"It is not superfluous to say that ‘he opened his mouth, and taught them,’ for he had taught them often when his mouth was closed." (Charles Spurgeon)
"There is no escape from our responsibility to desire every one of these spiritual attributes. If you meet someone who claims to be a Christian but displays and desires none of these traits, you may rightly wonder about their salvation, because they do not have the character of kingdom citizens. But if they claim to have mastered these attributes, you may question their honesty." (David Guzik)
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Makarios then describes that joy which has its secret within itself, that joy which is serene and untouchable, and self-contained, that joy which is completely independent of all the chances and changes of life." (William Barclay)
"... requirements for the blessed one ..." (Guzik)
"Poverty of spirit cannot be artificially induced by self-hatred; the Holy Spirit and our response to His working in our hearts bring it about." (Guzik)
"This beatitude is first, because this is where we start with God." (Guzik) A ladder, if it is to be of any use, must have its first step near the ground, or feeble climbers will never be able to mount." (Spurgeon)
"Everyone can be poor in spirit." (Guzik) "Not what I have, but what I have not, is the first point of contact, between my soul and God." (Spurgeon)
"... poverty of spirit is an absolute prerequisite for receiving the kingdom of heaven, and as long as we harbor illusions about our own spiritual resources, we will never receive from God what we absolutely need to be saved." (Guzik)
"The kingdom of heaven is not given on the basis of race, earned merits, the military zeal and prowess of Zealots, or the wealth of a Zacchaeus. It is given to the poor, the despised publicans, the prostitutes, those who are so ‘poor’ they know they can offer nothing and do not try. They cry for mercy and they alone are heard." (Carson)
"... to the poor in spirit remains a boundless, endless, faultless kingdom, which renders them blessed in the esteem of him who is God over all, blessed for ever." (Spurgeon)
"The call to be poor in spirit is placed first for a reason, because it puts the following commands into perspective. They cannot be fulfilled by one’s own strength, but only by a beggar’s reliance on God’s power." (Guzik)
"The main idea behind the word 'meek' was strength under control, like a strong stallion that was trained to do the job instead of running wild." (Guzik)
"... The meek, who can be angry, but restrain their wrath in obedience to the will of God, and will not be angry unless they can be angry and not sin, nor will be easily provoked by others." (Poole)
"We can only be meek, willing to control our desire for our rights and privileges because we are confident God watches out for us, that He will protect our cause." (Guzik)
"It is mercy to be emptied of your pride and brought to poverty of spirit." (Guzik)
"... purity ... a single, undivided heart ... those who are utterly sincere and not divided in their devotion and commitment to God." (Guzik)
"The heart-pure person can see God in nature. The heart-pure person can see God in Scripture. The heart-pure person can see God in his church family." (Guzik)
"We commonly think of this peacemaking work as being the job of one person who stands between two fighting parties. This may be one way this is fulfilled; but one can also end a conflict and be a peacemaker when they are party to a conflict; when they are the injured or the offending party." (Guzik)
"... though the peacemaker may be ill-treated by man, he is blessed by God." (Guzik)
"And he sometimes putteth himself between the two, when they are very angry, and taketh the blows from both sides, for he knows that so Jesus did, who took the blows from his Father and from us also, that so by suffering in our stead, peace might be made between God and man." (Charles Spurgeon)
"Disciples are like salt because they have a preserving influence. Salt was used to preserve meats and to slow decay. Christians should have a preserving influence on their culture." (Guzik)
"Disciples, if they are true to their calling, make the earth a purer and more palatable place." (R.T. France)
"Salt is needed because the world is rotting and decaying ..." (Guzik)
"He did not come to destroy the word of God, but to free it from the way the Pharisees and Scribes had wrongly interpreted it." (Guzik)
"Imagination is a God-given gift; but if it is fed dirt by the eye, it will be dirty. All sin, not the least sexual sin, begins with the imagination. Therefore what feeds the imagination is of maximum importance in the pursuit of kingdom righteousness." (Carson)
