Blessed are those who mourn (Matthew 5:4)
Sometimes, we come across a statement that seems contradictory and we wonder why the person phrased his words that way. Initially we may wonder how Jesus could say that those who mourn are blessed because we don’t as a rule connect sadness and happiness. Yet Jesus says that those who mourn will find comfort. The mourning is a characteristic of true disciples and the comfort is a benefit of the kingdom of heaven, one of its resources for its citizens.
The mourning here is specific and does not refer to mourning in general. Yet we can see that mourning is a strong term, because it is difficult to imagine shallow mourning. It is also possible to have what we can call selfish mourning, which is not what Jesus has in mind here. We can mourn the loss of something that was an idol in our lives – some people get distressed when their football team loses a game. Instead, the mourning Jesus has in mind is spiritual mourning.
Since it is spiritual mourning, we can look at how it is expressed in different stages of a person’s spiritual life. So we shall consider, first, how it is expressed at the beginning of the Christian life; then, we can mention some ways in which it shows itself during a Christian’s life; and third we will consider mourning at the close of a Christian life. Spiritual mourning will occur at those times, and comfort will be given at each stage.
Mourning at the commencement
Why should a person mourn at the beginning of the Christian life? There are two reasons for doing so. The first happens because of what the individual sees within himself. He discovers that he has sinned. This discovery is not merely that he does wrong things or thinks wrong things. Many a person knows that they have done wrong, but the wrong does not bother them. In their case, the discovery does not affect them. But something different occurs when the Holy Spirit reveals to someone that he or she is a sinner who has failed to live for the glory of God.
The offence is great because they have sinned against the law of God. It is also great because they have sinned against the beauty of God. Their situation can be illustrated in this way. Imagine if an artist is informing a class how they can paint a perfect picture. The class can sin against him in two ways: first, they can ignore his rules and paint what they like; second, they can deface the work of the artist and spoil what he has created. We do something similar with God. He has given us rules to live by, but we ignore them. He has also made us in his image, and we deface what he has done by our sins. It is a different awareness then for those who sense their sins.
Of course, the Spirit works in the entirety of our being. Mourning is an emotional response based on accurate assessment. The Spirit informs our minds of our sins, but he also works in our emotions. That is why we grieve or mourn over our sins at the commencement of our Christian life. But mourning for our sins is not sufficient.
In addition, the Spirit leads sinners to look at the crucified Saviour. As one of the prophets says of penitent sinners, they shall look on him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him. They ask, ‘Did my sins cause the suffering of Jesus?’ When they discover that their sins did cause his deep atoning sufferings, they mourn. So there is a twofold mourning: (a) mourning for personal sins that were expressions of rebellion against the Lord; (b) mourning for personal sins that caused the Saviour to endure divine wrath on the cross as their substitute. Their hearts are pierced by what the Spirit reveals to them. So from their hearts they confess their sins with a deep sense of sorrow and shame.
What comfort is given to such at that time? They are given the comfort of forgiveness of all their sins and not just of the ones that caused them such great distress. The Lord whom they had sinned against now delights to pardon them and to wipe clean the record of their sins that was listed against their names. As far as his justice is concerned, the Lord pardons them forever. They have a new status that cannot be changed – they now are pardoned sinners and will be regarded as that for ever. Is such a provision not a marvellous comfort, to know that the Judge of all the earth has formally pardoned those who mourned for their sins and went to the cross of Jesus in order to obtain mercy?
Mourning in the Christian life
Although they have been forgiven and have the joy of salvation believers find that there are still many things in their lives that cause them sadness and distress. Here are some of the things that do so.
First, we can mention the activity of the devil and the powers of darkness. He tempts believers in all kinds of ways and in all kinds of situations. Often, they feel under assault from a powerful foe, and he is. He knows how to tempt them individually and often he goes straight to their weak points. The devil knows how to dangle particular temptations before our minds. If we are in a healthy state of soul, those temptations will distress us, and we will long for them to cease. If we are in an unhealthy state of heart, we will listen to the temptations and fall into his trap. That will cause distress as well once we have realised that we have fallen.
Second, we know that every believer still has indwelling sin remaining in him or her. Those remnants of corruption, as they have been called, can appear at any time and sometimes in surprising ways. When that happens, a healthy Christian will be appalled that such thoughts can occur within him and sometimes they progress beyond thoughts into words and actions. The Spirit is still working within him and leads him to mourn. An example is David and his mourning his recorded for us in the words of Psalm 51.
Something else also happens at times within a believer. Eventually he will ask why he is attracted to sins that he hates. From the Bible he will discover that not only does he have actual sins, he also has what is called original sin. His original sin is more offensive to him because it is the root of all kinds of sin and not just the ones he has committed so far. The presence of such a horrid thing indwelling him and affecting him causes him to mourn as Paul did in Romans 7.
Third, believers mourn because people reject the gospel. Paul mentions in his letter to the Philippians how he wept over those who rejected the gospel and made a god out of their bellies (such only live for physical pleasures). When he did so, he was imitating his Saviour who wept over the inhabitants of Jerusalem because they rejected the gospel he had declared to them. When Christians observe people on the broad road that leads to destruction, they mourn over them.
Fourth, believers mourn over the disappointments of life. Some of them can go through very hard things and they are not expected to respond as Stoics would. Instead, tears are very appropriate responses for disappointed hearts. We face bereavements, illnesses, weaknesses, people can let us down, and numerous other disappointments. Many a Christian with the joy of the Lord in his heart walks along the road to heaven with a tear in his eye. He has lost the burden of unforgiven sin, but he still carries heavy loads.
What are the comforts that can be given to them? Sometimes, the situations can change due to answered prayer, and when the Lord gives such answers the mourning for those particular situations can cease. Another comfort is to remember specific promises of God. Paul reminds us that our light affliction is working for us an eternal weight of glory. He assures us that God can work all things together for our good. The Psalmist tells us that God stores up all our tears in his bottle. Sometimes, when we are reading the Bible, our faith is illumined, and we have greater insights into the glory that awaits us.
Mourning at the end
We know that there are occasions when we wonder how we will fare in our last moments. It is true that specific grace is give for particular occasions, so dying grace will be given when we come to die. Sudden death, of course, may not give time for reflection on our lives. Yet most will have time to look back on their years of Christian living and the recollections will cause some degree of mourning. There will be failures and regrets as well as memories of happier things. What should we be ready to do?
I like the response of the Scottish Covenanter David Dickson to his friend John Livingstone who visited Dickson on his deathbed. Dickson had been a pastor who knew revivals as well as a leader of a church that experienced persecution. His commentaries are still read today all over the world. This is what he said to Livingstone: ‘I have taken all my good deeds, and all my bad deeds, and have cast them together in a heap before the Lord, and have fled from both to Jesus Christ, and in Him I have sweet peace.’ At that moment, all that will matter will be Jesus.
What will happen once we cross over to the better country? The apostle John says that one of the experiences of the saints in glory will be that God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. Why there will be tears there, who can say? Yet it will be a wonderful experience to have a divine hand wipe them away. As Rutherford wrote. ‘If ye knew the welcome that abideth you when ye come home, ye would hasten your pace; for ye shall see your Lord put up his own holy hand to your face, and wipe all tears from your eyes.’ That wiping of tears will surely mean that ‘blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.’