Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Ver. 4. Blessed are they that mourn] For sin, with a funeral sorrow (as the word signifieth), such as is expressed by crying and weeping, Luke 6:25, such as was that at Megiddo, for the loss of good Josiah; or as when a man mourns for his only son, Zechariah 12:10. (πενθος, luctus ex morte amicorum. Steph. As the widow of Nain; as Jacob for Joseph; as David for his Absalom.) This is the work of the Spirit of grace and of supplication: for till the winds do blow these waters cannot flow, Psalms 147:18. He convinceth the heart of sin, and makes it to become a very Hadadrimmon for deep soaking sorrow, upon the sight of him whom they have pierced, Zechariah 12:10. When a man shall look upon his sins, as the weapons, and himself as the traitor, that put to death the Lord of life, this causeth that sorrow according to God, that worketh repentance never to be repented of, 2 Corinthians 7:10 .
For they shall be comforted] Besides the comfort they find in their very sorrow (for it is a sweet sign of a sanctified soul, and seals a man up to the day of redemption, Eze 9:4), they lay up for themselves thereby in store a good foundation of comfort "against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life," as the apostle speaketh in another case, 1 Timothy 6:19. These April showers bring on May flowers. They that here "sow in tears shall reap in joy;" they that find Christ's feet a fountain to wash in, may expect his side a fountain to bathe in. Oh, how sweet a thing is it to stand weeping at the wounded feet of Jesus, as that good woman did! to water them with tears, to dry them with sighs, and to kiss them with our mouths! None, but those who have felt it can tell the comfort of it. The stranger meddleth not with this joy. When our merry Greeks, that laugh themselves fat, and light a candle at the devil for lightsomeness of heart, hunting after it to hell, and haunting for it ale houses, conventicles of goodfellowship, sinful and unseasonable sports, vain and waterish fooleries, &c., when these mirthmongers, I say, that take pleasure in pleasure, and jeer when they should fear, with Lot's sons-in-law, shall be at a foul stand, and not have where to turn them, Isaiah 22:13; Isaiah 23:14; God's mourners shall be able to "dwell with devouring fire, with everlasting burnings," to stand before the Son of man at his second coming. Yea, as the lower the ebb, the higher the tide; so the lower any hath descended in humiliation, the higher shall he ascend then in his exaltation. Those that have helped to fill Christ's bottle with tears, Christ shall then fill their bottle (as once he did Hagar's) with the water of life. He looked back upon the weeping women, and comforted them, that would not vouchsafe a loving look or a word to Pilate or the priests. Not long before that, he told his disciples, "Ye shall indeed be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy," John 16:20,21. And further addeth, "A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow," &c., comparing sorrow for sin to that of a travailing woman: 1. For bitterness and sharpness for the time, throes of the new birth. 2. For utility and benefit, it tendeth to the bringing a man child forth into the world. 3. For the hope and expectation that is in it not only of an end, but also of fruit; this makes joy in the midst of sorrows. 4. There is a certain time set for both, and a sure succession, as of day after night, and of fair weather after foul. Mourning lasteth but till morning, Psalms 30:5. Though "I fall, I shall arise;" though "I sit in darkness, the Lord shall give me light," saith the Church, Micah 7:8. Jabez was more honourable than his brethren, saith the text, for his mother bare him with sorrow, and called his name Jabez, that is, sorrowful. But when he called upon the God of Israel, and said, "Oh that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast," &c., "God granted him that which he requested," 1 Chronicles 4:9,10. And so he will all such Israelites indeed, as "ask the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward," going and weeping as they go, to seek the Lord their God, Jeremiah 50:4,5; he shall wipe all tears from their eyes (as nurses do from their babes that cry after them), and enlarge, not their coasts (as Jabez), but their hearts (which is better); yea, he shall grant them their requests, as him. So that as Hannah, when she had prayed, and Eli for her, she looked no more sad, 1 Samuel 1:18; David, when he came before God in a "woeful case" many times, yet when he had poured forth his sorrowful complaint there, he rose up triumphing, as Psalms 6:8,10 &c.; so shall it be with such. They go forth and weep, bearing precious seed, but shall surely return with rejoicing, and bring their sheaves with them, Psalms 126:6; grapes of gladness (said that martyr, Philpot) when Abraham the good householder shall fill his bosom with them, in the kingdom of heaven. Then as one hour changed Joseph's fetters into a chain of gold, his rags into robes, his stocks into a chariot, his prison into a palace, his brown bread and water into manchet and wine, -so shall God turn all his people's sadness into gladness, all their sighing into singing, all their musing into music, all their tears into triumphs. Luctus in laetitiam convertetur, lachrymae in risum, saccus in sericum, cineres in corollas et unguentum, ieiunium in epulum, manuum retortio in applausum. He that will rejoice with this joy unspeakable, must stir up sighs that are unutterable.