The Poor in spirit, Pain of mourning, Patience of meekness, Pursuit of righteousness

We'll just pray, shall we, and ask the Lord's blessing. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank Thee again this hour for Thy goodness towards us.

We bless Thee, our Father, for the great God that Thou art, and indeed for the opportunity that we have today just to be able to meet like this, to be able to read Thy Word and meditate upon it, and to think in relation to the glorious person of Thy dear Son. And we thank Thee for him. We think, our Father, something of his fragrance.

We remember that Thy Word says, Thy name as fragrance, as ointment, is poured forth. And we thank Thee for the blessed name of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. As we all gather from very many different places and countries and lands and continents, we pray, our Father, we might be encouraged by thoughts and meditations in relation to Thy Son.

Our Father, we realise that on this Lord's Day, many of Thy people will be experiencing much trial and tribulation, difficulties in life. We think, our Father, of all the distress that this pandemic has caused in so many places, so many lands. And so we pray that as we open Thy Word, read it together and meditate upon it, we pray, our Father, that it might just be fitted by Thyself to meet the needs of Thy people, wherever they might be, and whatever they're experiencing this day.

So, our Father, we pray that something of the fragrance and the beauty of the person of the Lord Jesus might be of great encouragement to each and every one today. We thank Thee for the assembly here in Glen Ewan. We thank Thee for their ability and their willingness to convene meetings, gatherings like this, in order that we might teach the Word of God.

And we pray, our Father, that Thou wilt bless them too in this exercise. So we commit ourselves to Thee. We need Thy help.

We pray that Thou wilt grant that to all of Thy people here today, as we ask all of this in the precious and worthy name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. Now we're going to read, please, in Matthew's Gospel.

Matthew's Gospel and Chapter 5. And we're going to read some of the opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount. Very well known to us, of course, we call them the Beatitudes. But the subject of the ministry today, I've entitled The Riches of the Poor in Spirit.

And I want us to think about some of these opening Beatitudes statements of the Lord Jesus. Now it is a real pleasure to be here and a real privilege, of course, to be addressing all of these good folks from all of these lands and countries and continents. And we pray that the Lord might bless you and encourage you during this time and as we consider his Word.

Now let's read, shall we, Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 5. And verse number one says this, And seeing the multitudes, he, that's the Lord Jesus, went up into a mountain. And when he was set, when he sat down, his disciples came unto him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying.

Now these statements, nine of them really, are what we call Beatitudes, because they all begin with the word blessed. So verse three, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after 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 the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, of course he's speaking there to his disciples, those who were attendant to him as he gave these Beatitudes, this sermon. 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.

Now that's all we're going to read and we look to the Lord as always to bless the public reading of his word. And I don't want to upset you or lead you down the garden path or anything like that, but we are only in the time that we have today going to be considering the first four of these Beatitudes. And just before I get to speaking about these individual statements, I want to say something very briefly in relation to the character of the Sermon on the Mount.

Now this is the teacher in me, I just cannot help myself. But I want you to notice, and I'm going to have to make some very simple and broad statements at this point, I want you to notice that the Sermon on the Mount, generally speaking, is Jewish in its character. Now it does concern the Kingdom of Heaven, but it concerns the Kingdom of Heaven in anticipation.

It's not speaking about the Kingdom in its manifestation. That is yet to come. I trust you believe in a glorious, literal, real, 1,000 year reign of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth.

But this sermon does not have to do with the Kingdom in manifestation, can't be. It speaks about persecution and there won't be persecution in that day. Neither is it really speaking about the Kingdom in mystery form.

You read about that in the parables of Matthew chapter 13. You think about the fact that the King today is rejected, he's in heaven, he's been crucified, and yet still he is ruling in the hearts and the minds of believers, the Kingdom in mystery. But this sermon, generally speaking, has to do with the Kingdom in anticipation.

The King in these days was amongst his people. He sits down upon the mountain, Luke calls it a plain, doesn't he? And he is teaching his disciples. But having said that, please, this sermon in no way is irrelevant to the church and the church age.

Of course, if you are speaking to Peter, Peter would tell you that we are subjects in a Kingdom. Paul will tell you that we are members in a body, members of the body of Christ. But as far as Peter is concerned, though we belong to the church, we are subjects in the Kingdom.

Now, the Kingdom is not the church, the church is not the Kingdom. But the church belongs to the Kingdom. And it's important that we set these things out right at the beginning, right at the outset.

Now, we are coming to the Beatitudes. And I want you to notice, please, that these Beatitudes, these blessed statements, they are describing the character of those who bow the knee to the person of the Lord Jesus. The character and the conduct of those who bow to him, whether as Lord or as King.

And so the kind of characteristics that these Beatitudes describe are the kinds of characteristics that should be seen in every single believer in the present day and present age. And I do want you to notice also that the principles that the Lord Jesus is bringing before us here are, generally speaking, principles that are internal. He speaks, doesn't he, about the pure in heart.

They're principles that are internal and govern the spirit and the heart and the mind, rather than things that are external. These are principles that are spiritual. He says right at the outset, blessed are the poor in spirit.

So principles that are internal, principles that are spiritual, and principles that are moral, not external, not so much physical, and certainly not political. That's strange, isn't it, in a sense, coming from a King. And just how different these values and these principles are to the values and the principles of the Pharisees and the scribes.

You see, they were content with the external. They were content with religious ceremony. And there was no kind of internal reality at all to their religion.

And I wonder if that's why the Lord Jesus says in verse 20 of chapter 5, he says, I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness, the external righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, he shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. That's important, isn't it? We make the application to Christianity. It is about the internal principles and values, that which characterizes the heart, that which characterizes the mind, that which is moral, that which is spiritual.

We're not so concerned with the external religious ceremony. Well, let me just say this. There is one life that was lived on earth that demonstrated to perfection the values which are brought before us here in the Beatitudes.

And that, of course, is the life of God's beloved son. And that's what I want to do just in these few moments that we have together. I want to think about these opening four Beatitudes.

And quite frankly, I just want to see something of the glory and the wonder of the person of the Lord Jesus, as he can be seen and brought before us in these lovely statements. So the Beatitudes, we might say, are really just a full length word portrait of the person of Christ. So first of all, just before I come to this first Beatitude, verse three, I want to talk to you about the promise of blessing, because each of these Beatitudes begins with the same word.

It says blessed. Now, this, of course, is not a commandment. Rather, it's an exclamation.

You could read it like this. Oh, the blessedness of the poor in spirit. You say, well, what does it mean to be blessed? Well, it's not really the thought of being happy.

But oh, the blessedness. It's rather the thought of a person who is in the position of divine favor. They're favored of God.

And because they reside in that position of divine favor, it brings an inner spiritual joy and an inner spiritual satisfaction to that individual. Oh, the blessedness. Oh, the position of divine favor.

Oh, the spiritual joy and satisfaction that is enjoyed by the one who is poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And let me tell you, that inner spiritual joy and satisfaction is absolutely untouchable, untouchable by the circumstances of life. Now, I know I'm talking to believers today, I'm sure of this, who are experiencing great difficulties, great trials in this present time.

Well, let me just remind you, please, of every blessing that you have in Christ, of the position that is yours in the divine favor, we are accepted in the beloved one. And doesn't it just give us a joy and a satisfaction within that sometimes we can't explain. But thank God, whatever our circumstances, can never take away, can never mar that inner joy that we have in Christ.

Oh, the blessedness. This is the promise of blessing. You know, don't you that the Old Testament, in fact, the last verse of the Old Testament, that speaks of a curse.

So the Old Testament actually ends with a warning of a curse. Malachi chapter four, the Lord is speaking and he says, repent, he says, repent, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. And if that's the way that the Old Testament closes.

Thank God, when you skip over the 400 silent years and you come to the opening verses and chapters of Matthew's gospel, then the New Testament here in Matthew chapter five, it begins with the promise of blessing. What a contrast. Now the second man has come.

I'm thinking about the person of the Lord Jesus. And he has come brought before us on the page of scripture in Matthew's gospel as the great king. He has come to reverse the curse that the first man brought upon this earth because of sin.

But here's the second man. And as he sits and opens his mouth and speaks and teaches with such authority, he's going to come and pronounce blessing. Thank God for the blessings we have in him.

May I remind you of Ephesians one, we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. And that in Christ Jesus, the promise of blessing. Now, every time I read that word blessed, you'll think of those things, won't you? So let's come to this first beatitude then.

And I'm just going to write over this beatitude, the poor in spirit. So we've had the promise of blessing. And now we're thinking about the poor in spirit.

The beatitude says this blessed are the poor in spirit. That really is what you might call a revelation. And let me tell you a statement like that was nothing like what the scribes and the Pharisees used to teach.

They would say blessed are those who are rich materially. And then the Lord comes on the scene and he says, blessed are those who are poor in spirit. That was real revelation.

And now here are the riches that attend to that revelation for theirs is present tense, not there shall be, but theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Remember, this is the kind of character that belongs to those who bow their knee to Christ as Lord and Christ as King. He says, oh, the blessedness of the poor in spirit.

What does it mean? Well, it speaks really of those who have been emptied of themselves. We're not talking here about material poverty. We're talking about spiritual poverty.

Those who have emptied themselves out, those who are devoid of any high or rich thoughts of themselves, those who recognize their spiritual dependence upon God. My friend, that is how spiritual experience began. That's how Christian experience began.

We were emptied of self. We bowed ourselves in the dust before Christ, repentance towards God and faith in him. Devoid of any thought of self, we were absolutely cast independence upon the Saviour, weren't we? That's how it all began.

We couldn't have been saved otherwise. And remember the words of David in Psalm 34. He says, this poor man cried.

That's it, spiritual poverty. He says, this poor man cried and the Lord heard him and delivered him, saved him out of all of his troubles. Oh, the blessedness of the poor in spirit.

You allow me for a moment, just a little practical word. God preserve us from ever creeping out of that position. God preserve us from creeping out of the dust where we should be bowed before our God.

Building again what he broke, the moment and the instant that we were saved. It's easy, you know, to be characterised by spiritual pride. Very easy to be characterised by self-dependence.

But this beatitude has nothing of that. Entirely emptied of self, dependent upon God. Now think of Christ.

This is beautiful, isn't it? Would you say, would you say that he was poor in spirit? Would you say that as a man down here below, he lived a life of absolute dependence upon his God? He did, didn't he? Though he had the right to celebrate high thoughts of himself. He is the eternal son of God. You can't get any higher.

He was devoid of all rich thoughts of himself. He made himself of no reputation. In fact, he was entirely emptied of himself.

This is Philippians chapter two, isn't it? Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but he made himself of no reputation. He emptied himself out by taking the form of a servant. He did not think that equality of position alongside God was something to be grasped.

Now that was his by right. He's the son of God. That position of glory is his, and yet he was made a little lower than the angels.

He was willing to come out of heaven. He was willing to come down to earth. So that equality of position alongside God, he did not think it's something to be grasped after, but made himself of no reputation, poured himself out into the form of a servant.

He became a man. He became a servant. And let me tell you, he never in becoming a man ceased to be what he always was.

And that is God. God and man in one glorious person, the person of the Lord, Jesus Christ. So the revelation of the poor in spirit.

Now, what about the riches that belong to individuals like this? Says the Lord Jesus, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. My brother, my sister, this applies to you. It applies to me.

There's is the kingdom of heaven, the full blessedness of the manifested kingdom in which Christ will reign. That is yet future. But this first doesn't say there's shall be the kingdom of heaven.

It says there's is the kingdom of heaven. So that those who are poor in spirit, they enjoy in the here and now, the spiritual blessings of that kingdom, the resources, the relationships, the riches of heaven's rule in the hearts of these individuals. They know it all.

All the blessedness of the poor in spirit for theirs is, you're listening to that, weren't you? The resources of this kingdom, the relationships, the fellowship, the riches of heaven's rule soon to be on earth, but now in the heart, it belongs to those who are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now beatitude two, not so much the poor in spirit, verse three, but we're thinking now about the pain of mourning.

Verse four, the Lord Jesus said, oh, the blessedness of they that mourn. Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. Now that word mourn, it implies a very deep grieving, a very deep sorrow in relation first and foremost to personal sin.

You remember David, Psalm 51, after he had sinned in that matter with Uriah and with Bathsheba. David knew what it was to mourn over his personal sin. This is what he says in Psalm 51, he says, have mercy upon me.

Oh God, I wonder my brother, my sister, this has been affecting to me. I wonder if I mourn over my own personal sin. He says, have mercy upon me, oh God.

You know, sometimes we become so desensitized to sin in our own lives, we cannot even recognize it. And we should say, search me, oh God, search me and know my heart. But this mourning, this sorrow and grieving over sin, it's not just personal sin, but it's also the sin that belongs to the society in which we live.

It's those who are heartbroken by conditions around us that grieve God himself. Again, the Psalmist, Psalm 119, he says, rivers of waters run down mine eyes, why? Because they keep not thy law. I wonder if I know anything of this, anything at all of this, and God keep us, preserve us from becoming so desensitized to sin, from thinking so lightly of sin, that once grieved us, God help us to bring these things before him in prayer.

Sad, isn't it? You know, as you go on in life, sometimes there's language that we once heard that grieved us and affected us to the core. And now we find ourselves using the same kind of language. Or there are actions that we condemned in others, and we say, I can't believe that they did that, or they went there.

And now we find ourselves doing the same kind of thing. Says the Lord Jesus, all the blessedness of those that mourn. Can I ask you, think about Christ, please.

Think about God's Son. Did he mourn over sin? I think of him, so do you, at the graveside of Lazarus. You remember that as he saw the tears of Mary.

You remember that as he saw the sorrow of the sisters, even of the Jews. The Word of God says he groaned in his spirit. He was deeply moved in his spirit.

Says John 11 and 35, Jesus wept silent tears. He wept at the graveside of Lazarus as he thought about sin, as he thought about the impact of sin, as he thought upon its sorrow, death, Jesus wept. Thank God he never grieved over his own personal sin.

In him is no sin. He did no sin. He could not sin, but he grieved and he mourned over the sins of others.

What about Luke chapter 19? If he's weeping silent tears at the graveside of Lazarus, when he comes to that city, when he thinks about the day of visitation upon that city, he wept aloud over the city of Jerusalem. Truly he was a man of sorrows. He was acquainted with grief.

Blessed are they that mourn. They're sensitive to sin. My friend, there could not be anyone anyone who was more sensitive to sin than the person of God's beloved son.

No one that could be more sensitive to sin than him. And yet the Word of God says this, made sin for us who knew no sin. He never became a sinner.

He never became unclean. But he acted there at Calvary as our representative, made sin for us who knew no sin. But if that's the revelation, what about the riches? Blessed are they that mourn for they shall shall be comforted.

There is, of course, a future aspect in this. There will be great comfort come the millennial reign of the King of all kings. You remember that Simeon Luke chapter 2, he was waiting, wasn't he, for the consolation of Israel.

That's a title of the Messiah. He was waiting for one to be the lifter up of spirits as Christ. He's the comforter.

Isaiah 51 says of that millennial day, when the comforter shall reign, it says that he will bring comfort to Zion. What a day that's going to be. But I think this little statement here, they shall be comforted, is not just future.

It also applies to the present. Really, it's a word of assurance. Blessed are those that mourn because assuredly they shall be comforted.

And let me just remind you, please, that the Lord Jesus, he is our great comforter. You remember in the Upper Room ministry, he spoke of another comforter, didn't he? Another of the same kind. Well, the Holy Spirit is that another of the same kind.

He's the second comforter, if you like. Who is the first comforter? None other than the person of the Lord Jesus. He is our advocate alongside and towards the Father.

A comforter within, as the Spirit of God. A comforter above, at the right hand of the throne of God, the person of the Lord Jesus. And thank God we can present all of our troubles to him.

And we will find mercy and grace to help us in time of need. Well, just to encourage you, Psalm 30 says this, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Every tear, every kind of tear, every single tear, is going to be swept away, wiped away, in the bosom of the great God of love.

And that's eternity. Well, the poor in spirit, verse 3, the pain of mourning, verse 4. Just two more beatitudes I wanted to think about in the time that we have left. Verse 5, I tend to call this the patience of meekness.

The poor in spirit, the pain of mourning, the patience of meekness. Says verse 5, blessed are the meek, O the blessedness of the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Now, quite frankly, this word meek is a very difficult word to try and explain.

But there are two principal thoughts in relation to meekness. One of them is the idea of being mild, being gentle, O the blessedness of those who are mild and gentle in character. But another thought in relation to this word meekness is that of power, absolute power, but power that is under control.

So you have submission. The word meek was often used of oxen that were in a yoke. Now there is real power, but it's power that is under the control of the yoke, meekness.

Now remember that the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 11, he said, I am meek and I am lowly in heart. I wonder if you've ever thought about the difference between lowliness and meekness. He says, I am meek and lowly in heart.

I suppose that when you're thinking about lowliness, you are thinking about the Lord Jesus in John's gospel 13, when he stooped, girded himself with a towel, washed the feet of the disciples. You see, lowliness does not exalt self. And here is a person who by way of right should be exalted in the highest place that heaven affords.

And yet he did not exalt himself. He instead stooped to wash the feet of the betrayer and wash the feet of the denier. I tell you this lowliness and you'll see it in John 13.

But when you come to meekness, this is not so much one who does not exalt himself, but meekness, this power under control, one who does not defend himself, one who does not retaliate. Now this isn't so much John 13, but this is John 18. And you remember John 18, the Lord Jesus is in the garden and there's a band of officers that come to him.

And just listen to these remarkable words. John 18 says they took Jesus. I think that's remarkable.

Those to whom he had just said, I am. And they went backwards and did they fall forwards before him. He's the mighty I am.

Yet says John 18, they took him and they bound him and they led him away. That's meekness. One who doesn't defend himself.

One who doesn't retaliate. Now I say this, please. And I say it very reverently.

One who was willing to be trampled upon. I think I have scripture for that. Psalm 22, the Lord Jesus says this, I am a worm and no man.

That's how men treated him. They treated him as if he was a mere worm, just fit to be trampled underfoot or the meekness of our saviour. This surely is what Peter is speaking about, isn't it? First Peter 2, who when he was reviled, when he was reproached, he reviled not again.

When he suffered, he threatened not, he did not retaliate, but he committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. I wonder if we could learn a little practical lesson here. My brother, my sister, in matters of personal offence and in matters of personal insult, God help us to wait upon the Lord to vindicate us.

All too often we want to take things into our own hands, don't we? We want to get our own back. We want to have our say. But just for the meekness of those who commit themselves to him that judgeth righteously.

Time is too short. There's too much to be done in relation to the preaching of the gospel and the teaching of the word of God, to be holding grudges against God's people, to be having some kind of ill feeling towards them, whatever they've said or done. Of course, they're always in the wrong and we're always in the right.

But commit yourself to him that judgeth righteously or the patience of meekness. That's the revelation. Christ says, oh, the blessedness of the meek, for, listen to the riches, they shall inherit the earth.

Well, after all, it belongs to him. It belongs to Christ, doesn't it? The earth belongs to him by right of creation. And yet sin came in.

Still, it belongs to him, thank God, by right of redemption. That really is Revelation six. That is the book that he takes and the seals that he is unloosing.

The title deed to this earth belongs to the Lamb of God. And you'll remember, won't you? Psalm two says, Jehovah, ask of me and I shall give the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. So the blessedness of the meek, they shall inherit the earth.

Christ is going to take physical possession of this earth. He will be manifested as the King of Kings and Lord of all Lords during a glorious millennial reign. And that kingdom will be administered by Israel as the head of the nations.

And not just by Israel, but by the saints that belong to the church, for it's given to us to judge and administer the world. That's first Corinthians chapter six. We are going to sit with Christ in his throne of glory.

We are heirs of God and we're joint heirs with Christ. Romans eight, what riches, what riches we have in him. Well, the patience of meekness.

Now finally, and this is the last beatitude that I want us to think about in the time that we have. Verse six, and I'm going to call this the pursuit of righteousness. So we've had the poor in spirit, the pain of mourning, the patience of meekness.

We have the pursuit of righteousness. It says, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. These are very strong terms, aren't they? Blessed are they that hunger and thirst.

Here is the thought of an insatiable desire. These really are the deepest physical cravings, hunger and thirst. The way that the Greek is written, it's in the present continuous tense.

So this is a continuous longing, an insatiable desire, a deep craving for, for what? For righteousness, something that's spiritual. Now, of course, in the word of God, there's different kinds of righteousness. There is social righteousness, justice.

There is legal, forensic righteousness. We think about being justified in the sight of God. I don't think those things are in view here in verse six.

It really is moral righteousness. Oh, the blessedness of the one that craves after, that continuously longs after what is right in the sight of God, what is right according to the word of God. Here are individuals now who are totally conformed to the mind and the will of God.

Here's a little practical thought. I wonder what it is that I crave. What is it today that has consumed my thoughts and taken up my time? What is it that I give my energy to? Oh, the blessedness of those that hunger and thirst after righteousness.

Interesting, you know, to follow this thought through the scriptures, to look at great individuals in the word of God and what it was they craved, they hungered after. Think of Moses. Moses was one who said in Exodus chapter 33, he says, show me thy glory.

I tell you that's something to crave after, isn't it? You say, Moses, haven't you seen enough of God? What about the burning bush? What about the manifestation of God there in the desert? You say, what about all of the miracles and the wonders you saw that God effected there in Egypt? You've seen enough. Says Moses, show me thy glory. That's what he longed after.

What about Job? Job says this, chapter 23, he says, I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. Says Job, I would rather have the word of God than physical food to sustain. I'd rather have spiritual food than physical food.

He craved the word of God. And I suppose that if you were speaking to the apostle Paul, Paul would say this, above all things, he says, I crave that I might know him. Oh, just something of the glory of Christ.

What about you? What about me? As I apply this to the person of the Lord Jesus, would it be true to say that he was one who hungered and thirsted after righteousness? Of course, it's true. Hebrews 1 says of him, and this statement really is a characterisation of his entire life on earth. It says he hated iniquity and he loved righteousness.

That's the character of his life. Matthew, of course, is the gospel that speaks of righteousness more than any other gospel. You would expect that because he's the great king and the king is going to reign in righteousness.

That really is the foundation of his rule. And so even before you read of righteousness here in Matthew five, you read of it in Matthew chapter three. And in Matthew chapter three, he is down in the waters of baptism.

And in fact, he comes to John seeking desirous of being baptised of him. And John says, no, no, no, I have need to be baptised of you. And yet the Lord Jesus says this.

He says, suffer it to be so now. For thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Why was the Lord Jesus baptised? He didn't have any sins of his own to confess.

No, no, no. He's associating himself with John and with the baptism of John and that faithful remnant. Yes.

But why does he be baptised? Because it was the will of his God. And it was the will of his father. He says, John, we must fulfil all righteousness.

Well, he hungered and thirsted after righteousness. No doubt about it. And yet how he suffered gross injustice at the hands of his very own people.

Well, that's the revelation finally. And I close with this. What about the riches? The riches of those that hunger and thirst after righteousness? Well, says the word of God, they shall be filled.

Satisfied. That word filled there was often used in secular Greek of feeding animals until they could want for no more. Nothing else.

They shall be filled. That's what the millennial reign of Christ is going to be like. Jeremiah chapter 31 says this, my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.

And in that day, the whole earth is going to be filled, isn't it, with righteousness. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. They shall be filled.

When Christ reigns, he shall reign in righteousness. And thank God beyond the millennial reign into the eternal state, righteousness shall not just reign. Righteousness shall dwell.

But can I say, I think the riches, the riches of this statement are not just to do with the future millennial reign of Christ. I think they have to do with complete spiritual satisfaction now. Now, we can enjoy this satisfaction, this fullness.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness in the here and now, for they shall assuredly be satisfied spiritually. All that we might be taken up with Christ. Didn't Christ say this? He said, he that cometh to me shall never hunger.

All that we might enjoy. My brother, my sister, I don't know what life is like for you at the moment, under lockdown, as I suppose you are. Could I just encourage you to take the time that you have to feed upon the wonder of the person of Christ, feed upon him.

And let me tell you, if you make him your deepest spiritual craving, your continuous longing, you will be satisfied. Satisfied in the here and now, and satisfied for all of eternity. Just to feed upon him.

He's the manna, isn't he? That's Christ in his incarnation. The lowliness and humility of the one who came down from heaven, of the small white round thing that just lay upon the hoarfrost, all to feed upon the manna. Christ in his incarnation, Christ here below.

Think about the children of Israel as they fed upon the Passover lamb. Christ in his work at Calvary, Christ in redemption. Think about the children of Israel as they went into the land, and that old corn of the land, which sprang up from the earth towards heaven.

That's Christ in his resurrection, all to feed upon him in the glory of his resurrection. And as they went into the land, they fed upon, they gorged themselves on the fruit of the land of Canaan. And I would suggest to you that fruit speaks of Christ in his exaltation.

Whether it's Christ in his incarnation, Christ in redemption, Christ in resurrection, Christ in his exaltation. Just to feed upon him and to find complete satisfaction in his glorious person. Well, those are just the first four beatitudes.

And I trust they might be of blessing and help to each and every one. Encouragement to you, just to seek after something of the wonder that's to be found in Christ. The poor in spirit, the pain of mourning, the patience of meekness, the pursuit of righteousness.

And we trust that the word of God might be a refuge in times of difficulty to each and every one here today. Well, God will bless his word to us and to you, and we'll pray now his blessing upon that word. Let's just pray.

Our Father, we bow before thee again today, and we thank thee for all that we have considered in relation to thy word. We bless thee, our Father, for these wonderful statements that were made by the person of the Lord Jesus, how revelatory they were, how revolutionary they were in relation to the teaching of the religious scribes and Pharisees of the day. We thank thee, our Father, for grace and truth that came by the person of the Lord Jesus, full of it he was.

We thank thee, our Father, for these blessed statements, and we thank thee that we've been able to see something of the character and beauty of the person of the Lord Jesus revealed therein. We thank thee not just for the revelation of the statement, but the riches, the promises of blessing that are contained within them. And we do ask our God that that might be of encouragement to us in these desperate days.

We pray thy blessing then upon thy word to all of thy people, and we thank thee for everyone who has taken the time just to tune in today. We pray, our God, thy hand of preserving care to be upon them. We pray thy hand of blessing upon them, and we pray, our God, however they are taken up today, we pray that they might be encouraged in their service for thee, and in their service for the Lord Jesus.

We commit all of these things to thee, and ask thy blessing now in the precious and worthy name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.