Show me the sense of bein’ sore an’ unhappy, no matter what’s comin’ off.”
–Zane Grey (Robbers’ Roost)
“Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.”
–Psalm 33:1 (NKJV)
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“I’m blest, I’m blest, I’m blest” (or blessed); do you remember the chorus? Perhaps it should be, “I’m spoiled, I’m spoiled, I’m spoiled…”. This one little word in the Beatitudes has significant meaning and is often overly simplified. It is vital that we learn the meaning of this word before continuing our study.
“Then He [Jesus] opened His mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are…”
Thomas Watson sets the tone when he says, “Transitory worldly things are not commensurate to the desires of the soul—therefore they cannot render him blessed. Nothing on earth can satisfy the souls’ desires.” This world has nothing that can truly bless us. Those in the world seek many things: power, wealth, fame, fancy clothes, fine food, and other material things to try to satisfy their inner longing. Jesus is trying to show us the true picture of what being “blessed” is all about.
I have heard many times from parents on various different occasions, “I just hope they’re happy.” I wonder if they know what they are saying. Yes, we want happiness, but we want more than that. We want to be blessed. Happiness is good, but it is not lasting. That is why the translations that use the term “Happy” instead of “Blessed” are missing the mark; it is only partially correct.
To be “blessed” goes far beyond being happy. “Happy” does not give the complete thought, however don’t throw it out, for happiness is indeed part of being blessed.
Thomas Watson writes, “Yet many are digging for happiness here—as if they would fetch a blessing out of a curse!” Do you get that? How can we be happy in this cursed world, when man, himself, is cursed? Where is lasting happiness? It is here for a moment, like a wisp-o’-smoke or an echo from the campfire, then gone. Happiness, therefore, is fleeting. “Happiness by any art or chemistry, can be extracted from the world.” (Watson) “I’m happy, I’m happy” but only for a while.
Here is the gist of the meaning, I am blessed because of what God thinks of me. O the blessedness of being a child of God. O the blessedness of being saved. O the blessedness of going to the heavenly Father. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalm 1:1, NKJV) True blessedness cannot come from “things.” Perhaps the Amplified will give us a better picture, “happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—
with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions.” See, happiness is involved, but it is only part of what being blessed is all about.
The problem is that we often try to fulfill our desires, to be happy, by worldly means. The soul is a spiritual thing so how can we satisfy the spiritual with the natural? How can we think we can gain happiness/blessedness by the riches of the world? Thomas Watson puts it this way, “Happiness is too noble and delicate a plant, to grow in this world’s soil.” Therefore we should not look to worldly things to fulfill this longing of the soul. This blessedness that Jesus is speaking of is a declaration of what is truly the best way to live. This blessedness, this joy cannot be taken away by the things of the world, the turmoils, the battles, the storms, the terror, the material things that are there. We are blessed because we are in Christ. Therefore, it is unthinkable to be a gloomy Christian. We are blessed! Man seeks for this but it is beyond his scope, his grasp. “Blessedness is the perfection of a rational creature. It is the whetstone of his ambition, the flower of his joy. Blessedness is the desire of all men.” (Watson) Man desires, but he can only receive temporary happiness.
As we delve into each of the Beatitudes it is important to keep this concept in mind. The blessing of each is related to our relationship with Christ. Grasp hold of the words of David, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (Psalm 32:1-2, NKJV) The NLT translates the first part thusly, “Oh the joy of those whose sins are forgiven…” Are you beginning to get the picture? I like the words of William Barclay in regard to the Beatitudes, “The very form of the beatitudes is the statement of the joyous thrill and radiant gladness of the Christian life.”