For he hath a little while, and the wicked shall be no more. Indeed, if ye will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the just, and dashes at the good. shall be broken. A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of any wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord holds the righteous. So there, we turn to Matthew, Chapter 5. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5, with the attitudes on the circle of the mount. This is God's Word. And seeing the multitudes, he, being Jesus, went up on a mountain, and when he was seated, his disciples came to him. Then he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the weak, for they shall fear the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they go by and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you, also for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Our Father and our God, as we come now to the preaching of the Word, we remember our forefather John Calvin, who used mightily to explain the sovereignty of God to the people of God, and used mightily in that great revival that we know as the Protestant Reformation. Lord, help us to read these words that men Brothers and sisters, I'm going to begin reading here very shortly and then we drop out before it's time for mine in just a moment. But this is a sermon that's titled, It's an excerpt, actually, from a sermon series called Sermons on Beatitudes. And this one, particularly, is weakness and mercy. A sermon preached by John Brown in the year 1561. And that one is known now. We would only need Nature teaches us that we can enjoy the happiest state that humans could desire. God has created all of us in his own image. So we can't only look at our neighbor to see ourselves. We are one flesh. Everyone wants to know who are the others. It's not right, or certainly not so bad, isn't it, that we are the villains? we endure many difficulties, we don't need to go far for the explanation that men suffer. It is, of course, true that people all have their excuses. They want nothing better than to say that they are gentle and mild-mannered and to show patience towards those among whom they live. But it is not possible to deny our human nature. We must hunt with the hounds because to be a sheep is to risk becoming someone else's dinner. That then is the excuse usually offered by men to clothe their ambitions. In reality, so full of bitterness, arrogance, and pride that they cannot abide one another. It is all the more fitting, then, that we remember the lesson which the Son of God has for us here, and not the attitude. For although we think that we are hard done by when we cannot retaliate against those who ill-treat us, he tells us that it is the peacemakers and the meek who will possess the earth. Now, common sense tells us such a thing is not credible. Experience, too, suggests that victory and success goes to the most bold and the most aggressive, while the unassuming dare not open their mouths to protest or complain. even though others may rob and fleece them of all they have. So common sense dictates that people who are meek will always suffer insult and abuse, unable even to find a breath. And so to speak, among the pack of wolves. Christ claimed when he promised that the meek will inherit the earth. It might make no sense to the worldly wise, but believers have tasted enough of its truth to know that these are not simply empty words. For however much men may rage and continually fight, attack, and steal, and commit other acts of violence, however much I say men may struggle to come out on top, if we candidly consider their real state of mind, we will find that the opposite is true. Everyone necessities their own enemy. Naturally, if they manage to acquire the power of tyrants, no one will openly dare to oppose them. Even so, they will inwardly fret and fume. They know that they are friendless. In their anxiety and agitation, they distrust everyone. Blind suspicion, like a thorn prick, drives them on, or like a sharp spike, blinds their vision, filling them with panic and scattering them like lost souls who wrongfully imagine that the enemy is afar off. And even supposing they had nothing to fear from other men, God would certainly show himself to be their judge. just as they unsettle heaven and earth by their reckless actions, so God unsettles them within. Their conscience, as Isaiah says, will be like the storm-tossed waves of the sea. They will be at war with themselves in a fine old state. They will never be at rest, as the prophet himself declares. That is why the law explicitly says that the life of such men hangs by a thread, that their eyes will be sunk into their foreheads, that their limbs would tremble, and when morning comes, they will cry, will I live long enough to see the night fall? And when it is evening, they will ask, will I manage to last through the night? Supposing I were attacked, what could I do? Only those blinded by vanity, lies, and prejudice will fail to see how true Isaiah's prophecy is. We all know how it is with those who prey like wolves upon their fellow men, who rob and devour, who out of arrogance and pride try to gain all that they can. They never know a moment's peace. They may own the earth. They may be mighty lords. Yet wherever they tread, they are like dead men. For all their castles and fortresses and well-armed guards, the fact remains they are in prison. In an open field and with a numerous escort, they are insecure. In a constant state of fear and trembling, in short, wherever they go, they see all too well that they are like Cain. without peace of mind and beset upon on all sides with anxiety. In possessing much, they finally possess nothing since they are incapable of enjoying what they think that they have. This is how it is with all whom the world counts as great. Inwardly, they are in a state of turmoil. Although in men's estimation, they have no cause to be, Why then are they like this? It is because God brings trouble on those who bring trouble on everyone else. They are at their wits end, seeing enemies all around them and judging every man, both great and small, to be a threat. For although no one dares say a word or lifts a finger against them, they are greatly resented. The whole world may be mute and honors may be heaped upon them, but God nevertheless will stretch out his hand to punish them as they deserve. Conversely, the poor who walk in sincerity and who patiently persevere are secure. However, many cruelties trials offer, they are sure to inherit the earth. As Psalm 37 says, And although they may not own one foot of ground, nor meadow, vineyard, field, or house, they are persuaded that it is God who has placed them in this world. And although they may be like birds perched on a branch, they nevertheless can say with a quiet assurance that God will direct my steps wherever I am. The earth, too, will be welcome and nourish me, for it was created to that very end. God will allow me to find a home here and he will care for me as a guest as long as it pleases him. When a person has that assurance, when he knows that God upholds the will When he knows that God upholds and will continue to uphold him, he is infinitely richer than those who clutch and claw their way through life and who, in their haste to swallow everything, are satisfied by neither kingdoms, duchies, countries, or towns. When their work is done, however, they have nowhere they can retreat to. No hiding place, no refuge, for God is against them and every man is their enemy. Although believers are strangers and wanderers in this world, is not the home they have on earth much better than any earthly dominion, the source of so much torment for all who covet it? Experience also teaches believers that God is watching over them. Imagine what would happen if it were otherwise. Think for a moment of the malevolence and the fury of the unbelievers. They are the mirror image of Satan, their own father. The world would be full of murderers, and all good, peace-loving people would be soon swept away if God did not use his secret powers to keep them safe. That, I say, is what we can expect if we fully shut our eyes to the grace of God so clearly revealed in this passage in Matthew chapter 5. What is more, we know that God has given us the Lord Jesus Christ to be our shepherd. As such, his most vital work is to persevere our souls, to preserve our souls until we attain the eternal salvation, which he has already won for us. Nevertheless, even in this transitory life, he cares also for our physical being. Let us therefore be his sheep, for he is not a shepherd to wolves. If we choose to live like wild beasts, throw off our restraint and contrive, as the saying goes, to add insult to injury, as if as soon as we were offended or upset, we take up arms to avenge ourselves and try to create as much havoc as we can, we cannot expect Jesus to be our shepherd. What he requires is that we hear his voice. Sheep and lambs hear their master's voice. Let them be our example. If then we are honest and sincere, we will surely discover how strong a protector the Son of God is, for he will employ his Father's power to keep and sustain us. The meek will inherit the earth. That is the notion which the human mind cannot entertain. Instead, it is commonly said all who are gracious, sincere, and long-suffering are poor fools. They would do better retaliating than allowing their good nature to be abused. Nevertheless, what Jesus says is true. The best and most preferable course is to maintain our sincerity, to practice patience, and endurance when we are maligned, not to render evil for evil, but to overcome evil with good. If we do that, we will have found the one true way by which we may possess the earth. What, after all, did the bold and the brutal seek? And when men tremble to see them, their dread their coming? Is not their aim to possess the earth, to rule it as a tyrant? Yes, that is what they covet for themselves. But as we have seen, they themselves are captive in every place on earth. In open fields, towns, castles, and fortresses, everyone is their enemy. They are at war with themselves. God pursues them wherever they may be. As for us, we must constantly return to what God's Son declares to us. For what he says is eternally true and trustworthy. Let us be clear about this, provided, as he says, we exercise self-control and are patient, provided we possess that gentleness which he requires of us and to which he calls us. We will inherit the whole earth. With thankful, free, and open hearts, we will enjoy the good things which God and his kindness provides for us here. We are assured, too, that we will always be at peace whatever troubles we are in. That said, we should recognize that this promise is not yet totally fulfilled. It is enough that today we would experience its truth in part, Scripture rightly says that the last day is the day of our redemption, the day on which God's children will be revived and restored. So we must patiently wait to possess the inheritance and to claim the earth as his gift to us. We should be content to our course to the end and complete our earthly pilgrimage. Regardless of where we are, regardless of the trials we bear and the oppression and losses we endure, we should, I say, be content to trust God's assurance and the testimony of our conscience that all will be ours because we are His children and heirs. Furthermore, we should stop the proud, the violent, and the domineering who think that they have everything when, like brute beasts, they are not on top. That, in essence, is what this verse teaches us. We should therefore hate the devilish proverb which urges us to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. Instead, we should place our Lord's protection above the impulse of retaliation or to defend our own causes. For his power to sustain us is unlimited and we will prove immeasurably stronger than any foe. That then is what we have to grasp here. Next, scripture says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. for they will be filled. St. Luke simply says, blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. St. Matthew adds the word righteousness for the sake of precision. Yet so, he has been here misinterpreted. Some have looked for a meaning higher and more subtle than is justified. We must be zealous, they say, for righteousness. That is, we must yearn for a more just and upper order so that when God sees how earnest we are, he will change the world for the better as to so gladden our hearts. Now, that is a perfectly good thing in the proper context. The gospel writers, however, fully and faithfully explain Christ's meaning here. From St. Luke's words, no such subtle or deep meaning can be derived. He does not say that we are to hunger for righteousness or that in the face of so much evil, we should cry to God, begging him to set the world to rights. So when scripture says, blessed are those who hunger, it means the same as we saw before. Blessed are those who mourn, who are poor in spirit and therefore distressed. and who turned to God for refuge and relief. Why then does St. Matthew add the word righteousness to this clause? To express a perfectly appropriate idea. What he really means is that God's children will not only hunger and thirst, that is, suffer oppression, bereft of help and comfort, but that they will also have right on their side since they will not have given anyone cause to harm them. Not that they seek special privileges or favors for having injured no one. They do not try to win their case by underhand means. All they ask is that they be treated equitably and not harassed without cause. They have every right to feel this way, but their wish will not be easily or immediately granted. How wretched and unhappy they would be were it not for the promise given here that they would be filled. That is how our Lord's words here are best to be understood. He first of all warns us that we should not enjoy the state of rest or repose, but that on the contrary, we would hunger and thirst a promise and that our wish for all life's necessities will be disappointed. We will not always find food and drink when we need them. Or if we are fed, we may be sheltered. In the second place, he says that we will be more sorely afflicted, that there will be no one to help whichever way we turn. It will be as if people might spit in our faces with perfect impunity. That is a hard and bitter condition to endure, especially when we think of our own infirmities. We are so frail that the merest nothing fills us with despair. Let us learn therefore to rest in the certain hope that we will finally be filled one day and that God will supply everything we lack. If today we are like those who are at death's door, devoid of inner strength and outside help. If today we are those in the direst of straits, this hope support and sustain us as we look to God whose work is to satisfy the hungry. It is surprising if when we are in the world and when we seek no special advantage for ourselves, we should nevertheless experience hunger. We may indeed be innocent of aggression, anxious not to profit from somebody else's expense, and asking only justice and equity for ourselves. We are meant nevertheless to endure hunger and thirst. God will leave us to languish for a time in order to test our patience and our faith. For if today we are perfectly at ease, lacking nothing, surrounded by people eager to please and with no one to trouble or upset us, what would be the point of urging us to practice what is taught here? To hunger and thirst is therefore for us a necessity. And since then, as we have seen, we are to be meek as men living among wild beasts whose teeth are sharp and whose claws are ready to tear, rend, and destroy us. We must press on in patience and sincerity. We should be hungry and thirst for prayer to God. And although he allows us to suffer affliction, even when we are in the right, we should not give way to sadness, despair, or blind panic. We should hold firm to the expectation that in the end he will provide for all our needs. This is something else our text has to teach us. Our Lord Jesus Christ goes on to add, blessed are the merciful. for they shall obtain mercy. Here again is a saying which is quite foreign to our normal way of thinking. Where else do we imagine happiness to lie except in the absence of worry or distress? Leave us alone, we cry. Let others suffer in silence. We don't want to know. We don't want to be bothered. Peace of mind, indifference to anything else, it is enough if we were able to satisfy our physical wants and contemplations on all of Earth's villainies without feeling sorrow, disquiet, or distress? That is why many imagine that they are blessed when they are at ease, able to live the good life without thinking so much about what is happening around them. They want only to block their ears so as to shut their eyes and shut out the news which might affect them for there are two kinds of emotions which disturb us. Unhappiness, which arises from personal misfortune, and compassion, when we see some other person suffering beyond measure. Someone, perhaps, who is unjustly oppressed, or who has lost all his worldly goods. Unhappy orphans without fathers, wives without husbands, or unexpected events, which I repeat, greatly trouble us. Those who are looking for happiness, as they understand the term, seek to escape personal misfortune in the form of injury to themselves or loss of property. They love men's approval. They revel in entertainment, in laughter, in good fortune, want flattery and praise. That is one point to consider. But there is more. Supposing they are told, do you see that poor wretch? He's suffering terribly. He has nothing, no money, and his health is gone. It's pitiful to behold. News like that is a source of annoyance to worldly people. Today, as well we know, will deliberately harden their hearts and will not only not feel pity for the miseries which another endures, but will perfectly content, will be perfectly content for everyone else to go hungry. They may own large stocks of wheat, but the world's population can perish for all they care. It doesn't matter to them if poor folk starve as long as business is going well. There are many more examples of this kind. All of them show how easy it is for men who scorn God to cast aside pity and compassion in order to avoid worry and trouble. Now scripture says nothing Now scripture says something very different here. We must patiently bear our own afflictions, a point we've already noted, but we must also bear the inflictions of our neighbor. We must assume their identity as it were, so as to be deeply touched by their suffering and moved by love to mourn with them. We must weep with those who weep, as St. Paul exhorts us to do. We said earlier that although we are exposed to misfortune and trouble, oppression and abuse, we can be truly happy because God blesses our sufferings when we look to him. In this verse, the Lord Jesus Christ takes believers one step further, teaching that as well as being meek and patient when we are afflicted, we must be with one another in our distresses. And so touch with compassion for their suffering as to look for ways of helping them, as if their pain were ours. I say again, since God has brought us together in order to make of us one body, all members are necessarily one. and each individual must take his share of the suffering in order to relieve those who can bear no more. That is the truth that we must grasp here. What is pity? Briefly put, it is nothing else but pain we feel at someone else's sorrow. A man may be healthy and with plenty to eat and drink and safe from any threat of danger. When we however see a neighbor in distress, you should be bound to feel for him, to share his sorrow, to shoulder some of the burden and to lighten the load. That is what mercy is. The same idea is conveyed in our language by the word alms. Unfortunately, the meaning of alms has been misconstrued. What people mean by almsgiving is not something inspired by feelings of humanity. Of course, one can give to a poor person, but it is like a ransom, a tribute, or an exaction given grudgingly. with reluctance, there is no suggestion that when a rich man gives of his substance, he says to himself, here is a man's body. We are all joined together. It is all the more important, therefore, to understand that helping others amounts to nothing unless we are moved by a love which comes from the heart and which bids us bear our share of misfortune that we see around us. And because God has bound us all together, no one can turn away and live only for himself. There's no room here for the indifference which promises tranquility and the pleasures of a comfortable life. We must enlarge our affections as the law of love requires. So when we see some who are sick and poor or destitute, and others who are in trouble or distress of body and mind, we should say, this person belongs to the same body as I do. And then we should prove by our deeds that we are merciful. We can proclaim our pity for those who suffer time, but unless we actually assist them, our claims will be worthless. There are plenty of people who would say, oh dear, how terrible to be like that poor man. Yet they simply brush it aside, making no attempt to help. Expressions of pity stir no one to action. In short, this world is full of mercy if words are to be believed. In reality, it is all pretense. St. James vigorously condemns this attitude in chapter two of his epistle. It is the height of insolence to say, ah me, what a shame when no one is willing to lift a finger or even utter a word in order to help the distressed. We must learn therefore first to be kind and compassionate towards those who suffer and then to make diligent use of the opportunities which God affords. This verse has a promise attached to it, for we are notoriously slow to act. It is true, also, that what God's Son says here runs counter to our natural inclinations. We do not easily assent to it. The promise, thus, serves as a point of entry. For if the text simply said, blessed are the merciful, we would reject it out of hand. However, Christ tells us that we are in need of mercy, both from his heavenly Father and from our fellow men, and that we can only obtain it if we ourselves are merciful. That at least should prompt us to look more closely at ourselves. When we begin to savor the truth of what we are told here, we can only conclude that to be merciful is indeed part of the blessedness enjoyed by God's children. It is a simple fact that we all need mercy. Take, for example, the person who has everything that they could wish for in this world. Many disappointments will nevertheless come his way. Even princes, kings, and mighty lords endure at one time or another terrible ordeals, suffering sometimes in body, sometimes in mind. Although they might seek to build secure nests for themselves high above the clouds, God shows that they are mortal after all. They are compelled to see themselves as mere men, frail creatures. If the mighty, who already have a kind of paradise to themselves, are in need of mercy, how much more are we? If we thought carefully about these things, we would move to show pity. Every time we saw our neighbor suffering want or affliction, it might be objected that the world that shows little pity to those who have pity on others, attend first to this point. God, we know, holds men's hearts in His hands. He turns them whichever way He wills. Even if evil and arrogance, mischief and spite abound, He lays upon men the burden of humanity. So although the world may have a scant regard, indeed contempt for works of mercy done to the needy, God will nevertheless overrule so that when we are in distress, he will not deny us our reward. Mercy to the merciful. This, as we see later, as we will see later, is what our Lord Jesus Christ himself teaches. When he says that each one of us will receive according to the measure that we have given, St. James 2 rightfully declares that the person who has failed to show mercy will be judged without mercy. Consider now this point. Supposing God allowed such ingratitude to prevail among men that all of our efforts to help the poor appeared to be Then, one day we must become a judge. Mercy is our only hope. Supposing the world were full of cruelty and our good works a waste of time, we would have no less need of God's mercy. There is nothing in St. James more fearful, more terrible than the words, judgment without mercy. If we had to appear before God's judgment seat to receive strict justice, what would become of us? It would have been better if we had been stillborn or had entered the fold of fleas or lice or frogs, the lowest forms of life. Since our welfare and salvation depend wholly upon God's mercy, should we not rejoice in his promise of pity and compassion? that when we who have shown pity to our neighbor lay before him our burden of pain. It is not God moved to welcome us to be merciful to us because of our dreadful sins. He might well have cast us out. Since we have this promise, we should have to be, we should have to be mad out of our minds to ignore these claims of mercy. That is what we have to remember here. In fact, moreover, that God allows us to taste, at least in part, what the Son confirms to us, for He is the true witness who has come from the Father's side to declare to us His will. Know that then, when we are merciful, we ourselves will receive mercy, even from men. And however evil and ungrateful they may be, God will press them so hard that when we are in need, they will help us. Though the idea of serving God and dispensing charity may be far from their minds. It will be with them as it is with the Egyptians who, although enemies of God's people, were nevertheless compelled to hand over to them the most precious things that they possessed. In any case, we have a higher thing to think of. We must ultimately give an account of how we have lived. If we have been merciful, we will find that God is merciful to us. Moreover, mercy does not simply consist of compassion towards those that I have been describing, the thirsty, the sick, the hurt, the oppressed. It requires us also to bear with the infirmities of those who, in themselves, deserve to be spurned. Of course, here as elsewhere, we must observe the balance which we find in scripture. When we show mercy to those who have erred, we must never indulge them by outright flattery, nor ignore their wrongdoings so that it grows even worse. We should show pity when we see that our neighbors are still subject to many weaknesses, And we should be patient with them, not in order to imitate them, but to rebuke their faults with kindness. We should never gloat, as many do, who laugh and smirk at someone else's misfortune. Instead, we should mourn and say, how sad that poor man has been given offense to God. It should distress us to see someone perishing who has been so dearly redeemed by Christ's precious blood. It should distress us to see righteousness transgressed and his glory diminished. Believe me, such things should awaken our compassion. That is how we will find mercy in God's sight. By having pity on those who have gone astray or who have stumbled through weakness, by bearing with them and trying to set them back on their feet, St. Paul exhorts us to do both things. We are to exercise mercy without bias, being careful not to indulge the fallen. Conversely, we are not to be too harsh and extreme that we fail to support them in their iniquity. He tells us to rebuke those who have gone astray, but with meekness of spirit. Reflect, he says, that you too can sin if you understand your own weaknesses. You will have pity on those who are sinners like you. In this way then, see how in every time and in every place, we were to exercise kindness by having compassion on those who have done wrong, by helping those that are in need, by assisting those who are unjustly oppressed, and by defending their cause, even though as a consequence, wicked men may rise up in fury against us. Concerning these things, note what is written in St. Luke. You yourselves are blessed, he says. This is to show that it is not enough to have understood this teaching and have declared it to be true. We must also, each one of us, apply it personally. We must not allow words merely to pass before our eyes or echo in our own ears, remembering nothing but blessed are those, blessed are those. Our Lord Jesus Christ intends all of this for our instruction. In the first place, we must be mild-mannered and patient in every trial. Next, to hunger and thirst, remaining meek even when we are unjustly persecuted, though we have done no wrong. And lastly, we must learn to have pity on those who suffer and be sincerely moved to help them as ability and opportunity. We must do all things without forgetting the word, which now St. Luke adds. This meaning, although God allows us to experience in this life, the truth of the Son's teaching, its joyful fulfillment is kept for us until the last day. Let us then learn now, that is amid the perplexities of this earthly life, to have pity on those who suffer and to also suffer ourselves so that if we are troubled and afflicted, we remain gentle and kind. However much cruelty and brutality may be used against us, at last we will surely find the one who spoke these words possesses all power. All dominion has been given to him. And we will accomplish everything we read in this passage when he receives us into that heavenly union for which we now yearn. There's also an announcement in John Calvin's sermon that's kind of fun. I'm going to read it as well. He ends by saying, I have a short announcement to make. The town councilors have agreed that our brother N, who has lately served as a minister in Jesse, should be called to the city. presented on Sunday next. Since all church members have the right to be heard, anyone who has an objection concerning him should be declared, should declare it to the counselors before now and Sunday. And that is the sermon. Brothers and sisters, let's pray.