Verse 10-12. 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. 3:1212Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (2 Timothy 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, it 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 oh, 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 new-born 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. 25:2121His lord said unto him, 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. (Matthew 25:21).
Here, Ο 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. Now, may we fear to sin, though we may have to suffer for it.
We have now come to the closing beatitude of the kingdom of heaven. It goes back and takes up the last three of the seven, which are characterized by grace—the graces of mercy, pureness, and peace. Thus the different graces of the divine life which ought to shine in all the children of God, are here assembled under the heads of righteousness and grace—that which is right before God, and that which is grace towards man. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”
The promised blessing to the sufferers for Christ’s sake has some sweet and precious peculiarities in it. Nor need we wonder at this; what name like His! There is nothing higher, nothing better; they who have His name have all that God can give; they have every blessedness that will ever be possessed throughout the endless ages of eternity. The promise, observe, is directly personal. “Blessed are ye”—not in the abstract, “Blessed are they,” He is looking at the disciples around Him, and knowing what they would have to pass through, He speaks direct to their hearts, and gives them to feel His personal interest in them, and their personal nearness to Himself. This must always be the case when we suffer for His name’s sake. This is a much higher thing than suffering for righteousness’ sake, though the two may often go together. Many an upright mind has suffered for righteousness’ sake who knew not the Savior’s love or His saving grace. Naturally upright, they would not stoop to deceive, and suffered for it. Even natural uprightness is too straight for the crooked ways of this sad, deceitful world. Oh, how difficult and trying is the path of the Christian in the midst of it all! He must live and walk by the word of the Lord and in communion with Him, if he would be preserved from a defiled conscience and a feeble testimony.
Suffering for Christ’s sake is the result of speaking about Him to others. Not merely a decided no, when we are asked or enticed to do what is wrong, but an earnest heart that watches every opportunity to speak about the blessed Lord and salvation; and if possible to those who would put difficulties in our way. There are always plenty of worldly-wise Christians near us to check zeal and hinder faithfulness, by what passes under the fair name of prudence.
There is a time and place for everything, it may be suggested, and there is no use in offending others, losing your influence, and throwing away your prospects for life. Surely we are not called upon to be always speaking about Christ and the gospel; you may cause your good to be evil spoken of. Such fair speeches and plausible reasons may come from the lips of some lukewarm Christian or mere professor, and so far, at least for a time, may do the enemy’s work. The voice is his, from whose lips soever the words may come, and ought to be treated as such. Certain we art it is not the voice of Jesus; and His sheep hear His voice and follow Him.
When Christ is precious to our hearts, such reasonings have no power. We see Him to be worth infinitely more than all that the world can do or give. The fair words of prudence fall to the ground; grace triumphs. Christ is before the soul; He commands all its energy; His love inspires the tongue; the lips cannot be refrained; His name burns in our hearts, it burns in our words, and we long for it to burn in the hearts and on the lips of others.
Speakest thou thus, my soul, of thyself, of thine own ways, or of what thou oughtest to be? My answer is plain and ready. I speak of myself and of all others. The rule is one. In the proportion that Christ is before the soul; in the proportion that He commands it; in that proportion will be our faithfulness and our sufferings. It may not be bodily suffering, or even worldly loss; but a very narrow path will be left for such to walk in, and a wide path of rejection. Save for those who are in the same narrow way, such an one would be alone and despised in the world. You may speak of religion in a general way, of preachers, of churches, of missions to the heathen, of societies for doing good, and be popular; but speak of the Lord Himself, of His precious blood, of the full assurance of salvation, of oneness with Him in heaven, of separation from the world, of standing apart from all its shows and entertainments, and you will rapidly reduce the number of your friends. And as far as the enemy can gain power, you will be reviled and persecuted for His name’s sake. It may be nothing more than cold rejection, a contemptuous sneer, but the same spirit would lay the fagots and silence the witness in the flames of martyrdom. Who were the most implacable enemies of the Lord and His servant Paul? The most religious men in Israel. Is the world or human nature changed? We believe not.
But here thou art anxious to inquire, Ο my soul, and I wonder not, why there is so little persecution for Jesus’ sake now? There may be more than thou art aware of. The Christianity that is positive and aggressive, and pursues its path outside the camp where Jesus suffered, must taste the bitterness, or rather the sweetness, of persecution. Such Christians will be avoided, if not despised, by those in favor with the world. The outside place, the unworldly life, is a stinging rebuke to the time-serving, or merely professing Christian.
Such witnesses are everywhere spoken against, and frequently by those in high places who know little or nothing about them; they are unjustly characterized as the secret propagators of heresy, as seeking to draw away and deceive the simple; and held up under the grossest misrepresentation to the scorn and derision of all Christendom. So far this may be harmless, thou wilt say; true, it opens no dungeons, it breaks no bones, it kindles no fires, it sharpens no swords; but how much further would the spirit of persecution go if let loose? Let the history of the church say. He who stoops to defame his fellow Christians because they differ from him on certain points of doctrine and practice, is not far from the spirit of Rome, which was the first to persecute for a difference of opinion.
But all this was anticipated by the blessed Lord, and graciously provided for. He thinks of everything. The saints are never dearer to His heart than when despised and suffering for His sake. “Blessed are ye” is His own sweet word of comfort to their hearts, “Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall 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.”
Should they suffer unto death, heaven will be their immediate home. “Great is your reward in heaven.” And they will also have the honor of following in the footsteps of those who suffered as the heralds of His coming—who testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. As this was true of the prophets, and is true of Christians in all ages, so will it be true of the Jewish remnant who shall be slain for their Messiah’s sake in the last days. Revelation 6:9-119And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. (Revelation 6:9‑11).
In rising from these meditations, Ο my soul, see that thou hast learned this lesson well. To be careful what thou sayest of the Lord’s redeemed, and how thou actest towards them. They are not only dear to His heart; He delights in them. Grieve Him not by any unkindness to them. Though plain speaking or faithful dealing with some be needful, let all be done in love and tenderness. “Let brotherly love continue.” That must never be interrupted, though brotherly kindness may, with the Lord’s sanction.
The Lord grant that our meditations on these beautiful beatitudes may leave an indelible impression of the Savior’s character, not only on the whole life of the writer, but also of the reader. So shall we answer to the divine emblems here spoken of; “salt” and “light”—the preservative principle or energy in the place where light has already come, where truth is already professed: and the blessed activities of love that go out in the light of grace and truth to a dark benighted world. Be this thy mission, Ο my soul, unweariedly, unchangeably, that many may be turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified, by faith which is in Christ Jesus. Acts 26:16-1816But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 17Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 18To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:16‑18).
We welcome still Thy faithful word—
“The cross shall meet its sure reward:”
For soon must pass the “little while”
Then joy shall crown Thy servants’ toil:
And we shall hear Thee, Savior, say,
“Arise, my love, and come away;
Look up, for thou shalt weep no more,
But rest on heaven’s eternal shore.”