Matthew 5:1-11

Mat. 5:1-11. "And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain; and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him: and He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake." In these Beatitudes, Christ seems to have a special design to correct those corrupt notions the Jews entertained of the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom that the Messiah was about to erect. As in Matthew 5:3, He has respect to the expectation they had in the Messiah's days of enjoying great outward wealth, and being made much of by the Messiah, as more excellent and honorable and worthy than other nations, and so vaunting themselves in these things that should greatly gratify their pride and covetousness; in verse 4 He has respect to their expectations of great worldly mirth and pleasure and festivity; in verse 5, He has respect to an imagination that military courage and martial exploits, and fierce revenge on the Romans, and other Gentile nations that had injured them, were to introduce their glory under the reign of the Messiah; in Matthew 5:5, also, He has respect to their carnal desires of worldly possessions and sensitive appetites, which they hoped would be abundantly gratified in the Messiah's days; in verse 6, He has respect to their expectation of scenes of slaughter and desolation in the Gentile world, which they expected and hoped to see and have a hand in in the Messiah's day; in Matthew 5:8, He has respect to those impure and luxurious delights which usually attend worldly victories, and princes' courts, and great and flourishing earthly kingdoms, which things they supposed the Messiah would introduce; in Matthew 5:9, He has respect to those desolating wars and bloody battles with which they supposed the Messiah would set up and propagate His kingdom; in Matthew 5:10, He has still respect to their expectation of nothing but pomps, pleasures, wealth, and triumphs in the kingdom of heaven, or of the Messiah; in Matthew 5:11, He has respect to their expectation of being advanced to great honor, as a kind of priests and princes, under the Messiah their King, having the Gentiles their slaves, and even their kings and great men bowing down and licking up the dust of their feet. That Christ has a design in these Beatitudes to give them right notions of the kingdom of heaven is manifest, for He several times in them makes express mention of the kingdom of heaven, as verse 3 and verse 10; and Matthew 5:5 speaks of inheriting the earth, which His hearers doubtless understood of that inheritance of the earth and reigning over the world that is promised to God's people in the days of the Messiah; and that being comforted which He promises, verse 4, they doubtless understood Him of that ancient prophecy, such as Isaiah 40, at beginning and others, [which] was commonly called among them the consolation of Israel - viz., the comfort that should be introduced by the Messiah; and in the promise, Matthew 5:6, of being filled Christ probably has respect to such promises made in the Old Testament, concerning what God would do for His people in the Messiah's days: that they should be filled as bowls and as the corners of the altars, Zechariah 9:15; that they should be abundantly filled or satisfied with the goodness of God's house, and that He would make them drink of the river of His pleasures, Psalms 36:8; Psalms 65:4; that they should get that which is good, and delight themselves in fatness: Isaiah 55:2, "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." That they should eat when others were hungry, and drink when others were thirsty: Isaiah 65:13, "Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, My servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, My servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed." That they should be satisfied with God's goodness, and their soul satiated with fatness: Jeremiah 31:14, "And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, saith the Lord;" and that He would replenish every sorrowful soul: Jeremiah 31:25, "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul." That bread should be given them: Isaiah 33:16, "He shall dwell on high; his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him, his waters shall be sure." That their poor should be satisfied with bread: Psalms 132:15, "I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread;" and many other parallel prophecies: and in the promise of obtaining mercy, Matthew 5:7, Christ probably has respect to such promises made to God's people in the Messiah's time, as those in Isaiah 49:10; Isaiah 54:10; Isaiah 60:10, and in other parallel places; and in the promise of seeing God, in Matthew 5:8, Christ probably has respect to such prophecies concerning the glory of the Messiah's times, as that then God's glory should be revealed. Their eye should see the King in His beauty. They should see eye to eye. That they should walk in the light of the Lord, and walk in the light of God's countenance, and the like; and God's being their light instead of the sun: and in the promise of being the children of God, Matthew 5:9, there is great reason to think Christ has respect to the many prophecies of the Messiah's kingdom, that speak of God's people being then especially owned and treated as His children, His sons and daughters.

Mat. 5:8-9