intense longing, the seekers do not fill themselves with righteousness, but are filled; righteousness is a gift of God. 7. The first four beatitudes express in one way or another our dependence on God; the next three the outworking of that dependence. This beatitude is relatively straightforward: people who show mercy on others will themselves be the recipients of mercy. The adjective for merciful (found elsewhere in the New Testament only in Heb. 2:17) means those whose bent is to show mercy, not