THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
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promises and blessings.—Watson. The beatific character is of course unattain able by human effort. It is wrought in us by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23).—Mauro. Poor in spirit. The strangest of all paradoxes. From His point of view those were most blessed who had most room within them for the heavenly wealth He brought.— Glover. A sense of need-is the key to possession.— Sel. Kingdom of heaven. The good of this present evil age be longs to the self-assertive and self- esteeming, and the good of the com- ing age belongs to the self-renouncing and self-abhoring. The door of the kingdom is only open to those who rea lize their utter moral poverty and humble themselves (Jas. 4:9, 10; 1 Pet. 5:6; Lk. i8 :14 ; 1:43).— Torrey. These are the qualities that belong to heavenly inhabitants. All life there is lowly, meek, merciful, hungry for more of God, pure-hearted.— Chris. World Pulpit. The rule of God through Christ. It is present wherever wills bow to Him. It is future as to its com plete realization, in the heaven from which it comes.—Maclaren. v. 4. They that mourn. All who have learned to know the deeper joys that are in Christ have been led into them through great heartaches.— Torrey. A sorrow for sin. Real repentance con sists fm the heart being broken for sin and from sin. Also a sorrow on ac count of the sins we see all around us. (Jer. 9:18.) Also a sympathizing sor row for others’ afflictions and dis tresses.—Harries. They shall be com forted. Holy mourning is the seed out of which the flower of eternal joy grows.—Basil. v. 5. The meek. Meekness is not weakness but strength harnessed for service.— Palmer. The sense of his tin- worthiness forbids-him to walk haught ily amongst his fellow men. In cleans ing fire his vanity is consumed and out of the ashes of self love and on the grave of pride, springs forth the sweet flower of meekness.-—Woods. Imply ing submission to the will of God, a characteristic of Jesus Himself who says, “ I am meek and lowly in heart.” — Camb. Bible. Inherit the earth. Of all men upon earth the meek have the best capacity for enjoying its blessings. —iHom. Com. than all other classes they e n jo ^ ^ fte v e r God sends them.— Glover.
As Mel Trotter says, “ The Sermon on the Mount is as cold as a .doe’s nose without the grace of the cross.” Righteousness Abroad. A poor Chinaman came to a mission ary to ask for baptism. When asked where he had heard the Gospel, he an swered, “ that he-had never heard the Gospel, hut had seen it. He then went on to relate how he knew a poor man at Ningpo who had once been an invet erate opium smoker and a man of vio lent, temper. " This man had become a Christian, and his whole life altered. He gave up the opium and became lov ing and amiable.” v. 1." -When He was set. At Sinai God came down in majesty and the cloud: hid Him from the people’s gaze. Here Jesus sits amidst His followers. God with us.—Maclaren. . v. 2. Taught them, saying: You have'heard as I have, that there is no cross in this sermon, that we are at the foot of Sinai, listening to Moses and not at Cal- COMMENTS FROM vary. Let us not MANY SOURCES be d e c e i v e d . Keith L. Brooks S* Should we con clude that salva tion by the sacrifice of God’s Son is absent because it is not expressly stated and argued as it is in the third of Romans? ¿There is not a benedic tion that does not take us to Calvary. There is not a mountain elevation of holiness that will not force from us the cry, “ Lord, help me or X perish. This sermon is full of the great prin ciples we have to preach and those principles are all embodied m the Speaker Himself. Teaching Him we teach the principles of this sermon. Clifford. This sermon seems to be lev eled against the common indispositions of heart and errors of life which they were guilty of who looked for the king dom of the Messiah.— Blair. Blessed. All who follow Him may expect to be blessed. That is how He begins. Whatever other distinctions there might be about His disciples in other respects, there would be none on this point.—Horn. Com. He does not begin the Sermon on the Mount as the law was delivered on the mount, with commands and threatenings, but with
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