Matthew 5:1-161And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 3Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 13Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:1‑16)
Part 11
The Sixth Beatitude
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Verse 7.
Throughout the New Testament there is much said about purity of heart. It is looked for as the true condition of all Christians, though, alas, all are not “pure in heart.” So much is said, and said truly, about the deceitfulness of the human heart in our discourses and papers, that the expression “pure in heart” is supposed, even by most Christians, to be a figure which is not intended to mean what it says, and thus it is passed over. But Scripture means a great deal that is most definite by pureness of heart. The apostle in writing to his Son Timothy, says,
This passage clearly teaches what we are to look for and expect in all who come to the Lord’s table. Only such will suit Him who says, I am “He that is holy, He that is true.”
The Apostle Peter in his address to the council (Acts 15) speaks of the Gentiles as “purifying their hearts by faith,” and therefore as much entitled to Christian fellowship as the Jewish believers. And in his Epistle he says, “seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.”
The Apostle James in his exhortations uses a similar form of expression: “and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
John, also, in speaking of the Lord’s coming, says, “And every one that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He” —that is, Christ— “is pure.” Here the Lord Jesus is brought before us, not only as being in Himself essentially pure, but as the measure and standard of purity for us.
The hope of the Lord’s coming has thus a transforming power. In looking for Him, and waiting for Him now, we seek to purify ourselves even as He is pure. But when we see Him as He is in the glory, we shall be like Him—perfectly conformed to Him in all things. Now we are transformed by degrees, then we shall be conformed completely and forever.
The meaning is plain and most important; we behold the glory of the Lord in the unveiled face of Jesus—the exalted Man in the glory—and are transformed according to the same image from one degree of glory to another, by the Lord the Spirit. But we are not only transformed into His likeness morally, we are the reflectors of His glory. Now the believer is the glass in whom the image of the Lord should be seen.
Forget not this great truth, O my soul; what can be more important? O, that this one thought may take possession of thy whole being! What! mirrored on thy spirit and ways should be the moral image of thy absent Lord! O see that nothing comes between thy heart and Him, that the likeness be not marred! The purer the mirror, the more distinct will each feature appear. O wondrous theme! O mystery divine! O blessing infinite!
Language fails to express the heart’s joyous wonder in meditating on this highest expression of sovereign grace. To be maintained in outward purity as men reckon, is a great mercy, and one for which we never can be too thankful.
Who sees not that Joseph had a purer heart, practically viewed, than Reuben and Judah, and on which have mankind set the seal of their approval? But to be brought so near to the Lord, and to be so purified by faith as to become like a polished mirror, on which may be reflected His glory, transcends all power to express the praise and thanksgiving due to His most blessed name.
But the day is near when thou wilt see thy Lord face to face, and as He is—in all the deep realities of His love and glory. Then no forgetfulness, no failure, no defilements by the way, shall ever dim the luster of thy mirror, or mar the reflection of His glory. The great promise of the New Jerusalem shall be fulfilled:
The likeness will then be complete and manifest to all. Higher than this we can never rise; richer in blessing we can never be; and for this consummation of all blessedness, not we only, but our Jesus prays,
And now, in parting with thee, my dear reader, for another month, as we may never meet again, allow me to ask, Is this to be thy eternity of celestial blessedness? Or art thou still undecided in thy soul about the Lord Jesus as thy Saviour? Why hesitate? Why be in doubt? The work required has been done by Jesus; done for thee, if thou wilt only believe; done for the chief of sinners. Thou hast nothing to trust to but His finished work. O then, believe in Him, put thy trust in Him, wait for Him, never doubt Him, and thy celestial blessing is secure forever. But remember, I pray thee, that without faith—faith in Jesus—there is no blessing, no purity, as we have been seeing, and without purity there can be no heaven for thee. The city of our God is a pure city, and over its pearly gates these words are written,
Whatever its inhabitants once were, they are all pure now; and their robes of unsullied white can meet with no defilement there. The confusing mixtures of time—law and grace, faith and works, Christ and the world, flesh and Spirit, are unknown there—purity characterizes everything. The street is of pure gold, as it were transparent glass; the walls are jasper, and “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceedeth out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” (Rev. 21).
The Lord give thee, my dear reader, to come to Jesus now; give thy heart undividedly to Him: this is the first grand step towards purity of heart. O at once bow at His blessed feet. The dark regions of hell, where the lurid glare of its fire unquenchable will only make the darkness more visible, contrasts awfully with the city of glories.
Which of those two places, my dear reader, is to be thine—thine forever? With both before thee, couldst thou hesitate another moment? Surely not. I must now leave thee with the Lord. May thy motto henceforth be “All for Jesus.”
(To be continued)