本期视频，魏泰德牧师谈论耶稣在登山宝训中所提到的第四福。

你曾有过特别饥饿或者口渴难耐的经历吗？你的喉咙非常干，胃也疼得厉害。慢慢地，你想得到食物和水的愿望更强烈了。最后，当你得到一些食物和水来满足饥饿和口渴时，终于松了一口气！

在第四福中，耶稣告诉我们，“饥渴慕义的人有福了！因为他们必得饱足。”（太5：6）这里，耶稣指的不是肉体上的吃喝，而是指属灵的滋养/营养——对义的渴望。

什么是义呢？

 “义就是圣洁，与上帝相似；而‘上帝就是爱’”。（《福山宝训》18页）义是遵守上帝的律法，“因你一切的命令尽都公义。”（诗篇119：172），并且“爱就完全了律法。”（罗马书13：10）

因此，义就是爱，而且爱就是上帝的光和生命。这爱在祂里面。所以，我们藉着接受祂来接受义。这义并不是我们可以赚得的，因为它是上帝给的礼物。

 “义并不是借着痛苦的挣扎，烦重的劳役，或呈献供物和祭牲而获致的；它乃是白白赐给每一位饥渴慕义而甘愿领受之人的。”（18页）

每个人心里都有一个空隙——只有上帝能填满心中的那个位置。传道书3：11证实说上帝将永生安置在我们心里。

尽管很多人尝试用哲学、唯物主义、现实主义等等来填补这个空洞，但只有上帝可以真正满足心灵的饥饿和干渴。耶稣说：“我就是生命的粮。到我这里来的，必定不饿；信我的，永远不渴。”（约翰福音6：35）

正如我们需要食物和水来维持肉体的生命一样，我们也需要基督来维持灵性的生命，以便跟随祂的带领。

 “当心灵切慕上帝之时，便有一种神圣的要素与世人的力量相联合…你若感到心灵中有所缺乏，你若饥渴慕义，这就证明基督已经在你的心里动工，为要使你寻求他，借着所赐的圣灵，而替你成就你自己所无法作成的事。”(19页)

在20页，接着有这应许给我们：“上帝的圣言乃是生命的泉源。当你寻求这活水的泉源之时，就必借着圣灵而得与基督相交。那向来熟悉的真理必以新的形态在你的心意中出现；圣经的章节必如闪耀的光芒般向你显出新的意义来；你也必看出其他各项真理与救赎之工所有的关系，而你便确知有基督在引导你；有一位神圣的教师在你身旁。”

再一次，“饥渴慕义的人有福了！因为他们必得饱足。”（马太福音5：6）这是我们今天可以宣告的一个宝贵的应许。

想了解更多相关话题，请阅读怀爱伦著作《福山宝训》，欢迎登录网站：https://egwwritings.org/下载电子书。

This week, Pastor Ted Wilson talks about the fourth blessing Jesus mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount.

Have you been terribly hungry or thirsty? Your throat went really dry and your stomach was aching so badly. And over time, your craving for food and water became stronger. Then, what a relief it was when you finally got some food and water to satisfy your hunger and thirst!

Jesus tells us in the fourth beatitude, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Here, instead of talking about physical food and drink, He is referring to spiritual nourishment—longing after righteousness.

What is righteousness?

“Righteousness is holiness, likeness to God, and ‘God is love,’” (Ellen White, Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, page 18). It is conformity to the law of God, for “all Thy commandments are righteousness” (Psalm 119:172), and “love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).

Therefore, righteousness is love, and love is the light and life of God. This love is embodied in Him. So, we receive righteousness by accepting Him. This righteousness is not something we can earn because it is a gift from God.

“Not by painful struggles or wearisome toil, not by gift or sacrifice, is righteousness obtained; but it is freely given to every soul who hungers and thirsts to receive it” (Ellen White, Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, page 18).

In every human being, there is a “God-shaped hole”—a place in the heart that only God can fill. Ecclesiastes 3:11 seems to verify this by saying God has “put eternity” into our hearts.

Though many people try to fill that space with philosophy, materialism, secularism, and the like, only God can truly satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul. Jesus says, “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

Just as we need food and water to sustain physical life, we also need Christ to sustain spiritual life to follow where He leads us.

“A divine element combines with the human when the soul reaches out after God…If you have a sense of need in your soul, if you hunger and thirst after righteousness, this is an evidence that Christ has wrought upon your heart, in order that He may be sought unto to do for you, through the endowment of the Holy Spirit, those things which it is impossible for you to do for yourself” (Ellen White, Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, page 19).

Then, on page 20, we are given this promise: “The words of God are the wellsprings of life. As you seek unto those living springs, you will, through the Holy Spirit, be brought into communion with Christ. Familiar truths will present themselves to your mind in a new aspect, texts of Scripture will burst upon you with a new meaning as a flash of light, you will see the relation of other truths to the work of redemption, and you will know that Christ is leading you; a divine Teacher is at your side.”

And again, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). This is a precious promise we can claim today.

To learn more about this topic, read Ellen White’s book Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing and download its digital copy at https://egwwritings.org/.