Blessed are the poor in spirit— Happy, &c. Doddridge: and so throughout the beatitudes: I use the word happy rather than blessed, says he, as more exactly answering to the original word Μακαριοι, as the word blessed does to the Greek word ευλογημενοι : and I the rather choose to render it thus, because our Lord seems to intimate by it, not only that the dispositions here recommended would be the wayto future blessedness, but that they would immediately be attended with the truest happiness, and the most noble pleasures. In order to render his hearers more attentive, Christ proposes his doctrine in certain paradoxical dogmas, which, at first appearance, may seem false to the carnal eye, but are found most true by the attentive and sincere considerer. "It is notable, says an old writer, that all the beatitudes are affixed to unlikely conditions, to shew that the judgment of the word and of the world, are contrary." Bengelius observes, that in the present sermon we have, first, an exordium, containing a sweet invitation to true holiness and happiness, Matthew 5:3-12.; secondly, a persuasive to impart it to others, Matthew 5:13-16.; thirdly, a description of true Christian holiness, Matthew 5; Matthew 3—Matthew 7:12 in which it is easy to observe, that the latter part exactly answers to the former; fourthly, the conclusion; giving a sure mark of the true way, warning against false prophets, and exhorting to follow after righteousness. St. Luke applies this first beatitude to the poor, properly so called; but though poverty of spirit may include a disposition which bears poverty rightly, there seems no doubt that it here primarily refers to humility of heart. Dr. Heylin's seems the true interpretation: the phrase, poor in spirit, says he, expresses an inward disposition or state of mind, by an outward worldly circumstance; namely, poverty, which signifies want; the sense whereof obliges men to dependence upon others for supply, by begging or servitude: so by exact analogy, poverty of spirit implies want, and consequently an habitual address to, and dependence upon God, for supply, by prayer,faith, and obedience. The beatitude therefore may be thus paraphrased: "You naturally congratulate the rich and the great, and expect, under the reign of the Messiah, to be advanced to wealth, dignity, and power; but your notions of these things are very false and vitiated; for I say unto you, happy are the poor in spirit; those humble souls, who, deeply conscious of their ignorance and guilt, can quietly resign to the divine teachings and disposals, and accommodate themselves to the lowest circumstances which Providence shall appoint them: for, however they may be despised and trampled on by men, theirs is the kingdom of heaven: they will be most likely to embrace the Gospel, and they alone will be intitled to its blessings, both in time and in eternity." See Doddridge, Wetstein, and Bengelius.
Dr. Campbell translates the verse, happy the poor, &c. observing that it has more energy, after the example of the original, and all the ancient versions, to omit the substantive verb. The idiom of our language admits this freedom as easily as the Italian, and more so than the French. None of the Latin versions express the verb. Another reason, he adds, which induced me to adopt this manner is to render these aphorisms, in regard to happiness, as similar in form as they are in the original, to the aphorisms in regard to wretchedness, which are, Luke 6 contrasted with them, woe to you that are rich, &c.