TEXT: Matthew 5:3-10

SUBJECT: Watson on the Beatitudes #4

Tonight, with the Lord’s help, we’ll continue the Puritan study we began a few weeks ago. It’s called Thomas Watson on the Beatitudes. The book was written in 1660 and remains as useful today as it ever was.

The word beatitude means "blessed" or "happy". The beatitudes, therefore, describe the person who is happy now and will be blessed forever. Underline the word "describe". The beatitudes don’t tell us what to do; they tell us what to be. No set of rules will make you blessed. It takes more than rules to do that. If you want to be happy, you’ve got to become a new creature in Christ. If the beatitudes tell us anything at all, they tell us,

Thus far, we’ve looked at the first three blessings. Now we move on to Number Four, which is,

Watson begins the chapter by defining his terms and explaining them at some length.

By hungering and thirsting, of course, he means a strong desire.

Note the word, "pants". There a difference between vaguely wishing for something, and panting after it. The hunger you feel is not the little rumbling at 3:00 in the afternoon, but the sharp pang you feel after twelve or fifteen hours without food. The thirst is one you feel on a hot day and nowhere near a drink of water.

The idea, then is one of a passionate desire. Psalm 42:1 comes to mind,

Think of a deer pursued by a hunter (or maybe chased by his dogs). For hours and hours he has run for his life. Climbing up the hills, weaving through the trees, jumping barriers. The desperate chase creates a desperate thirst. And that’s what the Christian feels—though not in his throat, but in his soul.

What the believer hungers and thirsts for, is righteousness. What does this mean? Watson says two things:

"Imputation" refers to the work of God for the sinner. When we believe in Christ, God imputes (or charges) His righteousness to our accounts. It’s as though we are poor men, without a cent in the world. Yet, when we trust Christ, God takes all of His riches and puts them into our bank accounts. So that everything He has, we have as well.

It’s not as though our Lord has a secure place in heaven and we kind of slip in under the door and hide away in some corner. No! Because of what Christ has done for us, we are as welcome in heaven as He is! Our lives don’t match His, of course, but our records do. Because God has imputed His righteousness to us. Watson says,

The other word is equally important, "implantation". This refers to the work of God in the sinner’s life, slowly making him into what he ought to be. This is the primary meaning of the beatitude. We are to hunger and thirst after holiness, practical, every day holiness in the nuts and bolts of life. Watson calls it,

(i.e., one affecting every part

of life).

The blessed person, therefore longs to be good—both in his record before God and in his life before men. His life is far from perfect, of course, but he wants holiness. Not just wishes for it in a fuzzy way now and then, but he wants it more than good health or a fine career or a lot of money or tons of free time or anything else he’d like to have. For him, righteousness

We’d all like to say we hunger and thirst for righteousness. But saying we do, and doing it are two different things. It doesn’t take Thomas Watson long to put our words to the test. Do you want holiness? Do you long for it? The Puritan says,

He goes on to describe what a hungry man feels and does. If you’ve ever been hungry—I mean starving—you’ll recognize the truth in what he says.

I don’t have to labor this one, do I? If you’ve ever gone without food for a day or two, you know it hurts! Hunger is not a slight discomfort, but an agony of the body.

Apply this to the soul. How do your sins make you feel? I know you don’t feel good about them, but do they hurt you? Do they make you cry? Do they make you feel ashamed of yourself?

Have you ever felt like David in Psalms 32, 38, 51?

If a lack of food gives you a bellyache, then a lack of righteousness gives you a soul ache. If—that is—you "hunger and thirst for righteousness". That’s the first test. Now, the second,

This is Puritan common sense at its best! There’s nothing I like better than a funny story. But when I’m hungry—really hungry—a funny story won’t do the job! Save your jokes for later; right now, I want food!

Apply this to the soul. There are so many wonderful things in the world, innocent things, gifts of God. Food, fun, laughter, good books, a warm bed, a cool breeze, a day off work, and so on. These are good things. But they can never slake a spiritual thirst. Only righteousness can do that. If movies can get your mind off your sins and if Italian food can satisfy your hunger for godliness, then you don’t hunger and thirst for righteousness.

That’s Number Two. Here’s the third,

What would you think of a man with a house full of food, who lies around saying, "I’m dying of hunger", but won’t walk to the cupboard to get something to eat? You’d say he’s the laziest man on earth—or more likely, he’s not really hungry. Because, if he were, he’d get off his duff and find something to eat—even if it weren’t in arm’s reach.

The same thing is true of the hungry soul. If he truly hungers for righteousness, he’s willing to do something to get it.

He’s willing to renounce his pride and seek the righteousness that of Christ that comes through faith alone.

In a practical way, he’s willing to do what it takes to break bad habits and to replace them with good ones. He’s willing to turn off the TV if it’s a snare to him; he’s willing to pray more and read the Bible more and seek the help of friends more. He’s willing to confess his sins and make himself accountable to someone. In short, he means business.

Most of you know the name Jay Adams. No one ever accused Adams of being subtle. One day a friend heard him yelling, "Where’s the blood? Where is the blood?" Later he asked him about it. "I was doing some marriage counseling" Adams said. But why all the yelling? "Because they both said they were doing everything they could to make their marriage work. But I knew they weren’t. `You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin’".

If your belly rumbles a little you might do a little to get some food. But if you’re starving, you’ll do what it takes to get something to eat. The same is true of the one who "hungers and thirsts for righteousness". That’s the third test. Here’s the fourth,

If a man’s hungry, you don’t have to talk him into eating. If he hungers for righteousness, you don’t have to beg him to read the Bible or pray or come to church. He may need an encouragement now and then—maybe a rebuke from time to time—but only now and then. The man with a healthy stomach eats without being told to. The man with a healthy soul feeds on Christ without being tricked or shamed or forced into it. The fifth test is also the most important,

"To the hungry soul every bitter thing tastes sweet" says the Proverb. The picky, finicky, fussy eater is not hungry. If he were, he’d eat his oatmeal as though it were prime rib. The same is true of the spiritually hungry. Godliness is not a medicine he has to take, but a delicacy he gets to eat.

These are the tests: Do you ache to be righteous? Does righteousness satisfy you? Are you willing to do something to be righteous? Are you eager for holiness? Is godliness sweet to your taste? If so, you can be sure that—for all your weaknesses, inconsistencies, and backslidings, you

How did you do on the test? Did you pass it with flying colors? I didn’t. Frankly, I came down in the middle of all of them. My sins grieve me—but not as much as they should. I’m eager for holiness, kind of. This is very disturbing isn’t it? It makes you wonder if you’re a Christian at all. Thomas Watson knows how you feel and offers some cheering words to the person who hungers and thirsts after righteousness, but only feebly.

That’s encouraging, isn’t it? A slow and feeble pulse means you’re sick, but alive. In the same way, a weak and inconsistent hunger for holiness means you’re alive in Christ.

The wording here is not very plain, but it’s worth untangling. What he means is this: Even if you don’t feel like you’re hungering or thirsting for righteousness, you can still ask yourself: If I had my way, would I?

He adds,

Here’s one I can heartily say "yes" to. I don’t always hunger and thirst for righteousness. And when I do, the desires are often weak and fluctuating. But I can say this with all honesty: I want to love Christ and do His will. Every believer can say that. That tells us what we are—God’s children.

Watson answers another objection,

The uneasy feeling that you’re slipping away from Christ is a strong proof that you still belong to Christ.

But don’t leave it there. Watson says,

This is very encouraging. You’ve got to eat to live. And to eat properly, you have to have some appetite. How do you stimulate an appetite? Physically, I don’t know (that’s never been my problem). But spiritually, you go back to the basics: read the Bible, pray, go to church, take the Lord’s Supper, meditate, seek fellowship with God’s people.

There’s nothing very sexy about these things. But they’re God’s way of restoring your appetite and returning you to spiritual health.

Paul Tournier was a Christian medical doctor who spent a lot of his time counseling people on marital problems. Wives and husbands would often come to him saying they’ve drifted apart. They don’t hate each other, of course, but they’ve lost the intimacy they used to have.

Instead of trying to plumb the depths of their souls, he’d always ask, when did you last sit down and talk? Do you still go out to dinner? Do you go on walks the way you once did?

Most of them said they didn’t. Well, that’s the answer: You don’t feel close to your husband or wife because you’re spending little or no time with him or her.

The same thing applies to God: Maybe you’re drifting away from Him because you’ve gotten out of the habit of praying, reading the Bible, and so on. Go back to the first things and you’ll often regain the intimacy you once felt.

At the end of the chapter, Watson offers some help to spike your spiritual appetite. What he says is pretty obvious and won’t take much comment on my part. Two things:

Some people lose their physical appetite because they’re preoccupied with other things—drugs, worry, work, and so on. The same is true with a spiritual appetite. You can lose your taste for righteousness by becoming wrapped up in other things. Our Lord was very clear on this one—"The cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, the pleasures of this life".

These things have a way of suppressing spiritual appetite, or, like junk food, making you lose your taste for healthy food. Identify the things that hinder your appetite and get rid of them (if you can) or cut down on them (if that’s the best you can do).

The best way to acquire good taste in food is to eat it as often as possible. It is good cooking that makes the gourmet. In the same way, it is fellowship with God and pursuing holiness that stirs you to more.

The ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness will have their reward,

Even now, they have a taste of righteousness—a small sample that leaves them still hungry. An appetizer, you might say.

One day they’ll have all they want. Watson says,

This is the promise for everyone who wants it. God never sent a hungry soul away unsatisfied. No, the opposite is true: We have all we want. And more. The Promise of the New Covenant will be fulfilled,