven, "This is my beloved ing whom it was said by the voice Son, hear ye him ;"-a discourse addressed not to any particular class of his disciples, but (as is plain from ch. vii. 28, 29) to all the multitudes who followed him, and, through them, to all men who should come within reach of his instructions. May our understandings and our hearts be opened to receive instruction dropping like dew from those sacred lips into which grace was poured without measure! May we hereby become more wise unto salvation; and be enabled to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

In reading this heavenly discourse, I propose to adopt a method somewhat different from that which we

have hitherto pursued. We find here little room for critical inquiry, or verbal explanation; so that few difficulties are likely to arise in the

12 "Rejoice, and be exceed-way of interpretation; and I hope to

ing glad for great is your reward in heaven: for 'so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

may

be able to anticipate any questions of this nature which arise in your minds, without our usual method of expository discussion. I shall thus have a better opportunity of fixing

your undivided attention on those practical truths which are so remarkably prominent throughout these chapters.

READER.-Our Saviour begins his discourse by expounding to us the principles of happiness; mercifully declaring to us in what dispositions and habits our real blessedness, for time and for eternity, consists.

Blessed are the poor in spirit.True happiness must be built upon the foundation of unfeigned humility and lowliness of mind. The poor in spirit are those who have a real, deep, and practical sense of their own innate corruption, the guilt of their actual transgressions, and their state of helplessness and spiritual destitution; and who are hence led to renounce all confidence in self.-Now it is true that this state of mind and feeling, if alone, does not make a man happy; but that, if it terminate in itself, is, to say the least, imperfect. Why, then, are the poor in spirit happy? Our Saviour answers,

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them all these blessings; to give them the privileges of his people here, and to receive them to his glory in the world to come. Isa. lvii. 15.

Blessed are they that mourn. Not they who are oppressed with that sorrow of the world which worketh death;-not merely those who are bent under the weight of some heavy affliction, unless their grief be made a means of bringing them to God;-but those who "sorrow after a godly sort," lamenting the sins and guilt of which they are conscious, mourning over their own sins and the sins of others.

For they shall be comforted.-The Gospel, proclaiming the value of Christ's blood,-the infinite compassion of God, and the suitableness and efficacy of the scheme of redemption, shall speak peace to their souls. A balm has been provided for their wound. They will find the promises of pardon, and peace, and eternal life; they will receive that word of consolation, which shall lead them to exclaim, "This is all my salvation and all my desire." Isa. lxi. 1-3; Mat. xi. 28-30; John xiv. 26, 27; Rev. xxi. 4.

Blessed are the meek.-The meek are they who easily and quietly submit to the will of God and the dispensations of his providence, even when contrary to their natural inclination; and who are gentle, kind, and forbearing in their disposition and conduct towards men. ness is a submissive, patient, peaceful, quiet temper; opposed to a proud, impatient, quarrelsome, or revengeful disposition. And the men

Meek

who possess this temper-who "humble themselves under the mighty hand of God," and are "gentle towards all men," are happy;

For they shall inherit the earth;they shall have the most real enjoyment of the gifts of providence during this present life; and it is their privilege to regard their peace, tranquillity, and sense of the divine favour and blessing here below, as an earnest and foretaste of a better inheritance, "incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away." (Prov. xxii. 24, 25; xv. 1; xxv. 8-15; 1 Tim. iv. 8; vi. 3-6.)

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness;-that is to say, they who have a deep and ardent desire to be accounted righteous, and to be made holy; to be accepted of God as his children, and to be conformed to his image in their mind and disposition, and enabled to fulfil his will in their life and conduct. The believer in Christ Jesus, sensible of his want of these inestimable blessings, and knowing that they are promised to those who seek for them, is earnest and importunate in his desires and endeavours, with prayer, for the attainment of the❘ good which is thus held out for his acceptance.

For they shall be filled. These desires, kindled by God's Spirit, shall be satisfied. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your

labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." (Isa. lv. 1, 2)." As for me," says the Psalmist, "I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness," yes, finally, fully, everlastingly satisfied and happy. Ps. xvii. 15.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. The merciful are those who, being penetrated with a sense of God's great and unmerited goodness, compassion, and lovingkindness toward themselves, cherish a temper of pity and compassion, of free, generous love, and active benevolence, towards their brethren.

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In showing mercy and doing good, we imitate, at our humble distance, one of the most glorious of God's moral attributes. "Merciful as God is merciful." How exalted is this privilege! They shall obtain mercy." How great is this reward! God, in his providence, will cause such persons to find favour with men, so far as it may be for their good; and, what is more, He will grant them that which even the most benevolent man will need-mercy in the day of judgment, according to his promise. If they have given proof of their love to God, the fruit of faith, God will finally fulfil his promises, so freely made to all who shall then be "found in Christ, not having their own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." (Phil. iii. 9).

known by their likeness to him in this distinguishing feature of his character. Let us "labour for peace;" and let our love of truth be combined with a love of unity and concord. Whose children are we, if we are ready and willing to promote quarrels in a family, to sow divisions in a church, or to fan the flames of discord in the state?

Blessed are the pure in heart.-Who are the pure in heart? They, whose hearts, having been purified by faith, are honest and sincere, without hypocrisy or guile, and are free from the love and dominion of sin, that source of pollution which God hates. For they shall see God;-they shall enjoy the manifestation of his favour and his presence. "Not only shall they see him perfectly hereafter, but, as far as they can receive him, he will impart and make himself known unto them here. (John xiv. 23). Whereas, on the contrary, what makes the word obscure is, the filthy mists within. God will in just judgment hide himself, and the saving truth of his word, from those that entertain sin and delight in it; the very sins in which they delight shall obscure and darken the light of the Gospel to them, so that though it shines clear as the sun at noon day, they shall be as those that live in a dungeon; they shall not discern it." -Let us dread this awful punish-up unwarranted claims on behalf of ment and loss; may ours be the blessedness of those who shall indeed see God, see him "spiritually and mediately in this life, gloriously and immediately in the life to come!"

Blessed are the peace-makers; for they shall be called the children of God. Where there is inward purity of heart, there will be a love of outward peace, unanimity, and concord; -the man who is at peace with God, will study and delight to be at peace with his neighbours, and to promote peace among all men upon earth. God is the author of peace; and the children of this heavenly Father are

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.-In this verse, and the two following, our Lord sets forth the happiness of those who meekly submit to sufferings at the hands of worldly and wicked men, on account of their religion,— on account of their dutiful, conscientious obedience to the known will of God. It is not a blessed thing to affect singularity, or to overstrain religious observances, and so to excite opposition against ourselves; much less is it blessed to make false pretensions to personal piety, or to set

religion or the church; and then to
submit to sufferings which we have,
in fact, deserved. But it is a sign
of
grace, and an earnest of future
glory, to submit patiently and meekly
to unmerited and unprovoked wrongs,
arising not from our own misconduct
or indiscretion, but simply from the
evil dispositions of men's hearts,
their hatred of what is good, their
patronage of what is false and unholy,

from the power of Satan in the
world, or the dominion of error,
bigotry, and rancour in the professing
Church of Christ.
18; Phil. i. 29.

1 Pet. iii. 13

With regard to all these particulars of a holy temper, a truly religious frame of mind and course of conduct, let us not only remember the sayings of the Lord Jesus recorded in this passage for our learning; but let us also consider how completely they were exemplified in his own most holy life. Let us consider his humility; how he mourned over the sins of men and suffered for them; his meekness; that it was his meat and drink to do the will of the Father; his merciful and compassionate temper; his purity of heart; his peaceable and peace-making disposition; his meek submission to reproaches, and persecution even unto death.-And, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, may the same mind be in us which was in Christ Jesus our Lord. So shall we hereafter be made partakers of his blessedness and glory.

HYMN.

Bless'd are the humble souls that see
Their emptiness and poverty;
Treasures of grace to them are given,
And crowns of joy laid up in heaven.

Bless'd are the men of broken heart,
Who mourn for sin with inward smart ;
The blood of Christ divinely flows,
A healing balm for all their woes.

Bless'd are the meek, who stand afar
From rage and passion, noise and war;
God will secure their happy state,
And plead their cause against the great.
Bless'd are the souls who thirst for grace,
Hunger and long for righteousness;
They shall be well supplied and fed
With living streams and living bread.

Bless'd who, instructed from above,
Are fill'd with sympathy and love;
From Christ the Lord they shall obtain
Like sympathy and love again.

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