The Beatitude of Position
Matthew 5:10-12
Part 14
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
Were it not that we leave the children of the kingdom in a hostile world, we might here conclude our “Meditations,” in the full assurance of their perfect blessedness. Seven times blessed is divine completeness. But however blessed, however happy in the divine presence, however fit to inherit the earth in its bright Millennial day, however fit to reign with Christ in the higher regions of glory, they still stand in this world just where they stood before they were born of God, and surrounded it may be with the same persons and circumstances as they ever were.
This we may see every day. The home that was once cheerful and happy, is now a cheerless wilderness. How often the young convert has found himself an alien and a stranger in his father’s house—the very house in which he lived all his unconverted days! But now, he being completely changed, the family not, he has no fellowship with their ways, and they have none with his. All is changed; opposition is inevitable, and persecution in some way or other, especially if he reaches the sevenfold blessedness of his Master’s image.
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer, persecution.” (2 Tim. 3:12).
“Hold thy peace, art thou wiser than thy father and thy mother, than thy brothers and thy sisters, must we all give in to thee?” may be the lightest form of persecution experienced. Still it is resistance to the grace of God and the Spirit of Christ, as manifested by the young convert. He must now pursue his path alone.
So far, it will be observed, we have spoken chiefly of the character of God’s children, now we turn to meditate for a little on their position in an evil world. The moral character of those who belong to Christ, rising in grace to the seventh beatitude, must necessarily arouse the spirit of persecution, and expose them to trial, until the kingdom of heaven is set up in power and glory.
Had no special blessing been pronounced on this condition of things, the disciples might have been ready to say that their state was anything but blessed; that the benediction of heaven on their character only brought down upon themselves the hatred and oppression of mankind. True, this would have been natural, not spiritual, walking by sight, not by faith; but what will unbelief not say and do? much unbelief still lurks in the hearts of believers. But O, the grace, the rich, the abounding grace, of our Lord Jesus! He pronounces those twice blessed who are exposed to persecution from the world. This completes the beautiful picture of His people’s character and condition, and adds great interest and fullness to every circumstance of their position while the kingdom is in abeyance.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
This must have been a strange language to those who were looking for outward glory, or a reign of peace, a paradise on earth. But the Lord plainly sets before His disciples what their new position would be in this world, and the more distinct their likeness to Himself, the heavier would be their persecutions. But He especially refers in this first blessedness of position, to the first group of beatitudes, which are characterized by righteousness; as the last three are by grace.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Every newborn soul must have the sense, more or less, of its own nothingness, and a sincere and earnest desire to be found in obedience to the will of God. This is righteousness, and the righteousness which brings persecution in this life.
For example, a Christian who is walking with the Lord fears to do what is wrong; he desires to do what is right; he seeks to maintain a conscience void of offense towards God and towards man. This is the breastplate of righteousness,. But he is offered, it may be, certain preferment in his position if he will agree to do something which he fears not to be right. The offer may be a tempting one and he is needy; but no, he waits on the Lord; he brings the matter before Him; light shines, the tempter’s object is seen, he positively refuses; righteousness prevails, but he suffers for it. He is misunderstood, is called foolish, or it may be fanatic and madman. He not only loses what was offered, but what he had; he is no use, he is turned out. Still he can say, My present loss, under the righteous government of God, will prove my eternal gain. He has a clear conscience, a happy heart: he is drawn closer to the Lord in dependence on Him.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
When the King returns from the far country, and calls His own servants around Him, what will it be to hear Him say,
“Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord”? (Matt. 25:21).
Here, O my soul, pause a little. Let thy meditations be deep, patient, and prayerful, on this most practical subject. Consider, weigh well, I pray thee, the many ways in which thou mayest be faithful or unfaithful! Are there not many shades of practical unrighteousness in the affairs of this life? But they must all be brought up again and measured by a righteous standard. How solemn, though how blessed the thought, of being manifested before the tribunal of Christ—of having every thought, word, and act, brought into the light, examined and estimated there. Dost thou expect to hear Him say,
“Well done, thou good and faithful servant”?
I press not for an answer, but let thy heart answer to Him. Be manifested before Him now; seek to do the whole will of God in all things, and during all thy earthly days. After what the Lord has said of blessedness here, what must it be hereafter, when He will have everything His own way, and when every blessedness shall have its full and everlasting reflection in us!
May we walk with the Lord, though we may have to suffer for it.
(To be continued).