The
Beatitudes - Thomas Watson
There is a blessedness in reversion
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Having done with the occasion, I come now
to the sermon itself. `Blessed are the poor in spirit'. Christ does not begin
his Sermon on the Mount as the Law was delivered on the mount, with commands
and threatenings, the trumpet sounding, the fire
flaming, the earth quaking, and the hearts of the Israelites too for fear; but
our Saviour (whose lips `dropped as the honeycomb') begins with promises and
blessings. So sweet and ravishing was the doctrine of this heavenly Orpheus
that, like music, it was able to charm the most savage natures, yea, to draw
hearts of stone to him.
To begin then with this first word,
`Blessed'. If there be any blessedness in knowledge, it must needs be in the
knowledge of blessedness. For the illustration of this, I shall lay down two
aphorisms or conclusions.
[1] That there is a blessedness in
reversion!
[II] That the godly are in some sense
already blessed.
[1] That there is a blessedness in
reversion: The people of God meet with many knotty difficulties and sinking
discouragements in the way of religion. Their march is not only tedious but
dangerous, and their hearts are ready to despond. It will not be amiss
therefore to set the crown of blessedness before them to animate their courage
and to inflame their zeal. How many scriptures bring this olive-branch in their
mouth, the tidings of blessedness to believers! `Blessed is that servant whom
his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing'. {Mt 24:46} `Come, ye blessed of my Father'. {Mt 25:34} Blessedness is
the perfection of a rational creature. It is the whetstone of a Christian's
industry, the height of his ambition, the flower of his joy. Blessedness is the
desire of all men. Aquinas calls it the `ultimate end'. This is the `white'
every man aims to hit; to this centre all the lines
are drawn.
Wherein does blessedness consist?
Millions of men mistake both the nature of blessedness and the way thither.
Some of the learned have set down two hundred and eighty
eight several opinions about blessedness, and all have shot wide of the
mark. I shall show wherein it does not consist, and then wherein it does
consist.
(1) Wherein blessedness does not
consist. It does not lie in the acquisition of worldly things. Happiness cannot
by any art of chemistry be extracted here. Christ does not say, `Blessed are
the rich', or `Blessed are the noble', yet too many idolise
these things. Man, by the fall, has not only lost his crown, but his headpiece.
How ready is he to terminate his happiness in externals! Which makes me call to
mind that definition which some of the heathen philosophers give of
blessedness, that it was to have a sufficiency of subsistence and to thrive
well in the world. And are there not many who pass for Christians, that seem to
be of this philosophical opinion? If they have but worldly accommodations, they
are ready to sing a requiem to their souls and say with that brutish fool in
the gospel, `Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine
ease...'. {Lu 12:19}
`What is more shameful', says Seneca, `than to equate the rational soul's good
with that which is irrational.' Alas, the tree of blessedness does not grow in
an earthly paradise. Has not God `cursed the ground' for sin? {Ge 3:17} Yet many are digging for felicity here,
as if they would fetch a blessing out of a curse. A man may as well think to
extract oil out of a flint, or fire out of water, as blessedness out of these
terrestrial things.
King Solomon arrived at more than any
man. He was the most magnificent prince that ever held the sceptre.
For his parentage: he sprang from the royal line, not only that line from which
many kings came, but of which Christ himself came. Jesus Christ was of
Solomon's line and race, so that for heraldry and nobility none could show a
fairer coat of arms. For the situation of his palace: it was in Jerusalem, the
princess and paragon of the earth. Jerusalem, for its renown, was called `the
city of God'. It was the most famous metropolis in the world. `Whither the
tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord'. {Ps 122:4} For wealth: his crown was hung full of
jewels. He had treasures of gold and of pearl and `made silver to be as stones'. {1Ki
10:27} For worldly joy: he had the flower and quintessence of all
delights; sumptuous fare, stately edifices, vineyards, fishponds, all sorts of
music to enchant and ravish the senses with joy. If there were any rarity, it
was a present for king Solomon's court. Thus did he bathe himself in the perfumed
waters of pleasure.
For wisdom: he was the oracle of his
time. When the queen of Sheba came to pose him with hard questions, he gave a
solution to all her doubts. {1Ki
10:3} He had a key of knowledge to unlock nature's dark cabinet, so
that if wisdom had been lost, it might have been found here, and the whole
world might have lighted their understanding at Solomon's lamp. He was an
earthly angel, so that a carnal eye surveying his glory would have been ready
to imagine that Solomon had entered into that paradise
out of which Adam was once driven, or that he had found another as good. Never
did the world cast a more smiling aspect upon any man; yet when he comes to
give in his impartial verdict, he tells us that the world has vanity written
upon its frontispiece, and all those golden delights he enjoyed were but a
painted felicity, a glorious misery. `And behold all was vanity'. {Ec 2:8} Blessedness is too noble and
delicate a plant to dwell in nature's soil.
That blessedness does not lie in
externals, I shall prove by these five demonstrations.
(i) Those
things which are not commensurate to the desires of the soul can never make a
man blessed; but transitory things are not commensurate to the desires of the
soul; therefore they cannot render him blessed. Nothing on earth can satisfy.
'He that loveth silver shall not be
satisfied with silver'. {Ec 5:10}
Riches are unsatisfying:
Because they are not real. The world
is called a `fashion'. {1Co 7:31}
The word in the Greek signifies a mathematical figure, sometimes a show or
apparition. Riches are but tinned over. They are like alchemy, which glisters a
little in our eyes, but at death all this alchemy will be worn off. Riches are
but sugared lies, pleasant impostures, like a gilded cover which has not one
leaf of true comfort bound up in it.
Because they are not suitable. The
soul is a spiritual thing; riches are of an earthly extract, and how can these
fill a spiritual substance? A man may as well fill his treasure chest with
grace, as his heart with gold. If a man were crowned with all the delights of
the world, nay, if God should build him an house among
the stars, yet the restless eye of his unsatisfied mind would be looking still
higher. He would be prying beyond the heavens for some hidden rarities which he
thinks he has not yet attained to; so unquenchable is the thirst of the soul
till it come to bathe in the river of life and to centre
upon true blessedness.
(ii) That which cannot quiet the heart
in a storm cannot entitle a man to blessedness; but earthly things accumulated
cannot rock the troubled heart quiet; therefore they cannot make one blessed.
If the spirit be wounded, can the creature pour wine and oil into these wounds?
If God sets conscience to work, and it flies in a man's face, can worldly
comforts take off this angry fury? Is there any harp to drive away the `evil
spirit'? Outward things can no more cure the agony of conscience than a silken stocking
can cure a gouty leg. When Saul was sore distressed, {1Sa 28:15} could all the jewels of his crown
comfort him? If God be angry, whose `fury is poured out like fire, and the
rocks are thrown down by him', {Na
1:6} can a wedge of gold be a screen to keep off this fire? `They
shall cast their silver in the streets; their silver and their gold shall not
be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord'. {Eze 7:19} King Belshazzar was carousing and
ranting it. `He drank wine in the golden vessels of the temple', {Da 5:3} but when the
fingers of a man's hand appeared, `his countenance was changed' (verse Da 5:6), his wine grew
sour, his feast was spoiled with that dish which was served in upon the wall.
The things of the world will no more keep out trouble of spirit, than a paper
sconce will keep out a bullet.
(iii) That which is but for a season
cannot make one blessed; but all things under the sun are but `for a season',
therefore they cannot enrich with blessedness. Sublunary delights are like
those meats which we say are a while in season, and then presently grow stale
and are out of request. `The world passeth away'. {1Jo 2:17} Worldly delights are winged. They may
be compared to a flock of birds in the garden, that stay a little while, but
when you come near to them they take their flight and are
gone. So `riches make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward
heaven'. {Pr 23:5} They are like a meteor that blazes, but spends and annihilates. They are like a castle
made of snow, lying under the torrid beams of the sun. Augustine says of
himself, that when any preferment smiled upon him, he was afraid to accept of
it lest it should on a sudden give him the slip. Outward comforts are, as Plato
says, like tennis balls which are bandied up and down from one to another. Had
we the longest lease of worldly comforts, it would soon be run out. Riches and honour are constantly in flight; they pass away like a
swift stream, or like a ship that is going full sail. While they are with us they are going away from us. They are like a posy of
flowers which withers while you are smelling it; like ice, which melts away
while it is in your hand. The world, says Bernard,' cries out, `I will leave
you', and be gone. It takes its salute and farewell together.
(iv) Those things which do more vex
than comfort cannot make a man blessed; but such are all things under the sun,
therefore they cannot have blessedness affixed to them. As riches are compared
to wind {Ho 12:1} to
show their vanity, so to thorns {Mt
13:17} to show their vexation. Thorns are not more apt to tear our
garments, than riches to tear our hearts. They are thorns in the gathering,
they prick with care; and as they pierce the head with care of getting, so they
wound the heart with fear of losing. God will have our sweetest wine run dregs,
yea, and taste of a musty cask too, that we may not think this is the wine of
paradise.
(v) Those things which (if we have
nothing else) will make us cursed, cannot make us blessed; but the sole
enjoyment of worldly things will make us cursed, therefore it is far from
making us blessed. `Riches are kept for the hurt of the owner'. {Ec 5:13} Riches to the wicked are fuel for
pride: `Thy heart is lifted up because of thy riches'; {Eze
28:5} and fuel for lust: `when I had fed them to the full,
they then committed adultery'. {Jer 5:7}
Riches are a snare: `But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a
snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in perdition'. {1Ti 6:9} How many have
pulled down their souls to build up an estate! A ship may be so laden with gold
that it sinks; many a man's gold has sunk him to hell. The rich sinner seals up
money in his bag, and God seals up a curse with it. `Woe to him that ladeth himself with thick clay'. {Hab
2:6} Augustine says that Judas for money sold his salvation,
and the Pharisees bought their damnation; so that happiness is not to be
fetched out of the earth. They who go to the creature for blessedness go to the
wrong box.
If blessedness does not consist in
externals, then let us not place our blessedness here. This is to seek the
living among the dead. As the angel told Mary concerning Christ, `He is not
here, he is risen' {Mt 28:6},
so I may say of blessedness, It is not here, it is
risen; it is in a higher region. How do men thirst after the world, as if the
pearl of blessedness hung upon an earthly crown! O, says one, if I had but such
an estate, then I should be happy! Had I but such a comfort, then I should sit
down satisfied! Well, God gives him that comfort and lets him suck out the very
juice and spirits of it, but, alas, it falls short of his expectation. It
cannot fill the hiatus and longing of his soul which still cries `Give, give';
{Pr 30:15} just like a sick man. If, says
he, I had but such a meat, I could eat it; and when he has it, his stomach is
bad, and he can hardly endure to taste it. God has put not only an emptiness,
but bitterness into the creature, and it is good for us that there is no
perfection here, that we may raise our thoughts higher to more noble and
generous delights. Could we distil and draw out the quintessence of the
creature, we should say as once the emperor Severus said, who grew from a mean
estate to be head of the greatest empire in the world: I have, says he, run
through all conditions, yet could never find full contentment.
To such as are cut short in their
allowance, whose cup does not overflow, but their tears be not too much
troubled; remember that these outward comforts cannot make you blessed. You
might live rich and die cursed. You might treasure up an estate, and God might treasure
up wrath. Be not perplexed about those things the lack of which cannot make you
miserable, nor the enjoyment make you blessed.
(2) Having shown wherein blessedness
does not consist, I shall next show wherein it does consist. Blessedness stands
in the fruition of the chief good.
(i) It
consists in fruition; there must not be only possession, but fruition. A man
may possess an estate, yet not enjoy it. He may have the dominion of it, but
not the comfort, as when he is in a lethargy or under the predominance of
melancholy. But in true blessedness there must be a sensible enjoyment of that
which the soul possesses.
(ii) Blessedness lies in the fruition
of the chief good. It is not every good that makes a man blessed, but it must
be the supreme good, and that is God. `Happy is that people whose God is the
Lord'. {Ps 144:15} God
is the soul's rest. {Ps 116:7}
Now that only in which the soul acquiesces and rests
can make it blessed. The globe or circle, as is observed in mathematics, is of
all others the most perfect figure, because the last point of the figure ends
in that first point where it began. So, when the soul meets in God, whence it
sprang as its first original, then it is completely blessed. That which makes a
man blessed must have fixed qualifications or ingredients in it, and these are
found nowhere but in God the chief good.
In true blessedness there must be meliority; that which fills with blessedness must be such a
good as is better than a man's self. If you would ennoble a piece of silver, it
must be by putting something to it which is better than silver, as by putting
gold or pearl to it. So that which ennobles the soul and enriches it with
blessedness, must be by adding something to it which is more excellent than the
soul, and that is God. The world is below the soul; it is but the soul's
footstool; therefore it cannot crown it with happiness.
Another ingredient is delectability:
that which brings blessedness must have a delicious taste in it, such as the
soul is instantly ravished with. There must be in it spirits of delight and
quintessence of joy, and where can the soul suck those pure comforts which
amaze it with wonder and crown it with delight, but in God? `In God', says
Augustine, `the soul is delighted with such sweetness as even transports it.'
The love of God is a honeycomb which drops such infinite sweetness and
satisfaction into the soul as is `unspeakable and full of glory.'. {1Pe 1:8} A kiss from God's
mouth puts the soul into a divine ecstasy, so that now it cries out, `It is
good to be here.'
The third ingredient in blessedness is
plenty; that which makes a man blessed must not be too scanty. It is a full
draught which quenches the soul's thirst; and where shall we find plenty but in
Deity? `Thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures'; {Ps 36:8} not drops but
rivers! The soul bathes itself and is laid, as it were, asteeping
in the water of life. The river of paradise overflowed and empties its silver
streams into the souls of the blessed.
In true blessedness there must be
variety. Plenty without variety is apt to nauseate. In God there is `all
fullness'. {Col 1:19}
What can the soul want, but it may be had in the chief good? God is `the good
in all good things'. He is a sun, a shield, a portion,
a fountain, a rock of strength, an horn of salvation.
In God there is a complication of all excellencies. There are every moment
fresh beauties and delights springing from God.
To make up blessedness there must be
perfection; the joy must be perfect, the glory perfect. `Spirits of just men
made perfect'. {Heb 12:23}
`Blessedness must run through the whole.' If there be the least defect, it
destroys the nature of blessedness, as the least symptom of a disease takes
away the wellbeing and right temperature of the body.
True blessedness must have eternity
stamped on it. Blessedness is a fixed thing; it admits of no change or
alteration. God says of every child of his, `I have blessed him
and he shall be blessed.' As the sunshine of blessedness is `without clouds',
so it never sets. `I give unto them eternal life'. {Joh 10:28} `And so shall we ever be with the
Lord'. {1Th 4:17} Eternity
is the highest link of blessedness. Thus we have seen that this diamond of
blessedness is only to be found in the Rock of Ages. `Blessed are the people
whose God is the Lord.'
If there is such a blessedness in
reversion, be convinced of the truth of this; set it down as an article of your
faith. We live in times wherein many are grown atheists. They have run through
all opinions, and now of professors they are turned epicures; they have drunk
in so much of the poison of error that they are quite intoxicated and fallen asleep, and begin to dream there is no such state of
blessedness after this life; and this opinion is to them above the Bible. When
men have the spiritual staggers, it sadly presages they will die. Oh, it is a
dangerous thing to hesitate and waver about fundamentals; like Pythagoras, who
doubted whether there was a God or no; so, whether there be a blessedness or
no. Doubting of principles is the next way to the denying of principles. Let it
be a maxim with every good Christian, there is a blessedness in reversion.
`There remains a rest for the people of God'. {Heb 4:9}
Revolve this truth often in your mind.
There are many truths swim in the brain, which do not sink into the heart, and
those do us no good. Chew the cud. Let a Christian think seriously with
himself, there is a blessedness feasible and I am capable of
enjoying it, if I do not lay bars in the way and block up my own
happiness. Though within I see nothing but guilt, and without nothing but
curses, yet there is a blessedness to be had, and to be had for me too in the
use of means.
The serious meditation of this will be
a forcible argument to make the sinner break off his sins by repentance and
sweat hard till he find the golden mine of
blessedness. I say, it would be the break-neck of sin. How would a man offer
violence to himself by mortification and to heaven by supplication, that at
last he may arrive at a state of blessedness? What, is there a crown of
blessedness to be set upon my head? A crown hung with the jewels of honour, delight, magnificence? a crown reached out by God
himself? and shall I by sin hazard this? Can the pleasure of sin countervail
the loss of blessedness? What more powerful motive to repentance than this? Sin
will deceive me of the blessing! If a man knew certainly that a king would
settle all his crown revenues on him after a term of years, would he offend
that regal Majesty and cause him to reverse or alter his will? There is a
blessedness promised to all that live godly. `This is the promise he has
promised us, even eternal life'. {1Jo
2:25} We are not excluded, but may come in
for a child's part. Now shall we, by living in sin, provoke God and forfeit
this blessedness? O what madness is this! Well may the apostle call them
`foolish and hurtful lusts', {1Ti
6:9} because every lust does what in it lies to cut off the entail
of mercy and block up the way to happiness. Every sin may be compared to the
`flaming sword', which keeps the heavenly paradise that the sinner cannot
enter.
Let us so deport ourselves, that we
may express to others that we do believe a blessedness to come, and that is by
seeking an interest in God. For the beams of blessedness shine only from his
face. It is our union with God, the chief good, that makes us blessed. Oh, let
us never rest till we can say, `This God is our God for ever and ever'. {Ps 48:14} Most men think
because God has blessed them with an estate, therefore they are blessed. Alas,
God often gives these things in anger. `God grants a thing when he is angry
which he does not will to give when he is tranquil.' He loads his enemies with
gold and silver; as Plutarch reports of Tarpeia, a
vestal nun, who bargained with the enemy to betray the Capitol of Rome to them,
if she might have the golden bracelets on their left hands, which they
promised; and being entered into the Capitol, they threw not only their golden
bracelets, but their bucklers too upon her, through the weight whereof she was
pressed to death. God often lets men have the golden bracelets, the weight
whereof sinks them into hell. Oh, let us pant after things heavenly, let us get
our eyes fixed, and our hearts united to God, the supreme good. This is to
pursue blessedness as in the chase.
Let us proclaim to the world that we
do believe a blessedness to come by living blessed lives; walk as becomes the
heirs of blessedness. A blessed crown and a cursed life will never agree. Many
tell us they are bound for heaven, but they steer their course a quite contrary
way. The Devil is their pilot, and they sail hell-ward, as if a man should say
he were going a voyage to the east, but sails quite
westward. The drunkard will tell you he hopes for blessedness, but he sails
another way; you must go weeping to heaven, not reeling. The unclean person
talks of blessedness, but he is fallen into that `deep ditch', {Pr 23:27} where he is like sooner to find
hell than heaven. A beast may as well be made an angel as an unclean person in
his leprosy enter into the paradise of God. The
covetous person (of whom it may be said, `he is a worm and no man', for he is
ever creeping in the earth) yet would lay a claim to blessedness; but can earth
ascend? Shall a lump of clay be made a bright star in the firmament of glory?
Be assured they shall never be blessed who bless themselves in their sins. If,
says God, the sinner `bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace,
though I walk in the imagination of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst; the
Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall
smoke against that man, and the Lord shall blot out his name under heaven'. {De 29:19} A man can no more
extract blessedness out of sin than he can suck health out of poison. O let us
lead blessed lives, and so `declare plainly that we seek a country'. {Heb 11:14}
To you that have any good hope through
grace that you have a title to blessedness, let me say as the Levites did to
the people, `Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever'. {Ne 9:5} What infinite cause
have you to be thankful that the lot of free grace is fallen upon you! Though
you had forfeited all, yet God has provided a haven of happiness, and he is
carrying you thither upon the sea of Christ's blood, the gale of his Spirit
blowing your sails. You are in a better condition through Christ, than when you
had the robes of innocence upon you. God has raised you a step higher by your
fall. How many has God passed by and looked upon you! Millions there are who
shall lie under the bitter vials of God's curses, whereas he will bring you
into his banqueting-house and pour out the flagons of wine and feast you eternally
with the delicacies of heaven. O adore free grace; triumph in this love of God.
Spend and be spent for the Lord. Dedicate yourselves to him in a way of resignation, and lay out yourselves for him in a way of
gratulation. Never think you can do enough for that God who will shortly set
you ashore in the land of promise.