Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 3156
“Blessed aire the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:3.
[In the year 1873, Mr. Spurgeon delivered what he called “a series of sententious homilies” on the Beatitudes. After an introductory discourse upon the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes as a whole, he intended to preach upon each one separately, but either illness or some other special reason prevented him from fully carrying out this purpose. There are, however, five Sermons upon the Beatitudes, four ofwhich have already been published—See Sermons #422, Volume 7— THE PEACEMAKER; #2103, Volume 35—THE HUNGER AND THIRST WHICH ARE BLESSED; #3155, Volume 55—THE BEATITUDES— #3065, Volume 53—THE THIRD BEATITUDE—and this one.]
BEARING in mind the objective of our Savior’s discourse, which was to describe the saved, and not to declare the plan of salvation, we now come to consider the first of the Beatitudes—
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
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. It would have been a grievous discouragement to struggling faith if the first blessing had been given to the pure in heart—to that excellence the young beginner makes no claim—while to poverty of spirit he can reach without going beyond his line! Had the Savior said, “Blessed are the rich in Divine Grace,” he would have spoken a great Truth of God, but very few of us could have derived consolation from there. Our Divine Instructor begins at the beginning—with the very A B C of experience—and so enables the babes in Grace to learn of Him. Had He commenced with higher attainments, He would have had to leave the little ones behind. A gigantic step at the bottom of these sacred stairs would have effectually prevented many from beginning to ascend—but tempted by the lowly step, which bears the inscription, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” thousands are encouraged to attempt the heavenly way!
It is worthy of grateful note that this Gospel blessing reaches down to the exact spot where the Law leaves us when it has done for us the very best within its power or design. The utmost the Law can accomplish for our fallen humanity is to lay bare our spiritual poverty and convince us of it. It cannot by any possibility enrich a man—its greatest service is to tear him away from his fancied wealth of self-righteousness, show him his overwhelming indebtedness to God and bow him to the earth in self-despair. Like Moses, it leads away from Goshen, conducts into the wilderness and brings to the verge of an impassable stream—but it can do no more! Joshua Jesus is needed to divide the Jordan and conduct into the promised land. The Law rends the goodly Babylonian garment of our imaginary merits into ten pieces and proves our wedge of gold to be mere dross. And thus it leaves us, “naked, and poor, and miserable.” To this point Jesus descends— His full line of blessing comes up to the verge of destruction, rescues the lost and enriches the poor! The Gospel is as full as it is free!
This first Beatitude, though thus placed at a suitably low point where it may be reached by those who are in the earliest stages of Grace is, however, none the less rich in blessing. The same word is used in the same sense at the beginning as at the end of the chain of Beatitudes—the poor in spirit are as truly and emphatically blessed as the meek, or the peacemakers. No hint is given as to lower degree, or inferior measure, but on the contrary, the very highest benison, which is used in the 10th verse as the gathering up of all the seven Beatitudes, is ascribed to the first and lowest order of the blessed—“theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” What more is said even of the co-heirs with Prophets and martyrs? What more, indeed, could be said than this? The poor in spirit are lifted from the dunghill and set, not among hired servants in the field, but among princes in the Kingdom of God! Blessed is that soul-poverty of which the Lord Himself utters such good things! He sets much store by that which the world holds in small esteem, for His judgment is the reverse of the foo-
lish verdict of the proud. As Watson well observes, “How poor are they that think themselves rich! How rich are they that see themselves to be poor! I call it the jewel of poverty. There are some paradoxes in religion which the world cannot understand—for a man to become a fool that he may be wise, to save his life by losing it, and to be made rich by being poor. Yet this poverty is to be strived for more than riches—under these rags is hid cloth of gold and out of this carcass came honey.”
The cause for placing this Beatitude first is found in the fact that it is first as a matter of experience. It is essential to the succeeding characters. It underlies each one of them and is the soil in which alone they can be produced. No man ever mourns before God until he is poor in spirit! Neither does he become meek towards others till he has humble views of himself. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness are not possible to those who have high views of their own excellence—and mercy to those who offend is also a Grace, difficult for those who are unconscious of their own spiritual need. Poverty in spirit is the porch of the temple of blessedness. As a wise man never thinks of building up the walls of his house till he has first dug out the foundation, so no person skillful in Divine things will hope to see any of the higher virtues where poverty of spirit is absent. Till we are emptied of self we cannot be filled with God. Stripping must be worked upon us before we can be clothed with the righteousness which is from Heaven. Christ is never precious till we are poor in spirit—we must see our own needs before we can perceive His wealth. Pride blinds the eyes and sincere humility must open them or the beauties of Jesus will be forever hidden from us. The strait gate is not wide enough to allow that man to enter who is great in his own esteem. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a man conceited of his own spiritual riches to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Hence it is clear that the character described in connection with the first Beatitude is essential to the production of those which follow—and unless a man possesses it, he may look in vain for favor at the hands of the Lord! The proud are cursed, their pride alone secures them the curse and shuts them out from Divine regard! “The proud He knows afar off.” The lowly in heart are blessed, for to them and to their prayers Jehovah always has a tender regard.