The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1900-03-29
fHH SUNDAY scHool.
ADPil I. 10OO-Ths Deati-
tudes.
Prepared by II. c. LsniRgtsa.l
THE LESSON TEXT.

& And He opened His mouth. and taught
them, saying:
s. Blessed are the poor In spirit: 0os
theirs Is the Kingdom Of Heaven.
l. Blessed are they that mourn; for they
shall be comforted.
& Blessed are the meek; for they shall In
herit the earth.
s. Blessed are they which DO hunger and
thirst after righteousness: for they shall
be hled.
Z. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall
obtain mercy.
g. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they
shall see God
.. Blessed are the peacenakers: for they
shall be called the children of God
TO- Blessed are they which are persecutea
for righteousness sake; for theirs 10 the
Kingdom OF Heaven.
II. Blessed are ye. when men shall revis
YOU and persecute you, and shall say all
manner Of evil against you falsely, for my
sake.
IL Rejoice, and be exceeding glad for
great Is your reward in Heaven for Sc
persecuted they the prophets which were
GOLDEN TEXT.-Blessed are the pure
In heart; for they shall see God.-Matt -
NOTES AND COMMENTS
A parallel to the lesson is found in
Luke 6:12-26. In studying the lesson
note:
~ The Night in Prayer. Luke 8: u
~ Choosing the Twelve. Luke S:l3-lb
90 The Word Blessed" Matt. :: S-n
% The Beatltudes Taken Sing
~ .............. Matt. 3: g-ll
Is) The Bsautudes as a Whols. Matt. 8: 81
A Night in Prayer.-From Luke W,
learn that Jesus spent the whole nigh,,
preceding the choosing of the IL
apostles and the utterance of His great
sermon, in prayer.
The Word blessed. This word 10
nine times repeated in nine consecu-
tive verses. In paraphrasing the text
the word happy has often been
used. But "blessed" is more than
happy" The term Is more nearly
expressed If we speak Of the blessed
~ those who enjoy the favor q
GsA
The Beatitudes. OF whom does
Jesus speak as enjoying the favor of
God? (D "rhe poor in spirit" Those
who realize their unworthiness before
God. and who are conscious Of sin and
spiritual incompleteness. Theirs =
the Kingdom of Heaven," Because
snly 70 those who deeply feel their
nssd Of the highest things can the
highest things bring satisfaction. Il
knplies Heaven here and now, for .
Christian character Il Heaven o.
earth.
20 "They that mourn:" Mourn in the
earthly sense, and moro for those who
hsve to bear heavy burdens for ths
sake Of Christ; but chiefly, perhaps,
those who mourn their ignorance and
sal. For all Of these the consolation
that Christ brings is the only COM
tort that fills the soul. They shall in
deed be oomforted.
(3) "The meek:" This has come to
be . despised term, as signifying
those who are without stamina or
character. On the contrary, 1t Is a
chief trait In every noble character,
for meekness Is mildness Of temper,
and patience under injuries. For
shey shall inherit the earth" An old
proverb has 1t that "all things come
10 him who waits" Patience and HUI
nility are cardinal virtues.
(4) "They which do hunger and
thirst after righteousness" 1t has
bee, said that hunger and thirst are
tho strongest spurs to action. So it
- not SO much a promise as law OF
nature that they shall be filed
(5) THE merciful:" Those disposed
- pity and spare; unwilling to give
pain. These find mercy, for Love is
the law of the kingdom of God, and
those who pity and spare others are
fulfilling the law of that kingdom.
(6) "The pure in heart:" A man sees
In others that which is within him
self. II be is selfish, he cannot real
In that others can be unselfish. II
he h impure, all the world il impure;
but If he is pure in heart and mind,
he begins to realize something Of the
character OF the Holy God.
% THE peacemakers:" II God II
low, then He desires peace among His
children. How natural that the
peacemakers should be called tho eAil-
dren of God.
(s) -They which are prosecuted for
righteousness' sake:" Two conditions
are necessary for this blessed" One
IL that the persecution is for right
eousness' sake, and the other 10 that
the evil spoken against you Is uttered
falsely" There is strength In the
consciousness of being light, and
heaven manifests approval, no mat
ter what is the attitude of the world.
The Beatitudes as Whole.-1t has
been pointed out that three Of the
beatitudes, the second, fourth and
sixth, represent the inner life toward
God. Curiously dovetailed with these,
the third, fifth and seventh represent
the outward manifestation Of Mat in
ner life toward men. Tho first be
attitude concerning "the poor IN
spirit" is the condition out Of which
all the others grow, and 1.-THE perss-
cuted" of the last beatitude are those
who try to live the beatitudes out in
this evil world. They will be perse-
cuted and must stand ready to sub