Jesus was blessing those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

JESUS WAS BLESSING THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST
FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
MATTHEW 5:6 Blessedare those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness,for they will be filled.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Five Gates To Happiness
Matthew 5:6-12
W.F. Adeney
We have alreadylookedat three gates to happiness. Let us now proceedto
examine the five that still remain to us.
I. HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS.
1. This is a desire for righteousness onits own account, and not for its
rewards. It is very different from the merely selfish wish to escape from the
penalty of sin. Righteousnessis regardedas an end in itself.
2. This is a deep appetite, like hunger and thirst. The most primitive, the most
universal, the most imperious appetites are the types of this desire. In our
better moments does it not wake up in us with an inexpressible longing? If we
could but be like Christ the sinless!

3. It is rewardedby its own satisfaction. Thesehungry and thirsty ones are to
be filled. Nothing but the object of the appetite will appease its craving.
4. Righteousnessis attainable in Christ. The Epistle to the Romans shows how
this Beatitude is realized in experience.
II. MERCIFULNESS. The previous Beatitude referred to the interior life and
the personaldesires of individual souls. This Beatitude concerns an attitude
towards other people. Perfecthappiness is not possible without a right regard
to the socialrelations oflife.
1. It is a peculiarly Christian view of those relations to see them in the light of
mercy. We are to think especiallyofkindness
(1) to the helpless,
(2) to the undeserving,
(3) to those who have wrongedus. This is just the Christ-spirit.
2. The reward of it is to be treated in a similar manner:
(1) even by men whose gratitude is worn;

(2) especiallyby God, who cannotpardon the unforgiving, and who makes our
forgiveness ofothers the standard of his forgiveness ofus (Matthew 6:12).
III. PURITY OF HEART. We have reachedthe holy of holies, the inner
sanctuary of the Christian life. God regards the state of the heart as of
supreme importance. He does not considerthat we can have cleanhands if we
do not possessa pure heart. While foul imaginations are welcomedand gross
desires cherished, the whole life is degraded in the sight of God. But the purity
of heart has a wonderful rewardreserved for it alone - the vision of God. Pure
Sir Galahadcansee the holy grail which greatSir Launcelot was doomed by
his sin to miss. Here, as elsewhere,there is an essentialconnectionbetweenthe
grace and the reward. Sin blinds the soul; purity is clear-eyedin the spiritual
world. Moreover, it is only to the pure in heart that the vision of Godcan be a
reward. The impure would but be scorchedby it, and would cry on the rocks
and hills to coverthem from its awful presence.
IV. PEACEMAKING. We now come to an active grace. The Christian is not
to shut himself up in monastic seclusion, indifferent to the evils of the world
around him. He is to interfere for its betterment. Peaceis the greatestinterest
of nations, brotherhood the greatestrequisite of society. Happy are they who
can bring about such things. The process is dangerous and likely to be
misunderstood, for the peacemakeris often regardedas an enemy by both
sides of the quarrel. His reward, however, is great - to be accountedone of
God's sons; like the only begottenSon, who is the Prince of peacemakers. The
fitness of the reward springs from the fact that the work is most God-like.
V. PERSECUTION.How far-reaching is the prophetic gaze of Christ to
foresee persecutionwhen in the flush of early popularity! How honest is he to
foretell it! How serene is his contemplation of it! He knows that there is a
greatbeyond. Already the heavenly treasures are stored up for those who may

lose all for Christ's sake. Fidelitytill death is rewardedwith a crown of life
after death (Revelation2:10). - W.F.A.
Biblical Illustrator
They which do hunger and thirst.
Matthew 5:6
Righteousnessdesired
J. Jordan.
I. A few FEATURES OF THE DISPOSITION here commended. The term
righteousness is variously used.
1. Sometimes it signifies rectitude.
2. Sometimes imputed righteousness.

3. Sometimes personalrighteousness.But here it means —
(1)A death unto sin;
(2)A renunciation of the world;
(3)A deliberate choice of God.
II. Trace this disposition to ITS LEGITIMATE SOURCE.
III. Attend to the GRACIOUS STATEMENTmade respecting the possession
of this disposition.
1. It implies that their desires shall be satisfied.
2. It implies a plenitude of satisfaction.
3. The text implies the stability of the promise, that this satisfactionis sure.To
conclude —
1. Is the disposition possessedby us?

2. Have you an ardent desire for righteousness.
(J. Jordan.)
A test of heavenly citizenship
W. Butcher., T. T. Sherlock, B. A.
I. AN OBJECT OF CHRISTIAN DESIRE — righteousness. This is
conformity to God's will. God is righteous.
1. Personalpurity.
2. It also takes the form of doing right.
II. THIS OBJECT IS A MATTER OF DESIRE.
1. The desire for righteousness is present more or less in most men.
2. The attention is not drawn to its possession, but to the desire for it.
III. THE ATTAINMENT OF THIS OBJECT. Theyshall have righteousness.
1. The desire for righteousness is met by the actualpresence of sin. Jesus died
that sin might be removed.

2. The desire for righteousness is met and apparently hindered by the moral
feebleness ofour moral nature. The Holy Ghostis given to him.
IV. THE POSSESSIONOF THIS OBJECT IS HAPPINESS.
(W. Butcher.)
I. The VASTNESS AND INTENSTYofthe religious life. Hunger and thirst
are primitive appetites;they coverlife.
II. The GLORY Of the religious life. We assimilate the strength of what we
feed on.
III. The PROGRESSIVENESS ofthe religious life.
IV. The SATISFACTION ofthe religious life.
(T. T. Sherlock, B. A.)
Heart-cravings
G. Elliot.
1. Man may be measuredby his desires.
2. Righteousnessa supreme objectof desire.

3. The desire is the measure of the supply.
4. A real desire culminates in action, hunger drives to work.
(G. Elliot.)
The want of spiritual appetite
Am. Hem. Monthly.
1. Desire is a condition and prophecy of religious attainments.
2. This law of desire explains our spiritual poverty.
3. This want of appetite for righteousness is the curse of mankind.
(Am. Hem. Monthly.)
Longing for righteousness
E. H. Chaplin., W. Barker., Dr. J. Cramming., Thomas Watson., Thomas
Watson.
I. He who would have the blessing promised in the text, must WANT
righteousness — as a hungry man wants food. This tests the value of our
superficial professions. In order to this longing he must perceive the intrinsic
worth of the thing desired.
II. WHAT IS HERE MEANT by righteousness.

1. It is not the single virtue of justice or rectitude. It implies the essenceofthe
thing, a state of mind and heart; a soil out of which all single virtues grow.
2. It is not merely a desire to see righteous-mess prevailing in the world at
large.
3. It is a desire not merely for doing righteously, but for being righteous.
III. THE RESULT. I fear some are not hungering for righteousness, but for
the rewards of righteousness.Worldly goodcannot fill man. Intellectual
attainment cannot. Goodness willsatisfy. There is no condition where we
cannot be satisfiedin the enjoyment of righteousness.Goodnessdoes not
forsake a man.
(E. H. Chaplin.)
I. THE STATE OR CONDITION described.
1. What righteousness is it? God's justifying righteousness.The necessityfor it
is deeply felt. This hungering is a specialcondition of mind, an indication of
healthy, spiritual life.
II. THE BLESSEDNESS ofthis state of mind. Satisfied because it quenches
the desire of sin. A mark of the Divine favour. Security and permanency of the
blessing. Identical with that of the glorified in heaven.

(W. Barker.)
I. WHAT IS THIS RIGHTEOUSNESS?
II. WHAT IS IT THAT LEADS PERSONSTHUS TO HUNGER AND
THIRST? A sense ofinsufficiency and dissatisfactionin all createdthings; a
sense ofguilt; a perceptionof the utter inefficacy of all human prescriptions to
remove sin or supply righteousness;a discoveryof that righteousness whichis
" unto all and upon all that believe."
III. Those who thus hunger and thirst ARE PRONOUNCEDBLESSED.
Becauseit is the evidence of a new nature — acceptancewith God. They are
drawn off from the disappointing and perplexing pursuits of the things of this
world; they are "filled" — satisfied— with righteousness,happiness, and
finally with the likeness ofGod, etc. We learn that realreligion is a matter of
personalexperience.
(Dr. J. Cramming.)See here at what a low price God sets heavenly things; it is
but hungering and thirsting.
I. Do but HUNGER and you shall have righteousness.
(1)Hunger less afterthe world and
(2)more after righteousness.

(3)Say concerning spiritual things: "Lord, evermore give me this bread."
(4)Hunger after that righteousnesswhich delivereth from death.
II. If we do not THIRST here, we shall thirst when it is too late.
(1)If we do not thirst as David did (Psalm 42:2),
(2)we shall thirst as Dives did, for a drop of water.
(3)Oh, is it not better to thirst for righteousness while it is to be had, than to
thirst for mercy when there is none to be had?
(Thomas Watson.)Whatan encouragementis this to hunger after
righteousness!Such shall be filled. God chargethus to fill the hungry (Isaiah
58:10). He blames those who do not fill the hungry (Isaiah 32:6). And do we
think He will be slack in that which He blames us for not doing? God is a
fountain. If we bring the vessels ofour desires to this fountain, He is able to
fill them. The fulness in God is: —
I. An INFINITE fulness.
(1)Though He fill us, yet He hath never the less Himself.
(2)As it hath its resplendency, so

(3)its redundancy. It is inexhaustible and fathomless,
II. It is a CONSTANT fulness.
1. The fulness of the creature is mutable. It ebbs and changeth.
2. God's fulness is overflowing and everflowing.
3. It is a never-failing goodness.
III. God fills the hungry soul with —
1. Grace. Graceis filling because suitable to the soul.
2. Peace. Israelhad honey out of the rock;this honey of peace comes outof the
rock Christ.
3. Bliss. Glory is a filling thing. When a Christian awakesoutof the sleepof
death, then he shall be satisfied. Then shall the soul be filled brimful.
(Thomas Watson.)

I. WHAT IS HERE MEANT BY RIGHTEOUSNESS.
1. Actual and inherent righteousness;living a life in sincere and perfect
obedience to all the laws of God.
2. Imputed righteousness.
II. WHAT IS IT TO HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS?
1. TO contend fiercely and fight manfully againstour spiritual adversaries.
2. To desire ardently and intensely for spiritual sustenance.
3. To discharge our duty in every point to the best of our skill and power.
4. To willingly suffer hunger, thirst, cold, nakedness,and the want of anything
necessaryfor the support and comfort of life, rather than knowingly
transgress anypoint of duty.
(Bishop Ofspring Blackall, D. D.)
Soul starvation a sadand guilty thing
Beecher.

The utter starving of the soul, if we could see it as we see other things, would
strike us as one of the saddestof things. When the shepherd, overin New
York, had a house for the receptionof orphan children, and on inspection it
was found that the soup was very thin, that there was but little of it, that the
food was most stingily dealt out, and that these children were gradually
coming to be skin and bones by starvationcharity, the whole city flamed with
indignation. They threw open the door of the cell, and seizedhim by the
throat, and pitched him in ignominiously. But look into your own souland see
how the things that are nearestto God are shut up in you. While your
awakenedappetites and passions are fully clothed, and are walking up and
down the palace of your soul, having their own way, I hear a faint cry in some
remote chamber thereof. It is conscience moaning and pleading for food; and.
I hear the thundering rap of passions on the door as they say, "Hush! Be still!
Are you never going to sleep? Will you never die?" In another quarter I hear
the soulcrying for food. "What ails you?" is the response;and a bone is
thrown in for it to gnaw on.
(Beecher.)
Righteousnessmany-sided
E. H. Chaplin.
It is not merely the single virtue of justice or rectitude — in fact, no virtue is
absolutely single, if we look at it closely. A man cannotreally have one virtue,
and but one, genuine and complete. He cannot have one without having all
virtues and all graces,forno one virtue or grace is complete without the
intermingling of the life and reciprocalactionof all the rest. We make a great
mistake if we suppose otherwise. There have been men who could play
delightful music on one string of the violin, but there never was a man who
could produce the harmonies of heavenin his soul by one-stringed virtue. Can
a man be thoroughly and strictly honest, and at the same time be a selfish
man? Can he be temperate. Suppose a man, for instance, pursuing a course of
virtue, a course of temperance, or of rectitude, has the promise that he shall
be wealthy, and that he shall have long life — shall make a fortune, and shall

be respected. This is all very good;but what is the essence ofall this'? It is in
being righteous; that is the great blessing. So that if you have a long life, it is a
righteous life; and if you have wealth, it is righteous wealth, as you make a
righteous use and disposition of it. With this, any condition is blessed;without
it, no condition is blessed. So the essenceofall promises is in the possessionof
this intrinsic righteousness.
(E. H. Chaplin.)
Moralhunger a developing energy
Beecher.
Now, the same law prevails in the mind. That is to say, outward activity grows
from some sort of inward uneasiness orimpulse. Hunger existing in the body
works outwardly, first, into that industry which supplies it, and then enlarges
gradually, and inspires a more complex industry. And so almost; all of life in
its upper sphere proceeds from a kind of hunger which exists in the soul.
Some yearning, or longing, or action, or some faculty developing itself and
working to produce its appropriate gratification — this is the analogue;and
the character, as formed by the faculties, answers to the industrial creations
produced by sensations ofhunger and thirst in the body.
(Beecher.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(6) Which do hunger and thirst.—We seemin this to hear the lessonwhich
our Lord had learnt from the recentexperience of the wilderness. The craving
of bodily hunger has become a parable of that higher yearning after

righteousness, thatthirsting after God, even as the hart desireth the water-
brooks, which is certain, in the end, to gain its full fruition. Desires after
earthly goods are frustrated, or end in satiety and weariness. To this only
belongs the promise that they who thus “hunger and thirst” shall assuredly be
filled. The same thoughts meet us again in the Gospelwhich in many respects
is so unlike that of St. Matthew. (Comp. John 4:14; John 4:32).
BensonCommentary
Matthew 5:6. Blessedare they which hunger and thirst after righteousness —
That, insteadof desiring the possessions ofothers, and endeavouring to obtain
them by violence or deceit;and instead of coveting this world’s goods,
sincerely, earnestly, and perseveringlydesire universal holiness of heart and
life, or deliverance from all sinful dispositions and practices, and a complete
restorationof their souls to the image of God in which they were created:a
just and beautiful description this of that fervent, constant, increasing,
restless, andactive desire;of that holy ardour and vehemence of soulin
pursuit of the most eminent degrees ofuniversal goodness whichwill end in
complete satisfaction:For they shall be filled — Shall obtain the righteousness
which they hunger and thirst for, and be abundantly satisfiedtherewith.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
5:3-12 Our Saviour here gives eight characters ofblessedpeople, which
representto us the principal graces ofa Christian. 1. The poor in spirit are
happy. These bring their minds to their condition, when it is a low condition.
They are humble and lowly in their own eyes. Theysee their want, bewail
their guilt, and thirst after a Redeemer. The kingdom of grace is of such; the
kingdom of glory is for them. 2. Those that mourn are happy. That godly
sorrow which workethtrue repentance, watchfulness, a humble mind, and
continual dependence for acceptanceonthe mercy of God in Christ Jesus,
with constantseeking the Holy Spirit, to cleanse awaythe remaining evil,
seems here to be intended. Heaven is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy,
to which our way is through a vale of tears. Such mourners shall be comforted
by their God. 3. The meek are happy. The meek are those who quietly submit
to God; who can bear insult; are silent, or return a softanswer;who, in their

patience, keeppossessionof their own souls, when they can scarcelykeep
possessionofanything else. These meek ones are happy, even in this world.
Meeknesspromotes wealth, comfort, and safety, even in this world. 4. Those
who hunger and thirst after righteousness are happy. Righteousnessis here
put for all spiritual blessings. Theseare purchasedfor us by the righteousness
of Christ, confirmed by the faithfulness of God. Our desires of spiritual
blessings must be earnest. Thoughall desires for grace are not grace, yetsuch
a desire as this, is a desire of God's own raising, and he will not forsake the
work of his own hands. 5. The merciful are happy. We must not only bear our
own afflictions patiently, but we must do all we canto help those who are in
misery. We must have compassiononthe souls of others, and help them; pity
those who are in sin, and seek to snatch them as brands out of the burning. 6.
The pure in heart are happy; for they shall see God. Here holiness and
happiness are fully described and put together. The heart must be purified by
faith, and kept for God. Create in me such a cleanheart, O God. None but the
pure are capable of seeing God, nor would heaven be happiness to the impure.
As God cannot endure to look upon their iniquity, so they cannotlook upon
his purity. 7. The peace-makersare happy. They love, and desire, and delight
in peace;and study to be quiet. They keepthe peace that it be not broken, and
recoverit when it is broken. If the peace-makersare blessed, woe to the peace-
breakers!8. Those who are persecutedfor righteousness'sakeare happy. This
saying is peculiar to Christianity; and it is more largely insisted upon than any
of the rest. Yet there is nothing in our sufferings that can merit of God; but
God will provide that those who lose for him, though life itself, shall not lose
by him in the end. BlessedJesus!how different are thy maxims from those of
men of this world! They callthe proud happy, and admire the gay, the rich,
the powerful, and the victorious. May we find mercy from the Lord; may we
be owned as his children, and inherit his kingdom. With these enjoyments and
hopes, we may cheerfully welcome low or painful circumstances.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Blessedare they which do hunger ... - Hunger and thirst, here, are expressive
of strong desire. Nothing would better express the strong desire which we
ought to feelto obtain righteousness than hunger and thirst. No needs are so
keen, none so imperiously demand supply, as these. They occurdaily, and

when long continued, as in case ofthose shipwrecked, and doomed to wander
months or years over burning sands, with scarcelyany drink or food, nothing
is more distressing. An ardent desire for anything is often representedin the
Scriptures by hunger and thirst, Psalm 42:1-2; Psalm63:1-2. A desire for the
blessings ofpardon and peace;a deep sense ofsin, and want, and
wretchedness, is also representedby thirsting, Isaiah 55:1-2.
They shall be filled - They shall be satisfiedas a hungry man is when supplied
with food, or a thirsty man when supplied with drink. Those who are
perishing for want of righteousness;those who feel that they are lost sinners
and strongly desire to be holy, shall be thus satisfied. Neverwas there a desire
to be holy which God was not willing to gratify, and the gospelofChrist has
made provision to satisfyall who truly desire to be holy. See Isaiah55:1-3;
Isaiah65:13; John 4:14; John 6:35; John 7:37-38;Psalm17:15.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
6. Blessedare they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:for they
shall be filled—"shall be saturated." "Fromthis verse," says Tholuck, "the
reference to the Old Testament backgroundceases." Surprising!On the
contrary, none of these beatitudes is more manifestly dug out of the rich mine
of the Old Testament. Indeed, how could any one who found in the Old
Testament"the poor in spirit," and "the mourners in Zion," doubt that he
would also find those same characters also craving that righteousnesswhich
they feel and mourn their want of? But what is the precise meaning of
"righteousness" here? Lutheran expositors, and some of our own, seemto
have a hankering after that more restrictedsense ofthe term in which it is
used with reference to the sinner's justification before God. (See Jer 23:6; Isa
45:24;Ro 4:6; 2Co 5:21). But, in so comprehensive a saying as this, it is
clearly to be taken—as in Mt 5:10 also—ina much wider sense, as denoting
that spiritual and entire conformity to the law of God, under the want of
which the saints groan, and the possessionof which constitutes the only true
saintship. The Old Testamentdwells much on this righteousness, as that
which alone God regards with approbation (Ps 11:7; 23:3; 106:3; Pr 12:28;

16:31;Isa 64:5, &c.). As hunger and thirst are the keenestofour appetites,
our Lord, by employing this figure here, plainly means "those whose deepest
cravings are after spiritual blessings."And in the Old Testamentwe find this
craving variously expressed:"Hearkenunto Me, ye that follow after
righteousness, ye that seek the Lord" (Isa 51:1); "I have waitedfor Thy
salvation, O Lord," exclaimed dying Jacob(Ge 49:18); "My soul," says the
sweetPsalmist, "breakethfor the longing that it hath unto Thy judgments at
all times" (Ps 119:20):and in similar breathings does he give vent to his
deepestlongings in that and other Psalms. Well, our Lord just takes up here—
this blessedframe of mind, representing it as—the surest pledge of the coveted
supplies, as it is the best preparative, and indeed itself the beginning of them.
"They shall be saturated," He says;they shall not only have what they so
highly value and long to possess,but they shall have their fill of it. Not here,
however. Even in the Old Testamentthis was wellunderstood. "Deliverme,"
says the Psalmist, in language which, beyond all doubt, stretches beyond the
present scene, "frommen of the world, which have their portion in this life: as
for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness:I shall be satisfied, when I
awake, withThy likeness" (Ps 17:13-15). The foregoing beatitudes—the first
four—representthe saints rather as conscious oftheir need of salvation, and
acting suitably to that character, than as possessedofit. The next three are of
a different kind—representing the saints as having now found salvation, and
conducting themselves accordingly.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
You see many men and women hungering and thirsting after sensual
satisfactions,orafter sensible enjoyments; these are unhappy, miserable men,
they often hunger and thirst, and are not satisfied: but I will show you a more
excellentway, a more excellentobjectof your hunger and thirst, that is,
righteousness;both a righteousness whereinyou may stand before God, which
is in me, Jeremiah23:6, and is revealedfrom faith to faith, Romans 1:17, and
the righteousnessofa holy life. Those are blessedmen, who first seek the
kingdom of heaven, and the righteousness thereof, Godwill fill these men with
what they desire, Isaiah 55:1,2 Lu 1:53. There are some who understand this
text of a hungering after the clearing of their innocency towards men, which is
natural to just and innocent persons falselyaccusedand traduced, and they

have a promise of being filled, Psalm 37:6; but I see no reasonto conclude this
the sense ofthis text.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Blessedare they which do hunger and thirst,.... Not after the riches, honours,
and pleasures ofthis world, but
after righteousness;by which is meant, not justice and equity, as persons
oppressedand injured; nor a moral, legalrighteousness, whichthe generality
of the Jewishnation were eagerlypursuing; but the justifying righteousness of
Christ, which is imputed by God the Father, and receivedby faith. To
"hunger and thirst" after this, supposes a want of righteousness, whichis the
case ofall men; a sense ofwant of it, which is only perceivedby persons
spiritually enlightened; a discoveryof the righteousness ofChrist to them,
which is made in the Gospel, and by the Spirit of God; a value for it, and a
preference of it to all other righteousness;and an earnestdesire after it, to be
possessedof it, and found in it; and that nothing canbe more grateful than
that, because ofits perfection, purity, suitableness, and use: happy souls are
these,
for they shall be filled: with that righteousness, andwith all other good things,
in consequence ofit; and particularly with joy and peace, which are the
certain effects ofit: or, "they shall be satisfied", that they have an interest in
it; and so satisfiedwith it, that they shall never seek for any other
righteousness, as a justifying one, in the sight of God; this being full, perfect,
sufficient, and entirely complete.
Geneva Study Bible
Blessedare they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:for they shall
be filled.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 5:6. Concerning πεινῆν and διψῆν, which regularly governthe
genitive with the accusative, where the objectis conceivedas that which
endures the action, see examples of this rare use in Kypke, Obss. I. p. 17;
Loesner, Obss. p. 11; and especiallyWiner, p. 192 [E. T. 256]. The
metaphoricalmeaning (Isaiah55:1; Psalm 42:3; Sir 51:24)of the verbs is that
of longing desire. See Pricaeus and Wetsteinin loc.;as regards διψ., also
Jacobs, adAnthol. VI. p. 26, VIII. p. 233. The δικαιοσύνη, however, is the
righteousness, the establishmentof which was the aim of Christ’s work, and
the condition of participation in the Messiah’s kingdom. They are designated
as such whose “greatearnestness, desire, and fervour” (Luther) are directed
towards a moral constitution free from guilt. Luther, besides, strikingly draws
attention to this, that before all these portions of the beatitudes, “faith must
first be there as the tree and headpiece or sum” of righteousness.
χορτασθήσονται]not generallyregni Messianifelicitate (Fritzsche), but, as the
context requires, δικαιοσύνης:they will obtain righteousness infull measure,
namely, in being declaredto be righteous (Romans 5:19; Galatians 5:5, and
remarks thereon) at the judgment of the Messiah(Matthew 25:34), and then
live for ever in perfect righteousness, so thatGod will be all in all (1
Corinthians 15:28). Comp. 2 Peter 3:13. On the figurative χορτάζ., Psalm
17:15;Psalm 107:9.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 5:6. If the object of the hunger and thirst had not been mentioned
this fourth Beatitude would have been parallel in form to the second:Blessed
the hungry, for they shall be filled. We should then have another absolute
affirmation requiring qualification, and raising the question: What sort of
hunger is it which is sure to be satisfied? Thatmight be the original form of
the aphorism as given in Luke. The answerto the question it suggestsis
similar to that given under Beatitude 1. The hunger whose satisfactionis sure
is that which contains its own satisfaction. Itis the hunger for moral good.
The passionfor righteousness is righteousness in the deepestsense ofthe

word.—πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες. These verbs, like all verbs of desire,
ordinarily take the genitive of the object. Here and in other places in N. T.
they take the accusative, the object being of a spiritual nature, which one not
merely desires to participate in, but to possessin whole. Winer, § xxx. 10, thus
distinguishes the two constructions:διψᾶν φιλοσοφίας = to thirst after
philosophy; διψ. φιλοσοφίαν= to thirst for possessionofphilosophy as a
whole. Some have thought that διὰ is to be understood before δικ., and that
the meaning is: “Blessedthey who suffer natural hunger and thirst on account
of righteousness”. Grotius understands by δικ. the way or doctrine of
righteousness.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
6. This longing for righteousness is God’s gift to the meek.
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 5:6. Οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες, κ.τ.λ, who hunger and thirst, etc.)
who feel that of themselves they have no righteousness by which they may
approve themselves either to God or man, and eagerlylong for it. Faith is here
described, suitably to the beginning of the New Testament.—τὴνδικαιοσύνην,
righteousness)Our Lord plainly declares Himself here to be the author of
righteousness. Thatwhich is signified here is not the right (jus) of the human,
but of the Divine tribunal. This verse is the centre of this passage, andthe
theme of the whole sermon. Our Lord does not say, Blessedare the righteous,
as he presently says, Blessedare the merciful, etc.; but, Blessedare they that
hunger and thirst after righteousness.Pure righteousness willbecome their
portion in due time. (See 2 Peter3:13; Isaiah60:21.)—χορτασθήσονται, they
shall be filled) with righteousness;see Romans 14:17. This was the meat of
Jesus himself: see John 4:34; cf. Matthew 3:15. This satisfying fulness He
proposes to His followers in the whole of this sermon, and promises and offers
them in this very verse.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 6. - They which do hunger and thirst. The application of the figure of
eating and drinking to spiritual things (cf. Luke 22:30) is not infrequent in the

Old Testament;e.g. Isaiah55:1. Yet the thought here is not the actual
participation, but the craving. The Benedictionmarks a distinct stage in our
Lord's argument. He spoke first of the consciouslypoorin their spirit; next of
those who mourned over their poverty; then of those who were ready to
receive whateverteaching or chastisementmight be given them; here of those
who had an earnestlonging for that right relation to God in which they were
so lacking. This is the positive stage. Intense longing, such as canonly be
compared to that of a starving man for food, is sure of satisfaction. After
righteousness (τὴνδικαιοσύνην). Observe:
(1) The accusative. In Greek writers πεινάω and διψάω are regularly followed
by the genitive. Here by the accusative;for the desire is after the whole object,
and not after a part of it (cf. Weiss;also Bishop Westcott, onHebrews 6:4, 5).
(2) The article. It idealizes. There is but one righteousness worthyof the name,
and for this and all that it includes, both in standing before God and in
relation to men, the soul longs. How it is to be obtained Christ does not here
say. For they. Emphatic, as always (ver. 3, note). Shall be filled
(χορτασθήσονται);vide Bishop Lightfoot on Philippians 4:12. Properly of
animals being fed with fodder (χόρτος);cf. Revelation19:21, "All the birds
were filled (ἐχορτάσθησαν)with their flesh." At first only used of men
depreciatingly (Plato,'Rep.,'9:9, p. 586 a), afterwards readily. Rare in the
sense ofmoral and spiritual satisfaction(cf. Psalm17:15). When shall they be
filled? As in the case ofvers. 3, 4, now in part, fully hereafter. "St. Austin,
wondering at the overflowing measure of God's Spirit in the Apostles' hearts,
observes that the reasonwhy they were so full of God was because they were
so empty of his creatures. 'They were very full,' he says, 'because theywere
very empty'" (Anon., in Ford). That on earth, but in heaven with all the saints
-
"Everfilled and ever seeking, whatthey have they still desire,

Hunger there shall fret them never, nor satiety shall tire, -
Still enjoying whilst aspiring, in their joy they still aspire." ('Chronicles ofthe
Schonberg-Cotta Family,'ch. 9, from the Latin Hymn of Peter Damiani, †
1072.)
Vincent's Word Studies
Shall be filled (χορτασθήσονται)
A very strong and graphic word, originally applied to the feeding and
fattening of animals in a stall. In Revelation19:21, it is used of the filling of
the birds with the flesh of God's enemies. Also of the multitudes fed with the
loaves and fishes (Matthew 14:20;Mark 8:8; Luke 9:17). It is manifestly
appropriate here as expressing the complete satisfactionofspiritual hunger
and thirst. Hence Wycliffe's rendering, fulfilled, is strictly true to the original.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Matthew 5:6 "Blessedare those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,for
they shall be satisfied. (NASB: Lockman)
Greek:makarioioi peinontes (PAPMPN)kaidipsontes (PAPMPN)ten
dikaiosunen, hoti autoi chortasthesontai. (3PFPI)
Amplified: Blessedandfortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in
that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation)

are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right
standing with God), for they shall be completelysatisfied! (Amplified Bible -
Lockman)
Barclay:O the bliss of the man who longs for total righteousness as a starving
man longs for food, and a man perishing of thirst longs from after, for man
will be truly satisfied.
ICB: Those who want to do right more than anything else are happy. God will
fully satisfythem.
KJV: Blessedare they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:for
they shall be filled.
Philips: Happy are those who are hungry and thirsty for goodness, forthey
will be fully satisfied!(New Testamentin Modern English)
Wuest: Spiritually prosperous are those hungering and thirsting for
righteousness, becausethey themselves shall be filled so as to be completely
satisfied.
Young's Literal: Happy those hungering and thirsting for righteousness--
because they shall be filled.
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR
RIGHTEOUSNESS:makarioihoi peinontes (PAPMPN)kai dipsontes
(PAPMPN)ten dikaiosunen:

Ps 42:1,2;63:1,2; 84:2; 107:9;Amos 8:11, 12, 13; Luke 1:53; 6:21,25;John
6:27
Matthew 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Charles Simeon (recommended) introduces this verse with the following
remarks…
MEN naturally desire happiness (Ed: but not necessarily"holiness"!):but
they know not in what it is to be found. The philosophers of old wearied
themselves in vain to find out what was man’s chief good. But our blessed
Lord has informed us wherein it consists:it is found in holiness alone; which,
when embodied, as it were, and exercisedin all its branches, renders us
completely blessed. In this sense we understand the words of our text; wherein
are setforth,
I. The distinctive characterof a Christian— It is a gross perversionof
Scripture to interpret this passageas relating to the righteousness ofChrist:
for though it is true that every Christian desires to be clothed in that
righteousness, andshall, in consequence ofthat desire, obtain his wishes, yet it
is not the truth contained in the words before us: they certainly relate to that
inward righteousness whichevery Christian must possess,and to that
“holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”
Now the characterofevery Christian is, that he desires holiness,
1. Supremely—Other desires are not eradicatedfrom the human breast:the
natural appetites remain after our conversionthe same as before, except as
they are restrained and governedby a higher principle (Ed: Praise God!). In
proportion, indeed, as religion gains an ascendantin the soul (2Pe 3:18-note),

those words will be verified, “He that eatethand drinketh of the waterthat
Christ will give him, shall never thirst.” (Jn 4:14, 6:35, cp Jn 7:38, 39, 10:10,
Ro 5:21-note) But from the very commencementof the divine life (cp 2Pe 1:4-
note), all earthly things sink in the Christian’s estimation, and are accounted
as dung (Php 3:8KJV-note) and dross (Pr 25:4, cp Is 1:25-note)in comparison
of the Divine image. In this sense “Christis all” (Col 3:11-Note)to him: and
he can say, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth
that I desire in comparisonof thee.” (Ps 73:25, 26 -note)
2. Constantly—While other desires remain in the heart, they will of course
occasionallyrise in opposition to the better principle: but the prevailing desire
of the soul is after holiness. “The flesh may lust againstthe Spirit,” (Gal 5:17-
note) and seemfor a moment to triumph over it: but “the Spirit will lust and
strive againstthe flesh,” till it has vanquished its rebellious motions. The
needle (Ed: As on a compass)may be driven by violence from its accustomed
position: but its attractions are evertowards the pole (Ed: Praise Godfor His
mercies new eachmorning and His amazing grace!); and it will never rest till
it has resumed its wonted (usual) place. Its momentary diversion serves but to
prove its fixed habitual inclination. In like manner, temptation itself, in
rousing up the soul to action, calls forth its heavenly tendencies, and displays
the holy energies with which it is endued.
3. Insatiably—Every other desire may be satiated; but the more of spiritual
nourishment we receive, the more will our hunger and thirst after it be
increased(Ed: cp how in a meal "appetizers" are given to whet our appetite
for more). St. Paul himself could not sit down contented;but forgetting what
he had attained, he reachedforth for higher degrees ofholiness (Php 3:13-
note, Php 3:14-note). It is only “whenwe awake up after the perfect likeness
of our God, that we shall be satisfiedwith it.” (Ps 17:15-note)(Matthew 5:6
Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness)

Blessed- Spurgeonmakes an excellentpoint explaining that this man is…
blessedbecause in the presence of this hunger many meanerhungers die out.
One master passion, like Aaron's rod, swallows up all the rest. He hungers
and thirsts after righteousness, andtherefore he is done with the craving of
lust, the greedof avarice, the passionof hate, and pining of ambition
Pining to be holy, longing to serve God, anxious to spreadevery righteous
principle,-blessedare they.
The psalmist spoke to the passioncalledfor in this beatitude when he wrote…
My soulis crushed with longing after Thine ordinances at all times. (Psalm
119:20)
Spurgeon- True godliness lies very much in desires. As we are not what we
shall be, so also we are not what we would be. The desires ofgracious men
after holiness are intense, -- they cause a wearof heart, a straining of the
mind, till it feels ready to snap with the heavenly pull. A high value of the
Lord's commandment leads to a pressing desire to know and to do it, and this
so weighs upon the soulthat it is ready to break in pieces under the crush of
its own longings. What a blessing it is when all our desires are after the things
of God. We may well long for such longings…
David had such reverence for the word, and such a desire to know it, and to
be conformed to it, that his longings causedhim a sort of heart break, which
he here pleads before God. Longing is the soul of praying, and when the soul
longs till it breaks, it cannot be long before the blessing will be granted. The

most intimate communion betweenthe soul and its God is carried on by the
process describedin the text. God reveals his will, and our heart longs to be
conformed thereto. God judges, and our heart rejoices in the verdict. This is
fellowship of heart most real and thorough.
Note well that our desire after the mind of God should be constant;we should
feel holy longings "atall times." Desires whichcan be put off and on like our
garments are at best but mere wishes, and possibly they are hardly true
enough to be called by that name, -- they are temporary emotions born of
excitement, and doomed to die when the heat which createdthem has cooled
down. He who always longs to know and do the right is the truly right man.
His judgment is sound, for he loves all God's judgments, and follows them
with constancy. His times shall be good, since he longs to be goodand to do
goodat all times.
I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for Thy commandments.
(Psalm 119:131)
Spurgeon- So animated was his desire that he lookedinto the animal world to
find a picture of it. He was filled with an intense longing, and was not
ashamedto describe it by a most expressive, natural, and yet singular symbol.
Like a stag that has been hunted in the chase, and is hard pressed, and
therefore pants for breath, so did the Psalmistpant for the entrance of God's
word into his soul. Nothing else could content him. All that the world could
yield him left him still panting with open mouth.
For I longedfor thy commandments. Longed to know them, longed to obey
them, longedto be conformed to their spirit, longedto teachthem to others.
He was a servant of God, and his industrious mind longed to receive orders;

he was a learner in the schoolofgrace, and his eagerspirit longed to be taught
of the Lord.
Behold, I long for Thy precepts. Revive me through Thy righteousness. (Psalm
119:40)
Spurgeon- Behold, I have longedafter thy precepts. He can at leastclaim
sincerity. He is deeply bowed down by a sense of his weaknessandneed of
grace;but he does desire to be in all things conformed to the divine will.
Where our longings are, there are we in the sight of God. If we have not
attained perfection, it is something to have hungered after it. He who has
given us to desire, will also grant us to obtain. The precepts are grievous to the
ungodly, and therefore when we are so changedas to long for them we have
clearevidence of conversion, and we may safelyconclude that he who has
begun the goodwork will carry it on.
Quickenme in thy righteousness. Give me more life wherewith to follow thy
righteous law; or give me more life because thou hastpromised to hear
prayer, and it is according to thy righteousness to keepthy word. How often
does David plead for quickening! But never once too often. We need
quickening every hour of the day, for we are so sadly apt to become slow and
languid in the ways of God. It is the Holy Spirit who canpour new life into us;
let us not cease crying to him. Let the life we already possess show itselfby
longing for more.
Peterechoeda similar thought writing that after choosing to put aside a
number of "negative" attitudes (1Pe 2:1-note)…

like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may
grow in respectto salvation (see note 1 Peter2:2)
Job whose soulwas being severelytestedfound his strength and sustenance in
the proper nutrition…
I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasuredthe words
of His mouth more than my necessaryfood. (Job 23:12-note)
Isaac Watts has put the beatitudes to hymn…
I Hunger and I Thirst
Blestare the humble souls that see
Their emptiness and poverty;
Treasures ofgrace to them are giv’n,
And crowns of joy laid up in Heav’n.
Blestare the men of broken heart,
Who mourn for sin with inward smart;

The blood of Christ divinely flows,
A healing balm for all their woes.
Blestare the meek, who stand afar
From rage and passion, noise and war;
God will secure their happy state,
And plead their cause againstthe great.
Blestare the souls that thirst for grace
Hunger and long for righteousness;
They shall be wellsupplied, and fed
With living streams and living bread.
Blestare the men whose bowels move
And melt with sympathy and love;

From Christ the Lord they shall obtain
Like sympathy and love again.
Blestare the pure, whose hearts are clean
From the defiling powers of sin;
With endless pleasure they shall see
A God of spotless purity.
Blestare the men of peacefullife,
Who quench the coals of growing strife;
They shall be calledthe heirs of bliss,
The sons of God, the God of peace.
Blestare the suff’rers who partake

Of pain and shame for Jesus’sake;
Their souls shall triumph in the Lord;
Glory and joy are their reward. (Play hymn)
Blessedis the one who continually longs to know Christ's righteousness
experientially and walk steadfastlyconformed to His will as a starving man
longs for food and a man perishing of thirst longs for water, for that one will
be truly satisfied, fully filled.
Blessed(see makarios)means spiritually prosperous, independent of one's
circumstances becauseit is a state bestowedby Godand not a feeling felt.
Fortunate, approved of God, happy independent of happenings.
Notice that beginning with this beatitude we begin to turn awayfrom an
examination of self (as seenin Mt 5:3-5) and to God. Some feel this is one of
the keyBeatitudes for in a sense the practice of it is key to all the others.
Unless we hunger and thirst after God's righteousness, we shallnever know
the fullness of all He has promised to bless us with.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in his classictreatise in fact feels that "this Beatitude
is of exceptionalvalue because it provides us with a perfect testwhich we can
apply to ourselves, a testnot only of our condition at any given time, but also
of our whole position… we must surely ask ourselves questions suchas these:
Are we filled? Have we got this satisfaction? Are we aware of this dealing of
God with us? Is the fruit of the Spirit being manifestedin our lives? Are we
concernedabout that? Are we experiencing love to God and to other people,

joy and peace? Are we manifesting long-suffering, goodness, gentleness,
meekness,faith and temperance? Theythat do hunger and thirst after
righteousness shallbe filled. They are filled, and they are being filled. Are we,
therefore, I ask, enjoying these things? Do we know that we have receivedthe
life of God? Are we enjoying the life of God in our souls? Are we aware of the
Holy Spirit and all His mighty working within, forming Christ in us more and
more? If we claim to be Christian, then we should be able to say yes to all
these questions. Those who are truly Christian are filled in this sense. Are we
thus filled? Are we enjoying our Christian life and experience? Do we know
that our sins are forgiven? Are we rejoicing in that fact, or are we still trying
to make ourselves Christian, trying somehow to make ourselves righteous? Is
it all a vain effort? Are we enjoying peace with God? Do we rejoice in the
Lord always? Those are the tests that we must apply. If we are not enjoying
these things, the only explanation of that fact is that we are not truly
hungering and thirsting after righteousness.Forif we do hunger and thirst we
shall be filled. There is no qualification at all, it is an absolute statement, it is
an absolute promise — 'Blessedare they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness:for they shall be filled.' (Lloyd-Jones, D. M. Studies in the
Sermon on the Mount)
Stephen Olford on hunger and thirst - This was no mere reference to hunger
which could be satisfiedby a mid-morning snack. The thought is that of
starvation. Similarly, the picture behind the word thirst is that of a person or
an animal parched and exhausted. David was a hunter in his younger days,
and in Psalm42 he visualizes the scene of a panting hart or deer trapped by
hunters. Perhaps the animal had been running for a long time or had been
shot. With one last look heavenwardit issues a cry for help, water and food,
before dropping dead. To David, this was a description of a soul thirsting and
hungering after God. Are you longing for God like that? Is there an intensity
of desire? J. N. Darby, one of the founders and early leaders of the Plymouth
Brethren, expresses the same thought when he says: “To be hungry is not
enough; I must be really starving to know what is in His heart towards me.
When the prodigal son was hungry he went to feed upon husks, but when he
was starving he turned to his father.” So many evangelicalstodayare living

on husks t spiritual junk food. It is time we turned to our heavenly Father
with an intensity of desire in our souls for Him. (Institutes of Biblical
preaching, volume seven)
Hunger (3983)(peinao from peín = hunger) means to feel the pangs of lack of
food. The majority of the NT uses speak ofliteral hunger. Jesus elevated
feeding the hungry to high level in His teaching in Mt 25:35, 37, 42, 44.
The figurative use as in Mt 5:6 signifies to have strong desire to attain some
goalwith the implication of an existing lack. Other passagesthat use hunger
with this figurative sense are Luke 1:53, 6:21, 25, John 6:35, possibly Rev 7:16
(could refer to literal and/or spiritual hunger).
In summary, peinao may refer to hunger for earthly produce (eg. Lazarus
hungering for crumbs - Lk 16:19-31)or to an intense desire for spiritual
nourishment which is also necessaryfor the continuance of life.
In classic Greek peinao means to hunger and by extensionit means to long for
something which is necessaryfor sustenance oflife and can range from simple
desire for a meal to starvation brought on by poverty or disaster. Figuratively,
it could even refer to an intense desire for something other than food, for
something that was deemed necessaryfor one's well-being.
In the Septuagint, in the OT, peinao is often used in the context of famine (Ge
41:55, 2Ki 7:12), for famine is more frequently spokenofthen simple hunger
that is an impulse stimulated by short term absence offood. And for this
reason, the Septuagint uses the more intense Greek word limos (3016). Peinao
is occasionallyusedin the context of matters of justice in reference to the
hungry or oppressed(1Sa 2:5, Ps 146:7).

Jesus gives two motivations in Mt 5:6, first blessedness(whichitself conveys
the idea of fully satisfiedindependent of one's circumstances) and satisfaction,
not of the physical appetite but of the deeperhunger of one's soul, a hunger
which is only satisfies by God's righteousness. The idea is to long earnestly for
or have strong desire for divine (Christ's) righteousness, speaking not of
imputation of His righteousness whenone is justified by faith but of one's
progressive growthin righteousness (progressive sanctification, growthin
holiness and Christ-likeness).
Peinao - 23xin 23v - Usage:going hungry(1), hunger(4), hungry(18).
Matthew 4:2 And after He had fastedforty days and forty nights, He then
became hungry.
Matthew 5:6 "Blessedare those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,for
they shall be satisfied.
Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath,
and His disciples became hungry and beganto pick the heads of grain and eat.
3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he became
hungry, he and his companions,
Matthew 21:18 Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He
became hungry.

Matthew 25:35 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was
thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you
invited Me in;
37 "Then the righteous will answerHim, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry,
and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you
gave Me nothing to drink;
44 "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You
hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not
take care of You?'
Mark 2:25 And He saidto them, "Have you never read what David did when
he was in need and he and his companions became hungry;
Mark 11:12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry.
Luke 1:53 "HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS;And
sent awaythe rich empty-handed.
Luke 4:2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing
during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.

Luke 6:3 And Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read what
David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,
21 "Blessedare you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessedare
you who weepnow, for you shall laugh.
25 "Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you
who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
John 6:35 Jesus saidto them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will
not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
Romans 12:20 "BUT IF YOUR ENEMYIS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF
HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL
HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD."
1 Corinthians 4:11 To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and
are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless;
1 Corinthians 11:21 for in your eating eachone takes his own supper first;
and one is hungry and another is drunk.
34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together
for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.

Philippians 4:12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know
how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the
secretof being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and
suffering need.
Revelation7:16 "Theywill hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the
sun beat down on them, nor any heat;
Peinao - 39xin the Septuagint - Gen 41:55;Deut 25:18; Jdg 8:4; 1Sam2:5;
2Sam17:29; 2Kgs 7:12; Job 22:7; 24:10;Ps 34:10;50:12; 107:5, 9, 36; 146:7;
Pr 6:30; 18:8; 19:15;25:21; 28:15;Isa 5:27; 8:21; 9:20; 28:12;32:6; 40:28-31;
44:12;46:2; 49:10;58:7, 10;65:13; Jer31:12, 25; 42:14;Ezek 18:7, 16. Here
are some interesting uses in the OT…
Ps 107:9 ForHe has satisfied(Heb - saba = to satiate;Lxx = chortazo = feed,
satisfy) the thirsty (Heb = shaqaq; Lxx = empty) soul, and the hungry soul He
has filled with what is good.
Isaiah40:31 Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They
will mount up with wings like eagles, Theywill run and not gettired, They
will walk and not become weary(Heb = yaeph = gettired; peinao = become
hungry).
Jeremiah31:25 “ForI satisfythe weary(Lxx = dipsao in present tense =
continually thirsts) ones (Lxx = psuche = soul - so this reads "every
continually thirsting soul") and refresh everyone who languishes (Lxx =
peinao).”

Hunger and thirst are bodily cravings that must be satisfiedif life, both
physical and spiritual, is to be sustained! Do you believe this? This statement
by Jesus is a keyto partaking of the fullness of the righteous lifestyle (that
surpasses thatof the Scribes and Pharisees, Mt5:20), a lifestyle that Jesus
expounds on in the remainder of His sermon.
Note that both hunger and thirst are in the present tense which calls for these
pursuits to be our lifestyle (this reasonalone indicating that Jesus refers not to
justification but to sanctification). Think for a moment - if you eat only one
meal, does it satisfyyou for the rest of the week?Ofcourse not. Even though
that meal might have satiatedyou for the moment, your body naturally grows
hungry againas time passes. In the same way, as genuine believers we will
continually hunger and thirst for God's righteousness. One day we will see
Him and we shall be like Him in glory (1John3:2-note) but until that day we
are all "works in progress" (Phil 1:6-note). Think of the prophet Isaiah,
probably the "bestman (the most righteous)in the land of Israel" in his day.
What happened when he saw perfect righteousness (Isaiah6:1-8)? He was
undone and after cleansing ofhis lips with coal(cf Isaiah64:6), he responded
to the Lord's query of "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" by
saying "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8) We will never reach the breadth
and length and height and depth of God's perfect righteousness in this life and
so as aliens and strangers (1Peter2:11-note)our goaland our quest is
continual pursuit of His righteousness manifestin and through us as we live
our lives in the power of His Spirit for His glory (Mt 5:16-note). "Forfrom
Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever.
Amen. " (Romans 11:36-note).
Spiritual Hunger…
A BlessedHunger
Thomas Watson…

A duty implied: 'Blessedare those who hunger'. Spiritual hunger is a blessed
hunger. What is meant by hunger? Hunger is put for desire (Isaiah 26:9).
Spiritual hunger is the rational appetite whereby the soul pants after that
which it apprehends most suitable and proportional to itself. Whence is this
hunger? Hunger is from the sense oflack. He who spiritually hungers, has a
real sense ofhis own indigence. He lacks righteousness. (Beatitudes)
Spurgeonwrites…
They are not full of their own righteousness, but long for more and more of
that which comes from above (cp Jas 1:17-note). They pine to be right (Ed: cp
"right" = main word in "righteousness")themselves both with God and man,
and they long to see righteousnesshave the upper hand all the world over (2Pe
3:13-note). Such is their longing for goodness, that it would seemas if both the
appetites of "hunger and thirst" were concentratedin their one passionfor
righteousness. Where Godworks suchan insatiable desire, we may be quite
sure that He will satisfyit; yea, fill it to the brim. In contemplating the
righteousness ofGod, the righteousness ofChrist, and the victory of
righteousness in the latter days, we are more than filled. In the world to come
the satisfactionof the "man of desires" will be complete. Nothing here below
can fill an immortal soul; and since it is written, "They shall be filled" we look
forward with joyful confidence to a heaven of holiness with which we shall be
satisfiedeternally. (A Popular Exposition of the GospelAccording to
Matthew)
The Puritan Thomas Watsonwrites that…
Hunger is put for desire ("At night my soul longs for Thee, Indeed, my spirit
within me seeks Thee diligently; For when the earth experiences Thy

judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness." Isaiah26:9).
Spiritual hunger is the rational appetite whereby the soul pants after that
which it apprehends most suitable and proportional to itself. Whence is this
hunger? Hunger is from the sense ofwant. He who spiritually hungers, has a
real sense ofhis own indigence (cf Mt 5:3). He wants righteousness… This a
pious soul hungers after. This is a blessedhunger. Bodily hunger cannot make
a man so miserable as spiritual hunger makes him blessed. This evidences life.
A dead man cannot hunger. Hunger proceeds from life. The first thing the
child does when it is born, is to hunger after the breast. Spiritual hunger
follows upon the new birth (1 Peter2:2). Saint Bernard in one of his
Soliloquies comforts himself with this, that sure he had the truth of grace in
him, because he had in his heart a strong desire after God. It is happy when,
though we have not what we should, we desire what we have not. The appetite
is as well from God as the food.
We need the attitude of the psalmist Asaph in Psalm73 (Spurgeon's note) who
cried…
25 Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. (hungering, thirsting)
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (fully satisfied)
Kent Hughes reminds us that

The fourth Beatitude is a call to pursue conformity to God's will statedin the
most extreme of terms. The intensity of the expressionis difficult for us to feel
because if we are thirsty today, all we need to do is turn on the tap for cold,
refreshing water;or if we are hungry, we just open the refrigerator. However,
to the ancient Palestinianthe expressionwas terribly alive because he was
never far from the possibility of dehydration or starvation. It is not a
comfortable picture. Jesus is far from recommending a genteeldesire for
spiritual nourishment, but rather a starvation for righteousness, a desperate
hungering to be conformed to God's will." (Hughes, R. K. Sermon on the
Mount: The Messageofthe Kingdom. CrosswayBooks)
Jesus'words call for a desperationin one's heart and soul that will not be
satisfiedwith a trifling knowledge ofGod or a minimal improvement in moral
conduct. Jesus'callis radical, just as in the other Beatitudes.
The Puritan Thomas Watsonwrites that Jesus'words…
reprove such as have none of this spiritual hunger. They have no winged
desires. The edge of their affections is blunted. Honey is not sweetto them that
are sick of a fever and have their tongues embittered with choler.’ So those
who are soul-sick and ‘in the gall of bitterness’, find no sweetnessin God…
Sin tastes sweeterto them; they have no spiritual hunger… They evidence
little hunger after righteousness thatprefer other things before it, namely,
their profits and recreations… So when men prefer ‘vain things which cannot
profit’ before the blood of Christ and the grace ofthe Spirit, it is a sign they
have no palate or stomachto heavenly things… The Word reproves them
who, insteadof hungering and thirsting after righteousness, thirst after riches.
This is the thirst of covetous men. They desire mammon not manna. ‘They
pant after the dust of the earth’ (Amos 2:7). This is the disease mostare
afflicted with, an immoderate appetite after the world, but these things will no
more satiate than drink will quench the thirst of a man with the dropsy.

Covetousnessis idolatry (Colossians 3:5). Too many Protestants setup the idol
of gold in the temple of their hearts. This sin of covetousnessis the most hard
to root out. Commonly, when other sins leave men, this sin abides.
Wantonness is the sin of youth; worldliness the sin of old age… But some may
object: My hunger after righteousness is so weak, that I fearit is not true. I
answer:Though the pulse beats but weak it shows there is life. And that weak
desires should not be discouraged, there is a promise made to them. ‘A
bruised reed he will not break’ (Matthew 12:20). A reed is a weak thing, but
especiallywhen it is bruised, yet this ‘bruised reed’ shall not be broken, but
like Aaron’s dry rod, ‘bud and blossom’. In case ofweakness look to Christ
your High Priest. He is merciful, therefore will bear with your infirmities; he
is mighty, therefore will help them.
But, says a child of God, that which much eclipses my comfort is, I have not
that hunger which I once had. Time was whenI did hunger after a Sabbath
because then the manna fell. ‘I called the Sabbath a delight’. I remember the
time when I hungered after the body and blood of the Lord. I came to a
sacramentas an hungry man to a feast, but now it is otherwise with me. I do
not have those hungerings as formerly. I answer:It is indeed an ill sign for a
man to lose his stomach, but, though it be a sign of the decay of grace to lose
the spiritual appetite, yet it is a sign of the truth of grace to bewailthe loss. It
is sad to lose our first love, but it is happy when we mourn for the loss ofour
first love.If you do not have that appetite after heavenly things as formerly,
yet do not be discouraged, forin the use of means you may recoveryour
appetite. The ordinances are for the recovering of the appetite when it is lost.
In other casesfeeding takes awaythe stomach, but here, feeding on an
ordinance begets a stomach.
The text exhorts us all to labour after this spiritual hunger. Novarinus says, ‘It
is too small a thing merely to wish for righteousness;but we must hunger for
it on accountof a vastlonging making itself felt.’ Hunger less afterthe world
and more after righteousness. Sayconcerning spiritual things, ‘Lord,

evermore give us this bread. Feedme with this angels’food’. That manna is
most to be hungered after which will not only preserve life but prevent death
(John 6:50). That is most desirable which is most durable. Riches are not for
ever (Proverbs 27:24) but righteousness is for ever (Proverbs 8:18). ‘The
beauty of holiness, never fades (Psalm 110:3). ‘The robe of righteousness’
(Isaiah 61:10)never waxes old! Oh hunger after that righteousness which
‘delivereth from death’ (Proverbs 10:12). This is the righteousness whichGod
himself is in love with. ‘He loveth him that followeth after righteousness’
(Proverbs 15:9). All men are ambitious of the king’s favour. Alas, what is a
prince’s smile but a transient beatitude? This sunshine of his royal
countenance soonmasks itselfwith a cloud of displeasure, but those who are
endued with righteousness are God’s favourites, and how sweetis his smile!
‘Thy loving-kindness is better than life’ (Psalm63:3).
To persuade men to hunger after this righteousness, considertwo things.
1 Unless we hunger after righteousness we cannotobtain it.
God will never throw awayhis blessings upon them that do not desire them. A
king may sayto a rebel, Do but desire a pardon and you shall have it; but if
through pride and stubbornness he disdains to sue out his pardon, he deserves
justly to die. God has set spiritual blessings ata low rate. Do but hunger and
you shall have righteousness;but if we refuse to come up to these terms there
is no righteousnessto be had for us. God will stopthe current of his mercy
and setopen the sluice of his indignation.
2 If we do not thirst here we shall thirst when it is too late.

If we do not thirst as David did ‘My soul thirsteth for God’ (Psalm42:2) we
shall thirst as Dives did for a drop of water (Luke 16:24). They who do not
thirst for righteousness shallbe in perpetual hunger and thirst. They shall
thirst for mercy, but no mercy to be had. Heat increases thirst. When men
shall burn in hell and be scorchedwith the flames of God’s wrath, this heat
will increase their thirst for mercy but there will be nothing to allay their
thirst. O is it not better to thirst for righteousness while it is to be had, than to
thirst for mercy when there is none to be had? Sinners, the time is shortly
coming when the drawbridge of mercy will be quite pulled up.
I shall next briefly describe some helps to spiritual hunger.
1 Avoid those things which will hinder your appetite:
As ‘windy things’. When the stomachis full of wind a man has little appetite
to his food. So when one is filled with a windy opinion of his own
righteousness, he will not hunger after Christ’s righteousness.He who, being
puffed up with pride, thinks he has grace enoughalready will not hunger after
more. These windy vapours spoil the stomach. ‘Sweetthings’ destroy the
appetite. So by feeding immoderately upon the sweetluscious delights of the
world, we lose our appetite to Christ and grace. You never knew a man surfeit
himself upon the world, and at the same time be ’sick of love’ to Christ. While
Israelfed with delight upon garlic and onions, they never hungered after
manna. The soul cannot be carried to two extremes at once. As the eye cannot
look intent on heavenand earth at once, so a man cannot at the same instant
hunger excessivelyafter the world, and after righteousness!The earth puts
out the fire. The love of earthly things will quench the desire of spiritual.
‘Love not the world’ (1 John 2:15). The sin is not in the having, but in the
loving.

2 Do all that may provoke spiritual appetite.
There are two things that provoke appetite.
Exercise:a man by walking and stirring gets a stomachto his meat. So by the
exercise ofholy duties the spiritual appetite is increased. ‘Exercise thyself
unto godliness’(1 Timothy 4:7). Many have left off closetprayer. They hear
the Word but seldom, and for want of exercise theyhave lost their stomachto
religion. Sauce:sauce whets and sharpens the appetite. There is a twofold
sauce provokes holyappetite: first, the ‘bitter herbs’ of repentance. He that
tastes galland vinegar in sin hungers after the body and blood of the Lord.
Second, affliction. God often gives us this sauce to sharpen our hunger after
grace. ‘Reubenfound mandrakes in the field’ (Genesis 30:14). The mandrakes
are an herb of a very strong savour, and among other virtues they have, they
are chiefly medicinal for those who have weak and bad stomachs. Afflictions
may be compared to these mandrakes, which sharpen men’s desires afterthat
spiritual food which in time of prosperity they began to loathe and nauseate.
Penury (cramping and oppressive lack of resources)is the sauce which cures
the surfeit (overabundant supply) of plenty. In sicknesspeople hunger more
after righteousness than in health. ‘The full soul loathes the honeycomb’
(Proverbs 27:7, Psalm119:67, 71). Christians, when full fed, despise the rich
cordials of the gospel. I wish we did not slight those truths now which would
taste sweetin a prison. How precarious was a leaf of the Bible in Queen
Mary’s days! The wise God sees itgood sometimes to give us the sharp sauce
of affliction, to make us feed more hungrily upon the bread of life. And so
much for the first part of the text, ‘Blessedare they that hunger.(Watson,
Thomas:The Beatitudes:An Expositionof Matthew 5:1-12, 1660)(Bolding
added)

This beatitude begs the question "Do I truly hunger and thirst" for
righteousness as manifestin a Spirit empoweredrighteous lifestyle? Pastor
Phil Newtonaddressesthis most important question as follows…
There is deep soul-searching in this Beatitude. We must be honestwith
ourselves. Forgetthe fact of what you profess. Forgetforthe moment that you
attend church regularly and that you have Christian friends. What is it that
means more to you than anything else? Whatis it that you must have—it
drives your life, consumes your thoughts, directs your impulses? Is it for
money or sexor fame or popularity or revenge? Then you are an idolater, for
those things have become your god. (cf Col 3:5, Eph 5:5, 1Cor6:10)
Do you remember the rich young ruler? (read Luke 18:18-27)He came to
Jesus asking whathe could do to inherit eternallife. He wanted eternal life, no
doubt about it. But he did not want it as his chief joy and delight. Jesus’
instructions revealedthat the rich young ruler's life was wrapped up in things.
He hungered and thirsted for more and more things! He was at heart, an
idolater that did not know Christ and eternallife. He wanted the eternal life,
but he did not want the holy life that accompanies it. And so he had neither.
Does that describe you?
Thomas Watson(biographies)explained, “Desire is the best discoveryof a
Christian” [129]. What you desire explains your heart. I dare saythat there is
no one here that desires to go to hell. All want to go to heaven. But that is not
the issue. The issue is do you desire to be like Christ? For that is a Christian—
not simply someone going to heaven, but a personin whom Jesus Christ has
revealedHis own righteous life. The spiritual appetite that Jesus Christ calls
for is the desire to be like Christ, not simply have the benefits of Christ. It is
the desire to have Christ above all that the world offers. It is the desire for
Christ that does not give up or abate because ofdifficulties or demands. It is
the desire for Christ that does not faint at the costof true discipleship. It is the

desire for Christ that cannot be put off for lesserthings, or procrastinated
over while one ventures after the world [cf. Watson124-126]. (Matthew 5:6
The Blessing ofHungering & Thirsting) (Bolding added)
Think about the apostle Paul's spiritual growth. From the following
descriptions of himself it appears as he grows in the grace and knowledge of
our Lord and SaviorJesus Christ (2Peter3:18), he grows more aware of his
need for God's righteousness…
APPROXIMATE DATE OF WRITING
(A.D.) PAUL'S
"SELF DESCRIPTION"
55 1Cor15:9 For I am the leastof the apostles, who am not fit to be called
an apostle, because I persecutedthe church of God.
61 Ep 3:8 To me, the very leastof all saints, this grace was given, to preach
to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,
62 1Ti 1:15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost
of all.
We see Paul's continual hungering and thirsting (see phrases in bold that
correspondto Paul's hungering and thirsting) for God's righteous life to flow
through him more and more in his letter to the Philippians…
7 But whateverthings were gainto me, those things I have counted as loss for
the sake ofChrist.

8 More than that, I (keepon continually) count all things to be loss in view of
the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and (keepon continually) count them but
rubbish in order that I may gain Christ,
9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousnessofmy own derived
from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness
which comes from God on the basis of faith,
10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrectionand the fellowship
of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; (Paul knew Him but his
passionate craving drove him to desire more of Jesus, a perfectparallel to this
beatitude Mt 5:6)
11 in order that I may attain to the resurrectionfrom the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I
press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of
by Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing
I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goalfor the prize of the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus. (Philippians 3:7-14 see notes Philippians 3:7-8, Philippians 3:9-11,
Philippians 3:12-13, Philippians 3:14)

This greatapostle continually recognizedhis need for more of Christ-likeness
in his life. Eachstep in growth satisfiedyes, but also createda greaterhunger
and thirst for more. And so it should be in our lives, beloved.
What does the objectof one's hunger reveal? Phil Newtonanswers it this
way…
What you hunger for reveals the characterofyour heart. You can mask your
outward performance. You can churn out Christian lingo, and put on a happy
face, but you know what you really desire. Multitudes flock into churches
eachweek with “Christian masks” thathide the reality that their appetite is
not for Jesus Christ but for the things of the world. But Jesus tells us that only
those who have the spiritual appetite to hunger and thirst for righteousness
will find satisfaction. (Matthew 5:6 The Blessing ofHungering & Thirsting)
A W Tozerhas a note entitled "God Hunger"…
These words are addressedto those of God's children who have been pierced
with the arrow of infinite desire, who yearn for God with a yearning that has
overcome them, who long with a longing that has become pain.
"Blessedare those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, forthey will be
filled" (Matthew 5:6). Hunger is a pain. It is God's merciful provision, a
divinely sent stimulus to propel us in the direction of food. If food-hunger is a
pain, thirst, which is water-hunger, is a hundredfold worse, and the more
critical the need becomes within the living organismthe more acute the pain.
It is nature's last drastic effort to rouse the imperiled life to seek to renew
itself. A dead body feels no hunger and the dead soulknows not the pangs of
holy desire. "If you want God," said the old saint, "you have already found

Him." Our desire for fuller life is proof that some life must be there already.
Our very dissatisfactionsshouldencourage us, our yet unfulfilled aspirations
should give us hope. "WhatI aspired to be, and was not, comforts me," wrote
Browning with true spiritual insight. The dead heart cannotaspire.
Thirst (1372)(dipsao from dipsos = thirst) (present tense)describes literal or
figurative (as in this verse)thirst and pictures one who desires ardently for a
drink. The figurative sense is to long earnestlyfor or have strong desire for
divine (Christ's) righteousness,speaking notof imputation of His
righteousness as whenone is justified by faith but of one's progressive growth
in righteousness (progressivesanctification, growthin holiness and Christ-
likeness).
Dipsao - 16xin 16v - Matt 5:6; 25:35, 37, 42, 44;John 4:13ff; 6:35; 7:37;
19:28;Rom 12:20;1 Cor 4:11; Rev 7:16; 21:6; 22:17.
The prophet Isaiahspoke of this thirst some 700 years before Jesus'sermon
recording Jehovah's invitation…
"Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;and you who have no money
come (we are all spiritually bankrupt, Mt 5:3), buy (with what? we have no
"spiritual currency" - the answerofcourse is that He supplies grace,
unmerited favor) and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and
without cost. 2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your
wages forwhat does not satisfy(Wealthy, materialistic America desperately
needs to hearand heed this call)? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourself in abundance (cf "will be filled" Mt 5:6) (Isaiah 55:1-2)
(See Spurgeon's sermon Isaiah55:1 A Free Salvation, commentary by Dave
Guzik on Isaiah55, devotionals Isaiah 55 Making Things Square, Isaiah 55
The Price Of Food, Isaiah 55:1-3 The Toy Search, Isaiah55:1-9 It's Free!)

In some of the last words of Scripture we read God's greatinvitation
repeated…
And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say,
"Come." And let the one who is thirsty come;let the one who wishes take the
waterof life without cost. (Revelation22:17-note)
Observation- Come is the "keyword" in this greatinvitation, and eachuse is
in the form of a command (present imperative), not a suggestion!
THOUGHT - Have you ever thirsted for righteousness? Ifthat desire is not in
you and has never been in your soul, perhaps you need to "Come and Drink"
for the first time, receiving God's free gift of salvationoffered above in both
the Old and the New Testaments. Don'tbe like the religious people of
Jeremiah's day of whom God said…
"My people have committed two evils: They have forsakenMe, the fountain of
living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, brokencisterns, that canhold no
water." (Jeremiah2:13)
GamalielBradford wrote, that those in Mt 5:6 are those who have “a thirst no
earthly streamcan satisfy, a hunger that must feed on Christ or die.”
The picture Jesus presents is dramatic and is easyto understand. We all know
that a starving, thirsting personhas a single minded, all-consuming passion
for foodand water. All other desires pale in comparison. Nothing else has the
slightestattraction or appeal and nothing else caneven get the desperately

starving, thirsting man's attention. You want it so strongly that you can feel
the pangs stirring deep within your bowels. It is a matter of life and death.
Your very existence depends on that one-cup of water, or that one loafof
bread. By analogy, Jesus uses the metaphor of "hunger and thirst" to teach
that just as man cannotlive physically without bread and water(Mt 4:4, Lk
4:4, Dt 8:3), so too one cannotlive spiritually without God's blessedgift of His
divine righteousness. Righteousnessis not an optional "spiritual vitamin" but
is a vital necessityfor a believer's spiritual life, that they might grow in the
grace and knowledge that are in Jesus Christ (2Pe 3:18).
DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE!
THOUGHT - Beloved, I must ask you - Are you truly, diligently, passionately
pursuing after His righteousness as if your spiritual livelihood and health
depended upon it? What indicators are there in your life that you are
"hungering and thirsting" after God's righteousness?For, starters, youmight
look at your "day timer" and take note of what you give precedence to in your
schedule. Or look at your checkbook orlatestcredit card bill! Do not be
deceivedbeloved brethren! (cf Gal 6:7) This world is temporal and fleeting
and only a foolwould invest in that which is destined to pass awayinto
oblivion (cp 1Jn2:17-note, Mt 6:19-21, 2Pe 3:11, 12-note). Take a careful
inventory of your heart (and if you dare considerpraying Ps 139:23-note, Ps
139:24-note, see alsoDavid's other greatprayer for a unified heart, a heart of
integrity {from "integer" = the whole of anything! Integrity thus = the state of
being whole!} in Ps 86:11-note)dear child of the living God. Don't waste your
life, which like flowing grass it will pass away(Jas 1:10-note).
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Redeemthe Time
Lloyd-Jones reminds us that
“This beatitude follows logicallyfrom the previous ones;it is a statementto
which all the others lead. It is the logicalconclusion to which they come and it
is something for which we should all be profoundly thank-ful and grateful to
God. I do not know of a better test that anyone canapply to himself or herself
in this whole matter of the Christian professionthan a verse like this. If this
verse is to you one of the most blessedstatements ofthe whole of Scripture
you canbe quite sure you are a Christian; if it is not, then you had better
examine the foundations again… We are not hungering and thirsting after
righteousness as long as we are holding with any sense ofself-satisfactionto
anything that is in us, or to anything that we have everdone” (Lloyd-Jones, D.
M. Studies in the Sermonon the Mount)
John Blanchard affirms Dr Lloyd-Jones'preceding premise writing - Firstly,
because hunger is a sign of life. One only has to watcha little baby when
feeding time comes around to sense something of the intense desire it has for
its mother’s breast. Nobody has to teacha baby to be hungry. Its longing for
its mother’s milk is natural. It is a sign of life. In the same way, there is
something supernaturally natural about spiritual hunger. This is precisely
what Petermeant when he wrote, ‘Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual
milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation’(1 Peter 2:2). The
person who does not have a hunger for the Word of Godas nourishment for
his soulshould surely ‘examine the foundations again’ to see if there is any
evidence of genuine conversion. Secondly, hunger is a signof health. One of
the most important questions a doctorcan ask a patient in the course of an
examination is ‘How is your appetite?’because lack ofappetite is always a
cause for concernand may be symptomatic of a serious disorder. The same
principle applies in spiritual terms. When a professing Christian has little or
no appetite for the things of God, something is seriously wrong, even if
outwardly everything seems perfectly in order. These words by the Scottish

preacherThomas Guthrie remain as challenging today as when they were
first written in the last century: ‘If you find yourself loving any pleasure
better than your prayers, any book better than the Bible, any house better
than the house of God, any table better than the Lord’s table, any person
better than Christ, any indulgence better than the hope of heaven—take
alarm!’ One of the greatestsigns of sicknessin the Christian church today is
the widespreadlack of hungering and thirsting after God. One canoften
gauge this by dwindling attendances atevening services… A pastor friend of
mine in the United States once told me, ‘For many people in our churches
today Christianity has become a spectatorsport.’He was speaking ofthose
who attend church not so that their spiritual hunger might be met by the
living God, but so that their religious feelings might be massaged, preferably
to music. Is that not a sign of sickness? This is how Thomas Watsonaddressed
the issue:‘If a man were invited to a feast, and there being music at the feast,
he should so listen to the music that he did not mind his meat, you would say,
“Surely he is not hungry.” So when men are for jingling words, and like
rather gallantry of speechthan spirituality of matter, it is a sign that they
have surfeited stomachs and itching ears.’The seventeenth-centuryphrases
may sound a little quaint, but they have lost nothing of their relevance. What
a contrastwhen we listen to Job crying, ‘I have treasured the words of his
(God’s) mouth more than my daily bread’ (Job 23:12), and to David, who
valued the Word of God as being ‘more precious than gold, than much pure
gold … sweeterthan honey, than honey from the comb’ (Psalm19:10). A
terrible tragedy is being enactedin our churches today. We have never had so
many Bibles, versions of the Bible, and books to help in studying the Bible, yet
there seems to be distressinglylittle hunger and thirst for God. Many seemto
have a restless searchfor ‘power’, exotic spiritual gifts, happiness, peace,
emotional ‘highs’, or some other undefined ‘blessing’, but comparatively few
seemto have a deep desire to master God’s Word and to be masteredby it.
The Beatitude does not read, ‘Righteous are those who hunger and thirst after
blessedness.’The pursuit of ‘blessing’can never in itself be an indication of
righteousness andmay in factbe self-centered. Godcalls us to focus our
attention and appetite on him, not on the benefits that he may give us… There
must be a hunger and thirst, a passionate longing to getright with God, to be
forgiven, to be cleansedfrom sin and setfree from self. The tragic reasonwhy

so many well-meaning churchgoers are still outside of the kingdom of heaven
is that they are seeking Godformally rather than fervently, vaguely rather
than vehemently. (The Beatitudes for Today)
And so we see that Jesus is not describing genteel(cultivated, aristocratic,
formal, fashionable, refined, stylish) urgings but a desperate hungering and
thirsting. He describes those who keepon acknowledgingtheir spiritual
poverty (Mt 5:3), keepon seeking to live out God's righteousness as a starving
man longs for food or a man perishing from thirst longs for water. Are you
hungry? Are you thirsty? What are you hungering and thirsting for?
Remember there is the world's way (it is passing away)and the King's way
(endures forever).
John S. B. Monsellwrote I Hunger and I Thirst putting the essenceofthis
beatitude to music…
I hunger and I thirst,
Jesu, my manna be;
Ye living waters, burst
Out of the rock for me.
Thou bruised and broken Bread,

My life-long wants supply;
As living souls are fed,
O feed me, or I die.
Thou true life-giving Vine,
Let me Thy sweetness prove;
Renew my life with Thine,
Refreshmy soul with love.
Rough paths my feet have trod
Since first their course began;
Feedme, Thou Bread of God;
Help me, Thou Son of Man.
For still the desertlies

My thirsting soul before;
O living waters, rise
Within me evermore. (Play hymn)
Are you like the man in Jesus'parable about the "pearl of greatprice"? (Mt
13:45-46). He soldeverything upon finding one pearl of greatvalue.
What is Jesus implying? Does the natural man hunger and thirst for
righteousness?(cf1Cor2:14). In our fallen state there is none righteous and
none seek to live according to His righteous standards (Ro 3:10,11-note). This
is the state of the natural man (Ro 5:12). And so Jesus'implies that if you have
absolutely no hunger and thirst for righteousness, youneed to examine the
state of your soul. So let me ask again… are you hungry and thirsty for God's
righteousness?If not, then perhaps dear reader, you have never by faith
acceptedChrist's perfect righteousness (ReadRo 1:16,17,Acts 4:12, 16:30,31,
Ro 10:9,10-note, Eph 2:8,9-note, 2Cor5:17). Today could be the day you into
into the Kingdom of heaven.
Righteousness(1343)(dikaiosune [word study] from dikaios [word study] =
being proper or right in the sense ofbeing fully justified being or in
accordancewith what God requires) is the quality of being upright. In its
simplest sense dikaiosune conveys the idea of conformity to a standard or
norm. In this sense righteousnessis the opposite of hamartia (sin), which is
defined as missing of the mark setby God.

Dikaiosune is rightness of characterbefore Godand rightness of actions
before men. RighteousnessofGod could be succinctlystatedas all that God is,
all that He commands, all that He demands, all that He approves, all that He
provides through Christ.
Some have interpreted the righteousness in this verse as that righteousness
which God reckons to the believer's accountwhen he or she is justified by
faith, so calledimputed righteousness whichrepresents the believer's position
or state which is the result of placing one's faith in Christ. (Justification - see
Ro 1:17-note; Ro 3:21, 22-note;cf. Philippians 3:9-note).
Others favor the righteousness Jesus is referring to as an inner righteousness
that works itselfout in one's living in conformity to God's will (sanctification
instead of justification). In short we are He is referring to righteous living.
(Click here to read RayPritchard's interesting analysis of righteousness).
Jesus is certainly not speaking of self-righteousness whichis a man or woman
living by what we think God requires of us. We need be carefulnot to think
that Jesus is saying that we can become righteousnessby our efforts of
hungering and thirsting for it (cf Ro 3:11-note). You can't make a strong
enough effort to achieve perfect righteousness (cfMt 5:48-note), which is
God's requirement, one which is met by the only perfect God-Man, Christ
Jesus, and which is freely made available to all by grace through faith (cf 1Co
1:30, 2Cor5:21, past tense salvation = justification = once for all declaration
by God). Once a sinner becomes a saint, Jesus says their characteris such that
they begin to display an intense desire to live a life of righteousness, to be
pleasing to God with their daily life, this process equating with the doctrine of
progressive sanctification. (= presenttense salvation= working out of one's
salvationwith fear and trembling, Phil 2:12-note , Php 2:13-note; see diagram
and discussionof the "Three Tenses ofSalvation")

Kay Arthur adds that
Self-righteousnessis always man's interpretation or addition to the clear-cut
teaching of God's Word. It's a process oftacking on extra laws, requirements,
and expectations, andthen saying that if you are really going to be righteous,
you must keepall these rules. It is judging others by your standards rather
than God's. How deceptive this is, Beloved!What a terrible trap it becomes!
Those who chase after these external requirements become blinded to the
true, heart-transforming righteousness basedon faith alone… Self-
righteousness is living by your version of what you think is required by God
and then imposing that standard on others, judging their righteousness by
whether or not they march to the same drumbeat as you. (Arthur, K: Lord,
Only You Can Change Me: A DevotionalStudy on Growing in Character
from the Beatitudes covering Mt 5:1-16, Lord, I'm Torn BetweenTwo
Masters:A DevotionalStudy on Genuine Faith from the Sermon on the
Mount)
This righteousness surpassesthat of the "scribes andPharisees"(Mt 5:20).
Believer's are to hunger and thirst not for the Pharisaicalperversionof
righteousness Jesus describedin Mt 5:21-48 ("you have heard… ") but Jesus'
correctinterpretation thereof ("but I say… "). The believer is also to hunger
and thirst for the practicalrighteousness Jesusdescribedin Matthew 6
(giving, praying, fasting). And then in Matthew 7 Jesus warns his hearers not
to judge for He knows that one the dangers of righteousness (whetherit is
"false" Pharisaicalself-righteousness or genuine God given righteousness)is
that the one who is living righteously (whether realor sham) will have a
tendency to judge others.
King David testifiedto his thirsting for Jehovahin the following psalm (note
carefully the context - are you figuratively in the "wilderness ofJudah"? Try
David's prescription for relief)…

(A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.)
O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly;
My soulthirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee,
In a dry and wearyland where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)
Spurgeonnicely sums up David's opening words
“Nothing but thyself cancontent me; everything else, oreveryone else falls
short of my desire. There is no waterthat can slake sucha thirst as mine
unless I drink from thee, thou overflowing well.” (Spurgeon exhorts us to)
"Long after the old times over again — for those times of heavenupon earth
— those specialseasonswhenthe Lord made the veil betweenus and heaven
to be very thin indeed, and allowedus almostto see his face.“… Shallwe
praise God in the garden and not praise him in the wilderness? No;we will
sing a new song when we come into the desert;for, even if we are in a desert,
that is no reasonwhy there should be a desertin us, so let us praise God even
in our wilderness experience.
Robert Murray M’Cheyne (The impact of Robert Murray McCheyne)
expressedthis desperate hungering for righteousness,crying out…
“Oh God, make me as holy as a pardoned sinner canbe!”

Where or how does one obtain this appetite and hunger for a God pleasing
righteousness lifestyle? Jesusgives us the answerin his proclamation on the
last day of the feastof Tabernacles (Booths). During this greatfeastthe people
went to the pool of Siloam eachday for sevendays, filling pitchers with water.
Then, as they walkedto the temple, they sang Psalms 103-118.Arriving at the
temple, they would pour the water on the altar, symbolizing both the early
and latter rains and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised in the Old
Testament.
37 Now on the last day, the greatday of the feast, Jesus stoodandcried out,
saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come (command to keepon coming =
present imperative) to Me and drink (command to keepon drinking = present
imperative).
38 "He who believes in Me (Observe that in context = Drinking ~ Believing),
as the Scripture said (No definite OT passage has beenidentified), 'From his
innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'"
39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to
receive;for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus wasnot yet glorified
(crucified, buried, resurrectedand ascendedto glory- cp Php 2:9-11-note)."
(John 7:37-39-note)
So you have a standing invitation (so to speak)from the King Himself to come
and drink of Jesus and His righteousness (1Cor1:30), not just the first time
(salvation2Cor 5:21-note)but continually, for the restof your life (pun
intended regarding "rest" cfMt 11:29-note). Are you thirsty? Let me
rephrase that "Is your soulthirsty?" Does your innermost being feela
gnawing sense of imminent dehydration spiritually speaking? Thencome to

Jesus and drink of His righteousness and you will be satisfied. But the
paradox is that the more we experience the outworking or the "fruit" of His
righteousness in our lives (cf Phil 1:11-note), the more will be our hunger and
thirst. The more we want, the more we get. This is what we saw in the
previous discussionof Paul's life (click).
This spiritual dynamic ("more satisfactionbegets more hunger and thirst") is
underscoredwhen His disciples queried Him about why He taught in
parables.
And He answeredand saidto them, "To you it has been granted to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For
whoeverhas (believers, subjects of the King, true citizens in the Kingdom), to
him shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoeverdoes
not have, even what he has shall be takenawayfrom him." (Matthew 13:11-
12)
The dynamic is that to the one who accepts the Light (John 1:9) will receive
still further light as he grows in obedience and maturity in the Lord.
Here is another explanation to help understand Jesus'teaching…
What did He mean? He had just told the parable (Mt 13:3-9). He had just
revealedthat only one type of soil — goodsoil — yielded a crop. What made
the difference? It wasn'tthe seed, because Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:19 that
the seedis the word of the kingdom, the truth of righteous living. It was the
soil's receptivity to the seedthat made the difference. Mark 4:20 adds clarity
here:

"And those are the ones on whom seedwas sownon the goodground, and
they hear the word and acceptit, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a
hundredfold."
Did you notice the words "acceptit"?… Obviously the more we accept, the
greaterthe crop will be. That's why Jesus goes onto say in Mark 4:24-25:
"Take care whatyou listen to. By your standard of measure it shall be
measuredto you; and more shall be given you besides. Forwhoeverhas, to
him shall more be given; and whoeverdoes not have, even what he has shall
be taken awayfrom him."
Do you want to be righteous? Then receive what Godhas for you. Be obedient
to the revealedwill of God, not just with an external obedience, but from the
heart. God will give you more and more. But neglectHis Word, ignore it, or
refuse it, and you will have a meagerharvest. (Arthur, K: Lord, Only You
Can Change Me: A DevotionalStudy on Growing in Characterfrom the
Beatitudes which covers Mt 5:1-16, see also her excellentcomplementary
study on - Lord, I'm Torn BetweenTwo Masters:A DevotionalStudy on
Genuine Faith from the Sermon on the Mount) (Bolding added)
How do you know when you are hungering and thirsting for righteousness?
The first premise is that if the Holy Spirit (emphasize "Holy") dwells in you
have the potential to hunger and thirst for righteousness. If you lack this
hunger and thirst then you must stopand ask yourself whether you are
quenching or grieving the Holy Spirit or the even more solemn question "Are
you truly born again?" forPaul writes that if any man or womanis in Christ,
the old things (including the old appetites) are passedawayand behold new
things (including new spiritual appetites) have come. (2Cor5:17-note)I am
not speaking ofever boundless appetite for Christ's righteousness. There are

Jesus was blessing those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

Jesus was blessing those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

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