Christ does not say 'joyful,' 'mirthful,' 'glad.' These are poor, vulgar
words by the side of the depth and calmness and permanence which are
involved in that great word 'blessed.' It is far more than joy, which
may be turbulent and is often impure. It is far deeper than any gladness
which has its sources in the outer world, and it abides when joys have
vanished, and all the song-birds of the spring are silent in the winter
of the soul. 'Blessed are the poor ... for theirs is the Kingdom of
Heaven.'
The bulk of the remaining Beatitudes point onward to a future; this
deals with the present. It does not say '_shall be_,' but '_is_ the
Kingdom.' It is an all-comprehensive promise, holding the succeeding
ones within itself, for they are but diverse aspects--modified according
to the necessities which they supply--of that one encyclopædia of
blessings, the possession of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Now the Kingdom of Heaven (or of God) is a state in which the will of
God is absolutely and perfectly obeyed. It is capable of partial
realisation here, and is sure of complete fulfilment hereafter. To the
early hearers of these words the phrase would necessarily suggest the
idea which bulked so large in prophecy and in Judaism, of the Messianic
Kingdom; and we may well lay hold of that thought to suggest the first
of the elements of this blessedness. That poverty of spirit is blessed
because it is an indispensable condition of becoming Christ's men and
subjects. I believe, dear friends, for my part, that the main reason why
so many of us are not out-and-out Christian men and women, having
entered really into that Kingdom which is obedience to God in Christ, is
because we have a superficial knowledge, or no knowledge at all, of our
own sinful condition, and of the gravity of that fact. Intellectually, I
take it that an under-estimate of the universality and of the awfulness
of sin has a great deal to do in shaping all the maimed, imperfect,
partial views of Christ, His character and nature, which afflict the
world. It is the mother of most of our heresies. And, practically, if
you do not feel any burden, you do not care to hear about One who will
carry it. If you have no sense of need, the message that there is a
supply will fall perfectly ineffectual upon your ears. If you have not
realised the truth that whatever else you may be, of which you might be
proud--wise, clever, beautiful, accomplished, rich, prosperous--you have
this to take all the self-conceit out of you, that you are a sinful
man--if you have not realised that, it will be no gospel to you that
Jesus Christ has died, the just for the unjust, and lives to cleanse us.
Brethren, there is only one way into the true and full possession of
Christ's salvation, and that is through poverty of spirit. It is the
narrow door, like the mere low slits in the wall which in ancient times
were the access to some wealth-adorned palace or stately
structure--narrow openings that a man had to stoop his lofty crest in
order to enter. If you have never been down on your knees before God,
feeling what a wicked man or woman you are, I doubt hugely whether you
will ever stand with radiant face before God, and praise Him through
eternity for His mercy to you. If you wish to have Christ for yours, you
must begin, where He begins His Beatitudes, with poverty of spirit.
It is blessed because it invites the riches of God to come and make us
wealthy. It draws towards itself communication of God's infinite self,
with all His quickening and cleansing and humbling powers. Grace is
attracted by the sense of need, just as the lifted finger of the
lightning rod brings down fire from heaven. The heights are barren; it
is in the valleys that rivers run, and flowers bloom. 'God resisteth the
proud, and giveth grace to the humble.' If we desire to have Him, who is
the one source of all blessedness, in our hearts, as a true possession,
we must open the door for His entrance by poverty of spirit. Desire
brings fulfilment; and they who know their wants, and only they, will
truly long that they may be supplied.
This poverty of spirit is blessed because it is its own reward. All
self-esteem and self-complacency are like a hedgehog, as some one has
said, 'rolled up the wrong way, tormenting itself with its prickles.'
And the man that is always, or often, thinking how much above A, B, or C
he is, and how much A, B, or C ought to offer of incense to him, is sure
to get more cuffs than compliments, more enmity than affection; and will
be sore all over with wounded vanities of all sorts. But if we have
learned ourselves, and have departed from these lofty thoughts, then to
be humble in spirit is to be wise, cheerful, contented, simple, restful
in all circumstances. You remember John Bunyan's shepherd boy, down in
the valley of humiliation. _Heart's-ease_ grew there, and his song was,
'He that is low need fear no fall.' If we have this true, deep-rooted
poverty of spirit, we shall be below the tempest, which will go clean
over our heads. The oaks catch the lightnings; the grass and the
primroses are unscorched. 'The day of the Lord shall be upon all high
things, and the loftiness of men shall be brought low.'
So, dear brethren, blessedness is not to be found outside us. We need
not ask 'who shall go up into the heavens, or who shall descend into the
deep,' to bring it. It is in thee, if at all. Christ teaches us that the
sources of all true blessedness are within us; there or nowhere is
Eden. If we have the tempers and dispositions set forth in these
Beatitudes, condition matters but very little. If the source of all
blessedness is within us, the first step to it all is poverty of spirit.
'Be ye clothed with humility.' The Master girt Himself with the
servant's towel, and His disciples are to copy Him who said: 'Take My
yoke upon you.... I am meek and lowly in heart ... and ye shall find
rest'--and is not that blessedness?--'ye shall find rest unto your
souls.'