The Beatitudes
An exposition of Matthew 5:1-10
277 in stock
Weight | 1.18 lbs |
---|---|
Dimensions | 8.8 × 5.75 × 1.2 in |
ISBN | 9781848714366 |
Binding | Cloth-bound |
Original Pub Date | 1660 |
Banner Pub Date | 1971 |
Page Count | 352 |
Scripture | Matthew |
Format | Book |
Endorsements
‘What announces itself as an exposition of Matthew 5:1-10 turns out to be a digest of all the central Puritan teaching on the Christian life. The Beatitudes are treated as mineshafts into the whole economy of grace , as indeed they are.’ — J.I. PACKER
Book Description
The opening verses of the best-known of all Christ’s sermons were handled by many of the Puritans, for the Beatitudes gave full scope to the combination of sound doctrine, practical wisdom and heart-searching application which characterized their preaching. In addition to these general Puritan characteristics, Thomas Watson added certain of his own: a master of a terse, vigorous style and of a beauty of expression, he could speak not only to win men’s understanding but also to secure a place for the truth in their memories. More than most of his generation he sought to follow the example of Christ’s teaching by employing all manner of illustrative material from common life, and with simplicity and charm he spoke words not easy to forget. Two hundred years after Thomas Watson’s death William Jay of Bath said that he could go to any one of his books and ‘find it ever fresh, pointed and instructive.’
The Beatitudes, first published in 1660, has been one of the rarest of Watson’s works. In this edition the layout has been entirely revised and editorial notes supplied.
Table of Contents Expand ↓
Page | ||
To the Reader | xi | |
1 | INTRODUCTION | 1 |
The preacher: Christ and his qualifications | 1 | |
The ministry does not ‘lie in common’ | 3 | |
The pulpit | 4 | |
The occasion | 5 | |
Ministers should embrace opportunities of service | 5 | |
Exhortations to ministers | 9 | |
Exhortations to the flock of God | 10 | |
2 | THERE IS A BLESSEDNESS IN REVERSION | 13 |
Wherein blessedness does not consist | 14 | |
Blessedness does not lie in externals | 16 | |
Wherein blessedness consists | 19 | |
Blessedness in practice | 21 | |
3 | THE GODLY ARE IN SOME SENSE ALREADY BLESSED | 25 |
Evidences that the godly are already blessed | 26 | |
Practical issues | 28 | |
4 | BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT | 31 |
Various observations | 31 | |
The meaning of ‘poor in spirit’ | 33 | |
Several questions propounded | 34 | |
Why Christians must be ‘poor in spirit’ | 35 | |
Poverty of spirit is true riches | 37 | |
How we may know whether we are ‘poor in spirit’ | 38 | |
Four persuasions to be ‘poor in spirit’ | 41 | |
5 | THE POOR IN SPIRIT ARE ENRICHED WITH A KINGDOM | 43 |
Saints glorified may be compared to kings | 43 | |
The kingdom of heaven excels other kingdoms | 46 | |
The kingdom of heaven is infallibly entailed upon the saints | 47 | |
Corollaries and inferences from the above | 48 | |
A scrutiny and trial whether we belong to the kingdom of heaven | 50 | |
Serious exhortations to the wicked and to Christians | 51 | |
6 | BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN | 55 |
A two-fold mourning which does not make us blessed | 55 | |
The object of holy mourning | 56 | |
A five-fold mourning which is spurious | 57 | |
The right gospel-mourning | 58 | |
The accompaniments of gospel-mourning | 60 | |
We must mourn for the sins of others | 65 | |
We must mourn for the miseries of the church | 66 | |
The seasons of holy mourning | 67 | |
The degrees of mourning | 69 | |
The opposite to holy mourning | 69 | |
7 | SUNDRY SHARP REPROOFS | 71 |
8 | MOTIVES TO HOLY MOURNING | 75 |
Eleven divine motives to holy mourning | 75 | |
An objection answered | 80 | |
9 | THE HINDRANCES TO MOURNING | 81 |
Nine hindrances considered | 81 | |
10 | SOME HELPS TO MOURNING | 89 |
11 | THE COMFORTS BELONGING TO MOURNERS | 89 |
The relationship of comfort to mourning | 91 | |
The nature of the comforts during the earthly life | 93 | |
Three differences between true and false comfort | 94 | |
Reasons why mourners may lack comfort | 101 | |
The nature of the comforts in the world to come | 104 | |
An exhortation to comfort | 107 | |
12 | CHRISTIAN MEEKNESS | 109 |
Meekness towards God and towards man | 109 | |
Meekness in the bearing of injuries | 110 | |
Meekness in the forgiving of injuries | 115 | |
Meekness in recompensing good for evil | 117 | |
Meekness shows the character of a true saint | 118 | |
Ten reasons why Christians should be meek | 118 | |
How to attain the grace of meekness | 126 | |
13 | THE NATURE OF SPIRITUAL HUNGER | 129 |
Hungering after righteousness | 129 | |
A reproof for such as do not hunger after righteousness | 131 | |
A reproof for such as hunger but not after righteousness | 134 | |
Five signs of spiritual hunger | 135 | |
Comforts for such as know spiritual hunger | 136 | |
Six differences between spiritual and carnal hunger | 137 | |
Believers’ objections answered | 140 | |
A persuasion to spiritual hunger | 141 | |
Helps to spiritual hunger | 142 | |
14 | SPIRITUAL HUNGER SHALL BE SATISFIED | 145 |
God can fill the hungry soul: why and how he does so | 146 | |
The objections of carnal and godly men considered | 149 | |
15 | A DISCOURSE OF MERCIFULNESS | 151 |
The nature and source of mercifulness | 152 | |
Mercy is to be extended to the souls of others | 153 | |
Reproofs for such as have no mercy to souls | 155 | |
Christians must be tender of one another’s names | 157 | |
Mercy is to be extended to the estates, offences and wants of others | 161 | |
A vindication of the Church of England and its doctrine of good works | 166 | |
A check to the unmerciful | 168 | |
Persuasions to mercifulness | 171 | |
Nine persuasions to works of mercy | 174 | |
Rewards for the merciful man in this life | 178 | |
Six rules concerning works of mercy | 180 | |
16 | A DESCRIPTION OF HEART-PURITY | 185 |
The nature of heart-purity | 185 | |
Reasons for purity of heart | 186 | |
Christians must not rest in outside purity | 190 | |
Signs of an impure heart | 190 | |
Seven signs of a pure heart | 197 | |
Nine exhortations to heart-purity | 205 | |
Eight means to be used to obtain heart-purity | 209 | |
17 | THE BLESSED PRIVILEGE OF SEEING GOD EXPLAINED | 213 |
The sight of God in this life and in the life to come | 213 | |
Nine excellencies of the beatific vision | 214 | |
It is the sinner’s misery that he shall not see God | 219 | |
We must labour to be rightly qualified for this vision | 219 | |
A cordial for the pure in heart | 220 | |
18 | CONCERNING PEACEABLENESS | 221 |
A four-fold peace | 222 | |
Two reasons for peaceable-mindedness | 223 | |
Peaceable-mindedness a saint’s character | 224 | |
A reproof for such as are unpeaceable | 225 | |
An exhortation to peaceable-mindedness (under 11 heads) | 226 | |
Some helps to peaceable-mindedness | 230 | |
All Christians must be peacemakers | 233 | |
19 | THEY SHALL BE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD | 237 |
By nature we are not children of God | 238 | |
Children of God are made such by adoption and infusion of grace | 238 | |
How we come to be children of God by faith | 241 | |
Nine signs of divine sonship | 243 | |
How Christians should bring up their children | 253 | |
The love of God in making us his children | 255 | |
The honour of God’s children | 257 | |
Twelve high privileges of God’s children: | 261 | |
God’s love towards them | 261 | |
God bears with their infirmities | 266 | |
God accepts of their imperfect services | 266 | |
God provides for them | 267 | |
God shields off dangers from them | 268 | |
God reveals to them the great things of his law | 268 | |
God gives them boldness in prayer | 269 | |
God brings them into a state of freedom | 270 | |
God makes them heirs apparent to the promises | 271 | |
God gives them his blessing | 272 | |
God works all things for their good | 272 | |
God keeps them from perishing | 275 | |
20 | EXHORTATIONS TO CHRISTIANS AS THEY ARE CHILDREN OF GOD | 279 |
Let us prove ourselves to be the children of God | 279 | |
Let us carry ourselves as becomes the children of God | 280 | |
21 | CONCERNING PERSECUTION | 285 |
Observations on persecution | 285 | |
What is meant by persecution? | 286 | |
Various kinds of persecution | 286 | |
The causes of persecution | 288 | |
The persecution of ministers | 289 | |
The persecution that makes one blessed | 292 | |
Lessons to be learned from persecution | 296 | |
Two sharp reproofs | 297 | |
Christians should possess themselves beforehand with thoughts of sufferings | 299 | |
Christians must arm themselves for suffering: | 300 | |
Labour to be persons rightly qualified for suffering | 300 | |
Avoid those things which will hinder suffering | 301 | |
Promote those things which will help you to suffer (especially self-denial): | 303 | |
Inure yourselves to suffering | 303 | |
Be well-skilled in the knowledge of Christ | 304 | |
Prize every truth of God | 304 | |
Keep a good conscience | 305 | |
Make the Scripture familiar to you | 305 | |
Get a suffering frame of heart | 306 | |
Get suffering graces | 311 | |
Treasure up suffering promises | 316 | |
Set before your eyes suffering examples | 318 | |
Lay in suffering considerations | 319 | |
22 | AN APPENDIX TO THE BEATITUDES | 329 |
The Lord’s commandments are not grievous | 329 | |
Eight particulars showing that God’s commands are not grievous | 331 | |
Christ’s commands compared with: | 334 | |
The law | 335 | |
The commands of sin | 336 | |
The torments of the damned | 336 | |
The glory of heaven | 337 | |
Various reproofs | 338 |
Review
More items to consider:
Description
Endorsements ‘What announces itself as an exposition of Matthew 5:1-10 turns out to be a digest of all the central Puritan teaching on the Christian life. The Beatitudes are treated as mineshafts into the whole economy of grace , as indeed they are.’ — J.I. PACKER Book Description The opening verses of the best-known of all […]
Romans 3:20-4:25
Volume 3: Atonement & Justification
Description
Endorsements ‘What announces itself as an exposition of Matthew 5:1-10 turns out to be a digest of all the central Puritan teaching on the Christian life. The Beatitudes are treated as mineshafts into the whole economy of grace , as indeed they are.’ — J.I. PACKER Book Description The opening verses of the best-known of all […]
Romans 11
Volume 11: To Gods Glory
Description
Endorsements ‘What announces itself as an exposition of Matthew 5:1-10 turns out to be a digest of all the central Puritan teaching on the Christian life. The Beatitudes are treated as mineshafts into the whole economy of grace , as indeed they are.’ — J.I. PACKER Book Description The opening verses of the best-known of all […]
Robert Norman –
Excellent book. Even when Watson gets a bit side-tracked in this book it doesn’t matter, because all of the content is absolute gold.
roger alan schofield –
Our pastor ,Steve Dyer organised men of the church to study this book we are a small group who come together once a week , and all agree thomas watson has raised the bar with regard to understanding of this scripture , we love coming together to discuss how we are challenged by the depth of teaching ,we all agree how we have been taken to new depths in Gods word