Christianity

Beatitude, Sermon on the Mount

General Information
{bee-at'-i-tood}
A beatitude is a declaration of happiness or promised blessing because of some virtue or good deed. The most famous beatitudes are the blessings preached by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5). They describe the qualities of Christian perfection and promise future blessings rather than current rewards.

Bibliography:
Fitch, William, The Beatitudes of Jesus (1961).

Beatitudes of Christ

General Information
The Beatitudes of Christ represent eight upward steps toward attaining the Blessedness of a Divine Life. They are expressed in Matthew 5 in the New Testament, as an important part of His Sermon on the Mount.

(Preliminary text):

Matt. 5:1. And seeing the multitudes, he ascended a mountain: and when he was seated, his disciples came to him:

Matt. 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Matt. 5:3. Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (This is the necessary first step, Humility, a conscious acknowledgement for the need).

Matt. 5:4 Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (This is the second step, Penitence, a mourning regarding past sins.)

Matt. 5:5 Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (This is the third step, Meekness, which marks the birth of a New Spirit.)

Matt. 5:6 Blessed [are] they who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be filled. (This is the fourth step, the establishment of a Spiritual Appetite, which signifies growth.)

Matt. 5:7 Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (This is the fifth step, Mercifulness, an Attribute of God, which indicates further advance.)

Matt. 5:8 Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (This is the sixth step, Purity of Heart, which marks the attainment of higher altitudes, where comes the vision of God.)

Matt. 5:9 Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God. (This is the seventh step, Peacemaking, a Christ-like influence, calming the storms of life.)

Matt. 5:10 Blessed [are] they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. 5:11 Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. {falsely: Gr. lying}

Matt. 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

(This is the eighth and final step, Attainment of the Summit, Suffering for Christ, standing besides the prophets and martyrs.)

(following text:)
Matt. 5:13. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt hath lost its savour, with what shall it be salted? it is then good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot by men.

Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Matt. 5:15 Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand; and it giveth light to all that are in the house. {a bushel: the word in the original signifieth a measure containing about a pint less than a peck}

Matt. 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Bless

• God blesses his people when he bestows on them some gift temporal or spiritual (Gen. 1:22; 24:35; Job 42:12; Ps. 45:2; 104:24, 35).
• We bless God when we thank him for his mercies (Ps. 103:1, 2; 145:1, 2).
• A man blesses himself when he invokes God's blessing (Isa. 65:16), or rejoices in God's goodness to him (Deut. 29:19; Ps. 49:18).
• One blesses another when he expresses good wishes or offers prayer to God for his welfare (Gen. 24:60; 31:55; 1 Sam. 2:20). Sometimes blessings were uttered under divine inspiration, as in the case of Noah, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses (Gen. 9:26, 27; 27:28, 29, 40; 48:15-20; 49:1-28; Deut. 33). The priests were divinely authorized to bless the people (Deut. 10:8; Num. 6:22-27). We have many examples of apostolic benediction (2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 6:23, 24; 2 Thess. 3:16, 18; Heb. 13:20, 21; 1 Pet. 5:10, 11).
• Among the Jews in their thank-offerings the master of the feast took a cup of wine in his hand, and after having blessed God for it and for other mercies then enjoyed, handed it to his guests, who all partook of it. Ps. 116:13 refers to this custom. It is also alluded to in 1 Cor. 10:16, where the apostle speaks of the "cup of blessing."

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