Happy Are Ye if Ye Do Them
The sermon highlights the rewards of a surrendered choice, including the satisfaction of hungering after righteousness and the joy of suffering with Jesus.
A.B. Simpson emphasizes the profound peace and joy that come from yielding one's will to God and embracing a humble heart. He highlights the blessings of hungering for righteousness and the satisfaction that surpasses worldly pleasures. Simpson further explains that true happiness is found in mercy, forgiveness, and the act of giving, which leads to a double blessing. He concludes with the idea that suffering for Christ transforms into a deeper joy, illustrating the paradox of experiencing both tears and joy simultaneously in the Christian life.
Text
You little know the rest that comes from the yielded will, the surrendered choice, the meek and lowly heart that lets the world go by and knows that it shall inherit the earth which is has refused. You little know the relish that it gives to the blessing to hunger and thirst after righteousness and to be filled with a satisfaction that worldly delight cannot afford. You little know what it is to then rise to the higher blessedness of the merciful, the forgiving, the hearts that have learned that it is "more blessed to give than to receive," and the lives that find that "letting go is twice possessing" and blessing other is to be doubly blessed.
There is yet one jewel brighter than all the rest in this crown of beatitudes.
It is the teardrop crystallized into the diamond, the blood drop transfigured into the ruby of heaven's eternal crown. It is the joy of suffering with Jesus and then forgetting all the sorrow in the overflowing joy until with the heavenly Pascal we know not which to say first and so we say them both together, "Tears upon tears, joy upon joy."
Sermon Outline
- The Reward of Surrendered Choice
- The Higher Blessedness of the Merciful
- 'The Crown of Beatitudes: Joy in Suffering'
- Identifying with Jesus' Suffering
- Experiencing Overwhelming Joy
Key Quotes
“You little know the relish that it gives to the blessing to hunger and thirst after righteousness and to be filled with a satisfaction that worldly delight cannot afford.” — A.B. Simpson
“Letting go is twice possessing” — A.B. Simpson
“Tears upon tears, joy upon joy” — A.B. Simpson
Application Points
- Let go of worldly desires and focus on spiritual pursuits to experience a deeper sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.
- Identify with Jesus' suffering and trust in His promise of eternal reward to find joy in suffering.
- Practice forgiveness and letting go to experience the blessing of being doubly blessed.