*BLESSED ARE
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BY WILLIE WONG
1.) BLESSED ARE YOU, ISRAEL
“Blessed are you, Israel; who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help,and He who is the sword of your majesty! So your enemies will cringe before you,and you will trample on their high places.”
Palestinians were originally Arabs who surreptitiously moved into the Promised Land during British colony of so-called Palestine without payment. Palestinians breed like rabbits and occupy Gaza, etc. Palestinians must evacuate to Arab lands to build a Palestinian state and seek its own life. It is deplorable that Palestinians do not want to go to Arab lands, they prefer to stay in Gaza and Jewish lands to have the status of refugees so that they can get everything free from international aid. Israel has no choice but to destroy Hamas, Hezebollah and Houthis because they are terrorists. I bless Israel. Whenever I meet Jewish people, I tell them I am also a son of Abraham, the father of faith.
Deuteronomy 33:29. Happy art thou, O Israel — Wanting words sufficiently to express their happiness, he breaks out into admiration of it. Who is like unto thee? — So highly favoured as thou art? O people, saved of the Lord — Preserved, protected, and provided for by Omnipotence. Surely this is a privilege of which no nation can boast but yourselves. The shield of thy help — By whom thou art sufficiently guarded against all assailants; and the sword of thy excellency — Or, thy most excellent sword; that is, thy strength, and the author of all thy past or approaching victories. Those in whose hearts is the excellence of holiness, have God himself for their shield and sword. They are defended by the whole armour of God: his word is their sword, and faith their shield. And thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee — Who said they would destroy thee: or, at least, that they would never submit: and thou shalt tread upon their high places — Their strongholds, palaces, and temples. Thus shall the God of peace tread Satan under the feet of all believers, and that shortly.
2.) Blessed are your men who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom
“Blessed are your men, and blessed are these
servants of yours who stand before you
continually and hear your wisdom!”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
10:1-13 The queen of Sheba came to Solomon to hear his wisdom, thereby to improve her own. Our Saviour mentions her inquiries after God, by Solomon, as showing the stupidity of those who inquire not after God, by our Lord Jesus Christ. By waiting and prayer, by diligently searching the Scriptures, by consulting wise and experienced Christians, and by practising what we have learned, we shall be delivered from difficulties. Solomon’s wisdom made more impression upon the queen of Sheba than all his prosperity and grandeur. There is a spiritual excellence in heavenly things, and in consistent Christians, to which no reports can do justice. Here the truth exceeded; and all who, through grace, are brought to commune with God, will say the one half was not told them of the pleasures and the advantages of wisdom’s ways. Glorified saints, much more, will say of heaven, that the thousandth part was not told them, 1Co 2:9. She pronounced them happy that constantly attended Solomon. With much more reason may we say of Christ’s servants, Blessed are they that dwell in his house; they will be still praising him. She made a noble present to Solomon. What we present to Christ, he needs not, but will have us do so to express our gratitude. The believer who has been with Jesus, will return to his station, discharge his duties with readiness, and from better motives; looking forward to the day when, being absent from the body, he shall be present with the Lord.”
- ) Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel our father
“So David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel our father, forever and ever.”
1 Chronicles 29:10-11. David said, Blessed, &c. — David was now full of days, and near his end, and it well becomes the aged children of God to have their hearts much enlarged in praise and thanksgiving. The nearer we come to the land of everlasting praise, the more we should speak the language and do the work of that world. Thine is the greatness and the power, &c. — Thus David praises God with holy awe and reverence, acknowledging and adoring, 1st, His infinite perfections; not only that he is great, powerful, and glorious, &c., but that his is the greatness, power, and glory; that he has these perfections in and of himself, and is the centre and fountain of every thing that is excellent and blessed. 2d, His sovereign dominion, that he is the rightful owner and almighty possessor of all. All that is in heaven and in earth is thine — And at thy disposal, by the indisputable right of creation, and as Supreme Ruler and Commander of all. Thine is the kingdom — And all kings are thy subjects; and thou art to be exalted and worshipped as head above all — 3d, His universal influence and agency. All that are rich and honourable among mankind have their riches and honours from God. This acknowledgment David would have the princes to take notice of, and join in, that they might not think they had merited any thing of God by their generosity; for from God they had had their riches and honour, and what they had returned to him was but a small part of what they had received from him. Whoever are great among men, it is God that makes them so; and whatever strength we have, it is God that gives it us. Let no flesh, then, glory in his presence; for of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever! Amen.”
4.) Blessed are all who take refuge in Him
“Kiss the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way, for His wrath may be kindled quickly. How blessed are all who take
refuge in Him!”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
- Kiss the Son] According to this rendering the exhortation to serve Jehovah is followed by an exhortation to pay homage to His representative. For the kiss of homage cp. 1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Kings 19:18; Job 31:27; Hosea 13:2. But this rendering must certainly be abandoned, (1) Not to mention some minor difficulties, it assumes that the Psalmist has used the Aramaic word bar for son (cp. Bar-jona, Bar-Jesus) instead of the usual Hebrew word ben. The only example of its use in the Hebrew of the O.T. (it is of course found in the Aramaic of Ezra and Daniel) is in Proverbs 31:2, a passage which contains other marked Aramaisms. No satisfactory reason has been suggested for its introduction here. We should not expect a poet to borrow a foreign word for son either for ‘emphasis’ or for ‘euphony.’
(2) None of the ancient Versions, with the exception of the Syriac, give this sense to the words. They represent two views as to the meaning, (a) The LXX, and of course the Versions dependent on it, render, Lay hold of instruction: and similarly the Targum, Receive instruction, (b) Symmachus and Jerome render, Worship purely; and to the same effect, but with his usual bald literalism, Aquila gives, Kiss choicely.
The Syriac gives the meaning Kiss the son: but its rendering is merely a transcription of the Hebrew words. The reading of the Ambrosian MS., which agrees with the rendering of the LXX, is a correction by a later hand to the reading of the Hexaplar Syriac.
Jerome was acquainted with the translation Worship the son, but rejected it as doubtful. The passage in his treatise against Ruffinus (i. 19) deserves quotation. He had been charged with inconsistency for translating Worship purely (adorate pure) in his Psalter, though he had given Worship the son (adorate filium) in his Commentary. After discussing the possible meanings of the words he concludes thus: “Why am I to blame, if I have given different translations of an ambiguous word? and while in my short commentary where there is opportunity for discussion I had said Worship the Son, in the text itself, to avoid all appearance of forced interpretation, and to leave no opening for Jewish cavils, I have said, Worship purely, or choicely; as Aquila also and Symmachus have translated it.”
It is however easier to shew that the rendering Kiss the Son is untenable, than to decide what rendering should be adopted. Bar (beside other senses inapplicable here) may mean choice, or, pure. Hence some commentators have adopted the renderings Worship the chosen one; or, Worship in purity (cp. Psalm 18:20; Psalm 18:24; Psalm 24:3-5). But the substantial agreement of the LXX and Targum points to the existence of a widely-spread early tradition as to the sense, and on the whole it seems best to follow their general direction and render, Embrace instruction, or perhaps, obedience. No rendering is free from difficulty, and it may be doubted whether the text is sound. But an exaggerated importance has frequently been attached to the words. The uncertainty as to their meaning does not affect the general drift of the Psalm, or its Messianic interpretation.
lest he be angry] The subject of the verb is Jehovah Himself. The verb is applied to God in all the thirteen passages where it occurs.
perish from the way] Rather, as R.V., perish in the way: find that your expedition leads only to ruin. Cp. Psalm 1:6. P.B.V. adds right from the LXX (ἐξ ὁδοῦ δικαίας).
when his wrath is kindled but a little] Better, For quickly (or easily) may his anger blaze forth. Kindled fails to give the idea of the Divine wrath blazing up to consume all adversaries. Cp. Psalm 83:14 f.; Isaiah 30:27.
Blessed are all they that put their trust in him] Rather, Happy are all they that take refuge in him: lit. seek asylum or shelter: cp. Jdg 9:15; Ruth 2:12 (R.V.); Psalm 7:1; Psalm 57:1. Here primarily, those are congratulated who place themselves under His protectorate by accepting the suzerainty of His king; but as in the preceding verse, the deeper spiritual sense must not be excluded. Cp. Psalm 34:8. Nahum 1:7 combines the thought with that of Psalm 1:6 a.”
5.) Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound
Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
LORD, they walk in the light of Your face.”
Psalm 89:15. Blessed are the people, &c. — Next to the praises of Jehovah, is declared the happiness of those who have him for their God, who are his worshippers and servants, living under his righteous and merciful government; that know — That hear, from time to time, acknowledge and obey; the joyful sound — “The sound of the trumpet, by which the festivals of the Jewish Church were proclaimed, and the people were called together to the offices of devotion;” that is, who have God’s word and ordinances among them, and are favoured with his presence, and with the tokens of his mercy and grace, in and by these means; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance — Being blessed with the light of truth, and being enabled to walk therein, they shall live under the comfortable influences of thy love and favour. Remember, reader, “these blessings are now become our own; the evangelical trumpet hath sounded through the once heathen world; the Sun of righteousness hath risen upon all nations. Let us attend to the joyful sound; let us walk in the glorious light.” — Horne.”
6.) Blessed are those who maintain justice
“How blessed are those who maintain justice,
who practice righteousness at all times!”
Do you know any country that maintains justce, who practice righteousness at all times?
That keep judgment; that observe and practise what is just and right towards God and men; which in the next clause he calls
doing righteousness. At all times; in adversity as well as in prosperity. And this clause may belong either,
1. To the last foregoing words, that doeth righteousness at all times, constantly and perpetually; or rather,
2. To the first words, they are blessed at all times, even in the day of their calamity, which therefore ought not to hinder us from this great and just duty of praising God. And so this verse coheres with the former.”
7.) Blessed are those whose way is blameless
Aleph
“Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the Law of the LORD.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1. Tôrâh, ‘law,’ LXX νόμος, occurs 25 times. Cp. Deuteronomy 4:8 &c. It has however a much wider range of meaning than ‘law.’ It denotes (a) direction or instruction, whether human (Proverbs 1:8) or Divine: (b) a body of teaching: (c) more definitely, a law, or (d) a code of laws, whether the Deuteronomic code or the Levitical legislation, ‘the law of Moses’: and so finally (e) the Pentateuch. Here, as in Psalms 1, 19, it must be taken in its widest sense, as synonymous with the ‘word’ of Jehovah (Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 2:3), to include all Divine revelation as the guide of life, prophetic exhortation as well as priestly direction, the sum of an Israelite’s duty. (Cp. the use of ‘the law’ to denote the whole O.T. in John 10:34.)
1. Blessed &c.] Happy the perfect (or upright) in way, integri vitae, those whose course of life is directed and governed by single-hearted devotion to Jehovah, and integrity in dealing with their fellow men. Cp. Psalm 1:1; Psalm 15:2 note; Psalm 101:2; Psalm 101:6.
who walk &c.] Integrity of life is defined as a walking in Jehovah’s law. This is the path (Psalm 119:33) which man must follow if he would avoid sin. Cp. Exodus 16:4; Luke 1:6. For the meaning of ‘law’ see above, p. 703.
1–8. Aleph. Loyal obedience to Jehovah’s law is the source of man’s truest happiness, and therefore the Psalmist prays that it may be the fixed rule of his life, and that he may learn to understand it better.”
8.) Blessed are those who comply with His trdtimonies
“Blessed are those who comply with His testimonies,
and seek Him with all their heart.”
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies – His commandments or laws, considered as what he bears witness to concerning that which is just, wise, good. Every law of a parent is to his children a testimony on his part of what is wise and right and good; and so every law of God is his solemn testimony as to what is right and good for man. See Psalm 19:7, note; Psalm 25:10, note.
And that seek him with the whole heart – With a sincere desire to know his will and to do it; without hypocrisy or guile; with no selfish or sinister aims. As God knows the heart, all other modes of “seeking” him must be in vain. It is impossible for man to impose on him by appearances.”
9.) Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord
“Blessed are the people who are so situated;
Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!”
Happy is that people that is in such a case – In such a condition; or, where these things prevail.
Yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord – Whose God is Yahweh; who worship and serve Him as their God. The worship of Yahweh – the religion of Yahweh – is “adapted” to make a people happy; peaceful; quiet; blessed. Prosperity and peace, such as are referred to in the previous verses, are, and must be, the result of pure religion. Peace, order, abundance, attend it everywhere, and the best security for a nation’s prosperity is the worship of God; that which is most certain to make a nation happy and blessed, is to acknowledge God and to keep his laws.”
10.) Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility
“Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness.”
Do you know any leader of any country who is of noble character?
Verse 17. – Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles! cujus rex nobilis est (Vulgate), υἱὸς ἐλευθέρων, “son of free men” (Septuagint). Some would regard “son of nobles” as a periphrasis expressive of character, equivalent to the Latin generous, as “son of strength,” equivalent to “strong man;” “son of wickedness,” equivalent to “wicked man;” but the phrase may well be taken literally. Koheleth (ver. 7) has expressed his disgust at the exaltation of unworthy slaves to high positions; he here intimates his adherence to the idea that those who descend from noble ancestors, and have been educated in the higher ranks of society, are more likely to prove a blessing to their land than upstarts who have been placed by caprice or favoritism in situations of trust and eminence. Of course, it is not universally true that men of high birth make good rulers; but proverbs of general tenor must not be pressed in particulars, and the author must be understood to affirm that the fact of having distinguished ancestors is an incentive to right action, stirs a worthy emulation in a man, gives him a motive which is wanting in the lowborn parvenu. The feeling, noblesse oblige, has preserved many from baseness (comp. John 8:39). Thy princes eat in due season; not like those mentioned in ver. 16, but in tempore, πρὸς καιρόν, at the right time, the “season” which appertains to all mundane things (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). For strength, and net for drunkenness. The preposition here is taken as expressing the object – they eat to gain strength, not to indulge sensuality; but it is more in accordance with usage to translate “in, or with, manly strength,” i.e. as man’s strength demands, and not degenerating into a carouse. If it is thought incongruous, as Ginsburg deems, to say, “princes eat for drunkenness,” we may take drunkenness as denoting excess of any kind The word in the form here used occurs nowhere else. The Septuagint, regarding rather the consequences of intoxication than the actual word in the text, renders, Καὶ οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσονται, “And they shall not be ashamed.” Thus, too, St. Jerome, Et non in confusione. St. Augustine (‘De Civit.,’ 17:20) deduces from this passage that there are two kingdoms – that of Christ and that of the devil, and he explains the allegory at some length, going into details which are of homiletic utility. Another interpretation is given by St. Jerome, quoted at length by Corn. a Lapide, in his copious commentary. Ecclesiastes 10:17.”
11.) Blessed are all those who long for Him
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
and therefore He waits on high to have compassion
on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How
blessed are all those who long for Him.”
Verses 18-26. – A RENEWAL OF PROMISE. The denunciations of the preceding passage (vers. 9-17) had been so terrible that, without some counterpoise of promise, they must have produced a general despair. This was not the Divine purpose. Judah’s probation still continued. Therefore it was necessary to let it be seen that the Divine long-suffering was not yet exhausted – there were still conditions under which God would be gracious to his people. The conditions were “crying to the Lord” (ver. 19), and entire abolition of idolatry (ver. 22). Verse 18. – And therefore. “Because your sins require this chastisement” (Kay); “Because of the extremity of your need” (Cheyne). It is, perhaps, best to own that the motives of the Divine action are very commonly obscure; and, if seen clearly by the prophets, are certainly not clearly set forth, being (it may be) inscrutable. While the motive, however, is obscure, the promise is plain and unmistakable, The Lord will wait, that he may be gracious unto you. God is not about at present to “make a full end;” he is bent on “waiting” – his intent is “to be gracious.” He will be exalted, that he may have mercy. He will find some means of vindicating his honor and exalting himself, short of your destruction, in order that it may be open to him to give you a further chance of repentance, whereby you would obtain mercy. For the Lord is a God of judgment. God is essentially just; sin must receive punishment; but the punishment may be short of destruction. Justice does not exclude mercy. If men bear their punishment with patience, and wait for God, a brighter day will dawn on them in course of time. Isaiah 30:18.”
12.) Blessed are the poor in spirit
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”
Blessed are the poor in spirit – The word “blessed” means “happy,” referring to that which produces felicity, from whatever quarter it may come.
Poor in spirit – Luke says simply, Blessed are the poor. It has been disputed whether Christ meant the poor in reference to the things of this life, or to the humble. The gospel is said to be preached to the poor, Luke 4:18; Matthew 11:5. It was predicted that the Messiah would preach to the poor, Isaiah 61:1. It is said that they have special facilities for being saved, Matthew 19:23; Luke 18:24. The state of such persons is therefore comparatively blessed, or happy. Riches produce care, anxiety, and dangers, and not the least is the danger of losing heaven by them. To be poor in spirit is to have a humble opinion of ourselves; to be sensible that we are sinners, and have no righteousness of our own; to be willing to be saved only by the rich grace and mercy of God; to be willing to be where God places us, to bear what he lays on us, to go where he bids us, and to die when he commands; to be willing to be in his hands, and to feel that we deserve no favor from him. It is opposed to pride, and vanity, and ambition. Such are happy:
- Because there is more real enjoyment in thinking of ourselves as we are, than in being filled with pride and vanity.
- Because such Jesus chooses to bless, and on them he confers his favors here.
- Because theirs will be the kingdom of heaven hereafter.
It is remarkable that Jesus began his ministry in this manner, so unlike all others. Other teachers had taught that happiness was to be found in honor, or riches, or splendor, or sensual pleasure. Jesus overlooked all those things, and fixed his eye on the poor and the humble, and said that happiness was to be found in the lowly vale of poverty more than in the pomp and splendors of life.
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven – That is, either they have special facilities for entering the kingdom of heaven, and of becoming Christians here, or they shall enter heaven hereafter. Both these ideas are probably included. A state of poverty a state where we are despised or unhonored by people is a state where people are most ready to seek the comforts of religion here, and a home in the heavens hereafter. See the notes at Matthew 2:2.”
13.) Blessed are those who mourn
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Blessed are they that mourn – This is capable of two meanings: either, that those are blessed who are afflicted with the loss of friends or possessions, or that they who mourn over sin are blessed. As Christ came to preach repentance, to induce people to mourn over their sins and to forsake them, it is probable that he had the latter particularly in view. Compare 2 Corinthians 7:10. At the same time, it is true that the gospel only can give true comfort to those in affliction, Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18. Other sources of consolation do not reach the deep sorrows of the soul. They may blunt the sensibilities of the mind; they may produce a sullen and reluctant submission to what we cannot help: but they do not point to the true source of comfort. In the God of mercy only; in the Saviour; in the peace that flows from the hope of a better world, and there only, is there consolation, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 2 Corinthians 5:1. Those that mourn thus shall be comforted. So those that grieve over sin; that sorrow that they have committed it, and are afflicted and wounded that they have offended God, shall find comfort in the gospel. Through the merciful Saviour those sins may be forgiven. In him the weary and heavy-ladened soul shall find peace Matthew 11:28-30; and the presence of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, shall sustain them here John 14:26-27, and in heaven all their tears shall be wiped away, Revelation 21:4.”
14.) Blessed are the gentle
“Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
- The meek.—The word so rendered was probably used by St. Matthew in its popular meaning, without any reference to the definition which ethical writers had given of it, but it may be worth while to recall Aristotle’s account of it (Eth. Nicom. v. 5) as the character of one who has the passion of resentment under control, and who is therefore tranquil and untroubled, as in part determining the popular use of the word, and in part also explaining the beatitude.
They shall inherit the earth.—The words may be partly allusive to the “kingdom of the saints of the Most High” in that prophecy of Daniel (Daniel 7:27) which had done so much to fashion the Messianic expectations of the time. They have, however, a wider and continuous fulfilment. The influence of the meek and self-controlled is in the long-run greater than that of the impulsive and passionate. Their serenity helps them to find the maximum of true joy in all conditions of life; for to them the earth is not a stage for self-assertion and the graspings of desire, but an “inheritance” which they have received from their Father.
Many of the best MSS. invert the order of Matthew 5:4-5, and this arrangement has, at all events, the merit of bringing out the latent antithesis between the kingdom of heaven in its unseen greatness and the visible inheritance of the earth.”
All aggressors are brutal and violent.
15.) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”
Verse 6. – They which do hunger and thirst. The application of the figure of eating and drinking to spiritual things (cf. Luke 22:30) is not infrequent in the Old Testament; e.g. Isaiah 55:1. Yet the thought here is not the actual participation, but the craving. The Benediction marks a distinct stage in our Lord’s argument. He spoke first of the consciously poor in their spirit; next of those who mourned over their poverty; then of those who were ready to receive whatever teaching or chastisement might be given them; here of those who had an earnest longing for that right relation to God in which they were so lacking. This is the positive stage. Intense longing, such as can only be compared to that of a starving man for food, is sure of satisfaction. After righteousness (τὴν δικαιοσύνην). Observe:
(1) The accusative. In Greek writers πεινάω and διψάω are regularly followed by the genitive. Here by the accusative; for the desire is after the whole object, and not after a part of it (cf. Weiss; also Bishop Westcott, on Hebrews 6:4, 5).
(2) The article. It idealizes. There is but one righteousness worthy of the name, and for this and all that it includes, both in standing before God and in relation to men, the soul longs. How it is to be obtained Christ does not here say. For they. Emphatic, as always (ver. 3, note). Shall be filled (χορτασθήσονται); vide Bishop Lightfoot on Philippians 4:12. Properly of animals being fed with fodder (χόρτος); cf. Revelation 19:21, “All the birds were filled (ἐχορτάσθησαν) with their flesh.” At first only used of men depreciatingly (Plato,’ Rep.,’ 9:9, p. 586 a), afterwards readily. Rare in the sense of moral and spiritual satisfaction (cf. Psalm 17:15). When shall they be filled? As in the case of vers. 3, 4, now in part, fully hereafter. “St. Austin, wondering at the overflowing measure of God’s Spirit in the Apostles’ hearts, observes that the reason why they were so full of God was because they were so empty of his creatures. ‘They were very full,’ he says, ‘because they were very empty'” (Anon., in Ford). That on earth, but in heaven with all the saints –
“Ever filled and ever seeking, what they have they still desire,
Hunger there shall fret them never, nor satiety shall tire, –
Still enjoying whilst aspiring, in their joy they still aspire.” (‘Chronicles of the Schonberg-Cotta Family,’ ch. 9, from the Latin Hymn of Peter Damiani, † 1072.) Matthew 5:6.”
Today people are those who hunger and thirst for money, power, and sex.
16.) Blessed are the merciful
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”
Matthew 5:7. Blessed [or happy] are the merciful — The tender-hearted, compassionate, kind, and beneficent, who, being inwardly affected with the infirmities, necessities, and miseries of their fellow-creatures, and feeling them as their own, with tender sympathy endeavour, as they have ability, to relieve them; and who, not confining their efforts to the communicating of temporal relief to the needy and wretched, labour also to do spiritual good; to enlighten the darkness of men’s minds, heal the disorders of their souls, and reclaim them from vice and misery, from every unholy and unhappy temper, from every sinful word and work; always manifesting a readiness to forgive the faults of others, as they themselves need and expect forgiveness from God. The merciful, says Erasmus, are those “who, through brotherly love, account another person’s misery their own; who weep over the calamities of others; who, out of their own property, feed the hungry and clothe the naked; who admonish those that are in error, inform the ignorant, pardon the offending; and who, in short, use their utmost endeavours to relieve and comfort others.” They shall obtain mercy — When they most need it. As they deal with their fellow-creatures, God will deal with them. He will incline men to show them mercy and deal kindly with them in this world, and he himself will grant them mercy and loving kindness in the day of final accounts. And since the best and happiest of mankind may need even the former, and inasmuch as all will want the latter, this is surely a strong and powerful argument to persuade us to show mercy to men, in any and every way in our power, that both God and men may show mercy to us. Add to this, that, were there no other inducement, the comfort and satisfaction arising from a disposition that renders us so like our heavenly Father, might, one would suppose, be sufficient to prevail with us to endeavour, especially in this instance, to imitate Him who, being touched with the feeling of our infirmities, was daily employed in relieving them, and even took them upon himself, continually going about doing good, and at last giving up his life to ransom ours.”
17.) Blessed are the pure in heart
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Verse 8. – The pure in heart. Our Lord naturally passes in thought from the sixth to the seventh commandment (cf. vers. 21, 27), finding the basis of his phraseology in Psalm 24:3, 4, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?… He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart (LXX. ἀθῶος χερσὶν καὶ καθαρὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ) (cf. also Psalm 72:1). Καθαρός (besides speaking of mere physical cleanness, ch. 27:59) specially refers to freedom from pollution, judged by God’s standard of what pollution is, whether it be a matter of ceremonial enactment (meats, Romans 14:20; cf. Mark 7:19; cf. leprosy, Mark 8:2, 3; 10:8, et al.) or of ethical relation (John 13:10, 11; John 15:3); cf. Origen.’Hem. in Joh.,’ 73:2 (Meyer), “Every sin soils the soul (Πᾶσα ἁμαρτία ῤύπον ἐντίθησι τῇ ψυχῇ)” (cf. also Bishop Westcott, ‘Hebrews,’ p. 346). In heart. The seat of the affections (Matthew 6:21; Matthew 22:37) and the understanding (Matthew 13:15), also the central spring of all human words and actions (Matthew 15:19); cf. καθαρὰ καρδία (1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:22), which implies something deeper than καθαρὰ συνείδησις (1 Timothy 3:9; 2 Timothy 1:3). Shall see God. Not in his courts (Psalm 24.) on Mount Moriah, but above; and in one complete vision fully grasped (ὄψονται). The thought of present spiritual sight of God, though, perhaps, hardly to be excluded (contrast Weiss, ‘Matthausev.’), is at least swallowed up in the thought of the full and final revelation. Those who are pure in heart, and care not for such sights as lead men into sin, are unconsciously preparing themselves for the great spiritual sight – the beatific vision (Revelation 22:4; cf. 1 John 3:2). In Hebrews 12:14 holiness (ἁγιασμός) is an indispensable quality for such a vision of “the Lord.” Matthew 5:8.”
18.) Blessed are the peacemakers
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”
Verse 9. – The peacemakers (οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί). More than “peaceable” (εἰρηνικός, James 3:17; εἰρηνεύοντες, Romans 12:18; Mark 9:50). This is the peaceable character consciously exerted outside itself. The same compound in the New Testament in Colossians 1:20 only: Αἰρηνοποιήσας διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ (cf. Ephesians] 2:14, 15). Christians, in their measure, share in Christ’s work, and, we may add, can attain it generally as he did, only by personal suffering. Observe that this Beatitude must have been specially distasteful to the warlike Galilaeans. Mishna, ‘Ab.,’ 1:13 (Taylor), “Hillel said, Be of the disciples of Aharon, loving peace and pursuing peace,” hardly refers to peacemaking, but in Mishna, ‘Peah,’ 1:1, “These are the things whose fruit a man eats in this world, but which have their capital reward in the world to come: honouring one’s father and mother, showing kindness, and bringing about peace between a man and his neighbour, but study of the Law is equivalent to them all.” For they; αὐτοί, omitted by א, C, D, 13, 124, Latt., Peshito. Possibly it is an addition inserted from a desire to make this Beatitude harmonize with the others. But more probably it is genuine, and was omitted by accident, either by homoiot, of υἱοὶ (Meyer), or (better) because the scribe forgot the abbot in the emphatic υἱοὶ Θεοῦ, the form of the second clause being peculiar to this Beatitude. Shall be called; by God and angels and men. The children of God; Revised Version, sons of God; to show that the word used here is υἱοὶ, not τέκνα Christ’s reference is, that is to say, not so much to the nature as to the privileges involved in sonship. The earthly privileges which peacemakers give up rather than disturb their peaceful relations with others, and in order that they may bring about peace between others, shall be much more than made up to them, and that with the approving verdict of all. They shall, with general approval, enter on the full privileges of their relation to God, who is “the God of peace” (Romans 15:33). Dr. Taylor (‘Ab.,’ 1:19) has an increasing note on “Peace” as a Talmudic name of God. For language similar to our Lord’s, cf. Hosea 1:10 [LXX.], equivalent to Romans 9:26. Here, as often in this Gospel, there may be a tacit contradiction to the assumption that natural birth as Israelites involves the full blessings of sons of God; cf. ‘Ab.,’ 3:22 (Taylor). Matthew 5:9.”
If peacemakers are the sons of God, warmakers must be children of the devil.
19.) Blessed are those who have been persecuted
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Verse 10. – Which are persecuted; which have been persecuted (Revised Version); οἱ δεδιωγμένοι. “Those who are harassed, hunted, spoiled. The term is properly used of wild beasts pursued by hunters, or of an enemy or malefactor in flight” (Wetstein). Our Lord, by the use of the perfect, wishes to indicate
(1) the fact that they have endured persecution, and still stand firm; and probably
(2) the condition of temporal loss to which they have been reduced by such persecution. They have “suffered the loss,” possibly, “of all things,” but they are “blessed.” For righteouness’ sake (ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης). No article (contrast ver. 6), either as indicating that for even a part of righteousness persecution can be undergone, or, and more probably, simply dwelling on the cause of persecution without idealizing it. St. Peter also says, perhaps with a reference to our Lord’s words, that they who suffer διὰ δικαιοσύνην are μακάριοι (1 Peter 3:14). For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The same promise that was given to “the poor in spirit” (ver. 3) is here given to the persecuted for righteousness’ sake. In the former case, poverty in the sphere of the spirit obtains the fullest possessions; here the same promise is given to temporal loss produced by faithfulness to the cause of righteousness. In ver. 3 our Lord removed all occasion for intellectual and spiritual pride. Here he comforts for temporal and social losses (cf. especially 2 Corinthians 6:10; further see ver. 3, note). Clement of Alexandria, ‘Strom.,’ 4:6 (p. 582, Potter)
(1) confuses this and the preceding Beatitude;
(2) gives a curious reading of some who alter the Gospels: “Blessed are they who have been persecuted through righteousness (ὑπὸ τῆς δικαιοσύνης), for they shall be perfect; and blessed are they who have been persecuted for my sake, for they shall have a place where they shall not be persecuted” (cf. Westcott, ‘Introd. Gospp.,’ Appendix C). Matthew 5:10.”
20.) Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you falsely
“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of Me.”
Blessed are ye when men shall revile you – Reproach you; call you by evil and contemptuous names; ridicule you because you are Christians. Thus, they said of Jesus that he was a Samaritan and had a devil John 8:48; that he was mad John 10:20; and thus they reviled and mocked him on the cross, Matthew 27:39-44. But, being reviled, he reviled not again 1 Peter 2:23; and thus being reviled, we should bless 1 Corinthians 4:12; and thus, though the contempt of the world is not in itself desirable, yet it is blessed to tread in the footsteps of Jesus, to imitate his example, and even to suffer for his sake, Philippians 1:29.
All manner of evil against you falsely – An emphasis should be laid on the word falsely in this passage. It is not blessed to have evil spoken of us if we deserve it; but if we deserve it not, then we should not consider it as a calamity. We should take it patiently, and show how much the Christian, under the consciousness of innocence, can bear, 1 Peter 3:13-18.
For my sake – Because you are attached to me; because you are Christians. We are not to seek such things. We are not to do things to offend others; to treat them harshly or unkindly, and. to court revilings. We are not to say or do things, though they may be on the subject of religion, designed to disgust or offend. But if, in the faithful endeavor to be Christians, we are reviled, as our Master was, then we are to take it with patience, and to remember that thousands before us have been treated in like manner. When thus reviled or persecuted, we are to be meek, patient, humble; not angry; not reviling again; but endeavoring to do good to our persecutors and slanderers, 2 Timothy 2:24-25. In this way many have been convinced of the power and excellence of that religion which they were persecuting and reviling. They have seen that nothing else but Christianity could impart such patience and meekness to the persecuted; and have, by this means, been constrained to submit themselves to the gospel of Jesus. Long since it became a proverb, “that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
21.) Blessed are your eyes
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.”
Jesus also says, Jhn 20:29, “Jesus said to him,
“Because you have seen Me, have you now
believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and
yet believed.”
{8} Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
(8) True faith depends upon the mouth of God, and not upon the eyes of the flesh.”
After Ascension, those disciples who did not see, and yet believed. All Christians today did not see, and yet believe.
22.) Blessed are you, Simon Barjona
And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon
Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal
this to you, but My Father who is in Heaven.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
- Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona.—Looking to the reality of our Lord’s human nature, its capacity for wonder (Mark 6:6, Luke 7:9), anger (Mark 3:5), sorrow (John 11:35, Luke 19:41), and other emotions, it is not over-bold to recognise in these words something like a tone of exalted joy. It is the first direct personal beatitude pronounced by Him; and, as such, presents a marked contrast to the rebukes which had been addressed to Peter, as to the others, as being “without understanding,” “of little faith,” with “their heart yet hardened.” Here, then, He had found at last the clear, unshaken, unwavering faith which was the indispensable condition for the manifestation of His kingdom as a visible society upon earth. The beatitude is solemnised (as in John 1:42) by the full utterance of the name which the disciple had borne before he was called by the new name of Cephas, or Peter, to the work of an Apostle. He was to distinguish between the old natural and the new supernatural life. (Comp. John 21:15.)
Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee.—Better, It was not flesh and blood that revealed. The words are used in their common Hebrew meaning (as in John 1:13; 1Corinthians 15:50; Ephesians 6:12) for human nature, human agency, in all their manifold forms. The disciple had received the faith which he now professed, not through popular rumours, not through the teaching of scribes, but by a revelation from the Father. He was led, in the strictest sense of the words, through the veil of our Lord’s human nature to recognise the divine.”
Revelation is superior to theology, philosophy, and science.
23.) BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD AND FOLLOW IT
“But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and follow it.”
Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But he said,…. Christ said “to the woman”, Persic version reads, as correcting her, though not denying it, nor reproving her for it, but improving upon it:
yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it; intimating, that though his mother was happy in bearing and suckling such a son, yet it was a far greater happiness to hear the word of God; meaning either himself, the eternal “Logos”, so as to embrace him, believe on him, and have him formed in the heart; or the Gospel preached by him, so as to understand it, receive it as the ingrafted word, and bring forth fruit, and act in obedience to it, observe it, and abide by it, and never relinquish it. This is a greater happiness than to be related to Christ in the flesh, though ever so nearly. The Ethiopic version reads, “that hear the word of God, and believe, and keep it”: for faith comes by hearing, and shows itself in doing. Barely to hear the word, and even give an assent to it, will be of little avail, unless what is heard and believed is put in practice.”
24.) Blessed are those whose sins have been covered
“BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS
HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
- Blessed, &c.] The Gr. is verbatim from LXX. It is worth remarking that the words (in the Psalm) following this quotation (“and in whose spirit is no guile”) are in full accord with its application here. The “guile” there is evidently “insincerity in coming as a penitent to God.” The “blessed” are they who are really forgiven—who have really sought forgiveness.
are forgiven] Gr. aorist; were forgiven. The probable reference is to the definite act, past and complete, of remission. So just below, were covered.
covered] The literal translation of the Hebrew word very often translated “atoned for.”
25.) Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord
“And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Blessing on the Faithful Dead, and the Harvest and the Vintage of the Earth, Revelation 14:13-2013. Write] See on Revelation 10:4.
Blessed are the dead &c.] Two questions arise as to this verse, though its touching associations make us unwilling to raise questions about it. What is its relevance here? and why are the holy dead blessed “from henceforth”?—i.e. probably, from the time foreshadowed by the last part of the vision. The answer to both probably is, that in those days a holy death will be the only escape from persecution and temptation, which “if it were possible should seduce even the Elect.” Not only “for the Elect’s sake the days shall be shortened,” but even before they end, one and another of the Elect will be delivered from them. Even now it is a matter of thanksgiving when a Christian is delivered by death “from the miseries of this wretched world, from the body of death, and from all temptation,” and much more then, when temptation is so much sorer that no Saint can dare wish to abide in the flesh.—This seems better than supposing that the special blessedness of the dead of those days consists only in the interval being shorter before their “perfect consummation and bliss.”
that they may rest] The construction probably is, “who die that they may rest”—the sense is, “Yea, they are indeed blessed, for the result, and the providential end, of their dying is, to bring them to rest.”
and their works] Read, for their works.
do follow them] More accurately, follow with them: there is therefore hardly any resemblance to 1 Timothy 5:24-25. The meaning of the passage is much the same as 1 Thessalonians 4:15—we are not to think of the holy dead as if they missed (and as if the dead of the last days only just missed) the glories of the Lord’s coming: for they and their good works are kept by Him safe against that day, ready to share in its glories.”
26.) Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb
Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who
are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are the true Words of God.”
Verse 9. – And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb; which are bidden (Revised Version). Cf. the command in Revelation 1:11 and Revelation 21:5, and the prohibition in Revelation 10:4; cf. also the expression in Revelation 14:13, “Blessed are the dead,” etc. It almost seems as if the writer has in his mind the connection of ideas indicated by the words quoted above on ver. 8, “Their works do follow them.” The figure of the “marriage supper” is rather a new symbol than the continuation of the symbol of the bride; though very probably suggested by it. For those who partake of the “marriage supper” are those who constitute the bride, viz. the faithful Church of God. Cf. Revelation 3:20, the words which are spoken by the “Amen, the faithful and true Witness” (Revelation 3:14): “If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” It is impossible to say who the speaker is that thus addresses St. John, except in so far as may be gathered from ver. 10. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. Cf. the words of Revelation 3:14, quoted above, and Revelation 21:5; also the “Yea, saith the Spirit” of Revelation 14:13. (On the word “true,” see Revelation 3:7.) These words have been restricted to different portions of the Apocalypse by different commentators; but it seems best, on the whole, to understand them as referring to the whole series of visions connected with the harlot and Babylon and the faithful bride of Christ. Revelation 19:9.”
27.) Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter the city by the gates.”
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
- Blessed are they that do his commandments . . .—The reading of two of the best MSS. is, “Blessed are they that wash their robes.” If we adopt, as we probably ought, this reading, the line of thought suggested above is helped forward: there is in Him who is the First and the Last, refuge from the power of sin and law against which such solemn warning has been given. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin: the best who have striven and conquered were victors not by their own might, but by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11). If, however, we follow the Received text, we have a benediction which echoes the blessing promised to obedience in Revelation 22:7; Revelation 22:9 : this echoing of promises from point to point is in harmony with the spirit of the whole epilogue. (Comp. Revelation 22:7; Revelation 22:9; Revelation 22:7; Revelation 22:12.) The special blessing held out to those who wash their robes (or do His commandments) is the right or authority over the tree of life. Blessed are they . . . that they may have (and continue to have) authority over the tree of life, and that they may enter in by the gates into the city. Admission into the city by the gate, which is of one pearl, and the continuous access to the tree of life, are the privileges of the faithful; and these privileges are free to all, for warnings do not forfeit privileges, but rather do they urge us to use them.”
You have learned about so many blessings in Christ. You need to repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus to inherit them. You must not neglect so great a salvation. You can do it now.
WILLLIE WONG THOUGHT
WILLIE WONG
DECEMBER 23, 2025
Copyright © 2018 – 2025 by Willie Wong
All African nations, South America, Asia and the world, where can you find a country which does not have large national debts and deficits? Africa is different because for 500 years, not one country has become self-sufficient and solvent, they glorify with their primitive cultures and brag about their scientists and experts, joy to kill each other. International aid actually fuel their official corruption. Any nation that shares destinies with Africa will be doomed! No resources can fill the Black holes! The international community should leave Africa alone, let them do or die.
China modernization must focus that every village will have:
- Electricity.
- Running water to drink and wash.
- Gas to cook and heat.
- Internet.
- Livelihood.
- NEW TOILET BY LAW