Luke 11:27-28 And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said to him… I. A BLESSEDNESS WHICH IS NOT TO BE DENIED. The Virgin Mother was blessed among women. To God alone we must render worship; but the memory of this saintly woman is to be revered. The angel made no mistake when he said, "Hail, thou that art highly favoured: blessed art thou among women." Nor was she in error when she said, "From henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." We call her blessed most heartily, for so she was. 1. The blessing which she received had been the desire of ages. 2. When at last the boon was bestowed upon the humble virgin of Nazareth, who was of the house of David, it came as a great favour. We must not, then, treat it as a light thing. The Saviour's "yea" was emphatic when the woman spake of His mother as highly blessed. 3. She herself received this honour as a great blessing. It was no vain thing to her to have charge of the infancy of our Lord. She felt it to be great blessedness to be placed in such a relation to the holy child Jesus. 4. She was, she must have been, Messed among women, and this woman who spake of her as such made no mistake; for think what blessings have come to all the world through the Virgin's wondrous child. "In Him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." If all generations call Mary blessed, it is only because she brought into the world one who is a blessing to us all. And it was, it must have been, a great blessedness to Mary's heart to think that "that holy thing" which was born of her was the channel of such blessedness to all mankind. 5. I must, however, remind you that whatever the blessedness which this holy woman derived from being the mother of our Saviour's humanity, she needed it all, for she was called to a great fight of affliction because of it. II. That brings us to our second head: To hear the Word of God and keep it is A BLESSING PREFERABLE to having been the mother of our Lord. 1. We are sure of this, because in the weighing of the blessings the blessed Master of Beatitudes holds the balances. Jesus Himself adjusts the scales of blessedness. He who began His ministry with the word "Blessed," so often repeated, knows best which blessing is the best. 2. Happily this preference so truly given by the Master puts the highest blessedness within the reach of all of us who are here this morning. We are at this moment in a position to "hear the Word of God, and keep it." If grace be given, there are only these two steps to blessedness. 3. I now ask you to notice that this preferable blessing is found in a very simple manner. "Blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it." The process is stripped of all ambiguity or mystery; there is nothing about it that is hard or difficult: "Hear the word, and keep it — that is all." III. So now we close by considering this as A BLESSEDNESS TO BE AT ONCE ENJOYED. I breathe to heaven this earnest prayer, that we may now enter into this blessedness. Let us see if we cannot sit still in our seats for a while, and drink in this wine on the lees well refined. 1. This blessedness belongs to the present. Blessed are they that are hearing the Word of God, and keeping it. It is not a remote, but an immediate blessedness. While you are hearing and keeping God's Word you are then blessed. The blessedness is for this world, and for you. "But I am so cast down." Yes, but you are blessedl! "Alas! I bear such a burden of afflictions." Yes, but you are blessed. "Alas! I have not known a good time of late." No, but you are blessed! Your blessedness does not depend upon your fancies and feelings. If you hear the Word of God, and keep it, you are at this moment blessed. Faith finds a present blessedness in the Word of God, which she hears and keeps. 2. This blessedness lies, in a great measure, in the very act of hearing and keeping God's Word. 3. This blessing is not dependent upon outward circumstances. If you hear God's Wind, and keep it, you may be very ill, and yet in spirit you will be well; you may be very feeble, and yet in spirit you will be strong; you may be dying, and yet you shall not die, for he that heareth the Word of God shall never see death. In hearkening to the Lord you have reached a region from which you look down upon the dust and smoke of time and sense. (C. H. Spurgeon.) Parallel Verses KJV: And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. |
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