One of Jesus' earliest sermons was the "Sermon on the Mount" and He gave eight Beatitudes to His disciples.

'Beatitudes' are defined as 'Supreme blessings or happiness.' 'Blessed' is defined as 'Made sacred or consecrated', 'bringing happiness.'

Let's read the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 verses 1 through 12. "And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. {2} Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: {3} "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {4} Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. {5} Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. {6} Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. {7} Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. {8} Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. {9} Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. {10} Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {11} "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. {12} "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Let’s focus in on the second beatitude in verse 4, "Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted."

The Greek word for "to mourn," used here is "pentheothe" which is the strongest word for mourning in the Greek language. It is defined as "to grieve (the feeling or the act):--mourn, (be-) wail." It means to experience deep grief. It is the word which is used for mourning for the dead, for one who was loved.

This beatitude can be taken literally "Blessed is the man who has endured the bitterest sorrow that life can bring. The death of a loved one."

Many men in the hour of their sorrow has discovered his fellow man and his God as he never did before. When things go well, a person does not think about others or God, but when you have sorrows, trials and tests, you think about others and God. You spend time in prayer talking to God about your problem. You may consult others for moral support or help with your problem.

Let’s look at this beatitude first from a physical point of view.

Is Jesus calling for mourning as a Christian virtue? Is a Christian to be in a permanent state of mourning wearing black clothes and driving black cars? This would be very depressing to be in a black environment when you realize that God created all of the beautiful colors of a blue sky, green grass and beautiful flowers.

Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3 verse 4, there is "A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance."

There will be times when we will weep and mourn, but we also will have our times of rejoicing in laughing and dancing.

Notice what the Psalmist says in Psalms 30 verse 5, "For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning."

Now let’s look at the spiritual side and see what we can learn.

Mourning has emotion attached to it. It is not a logical mentality but is a spring of emotion that God wants us to have.

When we apply mourning spiritually we are to comprehend the end result of sin. We must realize what happens when we sin and what is going to happen to the world because of sin.

It takes the cross of Jesus to open our eyes to the horror of sin. To realize God the Father put all of the sins of the world on Jesus when He was crucified and hanging on the cross, and that includes my sins and your sins. The apostle Paul said in Romans 6 verse 23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Why the cross? "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16).

To mourn spiritually is to experience deep grief for our sins.

Sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4).

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7 verse 10, "For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world works death."

Peter says in Acts 2 verse 38, " Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Repentance means to change, to obey God’s Commandments. With repentance comes forgiveness and cleansing from God (Psalms 30:5, 51:1-19). With repentance comes humility, "The LORD says, "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word."

A blessing follows each beatitude. "Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted."

How will you be comforted?

Notice what sin does in Isaiah 59 verse 2, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you."

With repentance you are now reconciled to God.

Paul says in Romans 5 verse 9, "Having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. {10} For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."

You are comforted in His love, forgiveness and mercy and there is no reason to mourn any more.

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