Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful,.... Who show mercy to the bodies of men, to those that are poor, indigent, and miserable, in their outward circumstances; by both sympathizing with them, and distributing

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the merciful, [ eleeemones (G1655) = chªciydiym (H2623)]: for they shall obtain mercy. Beautiful is the connection between this and the preceding beatitude.

The men of the world bless themselves if they can take care of themselves, let others do what they will, and as well as they can: but I tell you, that those alone are the blessed men, who are touched with a true sense and feeling of the wants and miseries of others, and that not out of a mere goodness and tenderness of nature, but out of a true obedience to the will of God, and a sense of his love to them, and faith in his promises; and, moved from these principles, do not only pity and compassionate them, and wish them well, but extend their helping hand to them, suitably to their miseries: for these men shall obtain mercy, and that not only from men, if they come into straits and distress, but from the hand of God, 112:5,6: he doth not say they shall merit mercy at God’ s hand, but they shall be mercified, they shall obtain mercy.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Ver. 7. Blessed are the merciful, ελεημονες] They that from a compassionate heart (melting with sense of God’ s everlasting mercy to itself, and yearning over the miseries of others) extend and exercise spiritual and corporal mercy. The former, which teacheth a man to warn the unruly, comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men, &c., 1 Thessalonians 5:14. The schoolmen thus, Consule, castiga, solare, remitte, fer, ora, usually excel and exceed the latter, which stirs a man up to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, &c., Matthew 25:35-36. " Visito, poto, cibo, redimo, tego, colligo, condo." 1. In the nature of the gift, which is more noble. 2. In the object (the soul), which is more illustrious. 3. In the manner, which is transcendent, as being spiritual. 4. In the kind, which is more heavenly, as that which aims at our brothers’ endless salvation. And this way the poorest may be plentiful, and enrich the richest with spiritual alms. As also the other way, something must be done by all the candidates of true blessedness. They that labour with their hands must have something to give to him that needeth, Ephesians 4:28; be it but two mites, nay, a cup of cold water, it shall be graciously accepted from a sincere heart, and certainly rewarded. And here the poor Macedonians may shame (and many times do) the rich Corinthians, that have a price in their hands but not a heart to use it; for it is the love, and not the lack, of money that makes men churls and misers. (Money hoarders have no quicksilver, no current coin. Ward.) And hence it is that the richer men are many times the harder, as Dives: being herein like children, who when they have their mouths full, and both hands full. yet will rather spoil all than give any away. But do men give to God’ s poor or, do they not rather lend it to the Lord, who turns pay master to such? Do they not lay it out for him, or rather lay it up for themselves? The safest chest is the poor man’ s box. Make you friends with the mammon of unrighteousness (God hath purposely branded riches with that infamous adjunct, that we might not overlove them), "that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations," Luke 16:9, that is, either the angels, or the poor, or thy well employed wealth, shall let thee into heaven. Only thou must draw forth not thy sheaf alone, but thy soul also to the hungry, Isaiah 38:10 : show bowels of mercy, as our Saviour did, σπλαγχνιζομαι, Matthew 15:32, to bleed in other men’ s wounds, and be deeply and tenderly affected in other men’ s miseries. This is better than alms; for when one gives an alms, he gives something without himself; but by compassion we relieve another by somewhat within and from ourselves.

(7) The merciful.—The thought is the same as that afterwards embodied in the Lord’s Prayer. They who are pitiful towards men their brethren are ipso facto the objects of the divine pity. The negative aspect of the same truth is presented in James 2:13. In this case, the promised blessing tends to perpetuate and strengthen the grace which is thus rewarded. No motive to mercy is so constraining as the feeling that we ourselves needed it and have found it.

Verse 7. The merciful] The word mercy, among the Jews, signified two things: the pardon of injuries, and almsgiving. Our Lord undoubtedly takes it in its fullest latitude here. To know the nature of mercy, we have only to consult the grammatical meaning of the Latin word misericordia, from which ours is derived. It is composed of two words: miserans, pitying, and cor, the heart; or miseria cordis, pain of heart. Mercy supposes two things: 1. A distressed object: and, 2. A disposition of the heart, through which it is affected at the sight of such an object. This virtue, therefore, is no other than a lively emotion of the heart, which is excited by the discovery of any creature's misery; and such an emotion as manifests itself outwardly, by effects suited to its nature. The merciful man is here termed by our Lord ελεημων, from ελεος, which is generally derived from the Hebrew חיל chil, to be in pain, as a woman in travail: or from ילל galal, to cry, or lament grievously; because a merciful man enters into the miseries of his neighbour, feels for and mourns with him. They shall obtain mercy.] Mercy is not purchased but at the price of mercy itself; and even this price is a gift of the mercy of God. What mercy can those vindictive persons expect, who forgive nothing, and are always ready to improve every advantage they have of avenging themselves? Whatever mercy a man shows to another, God will take care to show the same to him. The following elegant and nervous saying of one of our best poets is worthy of the reader's most serious attention: - "The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed; It blesseth him who gives, and him who takes: 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown. It is an attribute of God himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God's, When mercy seasons justice.-------- Though justice be thy plea, consider this, That, in the course of justice, none of us Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy; And that same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy.-------- Why, all the souls that are, were forfeit once: And he who might the 'vantage best have took Found out the remedy. How would you be, If He who is the top of judgment should But judge you as you are? O! think on that; And mercy then will breathe within your lips, Like man, new made. How shalt thou hope for mercy, rend'ring none?" In the tract Shabbath, fol. 151, there is a saying very like this of our Lord. "He who shows mercy to men, God will show mercy to him: but to him who shows no mercy to man, God will show no mercy.

7. they shall obtain mercy] This principle in the divine Government that men shall be dealt with as they deal with their fellow-men is taught in the parable of the Unmerciful Servant, ch. 18, and underlies the fifth petition in the Lord’s Prayer, ch. Matthew 6:12.

Blessed are the merciful - That is, those who are so affected by the sufferings of others as to be disposed to alleviate them.

7. Blessed are the merciful — Mercy is the exercise of benevolence toward the unfortunate or guilty. It may and does exist as a natural quality in the human heart.