AN EXPOSITION OF MATTHEW 5:1-10

The opening verses of the best known of all Christ’s sermons were treated by many of the Puritans, for the Beatitudes gave full scope for the combination of sound doctrine, practical wisdom, and application to the heart which characterized their preaching. Besides these general Puritan characteristics, Thomas Watson added some of his own: a master of a brief and vigorous style and of a beauty of expression, he could speak not only to win men’s understanding but also to secure a place for truth in their memory. More than most of his generation, he sought to follow the example of Christ’s teaching by employing all kinds of illustrative material from common life, and with simplicity and charm he uttered words hard to forget. Two hundred years after Thomas Watson’s death, William Jay of Bath said that he could go to any of his books and ‘find him always fresh, racy, and instructive.’

The Beatitudes, first published in 1660, has been one of Watson’s rarest works. In this translation, it has been completely revised and made suitable for smooth and easy reading.