In the first three Beatitudes we are called upon to witness the heart exercises of one who has been awakened by the Spirit of God. First, there is a sense of need, a realization of my nothingness and emptiness. Second, there is a judging of self, a consciousness of my guilt and sorrowing over my lost condition. Third, there is an end of seeking to justify myself before God, an abandonment of all pretenses to personal merit, a taking of my place in the dust before God. Here, in the fourth, the eye of the soul is turned away from self to Another: there is a longing after that which I know I have not got, and which I am conscious I urgently need.

The sinner is destitute of righteousness, for “there is none righteous, no not one.” God has therefore provided in Christ a perfect righteousness for each and all of His people. This righteousness, this satisfying of all the demands of God’s holy law against us, was wrought out by our Substitute and Surety. This righteousness is now imputed—legally placed to the account of the believing sinner. Just as the sins of God’s people were all transferred to Christ—so His righteousness is placed upon them, see 2 Cor. 5:21. Such is a brief summary of the teaching of Scripture on this vital and blessed subject of “Righteousness.” – AW Pink, Comfort for Christians