Explanation of the first part of the sermon delivered by our Lord on the mount, as contained in the fifth chapter of Matthew.
Chapter I.
1. If any one will piously and soberly consider the sermon which our Lord Jesus Christ spoke on the mount, as we read it in the Gospel according to Matthew, I think that he will find in it, so far as regards the highest morals, a perfect standard of the Christian life: and this we do not rashly venture to promise, but gather it from the very words of the Lord Himself. For the sermon itself is brought to a close in such a way, that it is clear there are in it all the precepts which go to mould the life. For thus He speaks: "Therefore, whosoever heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, I will likenhyperlink him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beathyperlink upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, I will likenhyperlink unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Since, therefore, He has not simply said, "Whosoever heareth my words," but has made an addition, saying, "Whosoever heareth these words of mine," He has sufficiently indicated, as I think, that these sayings which He uttered on the mount so perfectly guide the life of those who may be willing to live according to them, that they may justly be compared to one building upon a rock. I have said this merely that it may be clear that the sermon before us is perfect in all the precepts by which the Christian life is moulded; for as regards this particular section a more careful treatment will be given in its own place.hyperlink
2. The beginning, then, of this sermon is introduced as follows: "And when He saw the greathyperlink multitudes, He went up into a mountain:hyperlink and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him: and He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying." If it is asked what the "mountain" means, it may well be understood as meaning the greater precepts of righteousness; for there were lesser ones which were given to the Jews. Yet it is one God who, through His holy prophets and servants, according to a thoroughly arranged distribution of times, gave the lesser precepts to a people who as yet required to be bound by fear; and who, through His Son, gave the greater ones to a people whom it had now become suitable to set free by love. Moreover, when the lesser are given to the lesser, and the greater to the greater, they are given by Him who alone knows how to present to the human race the medicine suited to the occasion. Nor is it surprising that the greater precepts are given for the kingdom of heaven, and the lesser for an earthly kingdom, by that one and the same God, who made heaven and earth. With respect, therefore, to that righteousness which is the greater, it is said through the prophet, "Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God:"hyperlink and this may well mean that the one Master alone fit to teach matters of so great importance teaches on a mountain. Then He teaches sitting, as behooves the dignity of the instructor's office; and His disciples come to Him, in order that they might be nearer in body for hearing His words, as they also approached in spirit to fulfil His precepts. "And He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying." The circumlocution before us, which runs, "And He opened His mouth," perhaps gracefully intimates by the mere pause that the sermon will be somewhat longer than usual, unless, perchance, it should not be without meaning, that now He is said to have opened His own mouth, whereas under the old law He was accustomed to open the mouths of the prophets.hyperlink
3. What, then, does He say? "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." We read in Scripture concerning the striving after temporal things, "All is vanity and presumption of spirit;"hyperlink but presumption of spirit means audacity and pride: usually also the proud are said to have great spirits; and rightly, inasmuch as the wind also is called spirit. And hence it is written, "Fire, hail, snow, ice, spirit of tempest."hyperlink But, indeed, who does not know that the proud are spoken of as puffed up, as if swelled out with wind? And hence also that expression of the apostle, "Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth."hyperlink And "the poor in spirit" are rightly understood here, as meaning the humble and God-fearing, i.e. those who have not the spirit which puffeth up. Nor ought blessedness to begin at any other point whatever, if indeed it is to attain unto the highest wisdom; "but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;"hyperlink for, on the other hand also, "pride" is entitled "the beginning of all sin."hyperlink Let the proud, therefore, seek after and love the kingdoms of the earth; but "blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."hyperlink
Chapter II.
4. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall by inheritance possesshyperlink the earth:" that earth, I suppose, of which it is said in the Psalm, "Thou art my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."hyperlink For it signifies a certain firmness and stability of the perpetual inheritance, where the soul, by means of a good disposition, rests, as it were, in its own place, just as the body rests on the earth, and is nourished from it with its own food, as the body from the earth. This is the very rest and life of the saints. Then, the meek are those who yield to acts of wickedness, and do not resist evil, but overcome evil with good.hyperlink Let those, then, who are not meek quarrel and fight for earthly and temporal things; but "blessed are the meek, for they shall by inheritance possess the earth," from which they cannot be driven out.hyperlink
5. "Blessed are they that mourn:hyperlink for they shall be comforted." Mourning is sorrow arising from the loss of things held dear; but those who are converted to God lose those things which they were accustomed to embrace as dear in this world: for they do not rejoice in those things in which they formerly rejoiced; and until the love of eternal things be in them, they are wounded by some measure of grief. Therefore they will be comforted by the Holy Spirit, who on this account chiefly is called the Paraclete, i.e. the Comforter, in order that, while losing the temporal joy, they may enjoy to the full that which is eternal.hyperlink
6. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Now He calls those parties, lovers of a true and indestructible good. They will therefore be filled with that food of which the Lord Himself says, "My meat is to do the will of my Father," which is righteousness; and with that water, of which whosoever "drinketh," as he also says, it "shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life."hyperlink
7. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."hyperlink He says that they are blessed who relieve the miserable, for it is paid back to them in such a way that they are freed from misery.
8. "Blessed are the pure in heart:hyperlink for they shall see God." How foolish, therefore, are those who seek God with these outward eyes, since He is seen with the heart! as it is written elsewhere, "And in singleness of heart seek Him."hyperlink For that is a pure heart which is a single heart: and just as this light cannot be seen, except with pure eyes; so neither is God seen, unless that is pure by which He can be seen.hyperlink
9. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." It is the perfection of peace, where nothing offers opposition; and the children of God are peacemakers, because nothing resists God, and surely children ought to have the likeness of their father. Now, they are peacemakers in themselves who, by bringing in order all the motions of their soul, and subjecting them to reason-i.e. to the mind and spirit-and by having their carnal lusts thoroughly subdued, become a kingdom of God: in which all things are so arranged, that that which is chief and pre-eminent in man rules without resistance over the other elements, which are common to us with the beasts; and that very element which is pre-eminent in man, i.e. mind and reason, is brought under subjection to something better still, which is the truth itself, the only-begotten Son of God. For a man is not able to rule over things which are inferior, unless he subjects himself to what is superior. And this is the peace which is given on earth to men of goodwill;hyperlink this the life of the fully developed and perfect wise man. From a kingdom of this sort brought to a condition of thorough peace and order, the prince of this world is cast out, who rules where there is perversity and disorder.hyperlink When this peace has been inwardly established and confirmed, whatever persecutions he who has been cast out shall stir up from without, he only increases the glory which is according to God; being unable to shake anything in that edifice, but by the failure of his machinations making it to be known with how great strength it has been built from within outwardly. Hence there follows: "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Chapter III.
10. There are in all, then, these eight sentences. For now in what remains He speaks in the way of direct address to those who were present, saying: "Blessed shall ye be when men shall revile you and persecute you." But the former sentences He addressed in a general way: for He did not say, Blessed are ye poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of heaven; but He says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven:" nor, Blessed are ye meek, for ye shall inherit the earth; but, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." And so the others up to the eighth sentence, where He says: "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." After that He now begins to speak in the way of direct address to those present, although what has been said before referred also to His present audience; and that which follows, and which seems to be spoken specially to those present, refers also to those who were absent, or who would afterwards come into existence.
For this reason the number of sentences before us is to be carefully considered. For the beatitudes begin with humility: "Blessed are the poor in spirit," i.e. those not puffed up, while the soul submits itself to divine authority, fearing lest after this life it go away to punishment, although perhaps in this life it might seem to itself to be happy. Then it (the soul) comes to the knowledge of the divine Scriptures, where it must show itself meek in its piety, lest it should venture to condemn that which seems absurd to the unlearned, and should itself be rendered unteachable by obstinate disputations. After that, it now begins to know in what entanglements of this world it is held by reason of carnal custom and sins: and so in this third stage, in which there is knowledge, the loss of the highest good is mourned over, because it sticks fast in what is lowest. Then, in the fourth stage there is labour, where vehement exertion is put forth, in order that the mind may wrench itself away from those things in which, by reason of their pestilential sweetness, it is entangled: here therefore righteousness is hungered and thirsted after, and fortitude is very necessary; because what is retained with delight is not abandoned without pain. Then, at the fifth stage, to those persevering in labour, counsel for getting rid of it is given; for unless each one is assisted by a superior, in no way is he fit in his own case to extricate himself from so great entanglements of miseries. But it is a just counsel, that he who wishes to be assisted by a stronger should assist him who is weaker in that in which he himself is stronger: therefore "blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." At the sixth stage there is purity of heart, able from a good conscience of good works to contemplate that, highest good, which can be discerned by the pure and tranquil intellect alone. Lastly is the seventh, wisdom itself-i.e. the contemplation of the truth, tranquillizing the whole man, and assuming the likeness of God, which is thus summed up: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." The eighth, as it were, returns to the starting-point, because it shows and commends what is complete and perfect:hyperlink therefore in the first and in the eighth the kingdom of heaven is named, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;" and, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven:" as it is now said, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"hyperlink Seven in number, therefore, are the things which bring perfection: for the eighth brings into light and shows what is perfect, so that starting, as it were, from the beginning again, the others also are perfected by means of these stages.
Chapter IV.
11. Hence also the sevenfold operation of the Holy Ghost, of which Isaiah speaks,hyperlink seems to me to correspond to these stages and sentences. But there is a difference of order: for there the enumeration begins with the more excellent, but here with the inferior. For there it begins with wisdom, and closes with the fear of God: but "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." And therefore, if we reckon as it were in a gradually ascending series, there the fear of God is first, piety second, knowledge third, fortitude fourth, counsel fifth, understanding sixth, wisdom seventh. The fear of God corresponds to the humble, of whom it is here said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," i.e. those not puffed up, not proud: to whom the apostle says, "Be not high-minded, but fear;"hyperlinki.e. be not lifted up. Pietyhyperlink corresponds to the meek: for he who inquires piously honours Holy Scripture, and does not censure what he does not yet understand, and on this account does not offer resistance; and this is to be meek: whence it is here said, "Blessed are the meek." Knowledge corresponds to those that mourn who already have found out in the Scriptures by what evils they are held chained which they ignorantly have coveted as though they were good and useful. Fortitude corresponds to those hungering and thirsting: for they labour in earnestly desiring joy from things that are truly good, and in eagerly seeking to turn away their love from earthly and corporeal things: and of them it is here said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst afterrighteousness." Counsel corresponds to the merciful: for this is the one remedy for escaping from so great evils, that we forgive, as we wish to be ourselves forgiven; and that we assist others so far as we are able, as we ourselves desire to be assisted where we are not able: and of them it is here said, "Blessed are the merciful." Understanding corresponds to the pure in heart, the eye being as it were purged, by which that may be beheld which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, and what hath not entered into the heart of man:hyperlink and of them it is here said," Blessed are the pure in heart." Wisdom corresponds to the peacemakers, in whom all things are now brought into order, and no passion is in a state of rebellion against reason, but all things together obey the spirit of man, while he himself also obeys God: and of them it is here said, "Blessed are the peacemakers."hyperlink
12. Moreover, the one reward, which is the kingdom of heaven, is variously named according to these stages. In the first, just as ought to be the case, is placed the kingdom of heaven, which is the perfect and highest wisdom of the rational soul. Thus, therefore, it is said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven:" as if it were said, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." To the meek an inheritance is given, as it were the testament of a father to those dutifully seeking it: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." To the mourners comfort, as to those who know what they have lost, and in what evils they are sunk: "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." To those hungering and thirsting, a full supply, as it were a refreshment to those labouring and bravely contending for salvation: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." To the merciful mercy, as to those following a true and excellent counsel, so that this same treatment is extended toward them by one who is stronger, which they extend toward the weaker: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." To the pure in heart is given the power of seeing God, as to those bearing about with them a pure eye for discerning eternal things: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." To the peacemakers the likeness of God is given, as being perfectly wise, and formed after the imageof God by means of the regeneration of the renewed man: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." And those promises can indeed be fulfilled in this life, as we believe them to have been fulfilled in the case of the apostles. For that all-embracing change into the angelic form, which is promised after this life, cannot be explained in any words. "Blessed," therefore, "are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." This eighth sentence, which goes back to the starting-point, and makes manifest the perfect man, is perhaps set forth in its meaning both by the circumcision on the eighth day in the Old Testament, and by the resurrection of the Lord after the Sabbath, the day which is certainly the eighth, and at the same time the first day; and by the celebration of the eight festival days which we celebrate in the case of the regeneration of the new man; and by the very number of Pentecost. For to the number seven, seven times multiplied, by which we make forty-nine, as it were an eighth is added, so that fifty may be made up, and we, as it were, return to the starting-point: on which day the Holy Spirit was sent, by whom we are led into the kingdom of heaven, and receive the inheritance, and are comforted; and are fed, and obtain mercy, and are purified, and are made peacemakers; and being thus perfect, we bear all troubles brought upon us from without for the sake of truth and righteousness.
Chapter V.
13. "Blessed are ye," says He, "when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for greathyperlink is your reward in heaven." Let any one who is seeking after the delights of this world and the riches of temporal things under the Christian name, consider that our blessedness, is within; as it is said of the soul of the Churchhyperlink by the mouth of the prophet, "All the beauty of the king's daughter is within;"hyperlink for outwardly revilings, and persecutions, and disparagements are promised; and yet, from these things there is a great reward in heaven, which is felt in the heart of those who endure, those who can now say, "We glory in tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."hyperlink For it is not simply the enduring of such things that is advantageous, but the bearing of such things for the name of Christ not only with tranquil mind, but even with exultation. For many heretics, deceiving souls under the Christian name, endure many such things; but they are excluded from that reward on this account, that it is not said merely, "Blessed are they which endure persecution;" but it is added," for righteousness' sake." Now, where there is no sound faith, there can be no righteousness, for the just [righteous] man lives by faith.hyperlink Neither let schismatics promise themselves anything of that reward; for similarly, where there is no love, there cannot be righteousness, for "love worketh no ill to his neighbour;"hyperlink and if they had it, they would not tear in pieces Christ's body, which is the Church.hyperlink
14. But it may be asked, What is the difference when He says, "when men shall revile you," and "when they shall say all manner of evil against you," since to revilehyperlink is just this, to say evil against?hyperlink But it is one thing when the reviling word is hurled with contumely in presence of him who is reviled, as it was said to our Lord, "Say we not the truthhyperlink that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?"hyperlink and another thing, when our reputation is injured in our absence, as it is also written of Him, "Some said, He is a prophet;hyperlink others said, Nay, but He deceiveth the people."hyperlink Then, further, to persecute is to inflict violence, or to assail with snares, as was done by him who betrayed Him, and by them who crucified Him. Certainly, as for the fact that this also is not put in a bare form, so that it should be said, "and shall say all manner of evil against you," but there is added the word "falsely," and also the expression "for my sake;" I think that the addition is made for the sake of those who wish to glory in persecutions, and in the baseness of their reputation; and to say that Christ belongs to them for this reason, that many bad things are said about them; while, on the one hand, the things said are true, when they are said respecting their error; and, on the other hand, if sometimes also some false charges are thrown out, which frequently happens from the rashness of men, yet they do not suffer such things for Christ's sake.hyperlink For he is not a follower of Christ who is not called a Christian according to the true faith and the catholic discipline.
15. "Rejoice," says He, "and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven." I do not think that it is the higher parts of this visible world that are here called heaven. For our reward, which ought to be immoveable and eternal, is not to be placed in things fleeting and temporal. But I think the expression "in heaven" means in the spiritual firmament, where dwells everlasting righteousness: in comparison with which a wicked soul is called earth, to which it is said when it sins," Earth thou art, and unto earth thou shalt return."hyperlink Of this heaven the apostle says, "For our conversation is in heaven."hyperlink Hence they who rejoice in spiritual good are conscious of that reward now; but then it will be perfected in every part, when this mortal also shall have put on immortality. "For," says He, "so persecuted they the prophets also which were before you." In the present case He has used "persecution" in a general sense, as applying alike to abusive words and to the tearing in pieces of one's reputation; and has well encouraged them by an example, because they who speak true things are wont to suffer persecution: nevertheless did not the ancient prophets on this account, through fear of persecution, give over the preaching of the truth.
Chapter VI.
16. Hence there follows most justly the statement, "Ye are the salt of the earth;" showing that those parties are to be judged insipid, who, either in the eager pursuit after abundance of earthly blessings, or through the dread of want, lose the eternal things which can neither be given nor taken away by men. "Buthyperlink if the salt have losthyperlink its savour, wherewith shall it be salted?" i.e., If ye, by means of whom the nations in a measure are to be preserved [from corruption], through the dread of temporal persecutions shall lose the kingdom of heaven, where will be the men through whom error may be removed from you, since God has chosen you, in order that through you He might remove the error of others? Hence the savourless salt is "good for nothing, but to be cast out, and trodden under foot of men." It is not therefore he who suffers persecution, but he who is rendered savourless by the fear of persecution, that is trodden under foot of men. For it is only one who is undermost that can be trodden under foot; but he is not undermost, who, however many things he may suffer in his body on the earth, yet has his heart fixed in heaven.hyperlink
17. "Ye are the lighthyperlink of the world." In the same way as He said above, "the salt of the earth," so now He says, "the light of the world."For in the former case that earth is not to be understood which we tread with our bodily feet, but the men who dwell upon the earth, or even the sinners, for the preserving of whom and for the extinguishing of whose corruptions the Lord sent the apostolic salt. And here, by the world must be understood not the heavens and the earth, but the men who are in the world or love the world, for the enlightening of whom the apostles were sent.hyperlink "A city that is set onhyperlink an hill cannot be hid," i.e. [a city] founded upon great and distinguished righteousness, which is also the meaning of the mountain itself on which our Lord is discoursing. "Neither do men light a candlehyperlink and put it under a bushel measure."hyperlink What view are we to take? That the expression "under a bushel measure" is so used that only the concealment of the candle is to be understood, as if He were saying, No one lights a candle and conceals it? Or does the bushel measure also mean something, so that to place a candle under a bushel is this, to place the comforts of the body higher than the preaching of the truth; so that one does not preach the truth so long as he is afraid of suffering any annoyance in corporeal and temporal things? And it is well said a bushel measure, whether on account of the recompense of measure, for each one receives the things done in his body,-"that every one," says the apostle, "may there receivehyperlink the things done in his body;" and it is said in another place, as if of this bushel measure of the body, "For with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again: "hyperlink -or because temporal good things, which are carried to completion in the body, are both begun and come to an end in a certain definite number of days, which is perhaps meant by the "bushel measure;" while eternal and spiritual things are confined within no such limit, "for God giveth not the Spirit by measure."hyperlink Every one, therefore, who obscures and covers up the light of good doctrine by means of temporal comforts, places his candle under a bushel measure. "But on a candlestick."hyperlink Now it is placed on a candlestick by him who subordinates his body to the service of God, so that the preaching of the truth is the higher, and the serving of the body the lower; yet by means even of the service of the body the doctrine shines more conspicuously, inasmuch as it is insinuated into those who learn by means of bodily functions, i.e. by means of the voice and tongue, and the other movements of the body in good works. The apostle therefore puts his candle on a candlestick, when he says, "So fight I, not as one that beatethhyperlink the air; but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I preach to others, I myself should be found a castaway."hyperlink When He says, however, "that it may give light to all who are in the house," I am of opinion that it is the abode of men which is called a house, i.e. the world itself, on account of what He says before, "Ye are the light of the world;" or if any one chooses to understand the house as being the Church, this, too, is not out of place.
Chapter VII.
18. "Let your light,"hyperlink says He, "so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." If He had merely said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works," He would seem to have fixed an end in the praises of men, which hypocrites seek, and those who canvass for honours and covet glory of the emptiest kind. Against such parties it is said, "If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ;"hyperlink and, by the prophet, "They who please men are put to shame, because God hath despised them;" and again, "God hath broken the bones of those who please men;"hyperlink and again the apostle, "Let us not be desirous of vainglory;"hyperlink and still another time, "But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another."hyperlink Hence our Lord has not said merely, "that they may see your good works," but has added, "and glorify your Father who is in heaven:" so that the mere fact that a man by means of good works pleases men, does not there set it up as an end that he should please men; but let him subordinate this to the praise of God, and for this reason please men, that God may be glorified in him. For this is expedient for them who offer praise, that they should honour, not man, but God; as our Lord showed in the case of the man who was carried, where, on the paralytic being healed, the multitude, marvelling at His powers, as it is written in the Gospel, "feared and glorified God, which had given such power unto men."hyperlink And His imitator, the Apostle Paul, says, "But they had heard only, that he which persecuted us intimes past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed; and they glorifiedhyperlink God in me."
19. And therefore, after He has exhorted His hearers that they should prepare themselves to bear all things for truth and righteousness, and that they should not hide the good which they were about to receive, but should learn with such benevolence as to teach others, aiming in their good works not at their own praise, but at the glory of God, He begins now to inform and to teach them what they are to teach; as if they were asking Him, saying: Lo, we are willing both to bear all things for Thy name, and not to hide Thy doctrine; but what precisely is this which Thou forbiddest us to hide, and for which Thou commandest us to bear all things? Art Thou about to mention other things contrary to those which are written in the law? "No," says He; "for think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
Footnotes
1 On the principle that Davidica intelligit, qui Davidica patitur; or, as the German couplet runs,-
"Wer den Dichter will verstehen
Muss in Dichters Lande gehen."
2 The passage is quoted in full by Trench (p. 64). His work, St. Augustin on the Sermon on the Mount, 4th ed., London, 1881, contains an elaborate introductory essay on Augustin as an Interpreter of Scripture. His use of allegory is considered in a separate chapter (iv). An older work is by Clausen: Augustinus, Sac. Script. Interpres, pp. 267, Berol. 1828.
1 Similabo. The Vulgate, conforming more closely to the Greek, has assimilabitur, "shall be likened."
2 Offenderunt; the Vulgate has irruerunt.
3 The Vulgate, more closely conforming to the Greek, has similis erit.
4 The main purpose of the Sermon on the Mount has been variously stated. Augustin regards it as a perfect code of morals. Tholuck (Die Bergpredigt) calls it "the Magna Charta of the kingdom of heaven." Lange says, "The grand fundamental idea is to present the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven in its relation to that of the Old Testament theocracy." Geikie declares it to be the "formal inauguration of the kingdom of God and the Magna Charta of our faith." Edersheim regards it as presenting "the full delineation of the ideal man of God, of prayer, and of righteousness; in short, of the inward and outward manifestation of discipleship." Meyer (Com. 6th ed. p. 210) says that the aim of Jesus is, as the One who fulfils the Law and the Prophets, to present the moral conditions of participation in the Messianic kingdom. Weiss (Leben Jesu) speaks of it as being "as little an ethical discourse as a new proclamation of law. It is nothing else than an announcement of the kingdom of God, in which is visible everywhere the purpose of Jesus to distinguish between its righteousness and the righteousness revealed in the Old Testament as well as that taught by the teachers of his day."
The Sermon on the Mount is a practical discourse, containing little of what, in the strict sense, may be termed the credenda of Christianity. It is the fullest statement of the nature and obligations of citizenship in God's kingdom. It is noteworthy for its omissions as well as for its contents. No reference is made to a priesthood, a ritual, sacred places, or offerings. There is almost a total absence of all that is sensuous and external. It deals with the motives and affections of the inner man, and so comes into comparison and contrast with the Mosaic law as well as with the Pharisaic ceremonialism of the Lord's Day. The moral grandeur of the precepts of the Sermon on the Mount has been acknowledged by believer and sceptics alike. Renan (Life of Jesus) says, "The Sermon on the Mount will never be surpassed." On the 15th of October, 1852, two weeks before he died, Daniel Webster wrote and signed his name to the following words, containing a testimony to this portion of Scripture, which he also ordered placed upon his tombstone: "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.... My heart has assured me and reassured me that the gospel of Jesus Christ must be a divine reality. The Sermon on the Mount cannot be a merely human production. This belief enters into the very depth of my conscience. The whole history of man proves it" (Curtis, Life of Webster, ii. p. 684).
The relation which the reports of Matthew and Luke (vi. 20-49) sustain to each other is ignored by Augustin here (who, except in rare cases, omits all critical discussion), but is discussed in his Harmony of the Gospels, ii. 19. The agreements are numerous. The differences are striking, and concern the matter, the arrangement, the language, and the setting of the sermon. Matthew has a hundred and seven verses, Luke thirty. Matthew has seven (or eight) beatitudes, Luke but four, and adds four woes which Matthew omits. According to the first evangelist Jesus spoke sitting on a mountain: according to the third evangelist He spoke standing, and in the plain. The views are, (1) Matthew and Luke give accounts of the same discourse (Origen, Chrysostom, Calvin, Tholuck, Meyer, Keil, Schaff, Weiss). (2) They report different sermons spoken at different times (Augustin not positively, Storr, Plumptre). This is not probable, as so much of the matter in both is identical: both begin with the same beatitude, and close with the same parable; and both accounts are followed with the report of the healing of the centurion's servant. (3) The two sermons were delivered in close succession on the summit of the mountain to the disciples, and on the plain to the multitude (Lange). Alford confesses inability to reconcile the discrepancy.
5 Multas turbas. The Vulgate omits multas.
6 The Greek has the definite article. to\ o_roj Some, on this ground, explain the expression to mean "mountain region." According to the Latin tradition of the time of the Crusaders, the exact spot is the Horns of Hattin, which Dean Stanley (Sinai and Palestine, Am. ed. p. 436) and most others adopt. The hill, which is horned like a saddle, is south-west of Capernaum, and commands a good view of the Lake of Galilee. It seems to meet the requirements of the text. Robinson says there are a dozen other hills as eligible as this one. Tholuck enlarges upon the "beautiful temple of nature in which the Lord delivered the sermon." Matthew Henry says, "When the law was given, the Lord came down upon the mountain, now the Lord went up; then He spake in thunder and lightning, now in a still, small voice; then the people were ordered to keep their distance, now they are invited to draw near,-a blessed change!"
7 Ps. xxxvi. 6.
8 Chrysostom, Euthymius, etc., see in the expression the implication that Christ also taught by works. Tholuck, with many modern commentators, finds in it a reference to "loud and solemn utterance."
9 Eccles. i. 14.
10 Ps. cxlviii. 8.
11 I Cor. viii. 1.
12 Ps. cxi. 10.
13 Ecclus. x. 13.
14 Not the intellectually poor (Fritzsche), nor the poor in worldly goods, as we might gather from Luke (vi. 20). Roman-Catholic commentators have found here support for the doctrine of voluntary poverty (Cornelius à Lapide, Maldonatus, etc.). The Emperor Julian, in allusion to this passage and others like it, said he would only confiscate the goods of Christians, that they might enter as the poor into the kingdom of heaven (Lett. xliii.). Some (Olearius, Michaelis, Paulus) have joined "in spirit" with "blessed." Augustin explains the passage of those who are not elated or proud, taking "spirit" in an evil sense. In another place he says, "Blessed are the poor in their own spirit, rich in God's Spirit, for every man who follows his own spirit is proud." He then compares him who subdues his own spirit to one living in a valley which is filled with water from the hills (En. in Ps. cxli. 4). The most explain of those who are conscious of spiritual need (Matt. xi. 28), and are ready to be filled with the gospel riches, as opposed to the spiritually proud, the just who need no repentance (Tholuck, Meyer, Lange, etc.). "Many are poor in the world, but high in spirit; poor and proud, murmuring and complaining, and blaming their lot. Laodicea was poor in spirituals, and yet rich in spirit; so well increased with goods as to have need of nothing. Paul was rich in spirituals, excelling most in gifts and graces and yet poor in spirit; the least of the apostles, and less than the least of all saints" (M. Henry).
15 Hereditate possidebunt. Vulgate omits hereditate. The passage is quoted almost literally in the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, iii. 7.
16 Ps. cxlii. 5.
17 Rom. xii. 21.
18 The order in which Augustin places this Beatitude is followed in Cod. D, and approved by Lachmann, Tischendorf, Neander, and others (not Westcott and Hort). The meek not only bear provocation, but quietly submit to God's dealings, and comply with His designs. The temporal possession promised is one of the few temporal promises in the New Testament. The inheritance of the earth is referred to "earthly good and possessions," by Chrysostom, Euthymius, Luther, etc.; to conquest of the world by the kingdom of God, by Neander, to the actual kingdom on this earth, first in its millennial then in its blessed state, by Alford; typically to the Messiah kingdom, by Meyer; to the land of the living beyond the heavens by Gregory of Nyssa. "Humility and meekness have been proved to be a conquering principle in the world's history" (Tholuck).
19 Lugentes. Greek, penqou=ntej. The Vulgate, qui lugent, which Augustin follows, p. 7.
20 The mourning is a mourning over sins of their own and others (Chrysostom, etc.); too restricted, as is also Augustin's explanation. Spiritual mourning in general (Ambrose, Jerome, Tholuck, etc.) sorrow according to God (2 Cor. vii. 10). We are helped to the meaning by comparing the woe on those that laugh (Luke vi. 22); that is, upon those who are satisfied with earthly things, and avoid the seriousness of repentance.
21 John iv. 34, 14.
22 Ipsorum miserabitur; closer to the Greek than the Vulgate ipsi misericordiam consequentur. The same thought that underlies the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer, as Augustin also says, Retract. I. xix. 3.
23 Mundi corde; the Vulgate, mundo corde.
24 Wisd. i. 1.
25 "Pure in heart." "Ceremonial purity does not suffice" (Bengel). The singleness of heart which has God's will for its aim, and follows integrity with our fellow-men (Tholuck). "Shall see God:" the most infinite communion with God (Tholuck). The promise is fulfilled even here (Lange, Alford, Schaff, etc.). It concerns only the beatific vision in the spiritual body (Meyer). Not a felicity to the impure to see God (Henry). Comp. 1 John iii. 2,Rev. xxii. 4, etc.. Augustin has a brilliant description of the future vision of God in City of God (this series, vol. ii. pp. 507-509).
26 Luke ii. 14.
27 The "peacemakers" not only establish peace within themselves as Augustin, encouraged by the Latin word, explains, but diffuse peace around about them,-heal the alienations and discords of others, and bring about reconciliations in the world; not merely peaceful, but peacemakers. "In most kingdoms those stand highest who make war: in the Messiah's kingdom the crowning beatitude respects those who make peace." The expressions will be remembered, "peace of God" (Phil. iv. 7); "peace of Christ" (Col. iii. 15); "God of peace" (Rom. xv. 33), etc. "If the peacemakers are blessed, woe to the peacebreakers!" (M. Henry).
28 "In the eighth beatitude the other seven are only summed up under the idea of the righteousness of the kingdom in its relation to those who persecute it; while the ninth is a description of the eighth, with reference to the relation in which these righteous persons stand to Christ" (Lange).
29 Rom. viii. 35.
30 Isa. xi. 2, 3.
31 Rom. xi. 20.
32 Augustin follows the Septuagint, which has "piety" instead of "the fear of the Lord" in the last clause of Isa. xi. 2.
33 Isa. lxiv. 4 and 1 Cor. ii. 9.
34 This is guarded against misconstruction in the Retract. I. xix. 1.
35 Multa; Vulgate, copiosa.
36 Anima ecclesiastica.
37 Ps. xlv. 13.
38 Rom. v. 3-5.
39 Hab. ii. 4 and Rom. i. 17.
40 Rom. xiii. 10.
41 Col. i. 24.
42 Maledicere.
43 Malum dicere.
44 Verum. The Vulgate more literally hasbene.
45 John viii. 48.
46 The Vulgate, following the Greek, has bonus,-good man.
47 Chap. vii. 12.
48 "It is not the suffering but the cause, that makes men martyrs." For, says Augustin in another place (En. in Ps. xxxiv. 23), if the suffering made the martyr, every mine would be full of martyrs, every chain drag them, every one beheaded with the sword be crowned. They who suffer for righteousness' sake, suffer for Christ's sake.
49 Gen. iii. 19.
50 Phil. iii. 20.
51 "A warning against pride" (Schaff).
52 Infatuatum fuerit; Vulgate, evanuerit.
53 Others follow Augustin in regarding the connection of this verse and the next with the preceding one as very close. All the more must they refuse to yield to persecution, as they have a function in the world which is well represented by salt and light (Weizsäcker, Meyer, etc.). The function of salt is to preserve and to season. With it Elisha healed the unwholesome water (2 Kings ii. 21). The use of salt in the sacrifices is, no doubt, alluded to (Tholuck). It becomes savourless. Dr. Thomson says (Land and Book, ii. 43), "It is a well-known fact that the salt in this country (gathered from the marshes in dry weather), when in contact with the ground, or exposed to air and sun, does become insipid and useless." The disciples are appointed to communicate the truth and moral grace, before spoken of in the Beatitudes, to counteract the error and corruption m the earth. "Earth" not to be confined to "society as then existing, the definite form the world then presented" (Lange), but to mankind in general, as Augustin below. "Wherewith shall it be salted" does not imply that those who have once fallen cannot be reclaimed (Alford). The comment of Grotius is good: "Ipsi emendare alios debebent, non autem exspectare ut ab aliis ipsi emendarentur" ("They ought to improve others, not expect to be themselves improved by others").
54 Lumen, also used for a luminary; Vulgate, lux. In a lower and derivative sense are the disciples "the light," etc. (Alford), deriving their light-giving quality from Him who is the "Light of the world" (John viii. 12), so that they become "lights in the world" (Phil. ii. 15). Augustin (Sermon, ccclxxx.): Johannes lumen illuminatum, Christus lumen illuminans.
55 "The influence of salt is internal, of light external: hence the element in which they work, the earth and the world, both referring to mankind; the latter more to its organized external form" (Schaff).
56 Constituta; Vulgate, posita. The city was probably visible. Some have thought of the village on Mount Tabor, others of an ancient fortress, predecessor of the present Safed (Dean Stanley, Thomson); certainly not Jerusalem (Weizsäcker).
57 Lucerna.
58 The Greek has the definite article to\n mo/dion.
59 2 Cor. v. 10. Recipiat unusquisque quae gessit in corpore. Vulgate, referat unusquisque propria corporis, prout gessit, etc.
60 Matt. vii. 2.
61 John iii. 34; which words, however, are, as Augustin subsequently observed (Retract. I. xix. 3), applicable only to Christ.
62 Candelabrum.
63 Caedens; Vulgate, verberans.
64 1 Cor. ix. 26, 27. Ne forte aliis predicans...invenir. Vulgate, Ne forte cum aliis praedicaverim...efficir.
65 Lumen; Vulgate, lux. Christ presupposes His righteousness to have become the principle of their life. "They were to stand forth openly and boldly with the message of the New Testament" ( Lange).
66 Gal. i. 10.
67 Ps. liii. 5.
68 Gal. v. 26.
69 Chap. vi. 4.
70 Matt. ix. 8.
71 Gal. i. 23, 24. Vastabat...glorificabant; Vulgate, expugnabat...clarificabant.
