Scripture Memory Club

[brinny]

Ok, meditating on this verse.....

 

[heirmiles]

Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:5.

It is interesting to note that here the Greek word translated "earth" is "gein" (land, earth), while the word for "world" that is used in John 17 is the word "cosmos".

Though the earth and its inhabitants groan under the weight of mankind's sinfulness, there is a certain relationship between the earth in which we dwell and the Lordship, provision and providence of God. Psalm 24:1 tells us, "The earth is the LORD's and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein".

When God created the heavens and the earth it was a good and holy work. God gave mankind the responsibility to "have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the bird of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Genesis 1:26). God's purpose was to walk in fellowship with His creation of man, for even at the time of the fall of man He came to them in the garden to be with them, Genesis 3:8-10.

After the flood God came to Noah, Genesis 8:21,22 the "LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth;"

As the LORD gave His earthly promise to Abraham, that his posterity would inherit the land of Israel, those who humbly walk with God will also find a home on earth, a home that is built on God's promise, on Christ's foundation. A home that looks forward as an inheritance of the new Heavens and the new earth, while dwelling in the peace and security of God's presence now on this earth.

Jesus is focusing His blessing for the meek on this life, this earthly life, this life which we now live. You will notice that Jesus is saying in each of these blessings, "for they shall", which leads to an ultimate blessing. Yet by saying we shall "inherit the earth", He is assuring us that His blessing is also a blessing for now.

The "blessings", what the Latin word "beatitude" means, are all meant for those who walk with and dwell with God. All these blessings are meant to be taken together. They are all aspects of what it means to walk with God, to live in Christ, and that wherever we walk, we walk in the presence of God. Who is our home, even here, and now.

 

[heirmiles]

This is our third day of memorizing Matthew 5:5,


"Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth."


The Sermon on the mount is a very practical sermon given by our Lord Jesus Christ. The Beatitudes are no different. For even as we dwell on the earth we live alongside both believers and non-believers. As we have seen the meek are those who humbly walk with God. The meek are also people who walk humble, godly lives amongst all who they know and meet.


If you have an opportunity today, read all of Psalm 37. Verse 11 tells us "But the meek shall inherit the earth.", as well as in verse 9 which reads, "Those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth." Verse 3 tells us to "Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness". Verse 18, "The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever." In verses 21,22 ..."the righteous shows mercy and gives. For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth." And verse 29, "The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever." Verse 34, "Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land."


This inheritance is not one of earthly riches, or kingdoms of the world, ("A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked, "v. 16), but rather a land in which peace dwells ("But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." v. 11). Where families can grow in the freedom of living righteously toward God while reaching out in care and compassion towards others. Yet, while recognizing that earthly peace is transient, and can come and go, we can be assured that, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way, Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand." (37:23,24). That "the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, Because they trust in Him.". (37:39,40.)


"Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5


If you have time today, be sure to write Matthew 5:6 into your notebook, and read it over to yourself a few times as you prepare to learn and memorize it. You may notice that since the verse also begins with "Blessed are..." that maybe the "For"s are becoming interchangeable. For instance, "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." "For they shall inherit the earth", rather than how it is supposed to be memorized. One suggestion might be that when you review the verses you are, and have been, memorizing, is to associate "poor" with "heaven", "mourn" with "comforted" and "meek" with "inherit". And with verse 6, "hunger and thirst" with "filled". Like at the end of a meal, "I'm full".


"Blessed are those
Who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6.

 

[heirmiles]

Matthew 5:6.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
For they shall be filled.

Normally when we think about hunger and thirst we think about the need for food. Some types of food might taste good, but that does not necessarily mean that they are good for us (I love chocolate cake and ice-cream). Also when we think about hunger and thirst we tend to try to fill these needs as soon as possible, or we can wait a little while until our meals are ready. We rarely think in terms of being hungry and being thirsty without any possibility of actually having anything to eat or drink within the forseeable future.

Yet we can starve our souls by not coming to Christ who is our righteousness before God, we can deprive ourselves of sustenance by neglecting to feed upon "every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3.)

In John 6:35 we read that Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." When talking with the woman at the well in John 4:13,14 Jesus said, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, '14. but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

There are times in our lives when we hunger and thirst for God to work within us, where we are not satisfied about how we live our lives, where we don't feel as close to God as we thought we would, where we fear that we have squandered our inheritance, and have lived lives unpleasing to God. This is when we truly hunger for God's righteousness in our lives, when we are truly sick of our own sin. When we call upon God as David did in the 51st Psalm:

1-3.
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my inquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight.

10,11,12
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

And we can be assured of God's forgiveness toward us and our restoration before Him because of the work of the Bread of Life, for

"...when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us,
through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
that having been justified by His grace
we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-7.

 

[brinny]

BEAUTIFUL verse. It's a cry of my own heart lately. Thank you. I will meditate on it and memorize it.

 

[heirmiles]

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6.


Welcome to our second day of Memorizing Matthew 5:6.

What is righteousness? What is it for which we hunger and thirst? What is it that we see pivotal and crucial to our survival? For as Jesus points toward the primary needs of our bodies for without which we would die, He points to righteousness as being that which will meet our primary needs in Him.

First we would think in terms righteousness of the Law, those things which God had commanded of His people Israel to do, those commands which work together not to prove our righteousness but rather our lack thereof. These laws that the apostle Paul tells us do not justify us as being righteous before God but rather point to our lack in the face of His Holiness and Righteousness. Yet they are laws that reflect God's righteousness and holiness, for it is before God and according to His righteousness that we are held accountable.

Thus there is righteousness that is according to faith. Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who in all things fulfilled the Law according not only to its deeds, but also according to the Spirit of the Law, from Whom this law was breathed, fulfilling all righteousness. That through Christ's death and resurrection the Law was not only kept fully by Him through His sacrifice for our sin, but also was Himself found innocent having fully satisfied the judgment of the Law through His resurrection.

There is righteousness according to Life.
In Ephesians 4, in contrast to those whose minds and understanding were darkened, being alienated from God, Paul wrote, (verses 20-24):

"But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."

The new man, our new spiritual life in Christ, created by God has in it the "breath" of true righteousness and holiness (cf. Genesis 2:7). Our hearts cry out for God's holiness and righteousness because it is now the nature of our very being, we have been quickened unto life by God's Holy Spirit. There is righteousness according to Life. The Life of God within us by the presence of His Holy Spirit, who is righteous and holy.

There is righteousness according to hope. The knowledge that God blesses those who are righteous before Him. As we have seen, not according to our righteousness, but Christ's. That through faith God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. That without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6). It is a hope that is placed upon He Himself who is holy, and just, and righteous, that He will perform all that He has promised.

And there is righteousness according to love. In Matthew 22:37-40, 'Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it; "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Righteousness through love desires to be continually in the presence of God, as well as expressing itself to others, in deed and in truth, through compassion and mercy, through forgiveness and goodness.

Of love expressed as such, John wrote in his first epistle,

"Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." (1 John 3:21-24.)


As you continue to work on memorizing Matthew 5:6, be sure to remember to review Matthew 5:3-5 as well. It can be easier to remember them in sequence quoting from verse 3 through 5 and 6, but challenge yourself as well by reviewing them out of sequence, this will help the ideas of each verse crystallize individually as well as in context. And if you're really ambitious, quote the second half of each verse and then fill in the first part of the verse. This can help to keep your thoughts fresh with each verse.


Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6.

 

[brinny]

This is timely, especially with the tragedy of the Boston Marathon. Excellent verse to meditate on and thank you for the Bible study.

 

[heirmiles]

Hi Brinny,
Thanks for your note. It's always good to know that we can run to Jesus when disasters happen, and He won't turn us away. I've been praying for the people and family members who have suffered from such a senseless and violent act. One thing I know is that God cares about what has happened, and He will be with those who have been hurt.

 

[heirmiles]

Matthew 5:6.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.

How can we be filled with righteousness? What does it mean to be filled? And in Christ, how can we live righteously?

God is holy, and in general man cannot stand before Him. Even in the consecration of Solomon's Temple, his very own priests were driven away, those who had been appointed to minister before Him. Even Isaiah, in his vision of "the LORD sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple cried out, "Woe is me, for I am undone!" (Isaiah 6). And when Moses was shown God's glory, it was necessary for God to place him in a cleft of a rock in order to protect him as He passed by.

God is so great, so magnificent, so awesome, so righteous, so just, so holy, our very vision of Him can cause such pain, discomfort and sorrow, that we know that there is no way of ourselves that we can please Him.

Yet by God's love, grace, and mercy there is a way by which we can come before God, where we are counted righteous before Him through faith in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. By abiding in Christ, God is glorified, He is glorified because in Christ we bear much fruit (John 15:1-8). In fact, outside of Christ, God's holiness would destroy us through judgment(verse 6).

In Christ, God's divine power, even His divine nature is within us giving "us all things that pertain to life and godliness." (2 Peter 1:2-4.) It is through knowledge of these great and precious promises of God's work, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we are able to see and understand God's wondrous work within our lives. We are aware of the fruit of having God in our lives by His Holy Spirit (Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, Galatians 5:22,23.) We also find that through faith and knowledge in Christ through the power of His working in us He also provides faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, and through such He produces much fruit within our lives (2 Peter 1:5-8).

Being filled with righteousness is being filled with Christ, by finding our sustenance in Him, for Jesus said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:4,5).

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
For they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6.

It's difficult to believe that we have been memorizing Matthew 5:6 for three days. I've certainly enjoyed studying its themes, and have been blessed by God's word in the process, and in sharing what I have been learning.

So, how has it been going? Are you finding that 3 days per verse is sufficient? These are shorter verses, and hopefully are a little easier to memorize. I've found that typing out the verses from memory also helps, it helps to work with my hands along with my mind. It also helps to review these verses at different times during the day. I know that some suggest having a 'habit' in memorizing and reading scripture at a set time can help as well. Yet if we can quote scripture throughout the day, (some times we have to set our minds to concentrate), these verses will come back to us a little easier when we find we need them.

Tomorrow we will begin memorizing Matthew 5:7.

"Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy."

 

[brinny]

Amen. EXCELLENT study.

 

[heirmiles]

Matthew 5:7.


"Blessed are the merciful
For they shall obtain mercy."


I hope you have had the opportunity to write this verse in to your notebook. Mercy is found throughout pages of both the Old and New Testaments. It is one of the great themes of the Bible, and one the prime attributes of God.


What is mercy?


We normally think of mercy in terms of judgment, but not so much in terms of compassion. With judgment mercy is forgiveness and restoration, with compassion mercy is congruent with grace and lovingkindness. To not be forgiven is to face judgment and condemnation, to be forgiven is to find restoration and communion. Grace is the free gift of God which works in the heart of the believer to seek restoration with God. Mercy sees the suffering and affliction of others and works to restore that person to well-being. Mercy as compassion would relieve that suffering, to seek to comfort those who are in pain. A world without mercy would be a world without love, a world without compasssion, a world without restoration, a world without Grace, and a world without kindness. Without mercy the world would quickly fall to the condition of the world before the flood of Noah, a world full of corruption, a world filled with violence, and a world filled with hate.


When the LORD place Moses in the cleft of the rock as He passed by, Exodus 34:6,7 tells us, "And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation".


Here we see the mercy of God contrasted with His merciful anger and judgment. God is merciful in this judgment since the judgment upon the earth and man, in the days of Noah, was complete annihilation of every living being other than those rescued in the ark. Yet here in Exodus it is only to the third and fourth generation. The physical curse is limited upon one's posterity, and it appears conditional upon the refusal of grief, mourning and repentance of sin, and the refusal to seek forgiveness from God. This judgment is not a complete destruction either, for it is only a visit, a temporal work, a reflection of judgment and anger; for it is within the very nature of God to be merciful, patient (long-suffering), abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.


This was also a judgment satisfied by Christ's work on the cross, who (through faith in Him) restored fellowship between God and man; who took away the curse of the Law, fulfilling that which proclaims God's righteous judgments; and by His sacrifice brought favor and compassion, mercy and blessing upon all those who believe.


1Peter 1:3,4.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation read to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:18-21.
... knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.


Since God has bestowed upon us His great mercy, love, and forgiveness in Christ, how can we not look upon His creation and all who live within it without the eyes of mercy, compassion, love, and kindness; without the hope of redemption in Christ Jesus and life everlasting?


Lord Jesus, open our hearts to your compassion, fill us with your mercy, direct our hearts toward those you love, that they might know your forgiveness and your restoration within them. Amen.


Matthew 5:7.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.

 

[brinny]

This is beautiful. Your thread is helping me immensely. Mercy is one of the attributes of God that caused me to love Him so much.

 

[heirmiles]

Hey there Brinny, thank you for your comments, you kind of inspired me today

Matthew 5:7.

"Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy."

Mercy is a part of the expression of God's love in our hearts, thoughts and actions; it is the recognition of God's work, both within ourselves and in the lives of others; it is that work of God within that sees beyond our own needs to the needs of others in our lives. It is the expression of "charis" (greek for "gift, grace") and the expression of "agape" (greek for "unconditional love"). It is compassion, lovingkindness, forgiveness, and grace. Mercy is Love as "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in inquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a. )

Because of sin the world is full of judgment, condemnation, hatred, selfishness, self-seeking, anger, suffering and sorrow. Yet mercy sees passed all this evil to the heart within others that needs the healing and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can become so caught up in these worldly attitudes that we end up passing over those who are in such obvious pain and distress. We can see a man lying by the side of the road, sorely beaten, and yet simply say within our hearts, "Someone else will help him." (Luke 10:25ff.)

We can also make the mistake of assumption. That for some reason those who are suffering must have done something horribly wrong in order to deserve what they are going through. We can try to justify our inaction by diminishing their pain as inconsequential. We can forget that these afflictions are common to everyone, and all can be healed by the actions of the mercy, love, and compassion of our Saviour.

Jeremiah 33 is a wonderful chapter describing the faithfulness and mercy of God in restoring those who have constantly, willfully rebelled against Him. Judah and Israel were decimated by the righteous anger and fury of God against all its wickedness. Yet the LORD says,

"Behold, I will bring it health and healing;
I will heal them and reveal to them
and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.
And I will cause the captives of Judah
and the captives of Israel to return,
and will rebuild those places as at the first.
I will cleanse them from all their iniquity
by which they have sinned against Me,
and I will pardon all their iniquities
by which they have sinned
and by which they have transgressed against Me.
Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise,
and an honor before all nations of the earth,
who shall hear all the good that I do to them;
they shall fear and tremble
for all the goodness and all the prosperity
that I provide for it.'

In Luke 4 :18,19, Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1,2.
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me;
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Jesus has come to bring that restoration that reconciliation of God's mercy into the world, into our lives as believers in Him.
"...having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him, For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." (Romans 5: 9-10).


Every person can be seen as poor, brokenhearted, enslaved, blind, and oppressed. Every person held captive by sin. Every person broken, for their lives are bereft of love, forgiveness, mercy and grace. Every person blind without the knowledge of true healing and reconciliation in the Lord. Every person. Every person oppressed by hatred, anger, and pride. Every person in the depths of poverty, without the abundance of Christ.
Such is the pain and poverty by which all people have been assaulted in their lives, such is the abuse of hatred and pride against their hearts and souls.

Yet in the mercy of God Christ came to reveal to man His gospel, His healing, His liberty, His light, and His love,

"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8.


"Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 5:7.

 

[brinny]

Hey there Brinny, thank you for your comments, you kind of inspired me today

Matthew 5:7.

"Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy."

Mercy is a part of the expression of God's love in our hearts, thoughts and actions; it is the recognition of God's work, both within ourselves and in the lives of others; it is that work of God within that sees beyond our own needs to the needs of others in our lives. It is the expression of "charis" (greek for "gift, grace") and the expression of "agape" (greek for "unconditional love"). It is compassion, lovingkindness, forgiveness, and grace. Mercy is Love as "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in inquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a. )

Because of sin the world is full of judgment, condemnation, hatred, selfishness, self-seeking, anger, suffering and sorrow. Yet mercy sees passed all this evil to the heart within others that needs the healing and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can become so caught up in these worldly attitudes that we end up passing over those who are in such obvious pain and distress. We can see a man lying by the side of the road, sorely beaten, and yet simply say within our hearts, "Someone else will help him." (Luke 10:25ff.)

We can also make the mistake of assumption. That for some reason those who are suffering must have done something horribly wrong in order to deserve what they are going through. We can try to justify our inaction by diminishing their pain as inconsequential. We can forget that these afflictions are common to everyone, and all can be healed by the actions of the mercy, love, and compassion of our Saviour.

Jeremiah 33 is a wonderful chapter describing the faithfulness and mercy of God in restoring those who have constantly, willfully rebelled against Him. Judah and Israel were decimated by the righteous anger and fury of God against all its wickedness. Yet the LORD says,

"Behold, I will bring it health and healing;
I will heal them and reveal to them
and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.
And I will cause the captives of Judah
and the captives of Israel to return,
and will rebuild those places as at the first.
I will cleanse them from all their iniquity
by which they have sinned against Me,
and I will pardon all their iniquities
by which they have sinned
and by which they have transgressed against Me.
Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise,
and an honor before all nations of the earth,
who shall hear all the good that I do to them;
they shall fear and tremble
for all the goodness and all the prosperity
that I provide for it.'

In Luke 4 :18,19, Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1,2.
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me;
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Jesus has come to bring that restoration that reconciliation of God's mercy into the world, into our lives as believers in Him.
"...having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him, For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." (Romans 5: 9-10).


Every person can be seen as poor, brokenhearted, enslaved, blind, and oppressed. Every person held captive by sin. Every person broken, for their lives are bereft of love, forgiveness, mercy and grace. Every person blind without the knowledge of true healing and reconciliation in the Lord. Every person. Every person oppressed by hatred, anger, and pride. Every person in the depths of poverty, without the abundance of Christ.
Such is the pain and poverty by which all people have been assaulted in their lives, such is the abuse of hatred and pride against their hearts and souls.

Yet in the mercy of God Christ came to reveal to man His gospel, His healing, His liberty, His light, and His love,

"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8.


"Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 5:7.

i'm studying on the word "bless" and this fits right in, and mercy seems to be the epitome of love "in action".

Thank you for this edifying thread.

 

[heirmiles]

"Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy."
Matthew 5:7


Please forgive me for being unable to obtain the reference, but I am reminded of the unmerciful servant who after being forgiven of all his debt went out and beat those who owed him money in order to get what he felt he deserved. When the person who had forgiven his debt heard about what he was doing, he called him before him, and punished him severely for treating others unlike he himself had been treated. He had been given mercy, but refused to be merciful himself.

In English the word obtain means "to possess," "to gain possession of", "to aquire either by endeavour or by request". Interestingly the greek word translated "obtain mercy" is all one word. Literally (though not a word in English) it means "mercified."

So we could translate the verse, "Blessed are the merciful, For they shall be mercified". We used the word "Justified" in a similar sense. As the past tense of Justify, literally "declared righteous".
As all the blessings of God are essentially gifts from God given by His divine favour, compassion, mercy, love by the pleasure of His will, so He blesses those who are merciful with mercy. The Lord delights in mercy. To those who are merciful, He shows Himself merciful.

When Isaac had blessed his son Jacob while intending to bless Esau, Esau had come to Isaac soon after, expecting to be blessed by his father. When Isaac had realized his mistake we read in Genesis 27:33, "Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, "Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him – and indeed he shall be blessed."
Blessings are closely entwined with grace, they are gifts, even as mercy and grace are also closely tied together.
Look closely at 1 Peter 1:3-5.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undeflied and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

It is through God's abundant mercy that we have been born of Him so that we have a living hope of an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled, that does not fade away, that is reserved in heaven for us who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation which is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Our inheritance from God is incorruptible, undefiled, unfading, and is kept for us by the power of God.

When Jesus said "Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy", this is a living part of our inheritance, it is by His mercy that we have been born anew, it is according to his mercy of greater blessing reserved in heaven which cannot either be taken away or lessened in any way.
"I have blessed him – and indeed he shall be blessed."

As well the merciful and compassionate will find this same mercy and compassion all around them at this time. Mercy and compassion is such a bright light in this darkened world, it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit who has been given as a guarantee of this inheritance, and as it is at work in us, so it is evident to those around us, that God's mercy is active in our own lives, through the love and life of Christ Jesus.

"And it shall be, in that day," says the LORD,
That you will call Me 'My Husband.'
And no longer call Me "My master,' ...


I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In loving kindness and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the LORD....


Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;
Then I will say to those who were not My people,
"You are My people!"
And they shall say, "You are my God!"
Hosea 2:16,19-20,23.

"Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy."
Matthew 5:7.

So, tomorrow we begin working on learning verse 8.

"Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.

Be sure to write it in your notebook. And don't forget to pray as you are memorizing as well a meditate, after all God has given us His word so that we can come closer to Him in knowledge and devotion, as well as to continue in His presence through Christ.

 

[heirmiles]

"Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.


Welcome to our first day memorizing Matthew 5:8.


I hope that you have been reviewing the previous verses of the Sermon on the Mount. It is very important that you review them at least once a day. In fact you probably have the first several verses pretty secure in your memory and can recall them relatively easily by now. But if you don't that's okay too. As long as we are reviewing our memory verses, in time they will come to us when we need them.


As we have been looking at what the Scripture says about the same themes and truths of the Beatitudes, hopefully in your own reading and study of Scripture you will be seeing these themes popping up all over the place. And you can relate these themes to what Jesus is teaching through this sermon.


In fact as we look at the progression of the Beatitudes up to where we now are we can see a picture of what it means to come in to fellowship with God.


'a. We are impoverished with no way in which of ourselves we can be right with God.
'b. Because of this poverty we mourn our complete incapacity to please God of our selves.
'c. As we recognize this inability we humbly seek to be right with God in God's way.
'd. To be right with God we hunger and thirst for His righteousness in our lives recognizing that it is only according to God's righteousness through Christ that we can be righteous before Him.
'e. As sinners it is only because of God's mercy that we can find forgiveness and mercy from God.
'f. Within God's mercy and righteousness, by Christ's work, we are purified through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, and the ministry of the word of God within our hearts.


Which leads us to today's verse.
"Blessed are the Pure in Spirit
For they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.


Psalm 24:3-6.
"Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face."


Psalm 19:7-11
"The law of the LORD is perfect,
converting the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
The statutes of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward."


James 3:17,18.
"....The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, fully of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. ... the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." '


James 4:8-10.
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
And purify you hearts, you double-minded.
Lament and mourn and weep!
Let your laughter be turned to mourning
And your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the LORD,
And He will lift you up."


Psalm 25:4-11.
"Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth,
Nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness' sake, O LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
For Your name's sake, O LORD,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great."


Titus 2:11-14.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."


Titus 3:4-7.
But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.


"Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.

 

[brinny]

"Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.


Welcome to our first day memorizing Matthew 5:8.


I hope that you have been reviewing the previous verses of the Sermon on the Mount. It is very important that you review them at least once a day. In fact you probably have the first several verses pretty secure in your memory and can recall them relatively easily by now. But if you don't that's okay too. As long as we are reviewing our memory verses, in time they will come to us when we need them.


As we have been looking at what the Scripture says about the same themes and truths of the Beatitudes, hopefully in your own reading and study of Scripture you will be seeing these themes popping up all over the place. And you can relate these themes to what Jesus is teaching through this sermon.


In fact as we look at the progression of the Beatitudes up to where we now are we can see a picture of what it means to come in to fellowship with God.


'a. We are impoverished with no way in which of ourselves we can be right with God.
'b. Because of this poverty we mourn our complete incapacity to please God of our selves.
'c. As we recognize this inability we humbly seek to be right with God in God's way.
'd. To be right with God we hunger and thirst for His righteousness in our lives recognizing that it is only according to God's righteousness through Christ that we can be righteous before Him.
'e. As sinners it is only because of God's mercy that we can find forgiveness and mercy from God.
'f. Within God's mercy and righteousness, by Christ's work, we are purified through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, and the ministry of the word of God within our hearts.


Which leads us to today's verse.
"Blessed are the Pure in Spirit
For they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.


Psalm 24:3-6.
"Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face."


Psalm 19:7-11
"The law of the LORD is perfect,
converting the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
The statutes of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward."


James 3:17,18.
"....The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, fully of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. ... the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." '


James 4:8-10.
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
And purify you hearts, you double-minded.
Lament and mourn and weep!
Let your laughter be turned to mourning
And your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the LORD,
And He will lift you up."


Psalm 25:4-11.
"Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth,
Nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness' sake, O LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
For Your name's sake, O LORD,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great."


Titus 2:11-14.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."


Titus 3:4-7.
But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.


"Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.

I've often meditated on what "pure in heart" means...this is edifying and helpful. Thank you.

 

[heirmiles]

Hi Brinny,

Thinking about what "pure in heart" means is a good question. Don't quote me on this, because I'm just thinking things through at the moment. We know it is important because in the Old Testament it is required for those who the Lord dwells with, or those who come into His presence. (as mentioned in the passages above as well as Psalm 15).
One of the things I've noticed is that in our culture the "heart" is the seat of the emotions, which the Old Testament calls "sorry, Old archaic term used in KJV", the "heart" in the Old Testament appears to be the part of us that establishes what is good, bad, right or wrong, almost like our 'ethical' compass, close to our concept of the human will, that which determines a person's purpose and actions. I get this from Genesis 6:5, "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." As well as Genesis 8:21 where 'the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth."
I haven't come to the place yet in my study where I'm able to make any definitive conclusions other than that Jesus' work cleanses us from all unrighteousness, a work which is inclusive of our will. I should know more by tomorrow.

The other thing I noticed, was that I made a mistake in the above post which illustrates one of the common kind of mistakes we can make when memorizing scripture, If you didn't notice, the second time, I quoted Matthew 5:8 as "Blessed are the pure in spirit", rather than correctly "Blessed are the pure in heart".
It kind of illustrates the tendency of words sounding close to the same getting mixed up with those other words,
e.g. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
and Blessed are the pure in heart,
You can see the closeness of "poor" and "pure", a mistake which may pop up if for whatever reason we're not concentrating.

Thanks Brinny.

 

[heirmiles]

"Blessed are the pure in heart
For they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.


The word "heart" appears in over 900 verses in the NKJV, and just under 900 verses in the KJV. There is a lot that can be said about the heart that has not been regenerated by the Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus. Jeremiah 17:9 sums up the issues of the natural sinful heart succinctly: "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" According to the ISBE (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: "Heart"), John Owen (a puritan from long ago) wrote,

"The 'heart' in Scripture is variously used, sometimes for the mind and understanding, sometimes for the will, sometimes for the affections, sometimes for the conscience, sometimes for the whole soul. Generally, it denotes the whole soul of man and all the faculties of it, not absolutely, but as they are all one principle of moral operations, as they all concur in our doing of good and evil".

In other words in scripture the "heart" is the wholistic term that describes the entire being of man where words like mind, soul, body and heart (once again) are distinctive in regard to the functions of each. In other words, the mind, soul, body and heart each have their own functions in the individual, while "heart" can also describe all these parts together.

So if we understand the "heart" that Jesus is referring to in today's verse, we are considering first the heart in terms of the complete person, as well the specific aspects of the heart in distinction to the soul, mind, and body. The heart is the "inward" person, it is all that goes on inside of a person's thoughts, fears, hopes, dreams, desires, appetites, purposes, decisions, beliefs, emotions, feelings, griefs, losses, relationships, affections, moods, choices, spirituality, conscience and will. While men look at the outside of the cup it is God who looks within the heart.

In Jeremiah 17:9 (quoted above) the question is asked concerning the deceitful and wicked heart, "Who can know it?" The answer in verse 10 is "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings." It is the LORD who knows the heart, far beyond our capacity to to so, (who can know it?).

In distinction to the mind, soul, and body, the heart is the seat of the emotions (I was incorrect on my own thoughts yesterday in distinguishing the heart from the (old archaic term from KJV)). This is inclusive of Fear, love, courage, anger, Joy, sorrow, and hatred. These of which also have "physical effects on the body", i.e. Blood pressure and respiration.

So, here we are. We have a heart, it's desperately wicked due to sin. It is the deepest part of us, our innermost being. The heart wants to stay where it is, hidden and unexposed, who we truly are within ourselves. And then comes the light of our Saviour Jesus Christ. At first we cringe, we "don't want to hear it", we think, "don't judge me." The foolish heart is "void of understanding" it has been "darkened, hiding the truth in unrighteousness." It's "hardened, wicked, perverse, godless, deceitful and desperately wicked, it continually resists the call of God, it defiles us completely." (ISBE).

But then, God says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." (Ezekiel 36:26,27.) "Thus says the LORD God to these bones: 'Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD,'"

God pours His love into our hearts, by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5), His grace and His mercy has been set upon us. "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." Titus 2: 11-14.

Of Christ's special people, the church, Paul writes, "as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the wasing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious chruch, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:25-27.)

"God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.... if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Our response? Our prayer?


Lord God, our Father, help us to open our hearts to you, that through Jesus you may work within us, cleansing us from our sin, and purifying our hearts through Christ Jesus that we may abide with You, live in You, breathing Your life within us enlightening our eyes in the truth of Your love, and the purifying work of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus we pray, Amen.


"Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God."

 

[heirmiles]

Matthew 5:8.
"Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God."


This is our third day memorizing Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God." With today's meditation I would like to try to answer the questions, "What is purity?", and "What is the blessing of purity?"


Yesterday we saw that the heart of itself is anything but pure, in fact it is full of dross. Dross is a term which describes the impurities found in precious metals, that need to be refined out in order to produce a pure metal such as gold, and silver. In this way purity can be seen as composing of a single element. Translated to the heart it means a single purpose, a single meaning, a single life.


Interestingly the Westminster Confession says that the chief end (or purpose) of man is to glorify (or love) God and enjoy Him forever. To be so enveloped with God's presence in our lives that everything we think and do is in love and devotion to Him.


Now I admit as Christians we don't like the term "religion", simply because the word is used to classify many different forms of beliefs and practices that are non-Christian, that worship different gods and follow worldly ideas of spirituality. The word religion appears 5 times in the Bible, four of which carry this negative connotation. However, James 1:26,27 says, "If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." In Matthew 6:24 Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." "If the eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness" (Matthew 6:22b,23a).


I'm reminded of the chorus, "I must have Jesus in my whole life, I must have Jesus in my life, In my walking, in my talking, in my waking, in my sleeping, I must have Him in my life".


Hebrews 12:1-2 focuses everything in our life to one goal, the path, the race before us is toward Jesus, toward God. "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."


Jesus is our righteousness, Jesus is our holiness, Jesus is our purity, our peace, our hope, our faith, our life, our mercy, our joy, and our love.


It is in Jesus that we see God. This is the blessing of Christ's purity living within us. It is through Jesus that we see God, that in Christ we can boldly come before the throne of Grace so "that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need".


There are two ways in which we see, first by the eyes of our body, the second by the eyes of our heart, that which is within, the eyes of faith. It is within that we see the kingdom of God, not by the eyes of observation "For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21b). In Christ we are the children of God; "and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1John 3:2). And what is our response, 1John 3:3, "And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."


John goes on to say (1John 3:24) "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." And which commandments are these? 1John 3:23, "And this is His commandment: that we should believe on
the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.".


Jesus' presence in our own hearts and lives, the Holy Spirit's presence in our hearts and lives, and the Father's presence in our lives all testify to the faithfulness of Christ's promise, "Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.


Tomorrow we begin to memorize Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God."

By the way if you find that the meditations are a little difficult to process, probably my fault, that's okay, what is really important, far more than my thoughts, is the memory verses themselves. I am far from perfect, but Jesus is perfect. His words are the words that really matter. I'm processing and learning His Word too, and I make mistakes, but Jesus doesn't. So more than anything, focus on what Jesus is saying, His words are the words of Life.