The beatitudes

4. Observe the certain connection between grace and its reward; they who are poor in spirit, shall have the kingdom of God; They are as sure to go to heaven, as if they were in heaven already. Our Saviour would encourage men to Religion, by sweetening Commands with Promises; he ties duty and reward together. As in the body, the veins carry the blood, and the arteries the spirits; so one part of these Verses carries Duty, and the other part carries reward. As that Scholar of Apelles painted Helena richly drawn in costly and glorious apparel, hung all over with orient pearl, and precious stones. So our Lord Christ having set down several qualifications of a Christian, poor in spirit, pure in heart, &c. draws these heavenly virtues in their fair colours of blessedness, and sets the magnificent crown of reward upon them, that by this oriency, he might the more set forth their unparalleled beauty, and entice holy love.

4. Observe the certain connexion between grace and its reward; they who are poor in spirit, shall have the kingdom of God; They are as sure to go to heaven, as if they were in heaven already. Our Saviour would encourage men to Religion, by sweetning Commands with Promises; he ties duty and reward together. As in the body, the veines carry the blood, and the arteries the spirits; so one part of these Verses carries Duty, and the other part carries reward. As that Scholar of Apelles painted Helena richly drawn in costly and glorious apparel, hung all over with orient pearl, and precious stones. So our Lord Christ having set down several qualifications of a Christian, poor in spirit, pure in heart, &c. draws these heavenly vertues in their fair colours of blessednesse, and sets the magnificent crown of reward upon them, that by this oriency, he might the more set forth their unparallel'd beauty, and entice holy love.

5. Observe hence the concatenation of the graces, poor in spirit, meek, merciful, &c. where there is one ⟨p. 39⟩grace, there is all. As they say of the Cardinal vertues, virtutes sunt inter se connexae, the virtues are chained together; so we may say of the graces of the Spirit, they are linked and chained together; he that hath poverty of Spirit, is a mourner; he that is a mourner, is meek; he that is meek, is merciful, &c. The Spirit of God plants in the heart an habit of all the graces; the new creature hath all the parts and lineaments; as in the body there is a composition of all the Elements, and a mixture of all the humours. The graces of the Spirit are like a Row of pearl, which hang together upon the string of Religion, and serve to adorn Christs Bride: This I note, to show you a difference between an hypocrite, and a true child of God: The hypocrite flatters himself with a pretence of grace; but in the mean time he hath not an habit of all the graces; he hath not poverty of spirit, nor purity of heart; whereas a child of God hath all the graces in his heart, at least radically, though not gradually. These things being premised, I come in particular to those heavenly dispositions of soul to which Christ hath affixed blessedness: And the first is, POVERTY of SPIRIT.