This section of the Bible book Matthew is known as The Beatitudes.
Matthew recorded these lessons that Jesus taught in his “Sermon on the Mount” , some of the most well known and often quoted verses of the Bible.
The dictionary defines beatitude as “a state of utmost bliss or supreme blessedness.”
Beatitude inherited its blessedness from the Latin word beatus, meaning both “happy” and “blessed.” In the Bible, the Beatitudes are a series of eight blessings, such as “Blessed are those poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And in 1958 writer Jack Kerouac coined the term “The Beat Generation” because he felt its members were seeking beatitude. (vocabulary.com)
Most modern English translations of the Bible use the words blessed or happy in these verses. The Easy-to-Read version calls it “great blessings.”
The Amplified Bible lives up to its name using several different words to express these sentiments. These include
- spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired
- forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace
- inwardly peaceful, spiritually secure, worthy of respect
- joyful, nourished by God’s goodness
- anticipating God’s presence, spiritually mature
- spiritually calm with life-joy in God’s favor
- comforted by inner peace and God’s love
- morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Just as there may be many ways to define or describe being blessed, there are many ways to define health or describe being healthy. I addressed this in a previous post that I hope you will read.
Improving health with 7 life elements
(Here is a brief excerpt)
Spiritual Wellness – what brings, peace, harmony, and purpose to our lives.
Our sense of ethics, morals, right, and wrong is usually based on what we believe to be true and meaningful, and likely involves faith and support for an organized belief system or religion. Without belief in something, our lives can drift aimlessly and we can fall into restlessness, doubt our purpose, and lose hope for the future.
Both states-blessed and healthy– may be determined
not by what we have, but by who we are,
not by what we get, but what we give,
not by chasing them, but by living them.
Maybe they are both a journey, not a destination.
I’ve written more about the Beatitudes and other lessons from the Sermon on the Mount. Here is one.
How to satisfy hunger and thirst
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)
“I would run my finger along those phases, wondering if those words could really be true. If I pursue your ways, God, will you really satisfy that which is hungry in me?”
excerpt from FIRE ROAD
Read a review of FIRE ROAD
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Thank you so much. Dr. Aletha
watercress words by Dr Aletha 