Chapter 10 God’s overflow ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy’ (Matthew 5:7) None of the Beatitudes is shorter than the one to which we now turn. Yet with just six words in its original written form it has such a wealth of meaning that it is virtually impossible to give a satisfactory exposition of its teaching in a book of this size. In trying to do so, I am reminded of the story (probably apocryphal, but entirely feasible) of the man sentenced to 99 years’ imprisonment. As he