3156. The First Beatitude

A Sermon Published On Thursday, August 5, 1909.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {Mt 5:3} {a}

For other sermons on this text:

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3155, “Beatitudes, The” 3156}

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3156, “First Beatitude, The” 3157}

   Exposition on Mt 5:1-12 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3065, “Third Beatitude, The” 3066 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Mt 5:1-30 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3155, “Beatitudes, The” 3156 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Ps 149 Mt 5:1-12 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2508, “Beautiful For Ever” 2509 @@ "Exposition"}

1. Bearing in mind the object of our Saviour’s discourse, which was to describe the saved, and not to declare the plan of salvation, we now come to consider the first of the Beatitudes:—

   Blessed are the poor in spirit:

   For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2. A ladder, if it is to be of any use, must have its first rung near the ground, or feeble climbers will never be able to mount. It would have been a grievous discouragement to struggling faith if the first blessing had been given to the pure in heart; to that excellence the young beginner makes no claim, while to poverty of spirit he can reach without going beyond his grasp. Had the Saviour said, “Blessed are the rich in grace,” he would have spoken a great truth, but very few of us could have derived consolation from it. Our Divine Instructor begins at the beginning, with the very A B C of experience, and so enables the babes in grace to learn from him; had he begun with higher attainments, he must have left the little ones behind. A gigantic step at the bottom of these sacred stairs would have effectively prevented many from attempting to ascend; but, tempted by the lowly step, which bears the inscription “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” thousands are encouraged to attempt the heavenly way.

3. It is worthy of grateful notice that this gospel blessing reaches down to the exact place where the law leaves us when it has done for us the very best within its power or intent. The utmost the law can accomplish for our fallen humanity is to lay bare our spiritual poverty, and convince us of it. It cannot by any possibility enrich a man: its greatest service is to tear away from him his imagined wealth of self-righteousness, show him his overwhelming indebtedness to God, and bow him to the earth in self-despair. Like Moses, it leads away from Goshen, conducts into the wilderness, and brings to the verge of an impassable stream, but it can do no more; Joshua Jesus is needed to divide the Jordan, and conduct into the promised land. The law tears the goodly Babylonian garment of our imaginary merits into ten pieces, and proves our wedge of gold to be mere dross, and so it leaves us, “naked, and poor, and miserable.” To this point Jesus descends; his full line of blessing comes up to the verge of destruction, rescues the lost, and enriches the poor. The gospel is as full as it is free.

4. This first Beatitude, though placed at a suitably low point, where it may be reached by those who are in the earliest stages of grace, is however none the less rich in blessing. The same word is used in the same sense at the beginning as at the end of the chain of Beatitudes; the poor in spirit are as truly and emphatically blessed as the meek, or the peacemakers. No hint is given as to lower degree, or inferior measure; but, on the contrary, the very highest benison, {blessing} which is used in the tenth verse as the gathering up of all the seven Beatitudes, is ascribed to the first and lowest order of the blessed: “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” What more is said even of the co-heirs with prophets and martyrs? What more indeed could be said than this? The poor in spirit are lifted from the dunghill, and set, not among hired servants in the field, but among princes in the kingdom. Blessed is that soul-poverty of which the Lord himself utters such good things. He places much value on what the world holds in little esteem, for his judgment is the opposite of the foolish verdict of the proud. As Watson well observes, “How poor are those who think themselves rich! How rich are those who see themselves to be poor! I call it the jewel of poverty. There are some paradoxes in religion which the world cannot understand; for a man to become a fool so that he may be wise to save his life by losing it, and to be made rich by being poor. Yet this poverty is to be striven for more than riches; under these rags is hidden a cloth of gold, and out of this carcass comes honey.”

5. The reason for placing this Beatitude first is found in the fact that it is first as a matter of experience; it is essential to the succeeding characters, underlies each one of them, and is the only soil in which they can be produced. No man ever mourns before God until he is poor in spirit, neither does he become meek towards others until he has humble views of himself; hungering and thirsting after righteousness are not possible for those who have high views of their own excellence, and mercy to those who offend is a grace too difficult for those who are unconscious of their own spiritual need. Poverty in spirit is the porch of the temple of blessedness. Just as a wise man never thinks of building up the walls of his house until he has first dug out the foundation, so no person skilful in divine things will hope to see any of the higher virtues where poverty of spirit is absent. Until we are emptied of self we cannot be filled with God; stripping must be done to us before we can be clothed with the righteousness which is from heaven. Christ is never-precious until we are poor in spirit, we must see our own needs before we can perceive his wealth; pride blinds the eyes, and sincere humility must open them, or the beauties of Jesus will be for ever hidden from us. The narrow gate is not wide enough to allow that man to enter who is great in his own esteem; it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a man conceited with his own spiritual riches to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Hence it is clear that the character described in connection with the first Beatitude is essential to the production of those which follow after; and unless a man possesses it, he may look in vain for favour from the Lord. The proud are cursed, their pride alone secures them the curse, and shuts them out from divine regard: “The proud he knows afar off.” The lowly in heart are blessed, for to them and to their prayers Jehovah always has a tender regard.

6. It is worthy of double mention that this first blessing is given rather to the absence than to the presence of praiseworthy qualities; it is a blessing, not on the man who is distinguished for this virtue or remarkable for that excellence, but on him whose chief characteristic is that he confesses his own sad deficiencies. This is intentional, in order that grace may be all the more obviously seen to be grace indeed, casting its eye first, not on purity, but on poverty; not on showers of mercy, but on needers of mercy; not on those who are called the children of God, but on those who cry, “We are not worthy to be called your sons.” God wants nothing from us except our needs, and these furnish him with room to display his bounty when he freely supplies them. It is from the worse and not from the better side of fallen man that the Lord wins glory for himself. Not what I have, but what I do not have, is the first point of contact between my soul and God. The good may bring their goodness, but he declares that “there is no one righteous, no, not one”; the pious may offer their ceremonies, but he takes no delight in all their oblations; the wise may present their inventions, but he considers their wisdom to be folly; but when the poor in spirit come to him with their utter destitution and distress he accepts them at once; yes, he bows the heavens to bless them, and opens the storehouses of the covenant to satisfy them. Just as the surgeon seeks for the sick, and just as the alms-giver looks after the poor, even so the Saviour seeks out those who need him, and on those he exercises his divine office. Let every needy sinner drink comfort from this well.

7. Nor ought we to forget that this lowest note on the octave of Beatitude, this keynote of the whole music gives out a certain sound concerning the spirituality of the Christian age. Its first blessing is allotted to a characteristic, not of the outer, but of the inner man; to a state of soul, and not to a posture of body; to the poor in spirit, and not to the exact in ritual. That word spirit is one of the watchwords of the gospel age. Garments, genuflections, rituals, oblations, and the like are ignored, and the Lord’s eye of favour rests only on hearts broken and spirits humbled before him. Even mental endowments are left in the cold shadows, and the spirit is made to lead the vanguard; the soul, the true man, is regarded, and everything else is left as of comparatively little value. This teaches us to mind, above all things, those matters which concern our spirits. We must not be satisfied with external religion. If, in any ordinance, our spirit does not come into contact with the great Father of spirits, we must not rest satisfied. Everything about our religion which is not heart-work must be unsatisfactory to us. Just as men cannot live on the chaff and the bran, but need the flour of the wheat, so we need something more than the form of godliness and the letter of truth, we require the secret meaning, the ingrafting of the Word into our spirit, the bringing of the truth of God into our innermost soul: everything short of this is short of the blessing. The highest grade of outward religiousness is unblessed, but the very lowest form of spiritual grace is endowed with the kingdom of heaven. Better to be spiritual, even though our highest attainment is to be poor in spirit, than to remain carnal, even though in that carnality we should boast of perfection in the flesh. The least in grace is higher than the greatest in nature. Poverty of spirit in the tax collector was better than fulness of external excellence in the Pharisee. Just as the weakest and poorest man is nobler than the strongest of all the beasts of the field, so the lowliest spiritual man is more precious in the sight of the Lord than the most eminent of the self-sufficient children of men. The smallest diamond is worth more than the largest pebble, the lowest degree of grace excels the loftiest attainment of nature. What do you say to this, beloved friend? Are you spiritual? At least, are you enough so to be poor in spirit? Does there exist for you a spiritual realm, or are you locked up in the narrow region of things seen and heard? If the Holy Spirit has broken a door for you into the spiritual and unseen, then you are blessed, even though your only perception as yet is the painful discovery that you are poor in spirit. Jesus on the mount blesses you, and blessed you are.

8. Drawing even nearer to our text, we observe, first, that the person described has discovered a fact, he has ascertained his own spiritual poverty; and, secondly, by a fact he is comforted, for he possesses “the kingdom of heaven.”

9. I. THE FACT WHICH HE HAS ASCERTAINED IS AN OLD TRUTH, for the man always was spiritually poor. From his birth he was a pauper, and at his best estate he is only a mendicant. {beggar} “Naked, and poor, and miserable” is a fair summary of man’s condition by nature. He lies covered with sores at the gates of mercy, having nothing of his own but sin, unable to dig and unwilling to beg, and therefore perishing in a penury of the direst kind.

10. This truth is also universal, for all men are by nature poor like this. In a clan, or a family, there will usually be at least one person of wealth, and in the poorest nation there will be a few possessors of wealth; but, alas for our humanity! Its whole supply of excellence is spent, and its riches are utterly gone. Among us all, there remains no remnant of good; the olive oil is spent from the cruse, and the meal flour is exhausted from the barrel, and we experience a famine more dire than what desolated Samaria of old. We owe ten thousand talents, and have nothing with which to pay; even so much as a single penny of goodness we cannot find in all the treasuries of the nations.

11. This fact is deeply humiliating. A man may have no money, and yet it may involve no fault, and therefore no shame; but our estate of poverty has this sting in it, that it is moral and spiritual, and sinks us in blame and sin. To be poor in holiness, truth, faith, and love for God, is disgraceful to us. Often the poor man hides his face as one greatly ashamed; we have far more reason to do so who have spent our living riotously, wasted our Father’s wealth, and brought ourselves to poverty and dishonour. Descriptions of our state which show describe us to be miserable are not complete unless they also declare us to be guilty; true, we are objects of pity, but much more of censure. A poor man may be none the less worthy of esteem because of the shabbiness of his apparel, and the scarcity of his provisions; but spiritual poverty means fault, blameworthiness, shame, and sin. He who is poor in spirit is therefore a humbled man, and is on the way to be numbered with those who mourn, of whom the second blessing says that “they shall be comforted.”

12. The fact discovered by the blessed one in the text is very little known; the majority of mankind are utterly ignorant about the matter. Though the truth concerning man’s lost condition is daily taught in our streets, yet few understand it; they are not anxious to know the meaning of a statement so uncomfortable, so alarming; and the majority of those who are aware of the doctrine, and acknowledge that it is scriptural, yet do not believe it, but put it out of their thoughts, and practically ignore it. “We see,” is the universal boast of the world’s blind men. So far from realizing that they are destitute, the sons of men are in their own esteem so richly endowed that they thank God that they are not as other men. No slavery is so degrading as what makes a man content with his servitude; the poverty which never aspires, but is content to continue in its rags and filth, is poverty of the deepest dye, and such is the spiritual condition of mankind.

13. Wherever the truth concerning our condition is truly known, it has been spiritually revealed. We may say of everyone who knows his soul-poverty, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonas, for flesh and blood have not revealed this to you.” To be spiritually poor is the condition of all men; to be poor in spirit, or to know our spiritual poverty, is an attainment especially granted to the called and chosen. An omnipotent hand created us out of nothing, and the same omnipotence is needed to bring us to feel that we are nothing. We can never be saved unless we are made alive by infinite power, nor can we be made alive at all unless that very same power shall first slay us. It is amazing how much is needed to strip a man, and lay him in his true place. One would think that so penniless a beggar must be aware of his penury; but he is not, and never will be, unless the eternal God shall convince him of it. Our imaginary goodness is more hard to conquer than our actual sin. Man can sooner be cured of his sicknesses than be made to forego his boasts of health. Human weakness is a small obstacle to salvation compared with human strength; there lies the work and the difficulty. Hence it is a sign of grace to know one’s need of grace. He has some light in his soul who knows and feels that he is in darkness. The Lord himself has accomplished a work of grace on the spirit which is poor and needy, and trembles before his Word; and it is such a work that it bears within it the promise, yes, the assurance of salvation; for the poor in spirit already possess the kingdom of heaven, and none have that but those who have eternal life.

14. One thing is certainly true of the man whose spirit knows its own poverty, he is in possession of one truth at least; whereas, before, he breathed the atmosphere of falsehood, and knew nothing which he ought to know. However painful the result of poverty of spirit may be, it is the result of truth; and a foundation of truth being laid, other truth will be added, and the man will continue in the truth. All that others think they know concerning their own spiritual excellence is only a lie, and to be rich in lies is to be awfully poor. Carnal security, natural merit, and self-confidence, however much false peace they may produce, are only forms of falsehood, deceiving the soul; but when a man finds out that he is by nature and practice “lost,” he is no longer utterly a pauper concerning truth, he possesses one precious thing at any rate, one coin minted by truth is in his hand. For my own part, my constant prayer is that I may know the worst of my case, whatever the knowledge may cost me. I know that an accurate estimate of my own heart can never be otherwise than lowering to my self-esteem; but God forbid that I should be spared the humiliation which springs from the truth! The sweet apples of self-esteem are deadly poison; who would wish to be destroyed by it? The bitter fruits of self-knowledge are always healthy, especially if washed down with the waters of repentance, and sweetened with a draught from the wells of salvation; he who loves his own soul will not despise them. Blessed, according to our text, is the poor downcast one who knows his lost condition, and is suitably impressed by it; he is only a beginner in Wisdom’s school, yet he is a disciple, and his Master encourages him with a blessing, yes, he pronounces him one of those to whom the kingdom of heaven is given.

15. The position into which a clear knowledge of this one truth has brought the soul is one particularly advantageous for obtaining every gospel blessing. Poverty of spirit empties a man, and so makes him ready to be filled; it exposes his wounds to the olive oil and wine of the good Physician; it lays the guilty sinner at the gate of mercy, or among those dying ones around the pool of Bethesda to whom Jesus is accustomed to come. Such a man opens his mouth, and the Lord fills it; he hungers, and the Lord satisfies him with good things. More than all other evils we have the most reason to dread our own fulness; the greatest unfitness for Christ is our own imaginary fitness. When we are utterly undone, we are close to being enriched with the riches of grace. Out of ourselves is next door to being in Christ. Where we end, mercy begins; or rather, mercy has begun, and mercy has already done much for us when we are at the end of our merit, our power, our wisdom, and our hope. The deeper the destitution the better;—

   ’Tis perfect poverty alone

      That sets the soul at large;

   While we can call one mite our own

      We get no full discharge.

Should the heart be distressed because it cannot even sufficiently feel its own need, so much the better; the poverty of spirit is just so much the greater, and the appeal to free grace all the more powerful. If the lack of a broken heart is felt, we may come to Jesus for a broken heart, if we cannot come with a broken heart. If no kind or degree of good is perceptible, this also is only a clear proof of utter poverty, and in that condition we may dare to believe in the Lord Jesus. Though we are nothing, Christ is all. All that we need to begin with we must find in him, just as surely as we must look to the very same source for our ultimate perfecting.

16. A man may be so misled as to make a merit out of his sense of sin, and may dream of coming to Jesus clothed in a fitness of despair and unbelief; this is, however, the very opposite of the conduct of one who is poor in spirit, for he is poor in feelings as well as in everything else, and dares no more commend himself on account of his humblings and despairings than on account of his sins themselves. He thinks himself to be a hard-hearted sinner as he acknowledges the deep repentance which his offences call for; he fears that he is a stranger to that sacred quickening which makes the conscience tender, and he dreads lest he should in any measure be a hypocrite in the desires which he perceives to be in his soul; in fact, he does not dare to think himself to be anything other than poor, grievously poor, in whatever light he may be viewed in his relationship to God and his righteous law. He hears of the humiliations of true penitents, and wishes he had them; he reads the descriptions of repentance given in the Word of God, and prays that he may experience them, but he sees nothing in himself on which he can put his finger, and say, “At least this is good. At least one good thing is in me.” He is poor in spirit, and from him all boasting is cut off, once and for all. It is better to be in this condition than falsely to consider one’s self a saint, and sit in the chief places of the synagogue; yes, it is so sweetly safe a position to occupy, that he who is fullest of faith in God, and rejoices in the Holy Spirit finds it to add to his peace to retain a full consciousness of the poverty of his natural state, and to let it run parallel with his persuasion of security and blessedness in Christ Jesus. Lord, keep me low; empty me more and more; lay me in the dust, let me be dead and buried concerning all that is of self; then Jesus shall live in me, and reign in me, and be truly my All in all!

17. It may seem to some to be a little matter to be poor in spirit; let such people remember that our Lord so places this gracious condition of heart that it is the foundation-stone of the celestial ascent of Beatitudes; and who can deny that the steps which rise from it are sublime beyond measure? It is something inexpressibly desirable to be poor in spirit if this is the road to purity of heart, and to the godlike character of the peacemaker. Who would not lay his head on Jacob’s stone to enjoy Jacobs dream? Who would scorn the staff with which in poverty he crossed the Jordan if he might only see the kingdom of heaven opened as the patriarch did? Welcome the poverty of Israel if it is a part of the conditions on which we shall receive the blessing of Israel’s God. Instead of despising the poor in spirit, we shall do well to regard them as possessing the dawn of spiritual life, the germ of all the graces, the initiative of perfection, the evidence of blessedness.

18. II. Having spoken so much on the character of those who are poor in spirit as being formed by the knowledge of a fact, we now have to note that IT IS BY A FACT THAT THEY ARE CHEERED AND RENDERED BLESSED: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

19. It is not a promise concerning the future, but a declaration concerning the present; not theirs shall be, but “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This truth is clearly revealed in many Scriptures by necessary inference; for, first, the King of the heavenly kingdom is constantly represented as reigning over the poor. David says, in the seventy-second Psalm, “He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy.…He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.” As his virgin mother sang, “He has put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted those of low degree. He has filled the hungry with good things, and he has sent the rich away empty.” Those who enlist beneath the banner of the Son of David are like those who of old came to the son of Jesse in the cave of Adullam, “Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented, gathered themselves to him; and he became a captain over them.” “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” His title was “a Friend of tax collectors and sinners.” “Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor,” and it is therefore fitting that the poor should be gathered to him. Since Jesus has chosen the poor in spirit to be his subjects, and said, “Do not fear, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” we see how true it is that they are blessed.

20. The rule of the Kingdom is such as only the poor in spirit will endure. To them it is an easy yoke from which they have no wish to be released; to give God all the glory is no burden to them, to cease from self is no hard command. The place of lowliness suits them, they consider the service of humiliation an honour; they can say with the psalmist, “Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child who is weaned from his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.” {Ps 131:2} Self-denial and humility, which are the main duties of Christ’s kingdom, are easy only for those who are poor in spirit. A humble mind loves humble duties, and is willing to kiss the least flower which grows in the Valley of Humiliation; but to others a fair show in the flesh is a great attraction, and self-exaltation the main object of life. Our Saviour’s declaration, “Unless you are converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven,” is an iron rule which shuts out all but the poor in spirit; but, at the same time, it is a gate of pearl which admits all who are of that character.

21. The privileges of the kingdom are such as only the spiritually poor will value; to others, they are as pearls cast before swine. The self-righteous care nothing for pardon, though it cost the Redeemer his life’s blood; they have no care for regeneration, though it is the greatest work of the Holy Spirit; and they place no value on sanctification, though it is the Father himself who has made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Evidently the blessings of the covenant were meant for the poor in spirit; there is not one of them which would be valued by the Pharisee. A robe of righteousness implies our nakedness; manna from heaven implies the lack of earthly bread. Salvation is vanity if men are in no danger, and mercy a mockery if they are not sinful. The charter of the Church is written on the supposition that it is formed by the poor and needy, and is without meaning if it is not so. Poverty of spirit opens the eyes to see the preciousness of covenant blessings. As an old Puritan says, “He who is poor in spirit is a Christ-admirer; he has high thoughts of Christ, he places a high value and appreciation on Christ; he hides himself in Christ’s wounds; he bathes himself in his blood; he wraps himself in his robe; he sees a spiritual dearth and famine at home, but he looks to Christ, and cries, ‘Lord, show me yourself, and it suffices.’” Now, inasmuch as the Lord has made nothing in vain, since we find that the privileges of the gospel kingdom are only suitable for the poor in spirit, we may rest assured that for such they were prepared, and to such they belong.

22. Moreover, it is clear that only those who are poor in spirit actually reign as kings to God. The crown of this kingdom will not fit every head; in fact, it fits the brow of no one except the poor in spirit. No proud man reigns, he is the slave of his boastings, the serf of his own loftiness. The ambitious worldling grasps after a kingdom, but he does not possess one, the humble in heart are content, and in that contentment they are made to reign. High spirits have no rest; only the lowly heart has peace. To know one’s self is the way to self-conquest, and self-conquest is the grandest of all victories. The world looks for a lofty, ambitious, stern self-sufficient man, and says he bears himself like a king: and yet in very truth, the real kings among their fellows are meek and lowly like the Lord of all, and in their unconsciousness of self lies the secret of their power. The kings among mankind, the happiest, the most powerful, the most honourable, will one day be seen to be, not the Alexanders, Caesars, and Napoleons, but the men akin to him who washed the disciples’ feet, those who in quietness lived for God and their fellow men, unostentatious because conscious of their failures, unselfish because self was held in low esteem, humble and devout because their own spiritual poverty drove them out of themselves, and led them to rest only on the Lord. The time shall come when glitter and gew-gaw will go for what they are worth, and then the poor in spirit shall be seen to have had the kingdom.

23. The dominion awarded by this Beatitude to the poor in spirit is no common one; it is the kingdom of heaven, a heavenly dominion, far excelling anything which can be obtained this side the stars. An ungodly world may consider the poor in spirit to be contemptible, but God writes them down among his peers and princes; and his judgment is true, and far more to be esteemed than the opinions of men or even of angels. Only as we are poor in spirit do we have any evidence that heaven is ours; but having that mark of blessedness, all things are ours, whether things present or things to come. To the poor in spirit belong all the security, honour, and happiness which the gospel kingdom is calculated to give on earth; even here below, they may eat its dainties without question, and revel in its delights without fear. Theirs also are the things not seen as yet, reserved for future revelation, theirs the second advent, theirs the glory, theirs the fifth great monarchy, theirs the resurrection, theirs the beautiful vision, theirs the eternal ecstasy. “Poor in spirit”; the words sound as if they described the owners of nothing, and yet they describe the heirs of all things. Happy poverty! Millionaires sink into insignificance, the treasures of the Indies evaporate in smoke, while to the poor in spirit remains a boundless, endless, faultless kingdom, which renders them blessed in the esteem of him who is God over all, blessed for ever. And all this is for the present life in which they mourn, and need to be comforted, hunger and thirst, and need to be filled; all this is for them while they are still persecuted for righteousness’ sake; what then must be their blessedness when they shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, and in them shall be fulfilled the promise of their Master and Lord, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame, and am sat down with my Father on his throne?”

{a} In the year 1873, Mr. Spurgeon delivered what he called “a series of sententious homilies” on the Beatitudes. After an introductory discourse upon the Sermon on the mount and the Beatitudes as a whole, he intended to preach upon each one separately; but either illness or some other special reason prevented him from fully carrying out this purpose. There are, however, eight Sermons on the Beatitudes, three of which have already been published in the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit,—No. 422, “The Peacemaker”; No. 2103, “The Hunger and Thirst who are Blessed”; and No. 3065, “The Third Beatitude”;—the other five will now be issued in successive weeks, and will form the Monthly Sermon Part for August, price Fivepence. Mr. Spurgeon’s Exposition of each of the Beatitudes and of the whole Sermon on the mount also appears in The Gospel of the Kingdom (now sold at 3s. 6d.) the volume on which he was at work at Mentone up to a little while before his “home-call” in 1892.

Exposition By C. H. Spurgeon {Mt 5:31-42}

Continued From: {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3155, “The Beatitudes” 3156 @@ "Exposition"}

Concluded In: {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3157, “The Fourth Beatitude” 3158 @@ "Exposition"}

31, 32. “It has been said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement’: but I say to you, that whoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery: and whoever shall marry her who is divorced commits adultery.

This time our King quotes and condemns a permissive enactment of the Jewish State. Men were accustomed to bid their wives “begone,” and a hasty word was thought sufficient as an act of divorce. Moses insisted on “a writing of divorcement,” so that angry passions might have time to cool, and that the separation, if it must come, might be performed with deliberation and legal formality. The requirement of a writing was to a certain degree a check on an evil habit, which was so engrained in the people that to refuse it altogether would have been useless, and would only have created another crime. The law of Moses went as far as it could practically be enforced; it was because of the hardness of their hearts that divorce was tolerated; it was never approved of.

But our Lord is more heroic in his legislation. He forbids divorce except for the one crime of infidelity to the marriage vow. She who commits adultery does by that act and deed in effect severs the marriage bond, and it ought then to be formally recognised by the State as being severed; but for nothing else should a man be divorced from his wife. Marriage is for life, and cannot be severed, except by the one great crime which severs its bond, whichever of the two is guilty of it. Our Lord would never have tolerated the wicked laws of certain of the American States, which allow married men and women to separate on the merest pretext. A woman divorced for any reason except adultery, and marrying again, is committing adultery before God, whatever the laws of man may call it. This is very plain and positive; and so a sanctity is given to marriage which human legislation ought not to violate. Let us not be among those who take up novel ideas of wedlock, and seek to deform the marriage laws under the pretence of reforming them. Our Lord knows better than our modern social reformers. We had better leave the laws of God alone, for we shall never discover any better.

33-37. Again, you have heard that it has been said by those of old time, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord’: but I say to you, do not swear at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, ‘Yes,’ ‘Yes’; ‘No,’ ‘No’: for whatever is more than these comes from evil.

False swearing was forbidden of old; but every kind of swearing is forbidden now by the word of our Lord Jesus. He mentions several forms of oath, and forbids them all, and then prescribes simple forms of affirmation or denial, as all that his followers should employ. Notwithstanding much that may be advanced to the contrary, there is no evading the plain sense of this passage, that every kind of oath, however solemn or true, is forbidden to a follower of Jesus. Whether in a court of law, or out of it the rule is, “Do not swear at all.” Yet, in this Christian country we have swearing everywhere, and especially among law-makers. Our legislators begin their official existence by swearing. By those who obey the law of the Saviour’s kingdom, all swearing is set aside, so that the simple word of affirmation or denial, calmly repeated, may remain as a sufficient bond of truth. A bad man cannot be believed on his oath, and a good man speaks the truth without an oath; to what purpose is the superfluous custom of legal swearing preserved? Christians should not yield to an evil custom, however great the pressure put on them; but they should continue in the plain and unmistakable command of their Lord and King.

38. You have heard that it has been said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’:

The law of an eye for an eye, as administered in the proper courts of law, was founded in justice, and worked far more equitably than the more modern system of fines; for that method allows rich men to offend with comparative impunity. But when the lex talionis {law of vengeance} came to be the rule of daily life, it fostered revenge, and our Saviour would not tolerate it as a principle carried out by individuals. Good law in court may be very bad custom in common society. He spoke against what had become a proverb and was heard and said among the people, “You have heard that it has been said.”

Our loving King would have private dealings ruled by the spirit of love and not by the rule of law.

39. But I say to you, that you do not resist evil: but whoever shall strike you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Non-resistance and forbearance are to be the rule among Christians. They are to endure personal ill-usage without coming to blows. They are to be as the anvil when bad men are the hammers, and so they are to overcome by patient forgiveness. The rule of the judgment seat is not for common life; but the rule of the cross and the all-enduring Sufferer is for us all. Yet how many regard all this as fanatical, utopian, and even cowardly! The Lord, our King, would have us bear and forbear, and conquer by mighty patience. Can we do it? How are we the servants of Christ if we do not have his spirit?

However, we are not turn someone else’s cheek, but stand up to defend and protect the weak.

40. And if any man will sue you at law, and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.

Let him have all he asks for, and more. Better lose a suit of cloth than be drawn into a suit in law. The courts of our Lord’s day were vicious, and his disciples were advised to suffer wrong sooner than appeal to them. Our own courts often furnish the best method of solving a difficulty by authority, and we have known them to be resorted to with the view of preventing strife. Yet even in a country where justice can be had, we are not to resort to law for every personal wrong. We should rather endure to be abused than be for ever crying out, “I will bring an action.”

At times this very rule of self-sacrifice may require us to take steps in the way of legal appeal, to stop injuries which would fall heavily on others; but we ought often to forego our own advantage, yes, always when the main motive would be a proud desire for self-vindication.

Lord, give me a patient spirit, so that I may not seek to avenge myself, even when I might righteously do so!

41. And whoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him two.

Governments in those days demanded forced service through their petty officers. Christians were to be of a yielding temperament, and bear a double exaction rather than provoke ill words and anger. We ought not to evade taxation, but stand ready to render to Caesar his due. “Yield” is our watchword. To stand up against force is not exactly our part; we may leave that to others. How few believe the longsuffering, non-resistant doctrines of our King!

42. Give to him who asks you, and from him who would borrow from you do not turn away.

Be generous. A miser is no follower of Jesus. Discretion is to be used in our giving, lest we encourage idleness and beggary; but the general rule is, “Give to him who asks you.” Sometimes a loan may be more useful than a gift; do not refuse it to those who will make a right use of it. These precepts are not meant for fools; they are set before us as our general rule; but each rule is balanced by other scriptural commands, and there is the teaching of a philanthropic common sense to guide us. Our spirit is to be one of readiness to help the needy by gift or loan, and we are not very likely to err by excess in this direction; hence the boldness of the command.

Sermons on the Beatitudes:

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3155, “The Beatitudes” 3156}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3156, “The First Beatitude” 3157}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3065, “The Third Beatitude” 3066}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2103, “The Hunger and Thirst Which Are Blessed” 2104}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3157, “The Fourth Beatitude” 3158}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3158, “The Fifth Beatitude” 3159}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3159, “The Sixth Beatitude” 3160}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 422, “The Peacemaker” 413}