WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.940 Tonight we're going to be looking at verse 4, Matthew chapter 5 and at verse 4. 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.259 We read through from the beginning of the chapter as far as verse 4. 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:18.440 Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain. 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:21.600 When he sat down, his disciples came to him. 00:00:22.240 --> 00:00:24.400 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, 00:00:25.219 --> 00:00:28.240 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:32.899 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 00:00:33.339 --> 00:00:35.699 And so on, Beatitudes as we call them. 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:41.320 These verses in Matthew's Gospel as part of, or the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:45.259 Verses which I think if you're my age you probably learned them in school. 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:48.299 As was the practice at the time. 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:52.539 But sadly that's no longer, at least commonly, the practice. 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:56.560 However, the verses are very easy to remember. 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:01.260 But there are verses which, as you very well know, are extremely challenging. 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:08.159 And at first sight, some of them, such as this one, might even seem self-contradictory. 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:13.280 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:19.900 How can you speak at the same time of someone or people who are mourning, actively mourning, 00:01:20.659 --> 00:01:27.299 and at the same time say they are blessed, or even happier, which is part of the meaning of that word blessed. 00:01:27.740 --> 00:01:30.960 Not happy in a worldly sense, but happy in a spiritual sense. 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:38.699 And it's as you go on through the Beatitudes that you then really realize that what Jesus was speaking about 00:01:38.699 --> 00:01:42.979 were spiritual qualities or spiritual exercises. 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:46.139 He doesn't just speak about the poor. 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:47.839 In verse 3, he says, 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.359 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:58.480 And so it's obvious from these few verses themselves, hunger and thirst for righteousness, 00:01:59.039 --> 00:02:01.319 that he's talking about spiritual things. 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:03.099 He's talking about spiritual appetite. 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:06.359 Talking about spiritual movements of our hearts. 00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:08.199 Our spiritual vision. 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:10.439 Our spiritual mourning. 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:16.079 Our spiritual regard of those who are in need of our assistance. 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:21.340 All of these things really are very much the practicalities of a Christian life, 00:02:21.440 --> 00:02:26.600 but they stem from the condition of our heart, the condition of our souls. 00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:35.080 And that inner spirit, that inner condition is really emphasized there throughout these Beatitudes then. 00:02:35.600 --> 00:02:37.640 And you can take that to this verse, verse 4. 00:02:37.720 --> 00:02:41.780 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 00:02:41.780 --> 00:02:46.039 And as we're saying that this is primarily a spiritual thing, 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:52.819 it doesn't obviously mean that mourning in the usual sense of it is something that never carries any blessing with it. 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:54.920 That's not what we conclude from it. 00:02:55.319 --> 00:03:00.439 But this spiritual mourning, which we'll try and bring out in its meaning in a few moments, 00:03:00.780 --> 00:03:05.620 this spiritual mourning is something that is assured of comfort. 00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:09.879 And not just comfort sometime or other after it, 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:14.419 but very often and almost always comfort along with it or alongside it. 00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:19.599 If you actually ask how that is so in the Christian life, 00:03:19.659 --> 00:03:21.879 well, we'll hopefully see that as we go through it. 00:03:22.180 --> 00:03:27.479 And in fact, it is an indicator of a work of grace in your heart 00:03:27.479 --> 00:03:30.800 or a mark of grace in your heart or in our hearts 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:33.800 if we can actually follow these in a spiritual fashion. 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:39.480 If you can have some experience or insight of what it is to mourn spiritually, 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:44.020 then you have an idea as to what it is to hunger and thirst for righteousness 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:47.780 and to be a meek who will inherit the earth and so on. 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:52.140 They're all connected with the reality of sin. 00:03:53.600 --> 00:03:59.240 They are all connected in some way or other with the reality and the workings of sin. 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:03.080 Because in this one, blessed are those who mourn, 00:04:03.640 --> 00:04:09.700 that reality of sin is behind the spiritual mourning with which we are familiar as Christians. 00:04:10.480 --> 00:04:17.240 That the Lord was directing the disciples here to consider their blessedness 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:20.180 when they were able to mourn spiritually 00:04:20.180 --> 00:04:23.060 in every way in which that mourning is appropriate 00:04:23.060 --> 00:04:26.480 and in which we find a benefit from it. 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:30.759 It's true for the individual, it's true for our society, 00:04:31.280 --> 00:04:33.800 it's true for our world, it's true for the church at large. 00:04:34.220 --> 00:04:38.080 That when we come to experience these beatitudes working 00:04:38.080 --> 00:04:40.720 or worked out through in our lives, 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:44.660 then we know the blessings and the features of the blessedness 00:04:44.660 --> 00:04:46.960 that's actually mentioned along with them. 00:04:46.960 --> 00:04:51.420 So what is this mourning that Jesus spoke of here? 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:53.420 Blessed are those who mourn. 00:04:53.420 --> 00:04:59.780 Well, the first thing to say is that it's the very opposite of worldly thinking. 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:09.040 Worldliness and the ways of the world does not fit mourning into its package of what is necessary, 00:05:09.500 --> 00:05:10.720 what it is thought important. 00:05:11.500 --> 00:05:15.660 None of that enters into the thinking or the actions of worldliness. 00:05:15.660 --> 00:05:19.500 The world and its thinking and the culture around us in its worldliness 00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:21.740 actually lives for pleasure. 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:24.080 It lives for self-satisfaction. 00:05:24.580 --> 00:05:25.680 It lives for entertainment. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:27.580 It lives for the workings of sin. 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:30.980 It lives all too often in the seeds of debauchery. 00:05:31.100 --> 00:05:36.040 And it lives in such a way as is opposed willingly to holiness 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:40.960 and to the things that God says ought to characterize our lives as human beings. 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:45.620 The world has no place for the doctrine of sin. 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:50.519 No place for teaching on the fallenness of man. 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:52.659 The world will say, 00:05:53.180 --> 00:05:56.500 how can you say that I am fallen, that I am degenerate, 00:05:56.620 --> 00:05:59.839 that I am actually in some need of being put back together 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:03.120 and lifted up and set on a platform of righteousness? 00:06:03.379 --> 00:06:04.919 I'm quite happy the way I am. 00:06:05.259 --> 00:06:07.199 I'm a master of my own life. 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:11.680 Why should you seek that I would change from what I want to be 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:13.379 and what I want to continue to be? 00:06:13.500 --> 00:06:20.920 You see, there's not even an evidence there of any desire to think otherwise 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:26.539 than in those sinful, worldly, ungodly ways. 00:06:26.540 --> 00:06:31.879 So here, this idea of mourning and mourning in respect to sin 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:37.240 and mourning over sin is absolutely foreign to the ways of the world. 00:06:37.280 --> 00:06:40.280 And I'm sure you and I will have to say, most of us will have to say, 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:44.600 it was really something that we didn't want to find true of ourselves. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:50.379 We didn't see where on earth this could fit into any sensible human life or practice, 00:06:50.379 --> 00:06:55.540 what benefit it could be to us to think that what we were doing in our sinful lifestyle 00:06:55.540 --> 00:06:56.699 was actually wrong. 00:06:57.459 --> 00:06:58.420 How was it wrong? 00:06:58.740 --> 00:06:59.800 Why should it be wrong? 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:01.759 Who was going to tell me that it was wrong? 00:07:02.819 --> 00:07:03.800 Well, here is the Lord. 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:07.399 And remember, it's disciples that he's speaking to. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:09.519 He's not speaking here to the world. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:11.560 He's speaking to his disciples. 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:15.459 And so when you take all of these Beatitudes together 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:18.000 and you realize that it really, in a sense, 00:07:18.500 --> 00:07:23.519 summarizes most of the most important features of a Christian, of a believing life, 00:07:23.980 --> 00:07:27.959 that's when you begin to see how important they are, how foundational they are, 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:32.699 but also how difficult, how impossible they are without the grace of God. 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.540 And as the grace of God works in our lives, 00:07:36.540 --> 00:07:42.680 so we find that these things actually come to the fore in what we want ourselves to be. 00:07:43.900 --> 00:07:49.100 You don't want to go around anymore thinking that mourning over sin has no place in your life. 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:52.879 You don't want to go along with the idea that because you're now a Christian, 00:07:53.400 --> 00:07:55.480 mourning over sin is no longer relevant, 00:07:56.340 --> 00:08:00.200 as if sin had suddenly disappeared, even though it is now forgiven sin. 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:04.900 Nowhere do you find in the Bible, in Paul's teachings, for example, 00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:11.219 nowhere do you find him saying for a moment that being forgiven your sin means 00:08:11.219 --> 00:08:13.959 you no longer have to wrestle or fight with sin. 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:17.599 You know, if he had said that, or if the Bible said that, 00:08:17.739 --> 00:08:19.399 or if we thought that the Bible meant that, 00:08:19.739 --> 00:08:24.939 we would actually be despairing because we find in our lives that sin is very much a feature, 00:08:25.039 --> 00:08:28.219 even though it's forgiven, it's still a powerful force. 00:08:28.220 --> 00:08:34.980 And that's why you come daily to God to seek his help in overcoming it 00:08:34.980 --> 00:08:37.440 and doing what Romans says, 00:08:37.660 --> 00:08:40.800 mortifying, put to death the deeds of the body. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:46.979 And it reminds us that even as the people of the church, as the people of God, 00:08:47.699 --> 00:08:51.899 it's very easy to lose sight of those features of the Christian life 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:55.479 that are the most difficult to talk about, the most difficult to preach on, 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:58.500 the most difficult to accept for ourselves, such as, 00:08:58.819 --> 00:09:00.339 blessed are those who mourn. 00:09:00.340 --> 00:09:09.379 A recent survey in America apparently found that 65% of people who call themselves evangelicals in the USA 00:09:09.379 --> 00:09:13.139 did not believe in the doctrine of original sin. 00:09:14.420 --> 00:09:18.720 65% of people who say they're evangelical Christians, 00:09:18.920 --> 00:09:21.139 they don't believe in the doctrine of original sin. 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:23.940 In other words, they don't believe that we're born sinners. 00:09:23.940 --> 00:09:30.540 Now, we actually come into the world already in our hearts twisted against God. 00:09:31.540 --> 00:09:33.220 And, of course, the Bible tells us otherwise, 00:09:33.800 --> 00:09:36.620 that we are conceived in iniquity and in sin 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:43.060 and come into the world already as sinners in need of forgiveness and cleansing and acceptance with God. 00:09:43.640 --> 00:09:47.740 We need a doctrine of sin that fits with the teaching of the Bible. 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:50.860 We need a doctrine of ourselves as human beings 00:09:50.860 --> 00:09:56.919 into which we can find and place the doctrine of sin as the Bible does. 00:09:58.500 --> 00:10:03.180 Aren't you glad tonight that God has shown you what you're like? 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:09.100 That God has shown you the workings of sin so that you will come to Christ for cleansing? 00:10:09.680 --> 00:10:14.639 That you will believe that Christ alone is able to deal with such a person as you are 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:17.620 with your own inward and my own inward corruption? 00:10:18.580 --> 00:10:22.360 We need this doctrine of mourning over sin, 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:24.419 the doctrine of sin over which we mourn, 00:10:24.680 --> 00:10:28.600 in order that our life, as we'll see, will develop properly. 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:31.659 Because otherwise, if you leave this out of your life, 00:10:32.019 --> 00:10:35.779 if you leave this as if it were no longer relevant for a Christian to mourn 00:10:35.779 --> 00:10:37.759 in the spiritual sense, 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:40.379 you're going to have a very lopsided view of life. 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:43.860 You're going to have a very lopsided way of living the Christian life. 00:10:43.860 --> 00:10:51.320 And there will be some very obvious omissions in your progress as a Christian. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:54.879 Think of the example of Jesus himself. 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:58.100 Of course, Jesus had no sin of his own. 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:01.879 And it's all the more remarkable that you find him mourning over sin. 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:06.759 That you find him coming at times to be described in the Gospels 00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:10.340 as deeply moved in his spirit and even weeping 00:11:10.340 --> 00:11:16.879 in circumstances in which he himself found himself faced with the sinfulness, 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:23.700 with the rejection of the world of his offer, of his preaching, of his person. 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:29.639 Think, for example, of John chapter 11 and at verse 33 and verse 38. 00:11:29.740 --> 00:11:32.779 We've referred to this at other times in other contexts, 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:36.279 but you remember that's when Jesus came to the grave, 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:39.320 the sepulcher of Lazarus in John chapter 11. 00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:43.560 And you see there at verse 33 where Jesus came, 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:46.620 having spoken with his sister 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:54.340 and given that wonderful confession of himself as the resurrection and the life. 00:11:55.420 --> 00:11:57.879 And now when Mary came to where he was and saw him, 00:11:57.920 --> 00:11:59.440 she fell at his feet and said to him, 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:03.320 Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:05.520 When Jesus saw her weeping 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:08.120 and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, 00:12:08.199 --> 00:12:11.899 he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:14.120 And he said, where have you laid him? 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:16.340 They said to him, Lord, come and see. 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:17.519 Jesus wept. 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:21.559 So the Jews said, see how he loved him. 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:24.759 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, 00:12:25.439 --> 00:12:27.079 came to the tomb. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:29.620 What is all that indicating? 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:35.179 It's indicating far more than that Jesus was with these two sisters, 00:12:35.179 --> 00:12:36.739 sharing in that grief. 00:12:36.899 --> 00:12:37.579 He was. 00:12:38.120 --> 00:12:39.059 He was with them. 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:39.959 He was beside them. 00:12:40.019 --> 00:12:41.139 He spoke to one of them. 00:12:41.419 --> 00:12:42.959 He stood alongside of Mary. 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:46.079 No question of whether or not he was sympathetic, 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:49.479 whether he was filled with a sense of their need 00:12:49.479 --> 00:12:51.079 and was there to support them. 00:12:51.159 --> 00:12:52.419 That is absolutely true. 00:12:53.299 --> 00:12:55.799 But the main thing in these verses that we've read 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:59.639 is that he was moved and deeply agitated in his spirit 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:03.299 over the fact that there was a human being in that sepulcher who was dead. 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:07.459 He was mourning over the wages of sin, 00:13:07.819 --> 00:13:11.500 as he saw it in that grave that was holding the body of Lazarus, 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:13.279 which was returning to corruption. 00:13:14.599 --> 00:13:17.359 He was mourning over the fact that the human beings 00:13:17.359 --> 00:13:19.500 that he had created in the beginning, 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:22.039 let's remember Jesus, the Son of God, 00:13:22.099 --> 00:13:24.839 was very much involved in the creation 00:13:24.839 --> 00:13:27.240 and in the creation of human beings as well. 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:30.259 And he was seeing that that wonderful creation 00:13:30.259 --> 00:13:31.159 and that creature, 00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:33.419 that human being that he had created, 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:36.799 is now lying in the throes and in the grip of death. 00:13:37.019 --> 00:13:37.240 Why? 00:13:37.340 --> 00:13:38.519 Because he became a sinner. 00:13:39.860 --> 00:13:44.940 And a sinner who needs to face and pay the wages of sin, 00:13:45.060 --> 00:13:45.720 which is death. 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:50.279 That's why Jesus wept. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:51.879 That's why he was sorrowful. 00:13:52.660 --> 00:13:55.340 Because he saw, as nobody else can see, 00:13:56.300 --> 00:13:58.480 how awful a thing sin is. 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:02.040 What a tragedy it is for a human being 00:14:02.040 --> 00:14:03.240 who's become a sinner, 00:14:03.700 --> 00:14:05.700 having created wholly by God. 00:14:05.700 --> 00:14:08.759 And you find the same thing, 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:11.100 or similarly in Luke chapter 19, 00:14:11.980 --> 00:14:15.040 and verses 41 to 44, 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:18.040 where you find Jesus coming to Jerusalem, 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:20.840 and as he beheld the city, 00:14:21.420 --> 00:14:23.400 he wept over it. 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:25.820 Why did he weep over the city? 00:14:26.180 --> 00:14:29.040 Because he was clearly aware and seeing 00:14:29.040 --> 00:14:32.259 and experiencing their sin of rejecting him. 00:14:32.940 --> 00:14:35.480 Their sin of casting him out, as it were. 00:14:35.700 --> 00:14:37.420 And refusing to acknowledge him 00:14:37.420 --> 00:14:40.540 as in any way relevant to their needs as human beings. 00:14:41.680 --> 00:14:44.440 The rejection of him as their saviour. 00:14:46.420 --> 00:14:50.300 He was mourning over the nature of sin. 00:14:51.280 --> 00:14:53.520 He was mourning over the effects of sin. 00:14:54.540 --> 00:14:57.000 And that's where this text takes you and me as well. 00:14:57.800 --> 00:14:59.180 That we too have to mourn 00:14:59.180 --> 00:15:02.520 as we become familiar with the nature of sin, 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:04.420 the kind of thing that sin is, 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:06.740 the kind of thing that sin has done 00:15:06.740 --> 00:15:08.799 and is doing to human lives, 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:11.959 the kind of thing that sees the effects of sin, 00:15:12.019 --> 00:15:14.039 even in that world out there, 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:16.039 in this community that we live in. 00:15:16.219 --> 00:15:18.740 The effects of sin and the workings of sin 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:20.019 are all too obvious. 00:15:20.019 --> 00:15:20.959 When you open your eyes, 00:15:21.199 --> 00:15:23.079 I know we can't go beyond our own hearts. 00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:23.779 It's there. 00:15:23.860 --> 00:15:24.779 That's where we begin. 00:15:25.139 --> 00:15:27.099 That's where we start the process of thinking 00:15:27.099 --> 00:15:28.939 seriously about what sin is 00:15:28.940 --> 00:15:29.980 and what sin has done. 00:15:30.400 --> 00:15:32.000 But then as you work out from that 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.180 and see the world in which we live, 00:15:34.380 --> 00:15:36.600 what does it actually do for us? 00:15:36.820 --> 00:15:38.100 What effect does it have on us? 00:15:38.300 --> 00:15:39.760 Are we becoming immune to it? 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:40.900 Are we so used to it 00:15:40.900 --> 00:15:43.800 that we no longer hear the noise of sinfulness? 00:15:45.040 --> 00:15:45.700 It's possible. 00:15:46.920 --> 00:15:49.320 It can become used to even such things 00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:51.520 as God regards us debauched 00:15:51.520 --> 00:15:53.800 and sinful and twisted and wrong. 00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:01.080 Just in these very days, 00:16:01.220 --> 00:16:03.820 you'll find celebrities 00:16:03.820 --> 00:16:06.640 accused of serious wrongdoings. 00:16:07.400 --> 00:16:08.980 I'm not going to go into details 00:16:08.980 --> 00:16:11.140 as they're very obvious already 00:16:11.140 --> 00:16:12.600 in the media reports. 00:16:14.180 --> 00:16:16.060 But you look at the number of followers 00:16:16.060 --> 00:16:17.980 such people have on social media, 00:16:17.980 --> 00:16:21.039 eight million followers 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:25.300 of somebody who lives that debauched sort of life. 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:27.639 What is that saying about our world? 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:29.820 It's saying certainly that our world 00:16:29.820 --> 00:16:31.759 is in its nature sinful, 00:16:32.139 --> 00:16:34.580 but it's saying here is something to weep over. 00:16:35.920 --> 00:16:38.399 Here is something to build into our prayers 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:41.960 and into our weepings as Jesus did with his. 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:47.120 It's not become so familiar with the world out there 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:49.120 that we fail really to give it 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:51.899 the notice that we require to give it. 00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:54.720 Because if we do, 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:55.779 then we ourselves 00:16:55.779 --> 00:16:58.120 will to some extent 00:16:58.120 --> 00:17:00.220 cease to mourn over our own sins 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:02.720 as well as those of the world. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:04.140 In other words, 00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:04.859 what we're saying is 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:07.640 it's actually a mark of godliness 00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:10.160 to mourn over sin 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:12.340 in the way in which we're describing 00:17:12.340 --> 00:17:13.420 and which the Bible means 00:17:13.420 --> 00:17:16.080 mourning in this context, 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:17.240 mourning over sin 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:19.040 and in respect and relation to sin. 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:21.680 It's a mark of godliness. 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:22.900 It's not a mark of 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:24.340 somehow or other being 00:17:24.340 --> 00:17:25.220 so 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:30.000 constrained by 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:31.740 something that you just see 00:17:31.740 --> 00:17:33.720 as a very negative view of the world. 00:17:34.740 --> 00:17:35.900 It's a mark of godliness. 00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:38.100 Think of how Jeremiah, for example, 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:40.759 who is known, of course, 00:17:40.840 --> 00:17:41.880 in many ways 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:43.120 as the weeping prophet. 00:17:43.800 --> 00:17:45.160 Well, when Jeremiah was speaking 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:46.340 or thinking of 00:17:46.340 --> 00:17:49.120 the sinfulness of his own age, 00:17:49.820 --> 00:17:51.300 you see how he began chapter 9, 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:51.840 for example, 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:53.200 what you have in chapter 9, 00:17:55.080 --> 00:17:56.160 my joy is, 00:17:56.280 --> 00:17:56.840 chapter 80, 00:17:57.060 --> 00:17:57.380 he's saying, 00:17:57.460 --> 00:17:58.700 my joy is gone. 00:17:58.940 --> 00:18:00.100 Grief is upon me. 00:18:00.500 --> 00:18:02.180 My heart is sick within me. 00:18:02.560 --> 00:18:05.040 Behold the cry of the daughter of my people. 00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:05.920 That's his people. 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:08.139 From the length and breadth of the land. 00:18:08.379 --> 00:18:09.700 Is the Lord not in Zion? 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:12.079 Is her king not in her? 00:18:12.420 --> 00:18:14.200 Why have they provoked me to anger 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:15.339 with their carved images, 00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:16.839 with their foreign idols? 00:18:17.159 --> 00:18:18.539 The harvest is past, 00:18:18.819 --> 00:18:19.920 the summer is ended, 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:21.779 and we are not saved. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:24.200 For the wound of the daughter of my people 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:25.399 is my heart wounded. 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:26.480 I mourn, 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:28.359 and dismay has taken hold of me. 00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:30.519 Is there no balm in Gilead? 00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:32.420 Is there no physician there? 00:18:32.420 --> 00:18:35.300 Why then has the health of the daughter of my people 00:18:35.300 --> 00:18:36.519 not been restored? 00:18:37.120 --> 00:18:37.460 Oh, 00:18:37.539 --> 00:18:39.200 that my head were waters, 00:18:39.600 --> 00:18:41.880 and my eyes a fountain of tears, 00:18:42.060 --> 00:18:44.080 that I might weep day and night 00:18:44.080 --> 00:18:46.539 for the slain of the daughter of my people. 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:47.720 There's a prayer for you. 00:18:49.580 --> 00:18:51.039 There's a man who is mourning 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:54.539 over the state of things in his own day. 00:18:55.500 --> 00:18:57.160 He's not holding back and saying, 00:18:57.640 --> 00:18:57.880 well, 00:18:57.880 --> 00:18:59.600 they're doing that, 00:18:59.760 --> 00:19:01.600 that they're going to pay for that someday. 00:19:02.500 --> 00:19:02.680 No, 00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:03.680 he's taking it to himself, 00:19:03.740 --> 00:19:04.100 and he says, 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:05.040 these are my people. 00:19:05.620 --> 00:19:07.280 These are the people that I belong to, 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:09.220 and I must mourn for them 00:19:09.220 --> 00:19:10.760 if they don't mourn for themselves. 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:13.200 Go back along to chapter 13. 00:19:13.580 --> 00:19:15.160 You'll find a similar emphasis there, 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:18.420 verses 16 and 17 in chapter 13, 00:19:20.120 --> 00:19:23.240 where you find him addressing the people this way, 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:24.580 hear and give ear. 00:19:24.579 --> 00:19:25.899 Be not proud, 00:19:26.039 --> 00:19:27.279 for the Lord has spoken. 00:19:27.819 --> 00:19:29.980 Give glory to the Lord your God 00:19:29.980 --> 00:19:31.899 before he brings darkness, 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:33.639 before your feet stumble 00:19:33.639 --> 00:19:35.199 on the twilight mountains. 00:19:35.659 --> 00:19:36.799 And while you look for light, 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:38.039 he turns it into gloom 00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:39.599 and makes it deep darkness. 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:41.939 But if you will not listen, 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:45.319 my soul will weep in secret 00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:47.039 for your pride. 00:19:47.859 --> 00:19:49.799 My eyes will weep bitterly 00:19:49.799 --> 00:19:52.299 and run down with tears 00:19:52.299 --> 00:19:54.460 because the Lord's flock 00:19:54.460 --> 00:19:56.500 has been taken captive. 00:19:59.379 --> 00:20:01.720 I can't say that I've myself 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:05.359 been in that state of mind recently 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:09.039 where I found profound thinking 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:11.299 on my part of the state of the world, 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:12.799 of the needs of the world, 00:20:12.879 --> 00:20:14.899 of the sinfulness of those around us, 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:16.599 or even looking into my own heart 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:18.139 so that like Jeremiah, 00:20:18.439 --> 00:20:18.919 I could say, 00:20:19.459 --> 00:20:19.699 Lord, 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:21.599 my eyes are shedding tears 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:23.719 when I see the state of things. 00:20:25.059 --> 00:20:26.219 Blessed are those 00:20:26.219 --> 00:20:27.819 who mourn, 00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:29.679 who mourn 00:20:29.679 --> 00:20:31.439 as part of their godly. 00:20:31.459 --> 00:20:31.779 And of course, 00:20:31.819 --> 00:20:32.279 when you go 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:34.179 into the likes of the book of Psalms, 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:36.379 you'll find it all over the book of Psalms, 00:20:36.459 --> 00:20:38.259 these references to the psalmist's own 00:20:38.259 --> 00:20:39.399 weeping, 00:20:39.539 --> 00:20:40.359 to his sorrow, 00:20:40.619 --> 00:20:41.959 to his Psalm 102, 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:42.839 for example. 00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:44.980 You think he's beginning there 00:20:44.980 --> 00:20:47.980 talking about how deeply moved he is, 00:20:48.099 --> 00:20:50.720 how bitter he is in his soul, 00:20:50.899 --> 00:20:52.759 the wrenchings of his soul, 00:20:52.819 --> 00:20:54.199 and you think he's talking there 00:20:54.199 --> 00:20:55.259 about his own sinfulness, 00:20:55.439 --> 00:20:55.699 surely, 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:56.659 or something like that. 00:20:56.779 --> 00:20:58.339 Well, he's not leaving that out of it, 00:20:58.359 --> 00:20:59.579 but as the psalm goes on, 00:21:00.019 --> 00:21:00.980 you begin to realize 00:21:00.980 --> 00:21:02.240 he's talking about Zion 00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:04.399 and the state of Zion. 00:21:05.259 --> 00:21:07.919 And even though the light of day 00:21:07.919 --> 00:21:08.699 and of promise 00:21:08.699 --> 00:21:10.099 breaks in upon his soul, 00:21:10.139 --> 00:21:10.579 and he says, 00:21:10.579 --> 00:21:13.539 you will yet have mercy upon Zion. 00:21:14.419 --> 00:21:15.359 You will come to hear 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:17.220 the prayers of the afflicted. 00:21:17.339 --> 00:21:18.679 You will rebuild Zion. 00:21:19.679 --> 00:21:21.579 That's preceded by his mourning, 00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:23.339 by his discomfort, 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:27.139 by his coming to remember his people 00:21:27.139 --> 00:21:29.559 as he mourns with them. 00:21:29.699 --> 00:21:30.879 And the chapter we read 00:21:30.879 --> 00:21:32.179 in 2 Corinthians, 00:21:32.299 --> 00:21:33.000 what's that about? 00:21:34.259 --> 00:21:35.279 Well, it's about a report 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:37.159 that came to the Apostle Paul 00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:39.340 as a report came back 00:21:39.340 --> 00:21:41.160 by Titus. 00:21:41.420 --> 00:21:42.640 And Titus brought a report 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:43.700 about the Corinthians 00:21:43.700 --> 00:21:44.940 that really gladdened 00:21:44.940 --> 00:21:46.220 the Apostle's heart. 00:21:46.340 --> 00:21:47.240 You see, the Apostle had written 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:48.160 a letter to them 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:50.560 in very, very strong terms. 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:51.779 We don't have that letter. 00:21:51.940 --> 00:21:53.460 Some think it was 00:21:53.460 --> 00:21:54.360 1 Corinthians, 00:21:54.560 --> 00:21:55.960 but I think it was another letter 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:57.180 which doesn't belong 00:21:57.180 --> 00:21:57.759 in the Scriptures. 00:21:57.759 --> 00:22:00.099 but he says, 00:22:00.099 --> 00:22:03.019 this is how I was comforted 00:22:03.019 --> 00:22:03.460 in you, 00:22:03.539 --> 00:22:04.000 by you, 00:22:04.339 --> 00:22:05.359 as he told us 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:06.059 of your longing, 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:06.680 your mourning, 00:22:06.819 --> 00:22:07.680 your zeal for me, 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:09.640 so that I rejoice still more. 00:22:09.879 --> 00:22:11.240 For even if I made you 00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:12.480 grieve with my letter, 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:14.379 I do not regret it, 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:15.879 though I did regret it. 00:22:16.140 --> 00:22:17.640 For I see that that letter 00:22:17.640 --> 00:22:18.420 grieved you, 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:19.579 though only for a while. 00:22:19.980 --> 00:22:20.720 As it is, 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:22.519 I rejoice not because 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:23.440 you are grieved, 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:25.440 but because you are grieved 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:26.799 into repenting. 00:22:27.340 --> 00:22:29.360 For you felt a godly grief, 00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:31.019 so that you suffered 00:22:31.019 --> 00:22:32.320 no loss through us. 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:33.460 And then there's 00:22:33.460 --> 00:22:34.660 this wonderful text. 00:22:35.080 --> 00:22:36.400 For godly grief 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:37.880 produces a repentance 00:22:37.880 --> 00:22:39.940 that leads to salvation 00:22:39.940 --> 00:22:41.039 without regret, 00:22:41.799 --> 00:22:43.320 whereas worldly grief 00:22:43.320 --> 00:22:45.259 produces death. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:47.580 See, there's the difference 00:22:47.580 --> 00:22:48.880 between the Christian, 00:22:49.019 --> 00:22:49.759 between the believer 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:50.400 and the person 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:51.799 who has absolutely 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:53.420 no sense of purpose 00:22:53.420 --> 00:22:55.140 in grief of any kind. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:58.059 blessed are those 00:22:58.059 --> 00:22:59.460 who mourn, 00:23:00.539 --> 00:23:01.559 those who actually come 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:02.299 to mourn either 00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:03.380 over their own sins 00:23:03.380 --> 00:23:05.240 or the sins of the society 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:06.120 they belong to, 00:23:06.380 --> 00:23:07.660 such as Jeremiah was, 00:23:08.019 --> 00:23:09.200 such as the apostle was 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:10.019 with that letter. 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:11.580 He was concerned 00:23:11.580 --> 00:23:12.180 for a time 00:23:12.180 --> 00:23:13.880 after he sent that letter, 00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:15.220 before Titus returned 00:23:15.220 --> 00:23:16.259 with a report 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:17.360 on how the Corinthians 00:23:17.360 --> 00:23:18.720 had received that letter, 00:23:19.059 --> 00:23:19.840 he was concerned 00:23:19.840 --> 00:23:20.759 somehow perhaps 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:22.000 maybe that that letter 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:23.299 had been counterproductive. 00:23:23.539 --> 00:23:24.840 Maybe he had gone too far, 00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:26.099 maybe he had used words 00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:27.159 that were too strong, 00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:29.519 too critical. 00:23:30.899 --> 00:23:32.159 Then when Titus came back, 00:23:32.199 --> 00:23:32.759 he realized, 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:34.299 no, that's not the case. 00:23:34.839 --> 00:23:35.939 Yes, I made you weep, 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:36.939 I made you grieve, 00:23:37.299 --> 00:23:38.819 I said some very harsh things, 00:23:38.899 --> 00:23:40.439 some very hard things 00:23:40.439 --> 00:23:41.259 you needed to know, 00:23:41.679 --> 00:23:43.259 but I rejoice 00:23:43.259 --> 00:23:44.299 that that led 00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:45.139 to your repentance. 00:23:46.419 --> 00:23:47.639 And that's what godly sorrow 00:23:47.639 --> 00:23:48.659 always does. 00:23:50.199 --> 00:23:50.839 Godly sorrow 00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:52.419 always leads 00:23:52.419 --> 00:23:53.919 leads to something positive, 00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:56.480 something to do with life. 00:23:57.259 --> 00:23:57.599 Whereas, 00:23:57.720 --> 00:23:58.399 as Paul put it, 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:00.539 the sorrow of the world 00:24:00.539 --> 00:24:02.379 worketh death. 00:24:03.199 --> 00:24:04.619 There is no purpose, 00:24:05.399 --> 00:24:06.659 no life about it, 00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:08.379 no meaningfulness. 00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:10.480 It's just sorrow. 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:13.019 It's just a prelude 00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:15.279 to death forever. 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:18.740 So be thankful tonight 00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:20.880 that God has shown you 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:21.299 something 00:24:21.299 --> 00:24:24.039 of the spiritual mourning 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:25.319 that's so important 00:24:25.319 --> 00:24:26.140 in our lives. 00:24:26.420 --> 00:24:27.360 And that he says, 00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:28.620 for your assurance, 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:30.099 blessed are those 00:24:30.099 --> 00:24:30.740 who mourn. 00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:32.799 And when you come to 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:34.380 be before God, 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:36.099 and when you pray to God, 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:37.079 and when you lament 00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:37.920 before God, 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:38.220 Lord, 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:40.039 why am I still 00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:40.720 so conscious 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:41.680 of these sins 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:42.440 that I confessed 00:24:42.440 --> 00:24:43.340 to you previously? 00:24:43.779 --> 00:24:44.580 Why am I still 00:24:44.580 --> 00:24:45.820 so aware 00:24:45.820 --> 00:24:46.360 of the fact 00:24:46.360 --> 00:24:47.500 they are still with me? 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:48.820 And they're still 00:24:48.820 --> 00:24:49.620 grievous to me. 00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:51.340 Why can't I get rid 00:24:51.340 --> 00:24:51.740 of them? 00:24:53.500 --> 00:24:54.100 And the Lord 00:24:54.100 --> 00:24:54.680 turns to you 00:24:54.680 --> 00:24:54.980 and say, 00:24:55.460 --> 00:24:56.279 blessed are those 00:24:56.279 --> 00:24:56.779 who mourn, 00:24:56.860 --> 00:24:58.140 for they shall be comforted. 00:24:59.180 --> 00:24:59.920 Blessed are those 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:00.080 who, 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:01.080 with a sense 00:25:01.080 --> 00:25:02.180 of their own sinfulness, 00:25:02.380 --> 00:25:03.580 bring things to me 00:25:03.580 --> 00:25:05.480 so that I can 00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:06.160 comfort them. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:09.440 And that's the second thing 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:10.000 in the text, 00:25:10.060 --> 00:25:10.880 that's the other half of it. 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:12.259 We have to keep it balanced, 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:12.600 of course. 00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:13.380 Blessed are those 00:25:13.380 --> 00:25:13.880 who mourn, 00:25:14.320 --> 00:25:16.039 for they shall be comforted. 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:17.900 And here's the strange thing. 00:25:18.700 --> 00:25:19.019 Strange, 00:25:19.140 --> 00:25:19.759 but not strange 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:20.340 to the Christian. 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:21.860 Strange to the person 00:25:21.860 --> 00:25:23.100 who doesn't know the Lord 00:25:23.100 --> 00:25:24.480 or has not been converted 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:25.160 and hasn't come 00:25:25.160 --> 00:25:26.360 to experience what it is 00:25:26.360 --> 00:25:27.960 to live by faith in Christ. 00:25:28.120 --> 00:25:29.360 This is a strange thing, 00:25:29.400 --> 00:25:29.759 isn't it? 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:30.759 That you find 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:31.680 a person 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:32.840 who is mourning 00:25:32.840 --> 00:25:33.440 in this sense 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:34.980 is actually really happy. 00:25:35.940 --> 00:25:36.900 I don't mean happiness 00:25:36.900 --> 00:25:38.240 with the glibness 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:39.120 or the frivolity 00:25:39.120 --> 00:25:40.360 of the world's happiness. 00:25:41.320 --> 00:25:42.460 But the happiness 00:25:42.460 --> 00:25:43.220 that comes from 00:25:43.220 --> 00:25:44.880 the contentment of heart 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:45.800 that knows 00:25:45.800 --> 00:25:47.500 in Christ for you 00:25:47.500 --> 00:25:49.120 everything is well. 00:25:50.759 --> 00:25:51.700 It is well, 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:52.340 it is well 00:25:52.340 --> 00:25:53.720 with my soul, 00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:55.200 as one N. Wright 00:25:55.200 --> 00:25:55.740 had put it, 00:25:56.280 --> 00:25:57.340 even though he had lost 00:25:57.340 --> 00:25:59.000 most of his family 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:00.540 in a tragedy at sea. 00:26:00.539 --> 00:26:03.399 It is well 00:26:03.399 --> 00:26:05.319 with my soul. 00:26:07.879 --> 00:26:08.859 And the path 00:26:08.859 --> 00:26:09.639 to happiness 00:26:09.639 --> 00:26:12.000 and the actual experience 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:12.819 of happiness, 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:13.279 and again, 00:26:13.379 --> 00:26:14.599 it's a thing which 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:15.399 even we ourselves 00:26:15.399 --> 00:26:15.920 as Christians 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:17.159 can't fully understand 00:26:17.159 --> 00:26:18.519 at this point, 00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:20.079 but it's because 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:20.720 you know 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:22.079 of this mourning 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:23.579 that you appreciate 00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:24.299 the happiness 00:26:24.299 --> 00:26:25.519 that a Christian life 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:26.079 contains. 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:28.359 If you didn't have 00:26:28.359 --> 00:26:29.579 this mourning over sin, 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:30.460 your happiness 00:26:30.460 --> 00:26:31.679 would be a different kind. 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:33.139 It would be a worldly happiness. 00:26:34.419 --> 00:26:35.779 But because this is 00:26:35.779 --> 00:26:37.859 a proper spiritual mourning, 00:26:38.859 --> 00:26:39.720 the word blessed 00:26:39.720 --> 00:26:40.740 is attached to it. 00:26:40.779 --> 00:26:41.379 Jesus is saying, 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:43.279 you're in a very happy place. 00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:44.679 You're in a very, 00:26:44.679 --> 00:26:46.179 in a very, 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:49.419 a comforting position 00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:51.519 when you can say 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:53.580 that the mourning 00:26:53.580 --> 00:26:54.539 with which you mourn 00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:55.660 over sin seriously 00:26:55.660 --> 00:26:57.039 is something 00:26:57.039 --> 00:26:58.440 that God calls blessed. 00:27:00.920 --> 00:27:02.600 The path to happiness 00:27:02.600 --> 00:27:04.340 begins 00:27:04.340 --> 00:27:07.680 at the point of mourning. 00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:09.340 In other words, 00:27:09.600 --> 00:27:10.259 put it in other words, 00:27:10.300 --> 00:27:11.460 you cannot experience 00:27:11.460 --> 00:27:12.560 the happiness, 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:13.620 the blessedness 00:27:13.620 --> 00:27:14.900 of which this verse speaks, 00:27:15.340 --> 00:27:16.460 or the blessedness 00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:16.940 in any way 00:27:16.940 --> 00:27:18.160 in which the Bible speaks it, 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:19.840 if you simply leave aside 00:27:19.840 --> 00:27:20.300 the mourning 00:27:20.300 --> 00:27:21.440 as no longer relevant. 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:23.560 It just doesn't 00:27:23.560 --> 00:27:24.180 fit together, 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:24.620 does it? 00:27:25.380 --> 00:27:25.960 But here, 00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:26.980 this mourning, 00:27:27.140 --> 00:27:28.060 this is promised, 00:27:28.300 --> 00:27:28.920 this comfort, 00:27:29.180 --> 00:27:30.300 they shall be comforted. 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:32.080 And we don't actually 00:27:32.080 --> 00:27:33.600 need to think about 00:27:33.600 --> 00:27:34.120 comfort 00:27:34.120 --> 00:27:36.140 in when this world 00:27:36.140 --> 00:27:36.540 is over, 00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:37.600 when you get to heaven, 00:27:37.779 --> 00:27:39.040 when you're on the other side, 00:27:39.120 --> 00:27:39.960 when you're with the Lord. 00:27:40.019 --> 00:27:41.160 Of course that's comfort. 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:41.920 And of course 00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:42.840 there is no sorrow 00:27:42.840 --> 00:27:43.540 then at all. 00:27:43.620 --> 00:27:44.400 There is no mourning 00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:45.000 whatsoever. 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:48.680 But the blessedness 00:27:48.680 --> 00:27:49.900 and the comfort 00:27:49.900 --> 00:27:51.519 doesn't begin then, 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:52.519 it begins here. 00:27:53.619 --> 00:27:54.920 It begins in the heart 00:27:54.920 --> 00:27:55.940 that knows what it is 00:27:55.940 --> 00:27:56.640 to mourn, 00:27:56.940 --> 00:27:57.740 but also knows 00:27:57.740 --> 00:27:58.680 what it is to rejoice 00:27:58.680 --> 00:27:59.579 at the same time 00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:00.180 in Christ. 00:28:00.460 --> 00:28:01.200 As you mourn 00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:02.279 over your sins, 00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:03.880 you give thanks to God 00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:04.680 that he has forgiven 00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:05.380 these sins. 00:28:05.740 --> 00:28:06.400 And that his word 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:07.059 assures you 00:28:07.059 --> 00:28:08.319 when he has forgiven 00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:08.779 your sins, 00:28:09.019 --> 00:28:09.680 they are covered. 00:28:09.900 --> 00:28:10.779 They will never again 00:28:10.779 --> 00:28:11.539 condemn you. 00:28:11.900 --> 00:28:12.619 There's something 00:28:12.619 --> 00:28:13.319 to be happy 00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:14.099 and something 00:28:14.099 --> 00:28:14.740 to say that 00:28:14.740 --> 00:28:15.659 it belongs 00:28:15.659 --> 00:28:16.980 to your blessedness 00:28:16.980 --> 00:28:17.679 even though 00:28:17.679 --> 00:28:18.460 you're still conscious 00:28:18.460 --> 00:28:19.359 of the workings 00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:19.859 of sin 00:28:19.859 --> 00:28:21.039 that you need 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:21.559 to confess 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:22.659 to God every day. 00:28:24.720 --> 00:28:25.779 So what it's saying 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:27.319 is we can only 00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:28.879 appreciate our joy 00:28:28.879 --> 00:28:30.000 because it's connected 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:31.839 with this godly mourning, 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:33.079 this godly sorrow. 00:28:34.599 --> 00:28:35.139 And whatever 00:28:35.139 --> 00:28:36.599 modern theology 00:28:36.599 --> 00:28:37.619 might tell you, 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:40.039 never actually 00:28:40.039 --> 00:28:40.720 give place 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:41.419 to the thought 00:28:41.419 --> 00:28:42.079 that says, 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:44.720 mourning over sin, 00:28:44.980 --> 00:28:46.819 that's puritanish, 00:28:46.899 --> 00:28:47.419 that belongs 00:28:47.419 --> 00:28:47.980 to an age 00:28:47.980 --> 00:28:48.619 that's past. 00:28:49.379 --> 00:28:50.240 That's no relevance 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:51.199 now today 00:28:51.199 --> 00:28:52.199 as we understand 00:28:52.199 --> 00:28:52.500 things. 00:28:52.619 --> 00:28:53.199 We've come such 00:28:53.199 --> 00:28:53.799 a long way 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:54.859 in understanding 00:28:54.859 --> 00:28:56.099 human psychology, 00:28:56.639 --> 00:28:57.699 come such a long way 00:28:57.699 --> 00:28:58.480 some theologians 00:28:58.480 --> 00:28:58.980 will tell you 00:28:58.980 --> 00:28:59.859 in understanding 00:28:59.859 --> 00:29:00.500 the Bible, 00:29:00.639 --> 00:29:01.399 what lies behind 00:29:01.399 --> 00:29:02.240 the letters 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:02.740 and the books 00:29:02.740 --> 00:29:03.419 of the Bible. 00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:04.579 If they had known 00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:05.079 the things 00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:06.099 that we know today, 00:29:06.299 --> 00:29:06.839 you wouldn't have 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:07.619 a verse like that, 00:29:07.699 --> 00:29:08.419 blessed are those 00:29:08.419 --> 00:29:09.079 who mourn. 00:29:09.079 --> 00:29:11.699 Well, don't give 00:29:11.699 --> 00:29:14.539 even the slightest 00:29:14.539 --> 00:29:15.619 place to that 00:29:15.619 --> 00:29:16.599 thought in your heart. 00:29:17.399 --> 00:29:18.220 This is Jesus. 00:29:19.659 --> 00:29:21.419 This is 100% 00:29:21.419 --> 00:29:22.000 accurate 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:23.419 of the words 00:29:23.419 --> 00:29:23.919 of Jesus 00:29:23.919 --> 00:29:25.079 as he spoke them. 00:29:26.659 --> 00:29:27.039 And they will 00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:29.659 last for his people 00:29:29.659 --> 00:29:30.279 right through 00:29:30.279 --> 00:29:30.779 to the end 00:29:30.779 --> 00:29:31.379 of the world 00:29:31.379 --> 00:29:32.679 in their meaningfulness. 00:29:33.419 --> 00:29:34.500 Blessed are those 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:35.659 who mourn. 00:29:35.660 --> 00:29:37.880 and of course, 00:29:38.680 --> 00:29:39.740 to finish with, 00:29:39.820 --> 00:29:40.320 we can say 00:29:40.320 --> 00:29:42.160 that they shall be 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:42.779 comforted 00:29:42.779 --> 00:29:44.100 most of all 00:29:44.100 --> 00:29:44.600 in heaven. 00:29:47.380 --> 00:29:48.200 It's a wonderful 00:29:48.200 --> 00:29:48.800 thought. 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:50.000 It's something 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:50.759 I can't quite 00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:52.100 make the connection 00:29:52.100 --> 00:29:53.019 in my mind with, 00:29:53.080 --> 00:29:54.000 but there is a connection. 00:29:55.340 --> 00:29:56.220 And it's that 00:29:56.220 --> 00:29:57.680 the songs 00:29:57.680 --> 00:29:58.580 of heaven 00:29:58.580 --> 00:30:00.759 would be 00:30:00.759 --> 00:30:02.300 much less sweet 00:30:02.299 --> 00:30:04.319 if they weren't 00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:05.019 preceded 00:30:05.019 --> 00:30:06.539 by the songs 00:30:06.539 --> 00:30:07.079 of mourning 00:30:07.079 --> 00:30:07.940 in this life. 00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:10.200 Again, 00:30:10.259 --> 00:30:10.940 it's the principle, 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:11.319 you see, 00:30:12.339 --> 00:30:13.039 as you know 00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:14.379 mourning over sin, 00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:15.399 as you know sorrow 00:30:15.399 --> 00:30:16.059 as a Christian 00:30:16.059 --> 00:30:16.879 in your life, 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:18.319 as you look forward 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:19.019 to the place 00:30:19.019 --> 00:30:20.059 where there is no sorrow, 00:30:20.180 --> 00:30:21.059 where there is no death, 00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:22.519 where there are no partings, 00:30:22.819 --> 00:30:23.599 where there is nothing 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:24.220 at all 00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:25.319 to cause our tears 00:30:25.319 --> 00:30:25.940 to fall 00:30:25.940 --> 00:30:26.579 and weep 00:30:26.579 --> 00:30:27.399 in sorrow 00:30:27.399 --> 00:30:28.519 and in mourning, 00:30:28.519 --> 00:30:31.680 that wonderful 00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:32.920 experience of heaven 00:30:32.920 --> 00:30:35.180 is made all the more 00:30:35.180 --> 00:30:36.339 possible and real 00:30:36.339 --> 00:30:38.240 by the fact 00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:38.839 that you've known 00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:40.059 mourning in this life. 00:30:41.879 --> 00:30:43.139 And it is those 00:30:43.139 --> 00:30:44.559 who have given place 00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:46.099 to this particular 00:30:46.099 --> 00:30:46.700 doctrine 00:30:46.700 --> 00:30:49.139 and to this great truth 00:30:49.139 --> 00:30:50.440 about the Christian life 00:30:50.440 --> 00:30:52.440 that are more, 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:54.700 or are better positioned, 00:30:54.900 --> 00:30:55.420 if you like, 00:30:55.420 --> 00:30:57.500 to look forward 00:30:57.500 --> 00:30:59.480 to the wonderful comfort 00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:01.779 that heaven brings 00:31:01.779 --> 00:31:02.440 to us. 00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:05.000 They shall be 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:06.279 comforted. 00:31:07.440 --> 00:31:09.160 The Bible is full 00:31:09.160 --> 00:31:09.820 of that as well. 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:10.580 Romans again, 00:31:11.259 --> 00:31:12.580 chapter 8, 00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:13.680 where Paul says 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:14.779 that you are saved 00:31:14.779 --> 00:31:16.120 in hope, 00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:18.060 hope towards 00:31:18.060 --> 00:31:19.240 what is to come. 00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:21.560 Revelation 21, 00:31:22.100 --> 00:31:23.380 verses 1 to 4, 00:31:23.460 --> 00:31:24.519 speaks about the wonders 00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:26.519 of that blessedness 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:27.039 of heaven 00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:28.379 where there is no sorrow, 00:31:28.500 --> 00:31:29.420 where there are no tears, 00:31:29.539 --> 00:31:30.559 but they're all preceded 00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:32.460 by a life of mourning 00:31:32.460 --> 00:31:33.099 and tears 00:31:33.099 --> 00:31:34.799 and sorrow before that. 00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:36.839 And perhaps the psalm 00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:38.240 that we sang together, 00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:39.619 as much as any, 00:31:40.019 --> 00:31:40.980 really brings into 00:31:40.980 --> 00:31:41.639 our view 00:31:41.639 --> 00:31:42.420 the prospect 00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:43.779 and the reality 00:31:43.779 --> 00:31:45.139 of that wonderful 00:31:45.139 --> 00:31:46.920 final comforting 00:31:46.920 --> 00:31:47.680 of God, 00:31:49.819 --> 00:31:51.000 where the psalm, 00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:51.839 as you remember, 00:31:52.200 --> 00:31:52.960 speaks about, 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:55.059 even though weeping 00:31:55.059 --> 00:31:55.880 may last 00:31:55.880 --> 00:31:57.240 for a night, 00:31:58.860 --> 00:32:00.000 joy comes 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:01.700 with the mourning. 00:32:03.340 --> 00:32:04.259 You may find 00:32:04.259 --> 00:32:05.100 your whole life 00:32:05.100 --> 00:32:07.079 is blighted 00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:07.740 by darkness. 00:32:09.140 --> 00:32:10.100 You may find 00:32:10.100 --> 00:32:10.620 that the whole 00:32:10.620 --> 00:32:11.440 of your life 00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:12.400 from beginning to end 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:13.539 will need to be described 00:32:13.539 --> 00:32:14.740 as a time of mourning, 00:32:14.840 --> 00:32:15.740 a time of tears. 00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:16.840 I'm not suggesting 00:32:16.840 --> 00:32:17.440 that it will be so 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:18.259 all the time. 00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:21.940 but God is assuring you 00:32:21.940 --> 00:32:23.759 mourning is coming. 00:32:25.339 --> 00:32:27.000 And when mourning comes 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:28.740 and the daylight 00:32:28.740 --> 00:32:29.539 of eternity 00:32:29.539 --> 00:32:30.500 and blessedness 00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:31.480 dawns 00:32:31.480 --> 00:32:33.480 and scatters 00:32:33.480 --> 00:32:34.039 the darkness, 00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:36.559 then we will come 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:37.259 to appreciate 00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:38.480 this text 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:39.440 more than we can ever 00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:40.279 appreciate it 00:32:40.279 --> 00:32:41.039 in this life, 00:32:41.720 --> 00:32:43.180 when the comfort 00:32:43.180 --> 00:32:43.759 of heaven 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:45.559 is a reality 00:32:45.559 --> 00:32:46.279 to us. 00:32:47.140 --> 00:32:47.480 Blessed 00:32:47.480 --> 00:32:49.099 are those 00:32:49.099 --> 00:32:49.640 who mourn. 00:32:49.720 --> 00:32:50.539 Whatever it is 00:32:50.539 --> 00:32:52.279 today or tonight 00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:52.980 that's causing 00:32:52.980 --> 00:32:54.079 your own heart pain, 00:32:55.940 --> 00:32:57.519 bring it into line 00:32:57.519 --> 00:32:58.859 with what Jesus 00:32:58.859 --> 00:32:59.819 is saying here. 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:02.220 It may not be sorrow 00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:03.660 primarily over 00:33:03.660 --> 00:33:04.480 your own sin, 00:33:04.539 --> 00:33:04.900 though I'm sure 00:33:04.900 --> 00:33:05.619 that's part of 00:33:05.619 --> 00:33:06.539 your experience 00:33:06.539 --> 00:33:07.379 as it is mine. 00:33:08.539 --> 00:33:09.839 It may not be sorrow 00:33:09.839 --> 00:33:10.480 over the state 00:33:10.480 --> 00:33:11.119 of the world, 00:33:11.259 --> 00:33:12.059 though there may be 00:33:12.059 --> 00:33:12.980 some of that in it. 00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:14.519 Maybe it's sorrow 00:33:14.519 --> 00:33:15.120 over something 00:33:15.120 --> 00:33:15.660 that's happening 00:33:15.660 --> 00:33:16.299 at your work 00:33:16.299 --> 00:33:16.740 or something 00:33:16.740 --> 00:33:17.339 that's ongoing 00:33:17.339 --> 00:33:18.039 in your life, 00:33:18.440 --> 00:33:19.240 wherever it is 00:33:19.240 --> 00:33:20.480 you work from day to day. 00:33:20.579 --> 00:33:21.420 Maybe it's a sorrow 00:33:21.420 --> 00:33:22.740 over family. 00:33:23.500 --> 00:33:24.279 Maybe it's a sorrow 00:33:24.279 --> 00:33:25.599 over your concern 00:33:25.599 --> 00:33:27.420 for those related to you, 00:33:27.480 --> 00:33:28.039 for friends, 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:28.720 for neighbours, 00:33:28.940 --> 00:33:30.000 for immediate family. 00:33:30.920 --> 00:33:31.779 It doesn't really matter 00:33:31.779 --> 00:33:34.000 because it's all 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:35.480 encapsulated 00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:36.440 and summarised 00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:38.019 in this wonderful text. 00:33:38.860 --> 00:33:39.339 Blessed 00:33:39.339 --> 00:33:40.259 are those 00:33:40.259 --> 00:33:40.920 who mourn, 00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:42.960 for they shall. 00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:44.779 be comforted. 00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:45.819 Let's pray. 00:33:48.220 --> 00:33:48.960 Oh Lord, 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:49.460 our God, 00:33:49.599 --> 00:33:50.299 our hearts 00:33:50.299 --> 00:33:51.180 need your comfort. 00:33:52.200 --> 00:33:52.759 Our lives 00:33:52.759 --> 00:33:53.440 in this world 00:33:53.440 --> 00:33:54.839 need that comfort 00:33:54.839 --> 00:33:55.460 that you alone 00:33:55.460 --> 00:33:56.360 are able to give. 00:33:57.240 --> 00:33:57.700 Lord, 00:33:57.759 --> 00:33:58.299 we thank you 00:33:58.299 --> 00:33:59.620 for the reality 00:33:59.620 --> 00:34:00.480 of that comfort 00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:01.500 which you bring us 00:34:01.500 --> 00:34:02.740 to taste off 00:34:02.740 --> 00:34:03.500 in this life. 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:05.200 We thank you 00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:05.559 that there are 00:34:05.559 --> 00:34:06.640 many anticipations 00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:07.200 of heaven, 00:34:08.139 --> 00:34:08.719 just as there are 00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:09.760 many anticipations 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:10.360 of hell 00:34:10.360 --> 00:34:12.280 in this life. 00:34:13.040 --> 00:34:13.960 But we thank you 00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:14.400 especially 00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:15.620 for that anticipation 00:34:15.620 --> 00:34:17.480 of the comforts 00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:17.900 of heaven 00:34:17.900 --> 00:34:19.020 that you have 00:34:19.020 --> 00:34:20.260 already caused 00:34:20.260 --> 00:34:20.800 to begin 00:34:20.800 --> 00:34:21.700 in the experience 00:34:21.700 --> 00:34:22.780 in the hearts 00:34:22.780 --> 00:34:23.480 of your people. 00:34:24.440 --> 00:34:24.980 And help us, 00:34:25.100 --> 00:34:25.200 Lord, 00:34:25.260 --> 00:34:25.600 we pray, 00:34:25.680 --> 00:34:26.160 as we come 00:34:26.160 --> 00:34:26.780 to mourn 00:34:26.780 --> 00:34:28.300 over our own sin, 00:34:28.740 --> 00:34:29.320 over the state 00:34:29.320 --> 00:34:30.100 of our world. 00:34:30.780 --> 00:34:31.460 Help us 00:34:31.460 --> 00:34:31.980 to draw 00:34:31.980 --> 00:34:32.780 our comfort 00:34:32.780 --> 00:34:34.120 from your great 00:34:34.120 --> 00:34:34.560 assurance 00:34:34.560 --> 00:34:35.700 that we will 00:34:35.700 --> 00:34:36.519 be comforted 00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:37.820 and that your 00:34:37.820 --> 00:34:38.780 comfort is like 00:34:38.780 --> 00:34:39.440 no other. 00:34:40.320 --> 00:34:41.019 So bless to us 00:34:41.019 --> 00:34:41.460 your word, 00:34:41.540 --> 00:34:42.120 we pray again 00:34:42.120 --> 00:34:42.620 this evening. 00:34:43.420 --> 00:34:44.060 Help us to go 00:34:44.060 --> 00:34:44.940 forth from here 00:34:44.940 --> 00:34:46.160 with a greater 00:34:46.160 --> 00:34:47.460 resolve to be 00:34:47.460 --> 00:34:48.480 contented, 00:34:48.920 --> 00:34:49.300 happy, 00:34:49.740 --> 00:34:50.720 vibrant Christians. 00:34:51.780 --> 00:34:52.400 And enable us 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:53.340 to communicate 00:34:53.340 --> 00:34:54.040 and convey 00:34:54.040 --> 00:34:54.760 to the world 00:34:54.760 --> 00:34:57.019 that ours is a life 00:34:57.019 --> 00:34:58.360 that they ought 00:34:58.360 --> 00:34:58.940 to envy 00:34:58.940 --> 00:35:00.360 and a life 00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:01.480 for which we are glad. 00:35:01.480 --> 00:35:03.260 blessed and we pray 00:35:03.260 --> 00:35:04.559 these words to us 00:35:04.559 --> 00:35:05.559 for Jesus' sake. 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:06.300 Amen. 00:35:08.240 --> 00:35:09.360 We're going to conclude now.