"Blest are the pure in heart, For they shall see their God, The secret of the Lord is theirs, Their soul is Christ's abode." The Subjects of "The Kingdom of Heaven"--who are they? The subjects of a kingdom are, in a general way, those who have been born within its limits, and who submit to its laws and accept its king. But when we enquire into the teaching of our Lord about the subjects of "The Kingdom of Heaven," we are met at once with the difficulty that, in the days of His earthly ministry, the Kingdom was not yet founded[9]. The King was only preparing the way for His Kingdom to be set up. And there is necessarily a great difference between joining a Kingdom in the act of being founded, and being born under its laws and within its limits. Consequently with respect to His teaching about the Subjects of "The Kingdom of Heaven," two things have to be considered. First, the conditions under which men are permitted to join His Kingdom; and, secondly, the life which His subjects are required to lead. At the very commencement of His ministry a divine picture was drawn of the character and life of the true subjects of "The Kingdom of Heaven." For as He "went about all Galilee preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, there followed Him great multitudes of people. And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him: and He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (S. Matt. iv. 23-v. 3). Thus He began the Sermon on the Mount by declaring the blessedness of His subjects, though they would be very different from those whom the world commonly counts blessed. And the last Beatitude ended, as the first began, with distinct reference to the Kingdom, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (S. Matt. v. 10); as though to make it clear to His hearers that the blessedness spoken of throughout all the verses was connected with His Kingdom. He then addressed those who, in their hearts, accepted Him, as "the salt of the earth;" and as "the light of the world" (S. Matt. v. 13, 14). They would not only be blessed in themselves, as His subjects, but they would also be a blessing to others. They were to be the salt which should preserve the world from corruption; and the light which should lead men to "glorify their Father which is in Heaven" (S. Matt. v. 16).