Matthew 5:9

9 "Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children!

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Peace

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Matthew 5:9 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 5:9

Blessed are the peace makers
Not between God and man, for no man can make his own peace with God; nor can any mere creature, angels, or men, make it for him; Christ, in this sense, is the only peace maker: but between men and men; and such are they, who are of peaceable dispositions themselves; live peaceably with all men, and with one another, as their relation obliges to, and their mutual comfort requires; and with the men of the world; and who are ready, willing, and very serviceable, in composing differences, and making peace between their fellow creatures and fellow Christians. The Jews speak very highly, and much, in the commendation of peace making; they reckon this among the things which shall be of use to a man, both in this, and the other world.

``These are the things, (say they ^F5,) the fruit of which a man enjoys in this world, and his lot or portion remains for him in the world to come; honouring father and mother, liberality, (wrybxl Mda Nyb Mwlv tabhw) , "and making peace between a man and his neighhour."''

This, they say ^F6, Aaron was much disposed to.

``Moses used to say, let justice break through the mountain; but Aaron loved peace, and pursued it, and made peace between a man and his neighhour, as is said, ( Malachi 2:6 ) ''

Hence that saying of Hillell ^F7,

``be thou one of the disciples of Aaron, who loved peace, and followed after it; he loved men, and brought them to the law.''

Now of such persons it is said, that

they shall be called the children of God;
that is, they are the children of God by adopting grace, which is made manifest in their regeneration; and that is evidenced by the fruits of it, of which this is one; they not only shall be, and more manifestly appear to be, the sons of God hereafter; but they are, and are known to be so now, by their peaceable disposition, which is wrought in them by the Spirit of God; whereby they become like to the God of peace, and to Christ, the great and only peacemaker, and so are truly sons of peace.

FOOTNOTES:

F5 Misn. Peah. c. 1. sect. 1. T. Bab. Sabbat. fol. 127. 1. & Kiddushin. fol. 40. 1.
F6 T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 6. 2. Vid. Abot. R. Nathan, c. 12. fol. 4. 2.
F7 Pirke Abot. c. 1. sect. 12.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible