Read Matthew 5:4; Numbers 6:24-26

We have begun our trek through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  He begins by holding out the promise of blessing or happiness.  This is what men hope for, though in this world they generally mistake true happiness for something that is very inferior.  Like Israel in the Old Testament, so today people forget that God is the source of blessing (Numbers 6:24-26).  Israel’s history was strewn with countless illustrations of seeking happiness apart from God. The often raucous, sensual, selfish, giddy or trivial lifestyles of the people around them became the goal of their pursuit of happiness, a destination that was empty and fleeting.

This mistaken pursuit is evident in the beatitudes.  We are sure that we could be happier if we would believe in our own greatness.  But Jesus says Blessed are the poor in spirit.  We think those who laugh a lot are happiest.  But here Jesus says, Happy are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.  How can this be?  What does our Master mean?

The Greek word scholar R. C. Trench defines mourning as a form of pathos ... grieving with a grief which takes possession of the whole being so that it cannot be hid.  It is grief that is related to sin, and it always has to do with the glory of God.  Robert Mounce says, Those who mourn are not simply those who have gone through difficult times but those who understand that all the suffering in the world stems from the sinful and self-destructive human tendency to act as if God did not exist.  It is the godly sorrow spoken of in 2 Cor.7:8-13, a sorrow that brings repentance.

The truly happy are not only poor in spirit, knowing they are sinners, but they grieve over that sin.  They grieve because they engage in it (Luke 22:62), live in it (Psalm 120), observe it (Luke 19:41), confront it (2 Cor. 2:1-5).

The idea is that happiness does not come from a flippant attitude towards sin and the glory of our Creator.  It is truly saddened by sin and it’s effects.  But note that Jesus says that that kind of person will be comforted.  Often those who mourn sin turn to a bottle or a pill or a project or a diversion or a gun and are never truly comforted.  Comfort for those who grieve is true happiness and Jesus promises this comfort.  

1.              It is realized when they come to the cross and find forgiveness from the One who bore the burden and guilt of their sin.  David knew this comfort after he sinned and after he grieved (Psalm 32:1-2). 

2.              It is realized daily in the sanctuary as the sinner turns his heart to God.  Asaph in Ps. 73 grieved because of the sinfulness of those around him, but then found abundant comfort when he came to God. 

3.              It will be fully realized in the heavenly city where God will wipe away every tear (Rev. 21:4), where sin will no longer be present.

Ask God to give you sorrow over sin.  Grief is essential to His blessing.  (If more study and meditation are needed consider these passages that join weeping with joy: Psa. 30:5,11; 126:5; Isa. 61:2b-3; 2 Cor. 6:10; John 16:20-22.)