Poor In Spirit
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| TRUST |
Poor in spirit
They are humble, who feel their dependence on God in all things,
temporal and spiritual, and look to him for the supply of every want;
more especially those who feel their need, as sinners, of spiritual
blessings, and look to Jesus Christ to grant them.
They are unfeignedly penitent, they are truly convinced of sin; who see
and feel the state they are in by nature, being deeply sensible of their
sinfulness, guiltiness, helplessness. There is a poor- spiritedness
that is so far from making men blessed that it is a sin and a
snare--cowardice and base fear, and a willing subjection to the lusts of
men. But this poverty of spirit is a gracious disposition of soul, by
which we are emptied of self, in order to our being filled with Jesus
Christ. To be poor in spirit is,
1. To be contentedly poor, willing to be emptied of worldly wealth, if
God orders that to be our lot; to bring our mind to our condition, when
it is a low condition. Many are poor in the world, but high in spirit,
poor and proud, murmuring and complaining, and blaming their lot, but we
must accommodate ourselves to our poverty, must know how to be abased,
Php 4:12. Acknowledging the wisdom of God in appointing us to poverty,
we must be easy in it, patiently bear the inconveniences of it, be
thankful for what we have, and make the best of that which is. It is to
sit loose to all worldly wealth, and not set our hearts upon it, but
cheerfully to bear losses and disappointments which may befall us in the
most prosperous state. It is not, in pride or pretence, to make
ourselves poor, by throwing away what God has given us, especially as
those in the church of Rome, who vow poverty, and yet engross the wealth
of the nations; but if we be rich in the world we must be poor in
spirit, that is, we must condescend to the poor and sympathize with
them, as being touched with the feeling of their infirmities; we must
expect and prepare for poverty; must not inordinately fear or shun it,
but must bid it welcome, especially when it comes upon us for keeping a
good conscience, Heb 10:34. Job was poor in spirit, when he blessed God
in taking away, as well as giving.
2. It is to be humble and lowly in our own eyes. To be poor in spirit,
is to think meanly of ourselves, of what we are, and have, and do; the
poor are often taken in the Old Testament for the humble and
self-denying, as opposed to those that are at ease, and the proud; it is
to be as little children in our opinion of ourselves, weak, foolish,
and insignificant, Mt 18:4; 19:14. Laodicea was poor in spirituals,
wretchedly and miserably poor, and yet rich in spirit, so well increased
with goods, as to have need of nothing, Re 3:17. On the other hand,
Paul was rich in spirituals, excelling most in gifts and graces, and yet
poor in spirit, the least of the apostles, less than the least of all
saints, and nothing in his own account. It is to look with a holy
contempt upon ourselves, to value others and undervalue ourselves in
comparison of them. It is to be willing to make ourselves cheap, and
mean, and little, to do good; to become all things to all men. It is to
acknowledge that God is great, and we are mean; that he is holy and we
are sinful; that he is all and we are nothing, less than nothing, worse
than nothing; and to humble ourselves before him, and under his mighty
hand.
3. It is to come off from all confidence in our own righteousness and
strength, that we may depend only upon the merit of Christ for our
justification, and the spirit and grace of Christ for our
sanctification. That broken and contrite spirit with which the publican
cried for mercy to a poor sinner, is this poverty of spirit. We must
call ourselves poor, because always in want of God's grace, always
begging at God's door, always hanging on in his house.