Quesnel: Moral Reflections on the Gospels Vol 1

60 ST, MATTHEW.
joy; and yet true joy must necessarily be the fruit
of tears. Self-love, pride, covetousness, &c. have
their sorrow and their tears; but God wipes away
only those of humility, charity, poverty, and repen-
tance. May the sweets of temporal prosperity, of
the favour of men, and of the diversions of the world,
be for ever far removed from me, because they are
inconsistent with thine, O my God, and with the
consolations of thy Spirit.
" 5. Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit
the earth."
The third lesson of Christ is the meekness of
charity, in heart, in countenance, and in word. It
is no small victory for a man to subdue the severity
of his temper. The meekness which leads to bless-
edness is not a meekness of constitution, of artifice,
or of deceit ; but a meekness of grace, of charity,
and of patience. It is disposed to suffer itself to be
spoiled of all in this world : but of what treasures,
what inheritances, does it not put us into possession
in the land of the living? To possess the land of
our heart in patience, is the beginning of the perfect
kingdom of charity, and the fruit of Christian meek-
^ness. Instruct us. Lord, in this virtue, thou who
art the master and the teacher of it
*' 6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness : for they shall be filled."
The fourth lesson of Christ shows us, that a zeal
for righteousness and perfection, a hatred of sin, and
of the unrighteousness of the age, and the desire of
the sovereign and eternal righteousness, ought to be
the sole hunger and thirst of our heart. The salu-
tary hunger is after that alone which can nourish and