Blessed Are the Merciful (Matthew 5:7) | Mercy, Forgiveness & the Heart of God
Thomas Fretwell continues a study of the Beatitudes, drawing from Puritan Thomas Watson’s commentary to highlight the Sermon on the Mount as a guide toward the “Holy of Holies.” After reviewing earlier Beatitudes as a progression describing sanctification and kingdom character, he focuses on Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy,” noting mercy is both duty and reward. He defines biblical mercy as compassion and lovingkindness aimed at relieving misery, closely linked to forgiveness and rooted in God’s love, citing passages from Titus, 1 Peter, Hebrews, Ephesians, Psalms, Lamentations, and Luke. He connects mercy to the mercy seat and the cross, contrasts it with a cancel-culture spirit, and applies it practically through forgiveness, restoring fallen believers with gentleness, charity, and especially merciful speech by rejecting slander and abusive talk.
