There was a time when churches held weeklong revival services. An evangelist preached sermons to save the lost and sanctify the church. Church members invited the unsaved, unchurched, and unrepentant to the revival. They even had special seating: The Mourners’ Bench. The mourner’s bench was created by John Wesley, the father of Methodism. There are biblical reasons to reject Wesley’s theology and methodology. But his premise was right: contrition is the key to conversion. 

The second beatitude clarifies two misunderstandings about the Christian life. 

Being a Christian is not about being sad. Matthew 6:16 says, “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.” The hypocrite looked gloomy, assuming this is what it meant to be righteous. It is not. 

• Godliness is not gloominess. 
• Being spiritual is not about being sorrowful. 
• Following Jesus produces joy, not grief. 

1 Peter 1:8 says, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.” The gospel does not sentence us to a life of misery. It invites us to a life of unspeakable joy. Oswald Sanders wrote: “A church is in a bad way when it banishes laughter from the sanctuary and leaves it to the cabaret, the nightclub, and the toastmasters.”  

Being a Christian is not about being happy. The Declaration of Independence states every person has the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Happiness is elusive. Life and liberty are inalienable rights. So is the pursuit of happiness, not the experience of it. People spend their lives in the pursuit of happiness. In 2 Timothy 3:4, Paul warns of “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” Many follow Jesus as a shortcut to a happy life. That is not what Jesus offers. Luke 6:25 says, “Woe to those who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” Christians should not be unhappy. We should be sober, solemn, and serious. 

• Every person will spend eternity somewhere. 
• Heaven and hell are the only options. 
• The eternal destiny of every soul is determined by what you do with Jesus. 

Life is not a game. The gospel is not a joke. Hell is not a party. The fun, foolishness, and frivolity of the world should not consume our lives. A person’s character is revealed by what makes him laugh and cry. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” The world blesses the pursuit of happiness, the life of pleasure, and the avoidance of sorrow. Jesus says to those who mourn, “Congratulations, you’re already blessed!” Do you want to be blessed? God blesses those who mourn. Consider what Jesus teaches about the sorrow and the comfort of those who mourn. 

The Sorrow of Those Who Mourn

2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”

• There is godly grief and worldly grief. 
• There is human mourning and holy mourning. 
• There is natural sorrow and spiritual sorrow. 

The Place of Natural Sorrow. Sorrow is an inevitable reality of life. Ecclesiastes 3:4 says there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” Laughter does not last. At some point, weeping replaces laughing. Songs to dance to are replaced by songs to mourn to. Sorrow is natural. It is not amoral. Sorrow is good or evil, proper or improper, beneficial or detrimental. 

Natural sorrow can be evil. The second beatitude does not bless whoever mourns for whatever reasons. There is mourning that does not receive divine approval. Sorrow can be sinful. David’s son, Amnon, fell in love with his sister Tamar. Or Amnon fell in lust with Tamar. 2 Samuel 13:2 says Ammon was so tormented that he made himself sick because he could not have his sister. Amnon played sick. He asked his father to have his sister cook him a meal. When Amnon got Tamar alone, he raped her. 2 Samuel 13:15 says, “Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hated with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her.” Amnon’s sorrow was sick, sinful, and selfish.

Ahab visited Naboth’s vineyard, which was next door to his palace. Ahab asked Naboth to sell him his vineyard. Naboth refused. The vineyard had been in his family for generations. He did not want to lose his family’s heritage. 1 Kings 21:4 says Ahab went to his house vexed, sullen, and depressed, because Naboth would not give him what he wanted. He lay in his bed and refused to eat until his wife Jezebel reminded him that he was the king and promised to get Naboth’s vineyard for him, by any means necessary. Ahab’s sorrow resulted in the murder of Naboth, the seizure of his vineyard, and the judgment of God against Ahab and Jezebel.

Natural sorrow can be beneficial. Sorrow for sorrow’s sake is not good. But sorrow can work you your benefit in ways that pleasure cannot. Robert Browning Hamilton wrote: 

I walked a mile with Pleasure; she chatted all the way. 
But left me none the wiser for all she had to say. 
I walked a mile with Sorrow, and never a word said she. 
But, Oh, the things I learned from her when Sorrow walked with me. 

Sorrow invokes human compassion. Ecclesiastes 7:4 says, “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” When tragedy struck Job’s life, three friends came to show sympathy and comfort him. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar sat silently with Job for seven days. Then they started talking. Most of the book records the theological debate Job had with his friends. Their manner was wrong. Their motives were right. They showed up to mourn with their friend.

This sense of compassion should characterize the church. Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.”The church cannot legitimately say that those who join us have cried their last tears. The church can say that those who join us will not weep alone. We mutually care for one another by weeping and rejoicing together. 

Sorrow invokes divine compassion. Sorrow may or may not invoke human compassion. It definitely invokes divine compassion. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” A life filled with people in times of joy is often evacuated in times of sorrow. But the Lord will never forsake you. He is always there. He cares for you. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” There is purpose in your pain. God comforts you in affliction to use you to comfort the afflicted. 

The Priority of Spiritual Sorrow. The second beatitude is often referenced in times of death, loss, and grief. But that is not the primary meaning of this divine blessing. The mourning God blesses is mourning over sin. John R.W. Stott wrote: “I fear that we evangelical Christians, by making much of grace, sometimes thereby make light of sin. There is not enough sorrow for sin among us.” He was right. We ignore sin. We downplay sin. We rename sin. We justify sin. We conceal sin. We do not mourn over sin. But you cannot be blessed if you celebrate what you should lament. Before salvation can bless your heart, sin must break your heart.  

We should mourn the sinfulness around us. Psalm 119:146 says, “My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.” The godly grieve ungodliness. We should not affirm the world’s rebellion against God. We should not be entertained by the world’s rebellion against God. We should not participate in the world’s rebellion against God. We should mourn the sinfulness of the world. 

• The confusion of manhood and woman should grieve us. 
• The perversion of sexual immorality should grieve us. 
• The deterioration of the family should grieve us. 
• The corruption of true justice should grieve us. 
• The deceitfulness of riches should grieve us. 
• The persecution of the church should grieve us. 
• The rejection of the gospel of Christ should grieve us. 

Philippians 3:18-19 says, “For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” Christ is the central figure of history. The cross is the central factor of history. We should weep over those who are enemies of the cross of Christ. We should pray they would repent and believe before it’s too late. We should share the gospel with them so that they may be saved. 

We should mourn the sinfulness within us. The London Times had an essay contest on the question, “What’s wrong with the world?” G.K. Chesterton won. His brief submission read: “Dear sirs, I am. Sincerely yours, G.K. Chesterton.” I am the worst sinner I know. You are the worst sinner you know. We may see or hear the sins of others. We have first-hand knowledge of our sinful thoughts, desires, motivations, choices, and behavior. 

Matthew 7:1-2 says, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” This admonition does not mean you stay out of my business, and I’ll stay out of yours. It is a reminder that we have far more reason to judge ourselves than we do anyone else. Matthew 7:3-4 says, “Why do you seek the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a long in your own eye?”

God blesses those who mourn over their sin. There are nine different Greek words for sorrow in the New Testament. Matthew 5:4 uses the strongest term. It is more than sadness or sorrow. It is the grief one feels when a loved one dies. This second beatitude is rooted in, linked to, and builds upon the first. Mourning is the proper response of the poor in spirit. Poverty of spirit is the intellectual response to your sin. Mourning is the emotional response to your sin. 

• When you acknowledge your spiritual bankruptcy before God, you are blessed. 
• When spiritual bankruptcy leads to spiritual mourning, you are blessed. 

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” Sin separates us from God. But you can begin again! How do you draw near to God? James 4:8-10 says, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wrested and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” 

To mourn sin is to humble yourself before God. It is to be like the tax collector in the parable of Jesus. Luke 18:13 says, “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’” God is merciful to the sinner who is miserable over the sins.  

The Comfort of Those Who Mourn

Jesus announces those who mourn blessed. This blessing is not based on the fact they mourn. The blessing rests in the result of their mourning: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

• Those who take comfort in their sins shall mourn eternally. 
• Those who mourn over their sins shall be comforted. 

William MacDonald wrote: “Believers do all their mourning in this life; for unbelievers, today’s grief is only a foretaste of eternal sorrow.”

God will comfort the mourners immediately. The promise of comfort is a divine passive. God will comfort those who mourn. But you must repent. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” Worldly grief produces regret. Godly grief produces repentance. Repentance is greater than regret. It is the difference between Judas and Peter. Both disciples betrayed Jesus. Judas regretted his sin. But his remorse led him to commit suicide. Peter regretted his sin, remorse over his sin, and repented of his sin. 

• Regret is the rational acknowledgment of sin. It is to know you have done wrong. 
• Remorse is the emotional sorrow for sin. It is to grieve your wrongdoing. 
• Repentance is the volitional forsaking of sin. It is to come back to God. 

In the pigpen, the Prodigal Son regretted his ill-advised trip to the far country. But his situation did not change until he went home to the Father. It is a blessing when mourning for sin leads us to the sin-forgiving comfort of our heavenly Father. The father did not put the prodigal through any probation before he forgave him. He immediately comforted him with a loving embrace, a signet ring, the best robe, new shoes, and a fatted calf. If you run to the cross, God will comfort you immediately. 

David committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed to cover his sin. When the prophet Nathan confronted him, David repented. The Lord forgave him. In Psalm 32:3-5, David testifies, “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me, my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgression to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” When David repented, he discovered the Lord was more eager to forgive than he was to repent. God will do the same for you if you repent. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

God will comfort the mourners continuously. In John 16:7, Jesus said, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” You would think there is nothing better than living with Jesus in the flesh. But Jesus promised his grieving disciples something better. In the flesh, Jesus could only be in one place at a time. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus would be present with each disciple at all times. In John 14:25-26, Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father wills end in my name; he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” In the KJV, “Helper” is translated “Comforter.” It is the Greek word used in the second beatitude. It means to come alongside to help. 

• Through the finished work of Christ, God comforts the one who repents and believes.
• Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, God continually comforts the one who repents and believes. 

Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit will not allow you to feel good about your sin. The Spirit that makes you happy in Jesus makes you sad when you sin. But the grieved Spirit does not move out when you fall short. The Holy Spirit will convict you of sin to comfort you when you repent. Romans 8:16-17says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” 

God will comfort the mourners ultimately. My father did not play secular music in the house. But he did keep a couple of blues tapes in his car. His favorite blues musician was B.B. King. I remember one song, “There Must Be a Better World Somewhere.” There was more theology in that song that blues song than in some contemporary gospel music. There is sorrow in this life from which we will never receive comfort until the life to come. The good news is that the God who comforts the mourners immediately and continually will comfort us ultimately one day. 

Revelation 21:1-4 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”