我们要继续研究八福──有关耶稣教导我们怎样才能成为「喜乐的人」。今天我们读到著名的第五福：「怜恤人的人有福了！因为他们必蒙怜恤」（太五7）。

主耶稣用「怜恤」这个词儿是什么意思？牠背后的思想是怜悯和关心别人的困苦。原来，在第五福所使用的希腊词语，亦是希伯来书二章17节用来形容基督的大祭司事奉所用的词语。权威学者瓦因（W.E.Vine）说，「怜恤的人不单拥有同情心，也积极地怜悯别人」。

然而，我们必须再次强调──主耶稣所说的怜恤这性情，不是源自我们自然的个性，而是当我们住在基督里时主所给我们的赏赐。正如钟马田博士（Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones）说：「福音并不是为某些特定气质的人而设，当我们与神面对面时，没有人会比别人特别有优势。」再者，怜恤并不是无视道德的沦亡，而采取一种假装看不见的态度。当我们发现「怜恤」这个形容词，也特别和特定地用在神自己身上的时候，就可以说明，无论这词语怎样运用在神身上，亦同样可运用在人身上。神是怜恤的，但他也是真理，这便是「慈爱和诚实彼此相遇」的意思。如果我们需要以牺牲真理和律法来达成怜恤，那就不是真正的怜恤，那只是一种讽刺。

We continue our study of - the study of Jesus' declarations of how to become "the happy ones". Today we come to the fifth of Christ's famous sayings: "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Matt. 5:7).

What does our Lord mean when He uses the word "merciful"? The thought underlying the word is that of compassion and concern for the plight of others. The Greek word used in this fifth Beatitude is also used to describe the high priestly ministry of Christ in Hebrews 2:17. One authority, WE. Vine, says that a "merciful" person is "not simply possessed of pity but actively compassionate".

It is important to stress once again that the characteristic of being merciful of which our Lord spoke here is not something that arises from our natural temperament, but something that is endowed on us when we abide in Christ. As Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones said: "This is not a gospel for certain temperaments - nobody has an advantage over anybody else when they are face to face with God." Again, mercy is not turning a blind eye to moral violations - the attitude that pretends not to see things. This can be seen most forcefully when we consider that the term "merciful" is an adjective which is applied especially and specifically to God Himself. This means that however the word applies to God, it applies equally to man. God is merciful, but He is also truth: "Mercy and truth are met together." If we think of mercy at the expense of truth and law, then it is not true mercy, it is merely a caricature.