For of the peacemakers alone it is here emphatically said, "they shall be called the Sons of God;" as they most directly tread in the hallowed steps of Jesus himself. And yet in reality this privilege of adoption,— though realised more or less distinctly by men of different characters,*—belongs to all who truly believe in the Name of the Lord, and receive Him as the Christ of God, and who, having been begotten again by the Word of Truth, have spiritually seen and entered into his kingdom on earth. Thus the promises are all really linked together in an unbroken chain, and as precious stones are set in the golden sceptre of love, which the king holds out, not only to the righteous, who have already the characteristics of saints,-that they may persevere in the way of life, until they reach the city of God, with songs of everlasting joy and triumph,—but even to the lost and perishing, whom He invites to come out and separate themselves from the ungodly world, and to renounce every unclean thing, that they also may find pardon and peace in His presence.

* That is, in whom one or other of the inseparable qualities of true Christians is more particularly developed.

F

§ 2. The Special Privilege of the Persecuted.

Vers. 10-12.

INDEPENDENTLY of the glorious results, thus set before the people of God, as immediately connected with their various graces, or moral qualities, the sevenfold work of the Holy Spirit, which is only perfect in their combination, the Lord prepares his disciples for the trials which awaited them, by announcing the special privilege of the persecuted.

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

This repetition of the promise, addressed in the first instance to the poor in spirit, leads us to regard this verse, as introductory to another subject.* The humble must not be discouraged, if they suffer here; the meek need not be alarmed, if the proud endeavour to crush them in this earth; those that hunger and thirst after righteousness must not be surprised, even if that righteousness expose them to trial. It is thus, that they will become the more closely conformed to the example of the Lord, whom the world hated, and persecuted unto death, and at the same time be more completely weaned from the creature, and taught to anticipate the

* Augustine similarly regarded it. The perfect man has been fully described on all sides in the previous verses. Trench p. 186.

coming glory with more eager desire. But they will also derive fresh comfort to their souls, and strength to bear their appointed burden, from this confirmatory pledge, that their humble hope shall never be disappointed, and that the inheritance of the kingdom is really theirs. For, as the apostle emphatically says, "the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, since we suffer with him, that we may be glorified together:" because, "if we (thus) suffer, we shall also reign with him."t

But the Lord here continues individualising his address, "blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake," or "on my account."

The cause of righteousness is that of Christ; none have any part in the beatitude, but those who follow Him, and whose connection with Him occasions their trial. Let nothing alarm or distress you, which awaits you in His service; you are forewarned, and ought to have counted the cost; "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," and thus, "through much tribulation, shall they enter into the kingdom of God."+

* Rom. viii. 16, 17.

† 2 Tim. ii. 12; 2 Thess. i. 4, 5.

2 Tim. iii. 12; Acts xiv. 22. The testimony of the Psalmist is similar. Psalm xxxiv. 19.

Ungodly men may suffer for conscience sake; but such sufferings entail no honour, and secure no blessing from above. Conscience, unenlightened and uninformed, has raised up martyrs in a thousand cases, who can only be the objects of our pity and compassion, though admired by their immediate partisans, because they are contending, with false and spurious zeal, for a mere illusion of their own minds. Reproach and contumely are never really honourable, except when they are unmerited, and evil is falsely imputed to us, or when our faith and love to Christ are acknowledged, and it is mere hatred to Christ, or contempt of true righteousness, which stimulates our accusers. He who suffers in the advocacy of a false principle, or in the prosecution of a work, to which God has not called him, is no true martyr, but rather a perverse and obstinate fanatic.

Let us therefore beware. An experienced captain was once wrecked on a dangerous coast. Why had he approached so near? Dense fogs prevailed, and a known current, drifting with uncertain velocity, had carried him out of his course, and falsified all his reckonings. The ship perished, but no lives were lost. It may be even so with experienced Christians. The age is one of peculiar peril. Specious error prevails, even "that seeming truth, which cunning times put on, to entrap the wisest." The peculiar temperaments and habits of our minds, the distracting power of which has not been ascertained with sufficient precision, though not

wholly overlooked, may pervert our views, and falsify the testimonies of Scripture, to which we appeal, and thus cause us to make disastrous shipwreck. In such cases, even when the soul is safe, we must be incapable of rejoicing.

But it is not so with him, who is falsely reviled, and who maintains the true course amidst the threats and taunts of his enemies.. The Lord says, "rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven ; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

It is, then, a just source of comfort to us to consider, that we are not alone in suffering, that our experience is nothing strange or novel,* and that we are exposed to no other trials, dangers or hardships, than such as others, holier than ourselves, have patiently endured in former ages. The prophets of the Lord were men of untiring zeal, of unblemished reputation, of pure mind, of lofty demeanour; they were entrusted with a high commission, and they faithfully delivered the message dictated to them by the Spirit of Christ himself. Their visions had been sublime; their strains majestic, tender and eloquent. They felt no bitterness or rancour of spirit, but breathed love and goodwill, even towards the sinners, whom they most vehemently reproved. And yet no music of voice, no beauty of style, no consistency of character, could exempt them from re

*Chrysost. T. v. p. 39.