Commentaires bibliques

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

And seeing the multitudes — As sheep without a shepherd, or as grain ripe and ready, falling, as it were, into the hands of the harvest man. The "children cried for bread, and there was none to break it," Lamentations 4:4 . His eye therefore affected his heart, and out of deep commiseration,

He went up into a mountain — This mount was his pulpit, as the whole law was his text. It is said to be in the tribe of Naphtali, and called Christ’s mount to this day. As Moses went up into a mount to receive the law, so did the Messiah to expound it, and so must we to contemplate it. Sursum corda. Wind we up our hearts, which naturally bear downward, as the poise of a clock.

And when he was set — Either as being weary, or as intending a longer sermon. This at his first onset upon his office, and that at his last (when he left the world and went to his Father, John 14:15-17 ), being the longest and liveliest that are recorded in the Gospels. He preached, no doubt, many times many hours together. But as his miracles, so his oracles, are no more of them written than might suffice to make us believe, and live through his name, John 20:31 . As the prophets of old, after they had preached to the people, set down the sum of their sermons, the heads only, for the use of the Church in all ages, so did the apostles record in their diaries the chief things in our Saviour’s sermons, out of which they afterwards (by the instinct and guidance of the Spirit of God) framed this holy history. (Scultet. Annal. epist, dedic.)

His disciples came unto him — To sit at his feet and hear his word. Among the Jews the Rabbi sat, termed éåùá or the sitter; the scholar, îúàá÷ or one that lieth along in the dust, a token of the scholar’s humility, subjecting himself even to the feet of his teacher. Thus Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word, Luke 10:39 . Thus all God’s saints are said to "sit at his feet, every one to receive his word," Deuteronomy 33:3 . Thus Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, a great doctor in Israel, Acts 22:3 . And this custom it is thought St Paul laboured to bring into the Christian Church, 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 .

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

And he opened his mouth — This phrase is not superfluous (as some may conceit), but betokeneth free and full discourse, Ephesians 6:19 , of some weighty and important matter, Psalms 78:2 , uttered with great alacrity of spirit and vehemency of speech.

And taught them, saying — He taught them sometimes (saith Theodoret) when he opened not his mouth, sc. δια του βιου και θαυματων , by his holy life and wondrous works. A mirror for ministers, who as they should open their mouths with wisdom (heaven never opened in the Revelation, but some great matter followed), so their lives should be consonant to the tenor of their teaching, a very visible comment on the audible word. Timothy must be a stamp, a standard, a pattern, a precedent to the believers, both in word and conversation ( τυπος ), 1 Timothy 4:12 . Aaron must have both bells and pomegranates on his vesture. And ministers should (as Gideon’s soldiers) carry trumpets of sound doctrine in one hand and lamps of good living in the other. There should be a happy harmony, a constant consent between their lips and their lives, ινα συνδραμοι ο βιος τω λογω , that their doctrine and conversation may run parallel, as Isidore saith in one place; or (as he hath it more emphatically in another), ινα ο λογος η υπο της πραξεως εμψυχωμενος , that their preaching may have life put into it by their practice. Nolite, saith one, magis eloqui magna, quam vivere. Vivite concionibus, concionamini moribus: Ορθοτομειτε, ορθοποδειτε: λεγοντες πρακτικως πραττοντες λογικως: Sic vocalissimi eritis praecones, etiam cum tacetis. Speak not, but live sermons, preach by your practice: the life of teaching is the life of the teacher.

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Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed — The word signifieth such as are set out of the reach of evil, in a most joyous condition, having just cause to be everlastingly merry, as being beati re et spe, blessed in hand and in hope, and such as shall shortly transire a spe ad speciem, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." They are already possessed of it, as by turf and twig. There were eighty opinions among heathens about man’s blessedness. These did but beat the bush: God hath given us the bird in this golden sermon, μακαριοι, quasi μη κηρι υποκειμενοι ; vel απο του μαλιστα χαιρειν . (Aristot.)

Are the poor in spirit — Beggars in spirit ( Mendici spiritu. Tertul. Qui suarum virium agnoscunt ουδενειαν , hi pauperes spiritu ): such as have nothing at all of their own to support them, but being nittily needy, and not having (as we say) a cross wherewith to bless themselves, get their living by begging, and subsist merely upon alms. Such beggars God hath always about him, Matthew 26:11 . And this the poets hammered at, when they feigned that litae or prayers were the daughters of Jupiter, and stood always in his presence. (Homer.) Lord, I am hell, but thou art heaven, said Hooper. I am a most hypocritical wretch, not worthy that the earth should bear me, said Bradford. I am the most unfit man for this high office of suffering for Christ that ever was appointed to it, said sincere Saunders. Oh that my life, and a thousand such wretches’ lives more (saith John Careless, martyr, in a letter to Mr Bradford), might go for yours! Oh! why doth God suffer me and such other caterpillars to live, that can do nothing but consume the alms of the Church, and take away you so worthy a workman and labourer in the Lord’s vineyard? But woe be to our sins and great unthankfulhess, … (Acts and Mon.) These were excellent patterns of this spiritual poverty, which our Saviour here maketh the first; and is indeed the first, second, and third of Christianity, as that which teacheth men to find out the best in God and the worst in themselves. This Christ lays as the foundation of all the following virtues. Christianity is a frame for eternity, and must therefore have a good foundation; since an error there can hardly be mended in the fabric.

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven — Heaven is that true Macaria, or the blessed kingdom. So the island of Cyprus was anciently called for the abundance of commodities that it sendeth forth to other countries, of whom it craveth no help again. Marcellinus, to show the fertility thereof, saith, that Cyprus aboundeth with such plenty of all things, that, without the help of any other foreign country, it is of itself able to build a tall ship, from the keel to the topsail, and so put it to sea, furnished of all things needful. And Sextus Rufus writing thereof, saith, Cyprus famosa divitiis, paupertatem Populi Rom. ut occuparetur, sollicitavit: Cyprus, famous for riches, tempted the poor people of Rome to seize upon it. What marvel then if this kingdom of heaven solicit these poor in spirit to offer violence to it, and to take it by force, since it is all made of gold? Revelation 21:21 ; yea, search is made there through all the bowels of the earth to find out all the precious treasures that could be had, gold, pearls, and precious stones of all sorts. And what can these serve to? only to shadow out the glory of the walls of the New Jerusalem, and the gates, and to pave the streets of that city.

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

Blessed are they that mourn — For sin, with a funeral sorrow (as the word signifieth), such as is expressed by crying and weeping, Luke 6:25 , such as was that at Megiddo, for the loss of good Josiah; or as when a man mourns for his only son, Zechariah 12:10 . ( πενθος, luctus ex morte amicorum. Steph. As the widow of Nain; as Jacob for Joseph; as David for his Absalom.) This is the work of the Spirit of grace and of supplication: for till the winds do blow these waters cannot flow, Psalms 147:18 . He convinceth the heart of sin, and makes it to become a very Hadadrimmon for deep soaking sorrow, upon the sight of him whom they have pierced, Zechariah 12:10 . When a man shall look upon his sins, as the weapons, and himself as the traitor, that put to death the Lord of life, this causeth that sorrow according to God, that worketh repentance never to be repented of, 2 Corinthians 7:10 .

For they shall be comforted — Besides the comfort they find in their very sorrow (for it is a sweet sign of a sanctified soul, and seals a man up to the day of redemption, Ezekiel 9:4 ), they lay up for themselves thereby in store a good foundation of comfort "against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life," as the apostle speaketh in another case, 1 Timothy 6:19 . These April showers bring on May flowers. They that here "sow in tears shall reap in joy;" they that find Christ’s feet a fountain to wash in, may expect his side a fountain to bathe in. Oh, how sweet a thing is it to stand weeping at the wounded feet of Jesus, as that good woman did! to water them with tears, to dry them with sighs, and to kiss them with our mouths! None, but those who have felt it can tell the comfort of it. The stranger meddleth not with this joy. When our merry Greeks, that laugh themselves fat, and light a candle at the devil for lightsomeness of heart, hunting after it to hell, and haunting for it ale houses, conventicles of goodfellowship, sinful and unseasonable sports, vain and waterish fooleries, …, when these mirthmongers, I say, that take pleasure in pleasure, and jeer when they should fear, with Lot’s sons-in-law, shall be at a foul stand, and not have where to turn them, Isaiah 22:13 ; Isaiah 23:14 ; God’s mourners shall be able to "dwell with devouring fire, with everlasting burnings," to stand before the Son of man at his second coming. Yea, as the lower the ebb, the higher the tide; so the lower any hath descended in humiliation, the higher shall he ascend then in his exaltation. Those that have helped to fill Christ’s bottle with tears, Christ shall then fill their bottle (as once he did Hagar’s) with the water of life. He looked back upon the weeping women, and comforted them, that would not vouchsafe a loving look or a word to Pilate or the priests. Not long before that, he told his disciples, "Ye shall indeed be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy," John 16:20-21 . And further addeth, "A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow," …, comparing sorrow for sin to that of a travailing woman: 1. For bitterness and sharpness for the time, throes of the new birth. 2. For utility and benefit, it tendeth to the bringing a man child forth into the world. 3. For the hope and expectation that is in it not only of an end, but also of fruit; this makes joy in the midst of sorrows. 4. There is a certain time set for both, and a sure succession, as of day after night, and of fair weather after foul. Mourning lasteth but till morning, Psalms 30:5 . Though "I fall, I shall arise;" though "I sit in darkness, the Lord shall give me light," saith the Church, Micah 7:8 . Jabez was more honourable than his brethren, saith the text, for his mother bare him with sorrow, and called his name Jabez, that is, sorrowful. But when he called upon the God of Israel, and said, "Oh that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast," …, "God granted him that which he requested," 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 . And so he will all such Israelites indeed, as "ask the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward," going and weeping as they go, to seek the Lord their God, Jeremiah 50:4-5 ; he shall wipe all tears from their eyes (as nurses do from their babes that cry after them), and enlarge, not their coasts (as Jabez), but their hearts (which is better); yea, he shall grant them their requests, as him. So that as Hannah, when she had prayed, and Eli for her, she looked no more sad, 1 Samuel 1:18 ; David, when he came before God in a "woeful case" many times, yet when he had poured forth his sorrowful complaint there, he rose up triumphing, as Psalms 6:8-10 …; so shall it be with such. They go forth and weep, bearing precious seed, but shall surely return with rejoicing, and bring their sheaves with them, Psalms 126:6 ; grapes of gladness (said that martyr, Philpot) when Abraham the good householder shall fill his bosom with them, in the kingdom of heaven. Then as one hour changed Joseph’s fetters into a chain of gold, his rags into robes, his stocks into a chariot, his prison into a palace, his brown bread and water into manchet and wine, -so shall God turn all his people’s sadness into gladness, all their sighing into singing, all their musing into music, all their tears into triumphs. Luctus in laetitiam convertetur, lachrymae in risum, saccus in sericum, cineres in corollas et unguentum, ieiunium in epulum, manuum retortio in applausum. He that will rejoice with this joy unspeakable, must stir up sighs that are unutterable.

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

Blessed are the meek — Meekness is the fruit of mourning for sin, and is therefore fitly set next after it. He that can kindly melt in God’s presence, will be made thereby as meek as a lamb: and if God will forgive him his ten thousand talents, he will not think much to forgive his brother a few farthings. ( Πραος quasi ραος , quod mites omnibus, scil. faciles ac placidos reddant. Becman.) Hence the wisdom from above is, first, pure, and then "peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated," …, James 3:17 . And love is said to proceed out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned, 1 Timothy 1:5 . And when our Saviour told his disciples they must forgive till seventy times seven times, "Lord, increase our faith," said they, Luke 17:4-5 . Give us such a measure of godly mourning, as that we may be bold to believe that thou hast freely forgiven us, and we shall soon forgive our enemies. David was never so rigid as when he had sinned by adultery and murder; and not yet mourned in good earnest for his sin. He put the Ammonites’ under saws and harrows of iron, and caused them to pass through the brickkiln, …, which was a strange execution, and happened while he lay yet in sin. Afterward we find him in a better frame, and more meekened and mollified in his dealings with Shimei and others, when he had soundly soaked himself in godly sorrow. True it is, that he was then under the rod, and that is a main means to make men meek. The Hebrew words that signify afflicted and meek, grow both upon the same root, and are of so great affinity, that they are sometimes by the Septuagint rendered the one for the other, as Psalms 37:11 . òðå òðé . Adversa enim hominem mansuetum reddunt, saith Chemnitius. And, however it go with the outward man, the meek shall find rest to their souls, Matthew 11:29 . Yea, the meek in the Lord shall increase their joy, Isaiah 29:19 . And for outward respects, meek Moses complains not of Miriam’s murmurings, but God strikes in for him the more. And he that said, "I seek not mine own glory," adds, "But there is one that seeketh it, and judgeth," John 8:50 . God takes his part ever that fights not for himself, and is champion to him that strives not, but, for peace’ sake, parteth with his own right, otherwise.

For they shall inherit the earth — One would think that meek men, that bear and forbear, that put and forgive, committing their cause "to him that judgeth righteously," 1 Peter 2:23 ; (as Christ did), should be soon baffled, and outsworn out of their patrimony, with honest Naboth. But there is nothing lost by meekness and yieldance. Abraham yields over his right of choice: Lot taketh it; and, behold, Lot is crossed in that which he chose, Abraham blessed in that which was left him. God never suffers any man to lose by a humble remission of right, in a desire of peace. "The heavens, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; but the earth hath he given to the children of men," Psalms 115:16: yet with this proviso, that as heaven is taken by violence, so is earth by meekness; and God (the true Proprietary) loves no tenants better, nor grants longer leases to any, than to the meek. They shall inherit, that is, peaceably enjoy what they have, and transfer it to posterity, they shall give inheritance to their children’s children, Proverbs 13:22 . As, on the other side, frowardness forfeits all into the Lord’s hands, and he many times taketh the forfeiture, and outs such persons, comes upon them with a firma eiectione, as upon Amalek, Abimelech, and others. Αυθαδειας συνοικος ερημια , said Plato. The Lord Treasurer Burleigh was wont to say, that he overcame envy and ill-will more by patience than pertinace. His private estate he managed with that integrity, that he never sued any man, no man ever sued him. He was in the number of those few (said Mr Camden) that lived and died with glory. For as lowliness of heart shall make you high with God; even so meekness of spirit and of speech shall make you sink into the hearts of men, said Mr Tyndale in a letter of his to John Frith, afterwards his fellow martyr. (Acts and Mon.)

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

Blessed are those that hunger and thirst after righteousness — The righteousness of Christ both imputed and imparted ( iustitia imputata, impertita ). This is in Christ for us, being wrought by his value and merit, and is called the righteousness of justification. This is in us from Christ, being wrought by his virtue and spirit, and is called the righteousness of sanctification. Both these the blessed must hunger and thirst after, that is, earnestly, and afflictim desire, as Rachel did for children, she must prevail or perish; as David did after the water of the well of Bethlehem, to the jeopardy of the lives of his three mightiest, 1 Chronicles 11:18 ; as the hunted hart (or, as the Septuagint readeth it, η ελαφος , hind) brayeth after the water brooks. The philosophers observe of the hart or hind, that being a beast thirsty by nature, when she is pursued by dogs, by reason of heat and loss of breath, her thirst is increased. (Aristot., Lucret., Oppian., Psalms 42:1 ) And in females the passions are stronger than in males; so that she breathes and brays after the brooks with utmost desire: so panteth the good soul after Christ, it panteth and fainteth, it breatheth and breaketh for the longing that it hath unto his righteousness at all times, Psalms 119:20 . She fainteth with Jonathan, swooneth and is sick with the Spouse, yea, almost dead with that poor affamished Amalekite, 1 Samuel 30:12 . And this spiritual appetite add affection ariseth from a deep and due sense and feeling of our want of Christ, whole Christ, and that there is an absolute necessity of every drop of his blood. There must be a sad and serious consideration of man’s misery and God’s mercy. Whence will arise (as in hunger and thirst), 1. A sense of pain in the stomach. 2. A want and emptiness. 3. An eager desire of supply from Christ, who is the true bread of life, and heavenly manna; the rock flowing with honey, and fountain of living water, that reviveth the fainting spirits of every true Jonathan and Samson, and makes them never to thirst again after the world’s tasteless fooleries: like as his mouth will not water after homely provision that hath lately tasted of delicate sustenance.

They shall be satisfied — Because true desires are the breathings of a broken heart, which God will not despise, Psalms 51:17 . He poureth not the oil of his grace but into broken vessels. For indeed, whole vessels are full vessels, and so this precious liquor would run over and be spilt on the ground. There may be some faint desires (as of wishers and woulders) even in hell’s mouth; as Balaam desired to die the death of the righteous, but liked not to live their life; Pilate desired to know what is truth, but stayed not to know it; that faint merchant in the Gospel, that cheapened heaven of our Saviour, but was loth to go to the price of it. "The desire of the slothful killeth him," Proverbs 21:25 ; Matthew 19:22 . These were but fits and flashes, and they came to nothing. Carnal men care not to seek, whom yet they desire to find, saith Bernard ( Carnales non curant quaerere, quem tamen desiderant invenire; cupientes consequi, sed non et sequi ); fain they would have Christ, but care not to make after him: as Herod had of a long time desired to see our Saviour, but never stirred out of doors to come where he was, Luke 23:8 . But now, the desire of the righteous, that shall be satisfied, as Solomon hath it, that shall be well filled, as beasts are after a good bait (as our Saviour’s word here signifieth). χορτασθησονται hoc proprie dicitur de armentis. Nam χορτον est gramen aut pabulum. Desires, as they must be ardent and violent, such as will take no nay, or be set down with silence or sad answers (whence it is that desire and zeal go together, 2 Corinthians 7:11 ), so if they be right, they are ever seconded with endeavour after the thing desired. Hence the apostle contents not himself to say, "that if there be first a willing mind," God accepts, …, 2 Corinthians 8:12 , but presently adds, "Now perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also;" that is, a sincere endeavour to perform: as a thirsty man will not long for drink only, but labour after it; or a covetous man wish for wealth, but strive to compass it. And thus to run is to attain; thus to will is to work; thus to desire is to do the will of our heavenly Father, who accepts pence for pounds, mites for millions, and accounts us as good as we wish to be. He hath also promised to fill the hungry with good things, to rain down righteousness on the dry and parched ground, to fulfil the desires of them that fear him. So that it is but our asking and his giving; our opening the mouth and he will fill it; our hungering and his feeding; our thirsting and his watering; our open hand and his open heart. The oil failed not till the vessels failed: neither are we straitened in God till in our own bowels, 2 Corinthians 6:12 ; "Dear wife" (saith Lawrence Saunders the martyr), "riches have I none to leave behind, wherewith to endow you after the worldly manner; but that treasure of tasting how sweet Christ is to hungry consciences (whereof, I thank my Christ, I do feel part, and would feel more), that I bequeath unto you, and to the rest of my beloved in Christ, to retain the same in sense of heart always. Pray, pray: I am merry, and I trust I shall be, maugre the teeth of all the devils in hell. I utterly refuse myself, and resign me to my Christ, in whom I know I shall be strong, as he seeth needful." (Acts and Mon.)

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Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the merciful, ελεημονες — They that from a compassionate heart (melting with sense of God’s everlasting mercy to itself, and yearning over the miseries of others) extend and exercise spiritual and corporal mercy. The former, which teacheth a man to warn the unruly, comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men, …, 1 Thessalonians 5:14 . The schoolmen thus, Consule, castiga, solare, remitte, fer, ora, usually excel and exceed the latter, which stirs a man up to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, …, Matthew 25:35-36 .

" Visito, poto, cibo, redimo, tego, colligo, condo. "

1. In the nature of the gift, which is more noble. 2. In the object (the soul), which is more illustrious. 3. In the manner, which is transcendent, as being spiritual. 4. In the kind, which is more heavenly, as that which aims at our brothers’ endless salvation. And this way the poorest may be plentiful, and enrich the richest with spiritual alms. As also the other way, something must be done by all the candidates of true blessedness. They that labour with their hands must have something to give to him that needeth, Ephesians 4:28 ; be it but two mites, nay, a cup of cold water, it shall be graciously accepted from a sincere heart, and certainly rewarded. And here the poor Macedonians may shame (and many times do) the rich Corinthians, that have a price in their hands but not a heart to use it; for it is the love, and not the lack, of money that makes men churls and misers. (Money hoarders have no quicksilver, no current coin. Ward.) And hence it is that the richer men are many times the harder, as Dives: being herein like children, who when they have their mouths full, and both hands full. yet will rather spoil all than give any away. But do men give to God’s poor or, do they not rather lend it to the Lord, who turns pay master to such? Do they not lay it out for him, or rather lay it up for themselves? The safest chest is the poor man’s box. Make you friends with the mammon of unrighteousness (God hath purposely branded riches with that infamous adjunct, that we might not overlove them), "that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations," Luke 16:9 , that is, either the angels, or the poor, or thy well employed wealth, shall let thee into heaven. Only thou must draw forth not thy sheaf alone, but thy soul also to the hungry, Isaiah 38:10: show bowels of mercy, as our Saviour did, σπλαγχνιζομαι , Matthew 15:32 , to bleed in other men’s wounds, and be deeply and tenderly affected in other men’s miseries. This is better than alms; for when one gives an alms, he gives something without himself; but by compassion we relieve another by somewhat within and from ourselves. And this is properly the mercy to which mercy is here promised, and blessedness to boot.

For they shall obtain mercy — Misericordiam, non mercedem, Mercy, not wages: it being a mercy (and not a duty) in God, to render unto every man according to his works, Psalms 62:12 . How much more according to his own works in us! But mercy he shall be sure of, that showeth mercy to those in misery. His soul shall be like a watered garden. "The liberal soul shall be made fat," saith Solomon; "and he that watereth shall be watered also himself," Proverbs 11:25 ; or (as Kimchi expounds it), He shall be a sweet and seasonable shower to himself and others. ( Etiam ipse pluvia erit, iuxta Kimchi. Insignis hyperbole. Merc.) His body also shall be fat and fair-liking. Thy health shall spring forth speedily, and thy bones shall be made fat, Isaiah 58:10-11 . Or if he be sick, the Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing, Psalms 41:3 ; he will make all his bed in his sickness; as he did for that faithful and painful preacher of God’s word (while he lived) Master William Whately, Pastor of Banbury (whom for honour’s sake I here name), the most bountiful minister to the poor, I think (saith a learned gentleman that knew him thoroughly), in England, of his means. He abounded in works of mercy (saith another grave divine, that wrote his life), he set apart, and expended, for the space of many years, for good uses, the tenth part of his yearly comings in, both out of his temporal and ecclesiastical means of maintenance. (Edw. Leigh, Hen. Scudder.) A rare example: and God was not behind-hand with him; for in his sickness he could comfort himself with that precious promise, Psalms 41:1 ; Psalms 41:3 "Blessed is he that considereth the poor" ( Qui praeoccupat vocem petituri, saith Austin, in Psalms 103:1-22 ); that prevents the poor man’s cry; as he did, for he devised liberal things, seeking out to find objects of his mercy, and not staying many times till they were offered. Therefore by liberal things he stood, as God had promised; his estate (as himself often testified) prospered the better after he took that course above mentioned. For, in the next place, not getting, but giving is the way to wealth, as the Sareptan found it, whose barrel had no bottom; and as Solomon assureth it, Ecclesiastes 11:1 . The mercy of God crowneth our beneficence with the blessing of store. Thine horn shall be exalted with honour, and thou shalt not want, Psalms 112:9 ; Proverbs 28:27 . Say not then how shall our own do hereafter? Is not mercy as sure a gain as vanity? Is God like to break? Is not your Creator your creditor? Hath not he undertaken for you and yours? How sped Mephibosheth and Chimham for the kindness their fathers showed to distressed David? Were they not plentifully provided for? And did not the Kenites, that were born many ages after Jethro’s death, receive life from his dust, and favour from his hospitality? 1 Samuel 15:6 .

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

Blessed are the pure in heart — That wash their hearts from wickedness, that they may be saved, Jeremiah 4:14 . Not their hands only, with Pilate, but their inwards, as there; "How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?" á÷øáó These, however the world censure them (for every fool hath a bolt to shoot at that purity, which yet they profess and pray for), are the Lord’s darlings, that purify themselves (in some truth of resemblance) as God is pure.

" Pura Deus mens est, pura vult mente vocari:

Et puras iussit pondus habere preces. "

He will take up in a poor, but it must be a pure heart; in a homely, but it must be a cleanly house; in a low, but not in a loathsome lodging. God’s Spirit loves to lie clean. Now the heart of man is the most unclean and loathsome thing in the world, a den of dragons, a dungeon of darkness, a sty and stable of all foul lusts, a cage of unclean and ravenous birds. The ambassadors of the Council of Constance, being sent to Pope Benedict XI ( In Hist. Concil. Constant. ), when he, laying his hand upon his heart, said Hic est Arca Noae, Here is Noah’s ark; they tartly and truly replied, In Noah’s ark were few men, but many beasts; intimating, that there were seven abominations in that heart, wherein, he would have them to believe, were lodged all the laws of right and religion. This is true of every mother’s child of us. The natural heart is Satan’s throne, he filleth it from corner to corner, Acts 5:3 , he sits abrood upon it, and hatcheth all noisome and loathsome lusts, Ephesians 2:2 . There (as in the sea) is that Leviathan, and there are creeping things innumerable, crawling bugs and baggage vermin, Psalms 104:25-26 . Now as many as shall see God to their comfort, must cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God, 2 Corinthians 7:1 . This is the mighty work of the Holy Spirit, which therefore we must pray and strive for; beseeching God to break the heavens and come down, Isaiah 64:1 , yea, to break open the prison doors of our hearts by his Spirit, and to cleanse this Augaean stable. He comes as a mighty rushing wind, and blows away those litters of lusts, as once the east wind of God did all the locusts of Egypt into the Red Sea. And this done, he blows upon God’s garden, the heart, and causeth the spices thereof so to flow forth that Christ saith, "I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice," Song of Solomon 4:16 ; Song of Solomon 5:1 .

For they shall see God — Here in a measure, and as they are able; hereafter in all fulness and perfection: they shall see as they are seen. Here, as in a glass obscurely, or as an old man through spectacles, 1 Corinthians 13:12 , εν αινιγματι , but there face to face. Happier herein than Solomon’s servants, for a greater than Solomon is here. A good man is like a good angel, ever beholding the face of God. He looketh upon them with singular complacency, and they upon him to their infinite comfort: He seeth no iniquity in them, they no indignation in him. He looketh upon them in the face of Christ; and although no man hath seen God at any time, John 1:18 , yet God, "who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts," saith the apostle, "to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ," 2 Corinthians 4:6 . Pure glass or crystal hath light coming through: not so stone, iron, or other grosser bodies. In like sort, the pure in heart see God, he shines through them: and as the pearl by the beams of the sun becomes bright and radiant as the sun itself, so "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord," 2 Corinthians 3:18 .

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