The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-01-21

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ton. They are
ihe direct opposites OF the popular con-
| option Of what constitutes blessedness.
| rhe world says, Blessed are the rich,
| Ilessed are the powerful. blessed are
| ne proud, blessed are the beautiful
y'essed are those who have every
ming their own way" But these
aant columns read, Blessed are the
oor in spirit, blessed are they that
aourn, blessed are the meek, blessed
re the hungry for righteousness,
'lessed are the merciful, blessed are
he pure. blessed are the peacemakers,
'iessed are the prosecuted.
This is altogether a new voice on
he earth, and they sounded just as
strangely in Jewish and Roman cir
cles when they were enunciated as
hey do to-day. What contrast they
present to our modern hero worship
and our gloriflcation of muscular
Christianity" Things are topsy tur-
W in the moral world when physical
ourage and brute force elicits admira-
lion at the expense of milder virtue.
i
a peacock can strut, tiger can fight.
and many qualities of martial prowess
such as the unthinking admire are
the marks of low grade. On the con-
Jrary these beatitudes, like the
lashing facets of diamond, are the
characteristics OF a religious gentle
man.
1t must not be overlooked that this
portico is interconnected. 1t Is not
eight separate and distinct pillars; 1t
is an eight-fold structure, no part Of
which can be eliminated, all OF which
is necessary to make up the structure.
On the fourth hinges the three preced-
ing, and the following are logical Sc
quences of all that have gone before.
The spirit of the first note of this oc-
tave runs through the whole, culmin-
ating in the last. Or to change the
figure yet again, we are enthroned in
humility, and diademed In persecu-
tion.
These beatitudes ought to cheer
every poor mans heart and sanctify
every rich mans palace. For there
are proud poor men and humble rich
men. 1t is possible to be proud even
OF our humility and make q god of
our lowliness. We are not to make
Uriah Keeps OF ourselves, stopping
and cringing and apologizing for ex-
istence, making a show of humility.
Diogenes jumped upon Plato's bed
saying, Thus l stamp on Plato's
pride" "but he did 1t with still greater
pride. True humility Is a beautiful
trait, 1t is the first pillar In the por-
tico.
The same is true OF those that
mourn, who are not ashamed of tears,
and who do not brazenly go through
life confessing no fault If to err is
human, it is certainly manly to re-
pent. The tears that fall from eyes
Of sincere mourners, like summer
showers, fertilize the soil OF the
heart so that it blooms and blossoms
in flowers.
There are some who think the ele-
ment of meekness is only another
name for weakness. But the meek
are the lords Of the earth. Real do
minion is only given to the meek.
Meekness delivers from supersen-
sitiveness. You will not be thin
skinned enough to get hurt at every
slight. You will not have to be al
ways running around looking after
your reputation. Your dignity will
not suffer so much. The Apostle Paul
tells US to put of the old man" but
he does not tell us when we have
done that, to put on the old woman.
Meekness is not weakness.
So also II is with the merclful. The
merciful man will be merciful to
everybody and everything and will be
merciful all the time. Merciful to his
employees, merciful to his wife and
children, merciful to his dog and his
horse and his cat. The quality of
mercy is not strained"
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth ALL"
Purity of heart is also demanded.
materialism says, THE circumstances
are wrong" Christ says the trouble
is in the heart The heart pure, every
activity OF the life will be pure. II
the spiderweb troubles you kill the
spiders. You will not have to spend
so much time on their work.
These beatitudes teach us that the
animal win not always rule over the
ethereal. Guns and swords will be
dropped in the good time coming, and
men will learn that sunshine is more
potent than lightning, though 1t Is not
heralded by salvos OF thunder Not
Napoleon with his artillery, but Christ
with his beatitudes is the real ruler OF
the world.
s'ysly the Mount of Beatitudes is q