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The Beatitudes

by Thomas Watson

The opening verses of the best-known of all

Publication

Publisher
The Banner of Truth Trust
Date published
1971
Print status
In print

The Physical Book

Binding
Cloth-bound
Dust jacket
Yes
Total pages
352 pages
ISBN-13
9781848714366

Reference

Publisher page
View at publisher

Contents

  • To the Reader
  • 1. INTRODUCTION
  • The preacher: Christ and his qualifications
  • The ministry does not ‘lie in common’
  • The pulpit
  • The occasion
  • Ministers should embrace opportunities of service
  • Exhortations to ministers
  • Exhortations to the flock of God
  • 2. THERE IS A BLESSEDNESS IN REVERSION
  • Wherein blessedness does not consist
  • Blessedness does not lie in externals
  • Wherein blessedness consists
  • Blessedness in practice
  • 3. THE GODLY ARE IN SOME SENSE ALREADY BLESSED
  • Evidences that the godly are already blessed
  • Practical issues
  • 4. BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT
  • Various observations
  • The meaning of ‘poor in spirit’
  • Several questions propounded
  • Why Christians must be ‘poor in spirit’
  • Poverty of spirit is true riches
  • How we may know whether we are ‘poor in spirit’
  • Four persuasions to be ‘poor in spirit’
  • 5. THE POOR IN SPIRIT ARE ENRICHED WITH A KINGDOM
  • Saints glorified may be compared to kings
  • The kingdom of heaven excels other kingdoms
  • The kingdom of heaven is infallibly entailed upon the saints
  • Corollaries and inferences from the above
  • A scrutiny and trial whether we belong to the kingdom of heaven
  • Serious exhortations to the wicked and to Christians
  • 6. BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN
  • A two-fold mourning which does not make us blessed
  • The object of holy mourning
  • A five-fold mourning which is spurious
  • The right gospel-mourning
  • The accompaniments of gospel-mourning
  • We must mourn for the sins of others
  • We must mourn for the miseries of the church
  • The seasons of holy mourning
  • The degrees of mourning
  • The opposite to holy mourning
  • 7. SUNDRY SHARP REPROOFS
  • 8. MOTIVES TO HOLY MOURNING
  • Eleven divine motives to holy mourning
  • An objection answered
  • 9. THE HINDRANCES TO MOURNING
  • Nine hindrances considered
  • 10. SOME HELPS TO MOURNING
  • 11. THE COMFORTS BELONGING TO MOURNERS
  • The relationship of comfort to mourning
  • The nature of the comforts during the earthly life
  • Three differences between true and false comfort
  • Reasons why mourners may lack comfort
  • The nature of the comforts in the world to come
  • An exhortation to comfort
  • 12. CHRISTIAN MEEKNESS
  • Meekness towards God and towards man
  • Meekness in the bearing of injuries
  • Meekness in the forgiving of injuries
  • Meekness in recompensing good for evil
  • Meekness shows the character of a true saint
  • Ten reasons why Christians should be meek
  • How to attain the grace of meekness
  • 13. THE NATURE OF SPIRITUAL HUNGER
  • Hungering after righteousness
  • A reproof for such as do not hunger after righteousness
  • A reproof for such as hunger but not after righteousness
  • Five signs of spiritual hunger
  • Comforts for such as know spiritual hunger
  • Six differences between spiritual and carnal hunger
  • Believers’ objections answered
  • A persuasion to spiritual hunger
  • Helps to spiritual hunger
  • 14. SPIRITUAL HUNGER SHALL BE SATISFIED
  • God can fill the hungry soul: why and how he does so
  • The objections of carnal and godly men considered
  • 15. A DISCOURSE OF MERCIFULNESS
  • The nature and source of mercifulness
  • Mercy is to be extended to the souls of others
  • Reproofs for such as have no mercy to souls
  • Christians must be tender of one another’s names
  • Mercy is to be extended to the estates, offences and wants of others
  • A vindication of the Church of England and its doctrine of good works
  • A check to the unmerciful
  • Persuasions to mercifulness
  • Nine persuasions to works of mercy
  • Rewards for the merciful man in this life
  • Six rules concerning works of mercy
  • 16. A DESCRIPTION OF HEART-PURITY
  • The nature of heart-purity
  • Reasons for purity of heart
  • Christians must not rest in outside purity
  • Signs of an impure heart
  • Seven signs of a pure heart
  • Nine exhortations to heart-purity
  • Eight means to be used to obtain heart-purity
  • 17. THE BLESSED PRIVILEGE OF SEEING GOD EXPLAINED
  • The sight of God in this life and in the life to come
  • Nine excellencies of the beatific vision
  • It is the sinner’s misery that he shall not see God
  • We must labour to be rightly qualified for this vision
  • A cordial for the pure in heart
  • 18. CONCERNING PEACEABLENESS
  • A four-fold peace
  • Two reasons for peaceable-mindedness
  • Peaceable-mindedness a saint’s character
  • A reproof for such as are unpeaceable
  • An exhortation to peaceable-mindedness (under 11 heads)
  • Some helps to peaceable-mindedness
  • All Christians must be peacemakers
  • 19. THEY SHALL BE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD
  • By nature we are not children of God
  • Children of God are made such by adoption and infusion of grace
  • How we come to be children of God by faith
  • Nine signs of divine sonship
  • How Christians should bring up their children
  • The love of God in making us his children
  • The honour of God’s children
  • Twelve high privileges of God’s children:
  • God’s love towards them
  • God bears with their infirmities
  • God accepts of their imperfect services
  • God provides for them
  • God shields off dangers from them
  • God reveals to them the great things of his law
  • God gives them boldness in prayer
  • God brings them into a state of freedom
  • God makes them heirs apparent to the promises
  • God gives them his blessing
  • God works all things for their good
  • God keeps them from perishing
  • 20. EXHORTATIONS TO CHRISTIANS AS THEY ARE CHILDREN OF GOD
  • Let us prove ourselves to be the children of God
  • Let us carry ourselves as becomes the children of God
  • 21. CONCERNING PERSECUTION
  • Observations on persecution
  • What is meant by persecution?
  • Various kinds of persecution
  • The causes of persecution
  • The persecution of ministers
  • The persecution that makes one blessed
  • Lessons to be learned from persecution
  • Two sharp reproofs
  • Christians should possess themselves beforehand with thoughts of sufferings
  • Christians must arm themselves for suffering:
  • Labour to be persons rightly qualified for suffering
  • Avoid those things which will hinder suffering
  • Promote those things which will help you to suffer (especially self-denial):
  • Inure yourselves to suffering
  • Be well-skilled in the knowledge of Christ
  • Prize every truth of God
  • Keep a good conscience
  • Make the Scripture familiar to you
  • Get a suffering frame of heart
  • Get suffering graces
  • Treasure up suffering promises
  • Set before your eyes suffering examples
  • Lay in suffering considerations
  • 22. AN APPENDIX TO THE BEATITUDES
  • The Lord’s commandments are not grievous
  • Eight particulars showing that God’s commands are not grievous
  • Christ’s commands compared with:
  • The law
  • The commands of sin
  • The torments of the damned
  • The glory of heaven
  • Various reproofs