Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The blessed evangelist St Matthew, the penman of this sacred history,
was at first by profession a publican or gatherer of toll; and Christ,
having called him from the custom-house, made him a gatherer of souls.
This holy man in the first chapter sets down Christ's birth and
genealogy. In the second, his dignity -- a star ushers in the wise men
to him, and as a king he is presented with gold and frankincense and
myrrh (vv 9-11). In the third chapter the evangelist records his
baptism; in the fourth, his temptations; in the fifth, his preaching,
which chapter is like a rich mine. Every vein has some gold in it.