already obtained mercy, having been justified freely by the grace of God, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and having received gratuitously so many precious benefits. And God will still deal with them in the same merciful and gracious manner. Finally, and to consummate all his dealings of this kind with them, when they appear before his judgment-seat, he will conclusively pronounce the merciful sentence of acquittal and acceptance passed upon them in their justification. They shall not be ashamed before him, therefore, and shall have no cause to fear. They may well be pronounced blessed in reference to such a prospect. 10. According to the representation of our passage, it enters into the blessedness which awaits the righteous, that the kingdom of heaven is theirs, and that they shall inherit the earth. The kingdom of heaven, as we have seen, is already theirs, as regards right, and also by partial occupation and possession; and as it is thus theirs already, they shall, in due time, under the operation of its own laws and influences, attain to full participation in its glory and blessedness to all that awaits its subjects in the heavenly state to its beatific vision, its glorious intercourse, and its blissful activities. They shall also inherit the earth. present the earth is very much in the hands of the wicked, and, besides, it is so corrupted with sin, and so blighted by the curse, that it is unfit for being inherited by the righteous. But the earth that now is shall be burned up, and a new earth, the abode of righteousness, shall be created. This new earth the righteous shall inherit. They are now despitefully and injuriously used; but then they shall reign with Christ. At 11. In describing the future blessedness of the righteous, Christ further declares that they shall be called the sons of God. Even in this life they are the sons of God; but their outward circumstances rather conceal than testify this fact. It will not be so, however, when they attain to the blessed ness which awaits them; they shall then be called the sons of God; their entire condition, and his entire treatment of them, will proclaim that they are his sons. He will himself openly acknowledge them as such, and will exalt them to glory and honour befitting their relation to him. How blessed those whom such exaltation awaits! 12. But what will consummate the blessedness of the righteous is, that they shall see God. Being pure in heart, "made perfect in holiness," and thus fitted for the beatific vision, that vision will be granted to them. Our bodily wants, and the enjoyment connected with the relief of them, will cease with the present life; and then we can experience no happiness but such as will flow from the exercise of the powers and the gratification of the tastes and desires of the sanctified soul. Now the sanctified soul will find the most blessed exercise of its powers, and the full gratification of its tastes and desires, eternally, in contemplating, enjoying, and serving God. The righteous are blessed, for they shall see God; and, when they shall see him, their blessedness, now for the most part future, will be realised and consummated. SECTION III.-DETAILED EXPOSITION. VER. 1, 2.-See Intro., sect. iii. par. 4-6, 11. He opened his mouth. While the preparatory arrangements for the delivery of the sermon were in course of being made, and during a brief and solemn pause after they were made, our Lord, we may conceive, contemplated the assembled multitudes in silence; the people, on the other hand, observing him with earnest attention, expecting that he would forthwith address them. Under such circumstances the first act by which he visibly proceeded to address them was marked with no small interest, as at once relieving and heightening expectation, and thus acquired an historical importance, which procured for it the place which it occupies in the narrative.-(Compare Job iii. 1; Acts viii. 35, x. 34.) At the same time, the circumstances which imparted historical importance to the fact that "he opened his mouth," gave intimation of a solemn discourse of some length; and the statement that "he opened his mouth," bearing the impress of the circumstances in which it originated, indirectly conveys this intimation. He taught them.-The object of teaching is the communication of knowledge, the communication of it being rendered necessary by ignorance or by error and prejudice (Mark viii. 31, 32) on the part of those who are taught. Our Lord's teaching on this occasion was rendered necessary by both, but had reference especially to the latter to prevailing error and prejudice respecting the kingdom of the Messiah. VER. 3-10.-Those verses form the first member of the sermon. The internal structure of this member has already been developed (see Part I., sect. i. par. 3-8); but it may proper to present it here at one view: be 1 A. v. 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit; &c. 1 B. { 1 a. v. 4. Blessed are they that mourn; &c. 2 a. 2 B. 1 b. v. 5. Blessed are the meek; &c. v. 6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; &c. 2 b. | v. 7. Blessed are the merciful; &c. 2 A. v. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart; &c. 3 B { 66 3 b. v. 9. Blessed are the peacemakers; &c. 3 a. v. 10. Blessed are they which are persecuted; &c. VER. 3.-Poor in spirit.—"In spirit" vεMATI— denotes that in respect of which the righteous are poor." They are pronounced "poor," not in respect of attainment or possession, but of their spirit. A certain frame and certain exercises of spirit, which are distinctive of the poor, are found with them, and so far, and in this respect, they are such as are properly denominated "the poor." The manner of spirit they are of is one of the characteristics to which the designation is attached; and, therefore, in reference to this characteristic, and under the limitation of this reference, it is applicable to them. Accordingly they are here denominated "the poor," not in all respects, and without limitation, but "in spirit." Thus "in spirit" denotes that from the presence of which, and not, as some have held, that from the want of which, "the poor" intended are denominated. Poor, as a detached word, does not distinguish any one kind or form of poverty, or rather, thus left to the natural expansion of its meaning, it denotes poverty of every kindpoverty as a whole; if it does not positively carry the idea to its whole extent, it does not restrict it. Accordingly, if the idea be restricted, if the word be referred and confined to a portion of the space over which, if left wholly free, it would extend its significancy, this must be done by something extraneous to the word itself, e. g., by explanatory parallels, as in Isa. lxvi. 2, or by the circumstances under which it is used. In this latter way its meaning is limited in the passage under consideration. Carnal views were generally entertained respecting the Messiah's kingdom, and it was our Lord's object to correct those views by describing the character of its subjects, and the nature of its privileges; and, of course, the language which he employs receives from this object its specific reference and significancy. Its meaning, so to speak, lies within the limits with which this object circumscribes it. To this extent and from this cause it suffers limitation. Now, if our Lord, when he pronounced the poor in spirit blessed, intended bodily poverty, instead of correcting carnal views he would himself disseminate them. The light in which he presents his kingdom is, that it is not of this world. It is his special design. to present it in this light. But if its privileges were attached to bodily poverty, it would, in one important respect, be decidedly of this world; and if not of this world, in respect of the nature of its privileges also, it would bear a heterogeneous character, and be one-half of this world, and onehalf spiritual. On this ground, and in itself, the idea of spiritual privileges attached to a bodily distinction, is utterly inadmissible. The principle of limitation here, and in all similar cases, is the same as would be felt to operate if, surveying a beautiful landscape, we exclaimed, "How lovely!" The circumstances in which the words were uttered would determine their application and significancy. No loveliness would be thought of but the loveliness proper to a landscape. In like manner, the circumstances in which Christ uttered the words under consideration, determine their application and significancy. Those circumstances contract their meaning within certain limits, and give to them a specific reference. Now To determine whether any one is really poor, we must estimate his position with respect to the "true riches." If he possesses these he is rich, of whatever else he may be destitute; and if he does not possess them, or possesses them only to a limited extent, he is poor, whatever else he possesses. the subjects of the Messiah's kingdom are poor as possessing the "true riches" only to a limited extent; and, at the same time, their spirit is suitably affected by their state, as being thus poor. It is on this latter ground, on the ground that they are thus "poor in spirit," that they are pronounced blessed. The kingdom of heaven.-See Part I., sect. ii. par. 5, 6.— The kingdom of God, as administered by Christ, is intended. —(Mark i. 14, 15, comp. with Matt. iv. 17; Luke vi. 20, comp. with Matt. v. 3; Luke viii. 10, and Mark iv. 4, comp. with Matt. xiii. 1.1.) The kingdom of God under its general aspect, as founded upon the relations in which he stands to us as the Creator and Proprietor of all things-his natural kingdom, as it may |