Chapter 11

Showing the comforts belonging to mourners.

Matthew 5:4: They shall be comforted.

Having already presented to your view the dark side of the text, I shall now show you the light side: they shall be comforted.

Observe first: mourning goes before comfort, as the lancing of a wound precedes the cure. The Antinomian talks of comfort, but cries down mourning for sin; he is like a foolish patient who, having a pill prescribed him, licks the sugar but throws away the pill. The libertine is all for joy and comfort; he licks the sugar but throws away the bitter pill of repentance. If ever we have true comfort, we must have it in God's way and method; sorrow for sin ushers in joy. Isaiah 57: I will restore comfort to him, and to his mourners. That is the true sunshine of joy which comes after a shower of tears. We may as well expect a crop without seed as comfort without gospel-mourning.

Observe second: God keeps his best wine until last. First he prescribes mourning for sin, and then sets flowing the wine of consolation. The devil does quite the contrary; he shows the best first, and keeps the worst until last. First he shows the wine sparkling in the glass, then comes the biting of the serpent (Proverbs 23:32). Satan sets his dainty dishes before men; he presents sin to them colored with beauty, sweetened with pleasure, silvered with profit, and then afterward the sad reckoning is brought in. He showed Judas first the silver bait, and then struck him with the hook. This is the reason why sin has so many followers — because it shows the best first; first the golden crowns, and then come the lions' teeth (Revelation 9:7-8).

But God shows the worst first; first he prescribes a bitter potion, and then brings a cordial: they shall be comforted.

Observe third: gospel-tears are not lost; they are seeds of comfort. While the penitent pours out tears, God pours in joy. If you would be cheerful (says Chrysostom), be sad. Psalm 126:5: They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. It was the end of Christ's anointing and coming into the world, that he might comfort those that mourn (Isaiah 61:3). Christ had the oil of gladness poured on him (as Chrysostom says) that he might pour it upon the mourner. Well, then, may the apostle call it a repentance not to be repented of (2 Corinthians 7:10). A man's drunkenness is to be repented of, his uncleanness is to be repented of; but his repentance is never to be repented of, because it is the inlet to joy. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Here is sweet fruit from a bitter stock. Christ caused the earthen vessels to be filled with water, and then turned the water into wine (John 2:9). So when the eye, that earthen vessel, has been filled with water to the brim, then Christ will turn the water of tears into the wine of joy. Holy mourning, says Basil, is the seed out of which the flower of eternal joy grows.

The reason why the mourner shall be comforted is:

First, because mourning is made on purpose for this end; mourning is not prescribed for itself, but in order to another end, that it may lay a train for comfort. Therefore we sow in tears, that we may reap in joy. Holy mourning is a spiritual medicine; now a medicine is not prescribed for itself, but for health's sake; so gospel-mourning is appointed for this very end, to bring forth joy.

Second, the spiritual mourner is the fittest person for comfort. When the heart is broken for sin, now it is fittest for joy. God pours the golden oil of comfort into broken vessels. The mourner's heart is emptied of pride, and God fills the empty with his blessing. The mourner's tears have helped to purge out corruption; and after purging medicine, God gives a refreshing drink. The mourner is ready to faint away under the burden of sin, and then the bottle of strong water comes seasonably. The Lord would have the repentant person (upon his deep humiliation) to be comforted, lest he should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow (2 Corinthians 2:7).

This is the mourner's privilege — he shall be comforted. The valley of tears brings the soul into a paradise of joy. A sinner's joy brings forth sorrow; the mourner's sorrow brings forth joy. John 16:22: Your sorrow shall be turned into joy. The saints have a wet seedtime, but a joyful harvest. They shall be comforted.

Showing the mourner's comforts here.

Now to illustrate this, I shall show you what the comforts are that the mourners shall have. These comforts are of a divine infusion, and they are twofold: either here or hereafter.

First, comforts here. They are called the consolations of God (Job 15:11) — that is, great comforts, such as none but God can give; they exceed all other comforts as far as heaven does earth. The root on which these comforts grow is the blessed Spirit; he is called the Comforter (John 14:26), and comfort is said to be a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Christ purchased peace; the Spirit speaks peace. Question: How does the Spirit comfort? Answer: Either mediately or immediately.

First, mediately; by helping us to apply the promises to ourselves, and draw water out of those wells of salvation. We lie as dead children at the breast, until the Spirit helps us to suck the breast of a promise; and when the Spirit has taught faith this art, now comfort flows in. How sweet is the breast-milk of a promise!

Second, the Spirit comforts immediately; the Spirit, by a more direct act, presents God to the soul as reconciled. It sheds his love abroad in the heart, from which flows infinite joy (Romans 5:5). The Spirit secretly whispers pardon for sin, and the sight of a pardon dilates the heart with joy (Matthew 9:2): Be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you.

That I may speak more fully to this point, I shall show you the qualities and excellencies of these comforts which God gives his mourners. First, these comforts are real comforts; the Spirit of God cannot witness to what is untrue. There are many in this age who pretend to comfort, but their comforts are mere impostures. The body may as well swell with wind as with flesh; a man may as well be swelled with false as with true comforts. The comforts of the saints are certain; they have the seal of the Spirit set to them (Ephesians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 1:22). A seal is for confirmation; when a deed is sealed, it is firm and unquestionable. When a Christian has the seal of the Spirit stamped upon his heart, now he is confirmed in the love of God.

Question: In what ways do these comforts of the Spirit, which are unquestionably sure, differ from those which are false and pretended?

Answer: three ways. First, the comforts of God's Spirit are laid in deep conviction (John 16:7-8); and when he — that is, the Comforter (verse 7) — is come, he shall reprove, or as the Greek word is, he shall convince, the world of sin.

Question: Why does conviction go before consolation?

Answer: Conviction fits for comfort; by conviction the Spirit sweetly disposes the heart to two things. First, to seek after Christ. When once the soul is convinced of sin, and the hell that follows it, now a Savior is precious. When the Spirit has shot in the arrow of conviction, now the poor soul says, Where may I meet with Christ? In what ordinance may I come to enjoy Christ? Did you see him whom my soul loves? All the world for one glimpse of my Savior. Second, the Spirit by conviction makes the heart willing to receive Christ upon his own terms. Man, by nature, would bargain with Christ; he would take half of Christ. He would take him as a Savior, not a Prince. He would accept of Christ as he has a head of gold (Song of Solomon 5:11), but not as he has the government upon his shoulders (Isaiah 9:6). But when God lets loose the spirit of bondage, and convinces a sinner of his lost, undone condition, now he is content to have Christ upon any terms. When Paul was struck down to the ground by a spirit of conviction, he cried out, Lord, what will you have me to do (Acts 9:6)? Let God propose what articles he will, the soul will subscribe to them. Now when a man is brought to Christ's terms, to believe and obey, then he is fit for mercy. When the Spirit of God has been a spirit of conviction, then it becomes a spirit of consolation; when the plow of the law has gone upon the heart, and broken up the fallow ground, now God sows the seed of comfort.

Those who boast of comfort, but were never yet convicted nor broken for sin, have cause to suspect their comfort to be a delusion of Satan. It is like a madman's joy, who fancies himself to be a king, but of his laughter it may be said, it is madness (Ecclesiastes 2:2). The seed which lacked depth of earth withered (Matthew 13); that comfort which lacks depth of earth, deep humiliation and conviction, will soon wither and come to nothing.

Second, the Spirit of God is a sanctifying before a comforting Spirit. As God's Spirit is called the Comforter, so he is called a spirit of grace (Zechariah 12:10). Grace is the work of the Spirit; comfort is the seal of the Spirit. The work of the Spirit goes before the seal. The graces of the Spirit are compared to water (Isaiah 44:3), and the comforts of the Spirit are compared to oil (Isaiah 61:1). First, God pours in the water of the Spirit, and then comes the oil of gladness. Hereby we shall know whether our comforts are true and genuine. Some talk of the comforting Spirit who never had the sanctifying Spirit; they boast of assurance, but never had grace. These are spurious joys; these comforts will leave men at death — they will end in horror and despair. God's Spirit will never set his seal to a blank. First, the heart must be an epistle written with the finger of the Holy Ghost, and then it is sealed with the Spirit of promise.

Third, the comforts of the Spirit are humbling. The soul says, Lord, what am I that I should have a smile from heaven, and that you should give me a private token of your love? The more water is poured into a bucket, the lower it descends. The fuller the ship is laden with sweet spices, the lower it sails. The more a Christian is filled with the sweet comforts of the Spirit, the lower he flows in humility. The fuller a tree is of fruit, the lower the bough hangs; the more full we are of the fruits of the Spirit — joy and peace (Galatians 5:22) — the more we bend down in humility. Paul, a chosen vessel filled with the wine of the Spirit, did not more abound in joy than in lowliness of mind (Ephesians 3:8): To me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given. He who was the chief of the apostles calls himself the least of saints.

Those who say they have comfort, but are proud — who have learned to despise others and are climbed above ordinances — their comforts are delusions. The devil is able not only to transform himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:4), but he can transform himself into the Comforter. It is easy to counterfeit money, to silver over brass and put the king's image upon it. The devil can silver over false comforts and make them look as if they had the stamp of the King of heaven upon them. The comforts of God are humbling; though they lift the heart up in thankfulness, yet they do not puff it up in pride.

Second, the comforts God gives his mourners are unmixed; they are not tempered with any bitter ingredients. Worldly comforts are like wine that runs to dregs. There is that guilt within which checks and corrodes; in the midst of laughter the heart is sad (Proverbs 14:13). Queen Mary once said, if she were opened, they would find Calais lying at her heart. If the breast of a sinner were anatomized and opened, you would find a worm gnawing at his heart. Guilt is a wolf which feeds in the breast of his comfort. A sinner may have a smiling countenance, but a chiding conscience. His mirth is like the mirth of a man in debt, who is every hour in fear of being arrested. The comforts of wicked men are spiced with bitterness; they are wormwood wine.

But spiritual comforts are pure; they are not muddied with guilt, nor mixed with fear. They are the pure wine of the Spirit; what the mourner feels is joy, and nothing but joy.

Third, these comforts God gives his mourners are sweet. Ecclesiastes 12:7: Truly the light is sweet; so is the light of God's countenance. How sweet are those comforts which bring the Comforter along with them (John 14:16)? Therefore the love of God shed into the heart is said to be better than wine (Song of Solomon 1:2). Wine pleases the palate, but the love of God cheers the conscience. The lips of Christ drop sweet-smelling myrrh (Song of Solomon 5:13). The comforts God gives are a Christian's music; they are the golden pot and the manna, the nectar and ambrosia of a Christian. They are the saints' festival, their banqueting goods. So sweet are these divine comforts that the church had her fainting fits for want of them (Song of Solomon 2:5): Stay me with flagons. By these flagons are meant the comforts of the Spirit. The Hebrew word signifies all variety of delights, to show the abundance of delight and sweetness in these comforts of the Spirit. Comfort me with apples; apples are sweet in taste, fragrant in smell, and so sweet and delicious are those apples which grow upon the tree in paradise. These comforts from above are so sweet that they make all other comforts sweet — health, estate, relations. They are like sauce which makes all our earthly possessions and enjoyments come off with a better relish. So sweet are these comforts of the Spirit that they much abate and moderate our joy in worldly things. He who has been drinking strong spirits will not much thirst after water. And the man who has once tasted how sweet the Lord is (Psalm 34:8), and has drunk the cordials of the Spirit, will not thirst immoderately after earthly delights. Those who play with dogs and birds — it is a sign they have no children. Such as are inordinate in their desire and love of the creature declare plainly that they never had better comforts.

Fourth, these comforts which God gives his mourners are holy comforts; they are called the comforts of the Holy Ghost (Acts 9:31). Everything propagates in its own kind; the Holy Ghost can no more produce impure joys in the soul than the sun can produce darkness. He who has the comforts of the Spirit looks upon himself as a person engaged to do God more service: Has the Lord looked upon me with a smiling face? I can never pray enough; I can never love God enough. The comforts of the Spirit raise in the heart a holy antipathy against sin. The dove hates every feather that has grown upon the hawk. So there is a hatred of every motion and temptation to evil. He who has a principle of life in him opposes everything that would destroy life; he hates poison. So he that has the comforts of the Spirit living in him sets himself against those sins which would murder his comforts. Divine comforts give the soul more acquaintance with God (1 John 1:4): Our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus.

Fifth, the comforts reserved for the mourners are filling comforts (Romans 15:13): The God of hope fill you with joy. John 16:24: Ask, that your joy may be full. When God pours in the joys of heaven, they fill the heart and make it run over (2 Corinthians 7:4): I overflow with joy, as a cup that is filled with wine until it runs over. Outward comforts can no more fill the heart than a triangle can fill a circle. Spiritual joys are satisfying (Psalm 63:5): My heart shall be satisfied as with marrow, and I will praise you with joyful lips. David's heart was full, and the joy broke out at his lips. Psalm 4:7: You have put gladness in my heart. Worldly joys put gladness into the face (2 Corinthians 5:12); but the Spirit of God puts gladness into the heart. Divine joys are heart-joys (Zechariah 10:7; John 16:22): Your heart shall rejoice. A believer rejoices (Luke 1:47): My spirit rejoices in God. And to show how filling these comforts of heavenly extraction are, the psalmist says they create greater joy than when grain and oil increase (Psalm 4). Wine and oil may delight, but not satisfy; they have their emptiness. We may say, as Zechariah 10:2: They comfort in vain. Outward comforts sooner cloy than cheer, and sooner weary than fill. Xerxes offered great rewards to him that could find out a new pleasure. But the comforts of the Spirit are satisfying; they refresh the heart (Psalm 94:19): Your comforts delight my soul. There is as much difference between heavenly comforts and earthly as between a banquet that is eaten and one that is painted on the wall.

Sixth, the comforts God gives his mourners in this life are glorious comforts. 1 Peter 1:8: Joy full of glory. First, they are glorious because they are a foretaste of that joy which we shall have in a glorified state. These comforts are an earnest of glory; they put us in heaven before our time (Ephesians 1:13-14): You were sealed with that Holy Spirit, which is an earnest of the inheritance. The earnest is part of the sum behind; so the comforts of the Spirit are the earnest — the cluster of grapes at Eshcol, the firstfruits of the heavenly Canaan (Numbers 13:23). Second, the joys of the Spirit are glorious, in contrast to other joys, which compared with these are inglorious and vile. A carnal man's joy, as it is airy and flashy, so it is sordid; he sucks nothing but dregs. Amos 6:13: You rejoice in a thing of nothing. A carnal spirit rejoices because he can say this house is his, this estate is his. But a gracious spirit rejoices because he can say this God is his (Psalm 48:14): For this God is our God forever and ever. The ground of a Christian's joy is glorious; he rejoices in that he is an heir of the promise. The joy of a godly man is made up of that which is the angels' joy; he triumphs in the light of God's countenance. His joy is Christ's own joy; he rejoices in the mystical union which is begun here, and consummated in heaven. Thus the joy of the saints is a joy full of glory.

Seventh, the comforts which God gives his mourners are infinitely transporting and ravishing. So delightful and amazing are they that they cause a jubilation which, as some of the learned speak, is so great that it cannot be expressed. Of all things, joy is the most hard to be described. It is called joy unspeakable (1 Peter 1:8). You may sooner taste honey than tell how sweet it is. The most pathetic words can no more set forth the comforts of the Spirit than the most skilled painter can draw the life and breath of a man. The angels cannot express the joys they feel. Some have been so overwhelmed with the sweet raptures of joy that they have not been able to contain themselves — as Moses died with a kiss from God's mouth. Thus we have seen the glass often breaking with the strength of the liquor put into it.

Eighth, these comforts of the Spirit are powerful; they are strong cordials. So the apostle phrases it (Hebrews 6:18): strong consolation. Divine comfort, first, strengthens for duty. Nehemiah 8:10: The joy of the Lord is your strength. Joy sharpens industry; a man that is animated with the comforts of God's Spirit goes with vigor and alacrity through the exercises of religion. He believes firmly, he loves fervently, he is carried full sail in duty; the joy of the Lord is his strength. Second, divine comfort supports under affliction. 1 Thessalonians 1:6: Having received the word in much affliction, with joy. The wine of the Spirit can sweeten the waters of Marah. Those who are possessed of these heavenly comforts can gather grapes from thorns, and fetch honey out of the lion's carcass. They are strong consolations indeed, that can stand against the fiery trial, and turn the flame into a bed of roses. How powerful is that comfort, which can make a Christian glory in tribulation (Romans 5:3)? A believer is never so sad but he can rejoice; the bird of paradise can sing in winter. 2 Corinthians 6:10: As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. Let sickness come; the sense of pardon takes away the sense of pain. Isaiah 33:24: The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick. Let death come; a Christian is above it. 1 Corinthians 15:55: O death, where is your sting? At the end of the rod a Christian tastes honey; these are strong consolations.

Ninth, the comforts God's mourners have are heart-quieting comforts; they cause a sweet acquiescence and rest in the soul. The heart of a Christian is in a kind of discomposure, like the needle in the compass — it shakes and trembles until the Comforter comes. Some creatures cannot live but in the sun; a Christian is even dead in the nest, unless he may have the sunlight of God's countenance. Psalm 143:7: Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those that go down into the pit. Nothing but the breast will quiet the child; it is only the breast of consolation that quiets the believer.

Tenth, the comforts of the Spirit are abiding comforts; as they abound in us, so they abide with us. John 14:16: He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever. Worldly comforts are still upon the wing, ready to fly; they are like a land flood, or a flash of lightning.

All things here are passing away; but the comforts with which God feeds his mourners are immortal. 2 Thessalonians 2:16: Who has loved us, and has given us everlasting consolation. Though a Christian does not always have a full beam of comfort, yet he has a dawning of it in his soul. He has still a ground of hope, and a root of joy; there is that within him which bears up his heart, and which he would not on any terms part with.

Use. Behold the mourner's privilege — he shall be comforted. David, who was the great mourner of Israel, was the sweet singer of Israel. The weeping dove shall be covered with the golden feathers of comfort. How rare and exalted are these comforts!

Question: But may not God's mourners want these comforts?

Answer: Spiritual mourners have a title to these comforts, yet they may sometimes lack them. God is a free agent; he will have the timing of our comforts. The Holy One of Israel will not be limited; he will reserve his prerogative to give or suspend comfort as he wills. If we are a while without comfort, we must not quarrel with his dispensations. As the mariner is not to wrangle with providence because the wind blows out of the east when he desires it from the west, nor is the husbandman to murmur when God stops the bottles of heaven in time of drought, so neither is any man to dispute with God when he stops the sweet influence of comfort, but ought rather to acquiesce in his sacred will.

But though the Lord might by virtue of his sovereignty withhold comfort from the mourner, yet there may be many reasons why mourners lack comfort. First, in regard of God. Second, in regard of themselves.

In regard of God: he sees it fit to withhold comfort. First, that he may raise the value of grace; we are apt to esteem comfort above grace. Therefore God locks up our comforts for a time, that he may enhance the price of grace. When pennies go better than gold, the king will call in pennies, that the price of gold may be the more raised. Second, God would have his people learn to serve him for himself, and not for comfort only. It is a prostituted love to love the husband's money and tokens more than his person. Such as serve God only for comfort do not so much serve God as use him for their own ends.

That God's mourners lack comfort is most frequently in regard of themselves.

First, through mistake, which is twofold. First, they go not to the right spring for comfort; they go to their tears, when they should go to Christ's blood. It is a kind of idolatry to make our tears the ground of comfort; mourning is not meritorious. It is the way to joy, not the cause. Jacob got the blessing in the garments of his elder brother. True comfort flows out of Christ's side; our tears are stained, until they are washed in the blood of Christ. John 16, last verse: In me, peace. Second, the mistake is that mourners are privileged persons, and may therefore take more liberty — they may slacken the strings of duty and let loose the reins to sin. Christ has indeed purchased a liberty for his people, but a holy liberty; not a liberty for sin, but from sin. 1 Peter 2:16: You are a royal priesthood, a peculiar people; you are not in a state of slavery, but royalty. What follows? Do not make Christian liberty a cloak for sin (verse 16): As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness. If we quench the sanctifying Spirit, God will quench the comforting Spirit. Sin is compared to a cloud (Isaiah 44:22); this cloud intercepts the light of God's countenance.

Second, God's mourners sometimes lack comfort through discontent and peevishness. David makes his disquiet the cause of his sadness (Psalm 43:5): Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted within me? A disquieted heart, like a rough sea, is not easily calmed; it is hard to make a troubled spirit receive comfort. This disquiet arises from various causes; sometimes from outward sorrow and melancholy; sometimes from a kind of envy — God's people are troubled to see others have comfort, and they lack it. Now in a fit they refuse comfort, and like a froward child, push away the breast. Psalm 77:2: My soul refused to be comforted. Indeed a disquieted spirit is no more fit for comfort than a distracted man is fit for counsel. And whence is the mourner's discontent but pride — as if God had not dealt well with him in stopping the influences of comfort? Christian, your spirit must be more humbled and broken before God empties out his golden oil of joy.

Third, the mourner is without comfort for want of applying the promises. He looks at that sin which may humble him, but not at that word which may comfort him. The mourner's eyes are so full of tears that he cannot see the promise. The virtue and comfort of a medicine is in the applying. When the promises are applied by faith, they bring comfort (Hosea 2:19; Isaiah 49:15-16). Faith milks the breast of a promise. That Satan may hinder us of comfort, it is his policy either to keep the promise from us, so that we may not know it, or to keep us from the promise, so that we may not apply it. There is not a promise in the Bible but belongs to the mourner, had he but the skill and facility of faith to lay hold on it.

Fourth, the mourner may lack comfort through too much earthly-mindedness. By feeding immoderately on earthly comforts, we miss heavenly comforts. Isaiah 57:17: For the iniquity of his covetousness was I angry, and I hid myself. The earth puts out the fire; earthliness extinguishes the flame of divine joy in the soul. An eclipse occurs when the moon, which is a dense body, comes between; the moon is an emblem of the world (Revelation 12:1). When this comes between, then there is an eclipse in the light of God's face. Such as dig in mines say there is such a damp that comes from the earth as puts out the light of a candle. Earthly comforts send forth such a damp as puts out the light of spiritual joy.

Fifth, perhaps the mourner has had comfort, and lost it. Adam's rib was taken from him when he was asleep (Genesis 2:21); our comforts are taken away when we fall asleep in security. The spouse lost her beloved when she lay upon the bed of sloth (Song of Solomon 5:2, 6).

For these reasons God's mourners may lack comfort. But that the spiritual mourner may not be too much dejected, I shall reach forth the cup of consolation (Jeremiah 16:7), and speak a few words that may comfort the mourner in the want of comfort. First, Jesus Christ was without comfort — therefore no wonder if we are; our comforts are not better than his. He who was the Son of God's love was without the sense of God's love. Second, the mourner has a seed of comfort (Psalm 97:11): Light is sown for the righteous. Light is a metaphor for comfort, and it is sown. Though a child of God does not always have comfort in the flower, yet he has it in the seed. Though he does not feel comfort from God, yet he takes comfort in God. Third, a Christian may be high in grace and low in comfort. The high mountains are without flowers; the mines of gold have little or no grain growing on them. A Christian's heart may be a rich mine of grace, though it be barren of comfort. Fourth, the mourner is heir to comfort; and though for a small moment God may forsake his people (Isaiah 54:7), yet there is a time shortly coming when the mourner shall have all tears wiped away, and shall be full of comfort. This joy is reserved for heaven, and this brings me to the second particular.

Showing the mourner's comforts hereafter.

Second, comforts hereafter. They shall be comforted. Though in this life some visits and love-tokens pass between God and the mourner, yet the great comforts are kept in store. In God's presence is fullness of joy. There is a time coming when the saints shall bathe themselves in the river of life, when they shall never see a frown on God's brow more — his face shall shine, his lips drop honey, his arms sweetly embrace them. The saints shall have a spring tide of joy, and it shall never be low water. The saints shall at that day put off their mourning, and exchange their black robes for white robes. Then shall the winter be past, the rain of tears be over and gone; the flowers of joy shall appear; and after the weeping of the dove, the time of the singing of birds shall come (Song of Solomon 2:11-12). This is the great consolation, the jubilee of the blessed, which shall never expire. In this life the people of God taste of joy, but in heaven the full vessels shall be opened. There is a river in the midst of the heavenly paradise, which has a fountain to feed it (Psalm 36:8-9).

The times we are cast into, being for the present sad and cloudy, it will not be amiss for the reviving of the hearts of God's people to speak a little of these comforts which God reserves in heaven for his mourners. They shall be comforted. The greatness of these celestial comforts is most fitly in Scripture expressed by the joy of a feast; mourning shall be turned into feasting. And it shall be a marriage-feast, which is usually kept with the greatest solemnity (Revelation 19:9): Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Bullinger and Gregory the Great understand this supper of the Lamb to mean the saints' supping with Christ in heaven. Men after hard labor go to supper; so when the saints shall rest from their labors, they shall sup with Christ in glory. Now to speak something of the last great supper:

It will be a great supper, first, in regard of the founder of this feast, God. It is the supper of a king, therefore sumptuous and magnificent. Psalm 95:3: The Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Where should there be state and magnificence but in a king's court? Second, it will be a great supper in regard of the provision; this exceeds all hyperbole. What blessed fruit does the tree of life in paradise yield (Revelation 2:7)! Christ will lead his spouse into the banqueting house, and feast her with those rare viands, and cause her to drink that spiced wine, that heavenly nectar and ambrosia with which the angelic powers are infinitely refreshed.

First, every dish served at this heavenly supper shall be sweet to our palate; there is no dish here that we do not love. Christ will make such savory food as he is sure his spouse loves.

Second, there shall be no want here — there is no want at a feast. The various fullness in Christ will prevent a scarcity; and it will be a fullness without surfeit, because a fresh course will continually be served in.

Third, they who eat of this supper shall never hunger more. Hunger is a sharp sauce. The Lamb's supper shall not only satisfy hunger, but prevent it (Revelation 7:16): They shall hunger no more!

Third, it will be a great supper in regard of the company invited. Company adds to a feast, and is of itself a sauce to sharpen and provoke the appetite. Saints, angels, archangels will be at this supper; and Christ himself will be both founder and guest. The Scripture calls it an innumerable company (Hebrews 12). And what makes the society sweeter is that there shall be perfect love at this feast. The motto shall be: one heart, and one way. All the guests shall be linked together with the golden chain of charity.

Fourth, it will be a great supper in regard of the holy mirth (Ecclesiastes 10:19): A feast is made for mirth. At this supper there shall be joy, and nothing but joy (Psalm 16, last verse). There is no weeping at a feast. What triumph and acclamations will there be! There are two things at this supper of the Lamb that will create joy and mirth. First, when the saints shall think with themselves that they are kept from a worse supper. The devils have a supper — such a one as it is, a black banquet; there are two dishes served in: weeping, and gnashing of teeth. Every bit they eat makes their hearts ache. Who would deny them their dinner here, who must have such a supper? Second, it will be a matter of joy at the supper of the Lamb that the Master of the feast bids all his guests welcome. The saints shall have the smiles of God's face, the kisses of his lips; he will lead them into the wine cellar, and display the banner of love over them. The saints shall be as full of solace as of sanctity. What is a feast without mirth? Worldly mirth is flashy and empty; this shall be infinitely delightful and ravishing.

Fifth, it will be a great supper for the music. This will be a marriage supper, and what better music than the Bridegroom's voice, saying, My spouse, my undefiled, take your fill of love. There will be the angels' anthems, the saints' triumphs. The angels, those trumpeters of heaven, shall sound forth the excellencies of Jehovah. And the saints, those noble choristers, shall take down their harps from the willows, and join in concert with the angels, praising and blessing God. Revelation 15:2-3: I saw them that had gotten the victory over the Beast, having the harps of God, and they sing the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are your ways, you King of saints. The sweet harmony at this feast shall be music without discord.

Sixth, this supper is great in regard of the place where it shall be celebrated, in the paradise of God (Revelation 2:7). It is a stately palace, stately first for its situation — it is in the highest place. Second, for its prospect: all sparkling beauties are there concentrated. And the delight of the prospect is ownership; that is the best prospect, where a man can see furthest on his own ground. Third, for its amplitude; this royal feast shall be kept in a most spacious room, a room infinitely greater than the whole firmament. One star of which, if we may believe astronomers, is bigger than the whole earth. Though there is such a multitude as no man can number, of all nations, kindreds, peoples, and tongues (Revelation 7:9), yet the table is long enough, and the room spacious enough for all the guests. The empyrean heaven, bespangled with light, arrayed with rich hangings, embroidered with glory, seated above all the visible orbs, is the place of the marriage supper. This infinitely transcends the most profound search; I am no more able to express it than I can span the firmament, or weigh the earth in a pair of balances.

Seventh, it will be a great supper in regard of its continuance — it has no end. Epicureans have a short feast and a long reckoning; but those who shall sit down at the heavenly banquet shall not rise from the table. The cloth shall never be taken away, but they shall be always feeding upon those sweet delicacies set before them. We read that King Ahasuerus made a feast for his princes that lasted one hundred and eighty days (Esther 1:4). But this blessed feast reserved for the saints is forever. Psalm 16:11: At your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Use. Consolation. How may this be as a healing stone to keep the hearts of God's people from fainting! They shall be comforted. They shall sit with Christ upon the throne (Revelation 3:21), and sit down with him at the table. Who would not mourn for sin, that are sure to meet with such rewards! They shall be comforted. The marriage supper will make amends for the valley of tears. You saint of God, who are now watering your plants and weeping bitterly for sin — at this last and great feast your water shall be turned into wine. You who now mortify your corruptions, and beat down your body by prayer and fasting, shall shortly sup with Christ and angels. You who refused to touch the forbidden tree shall feed upon the tree of life in the paradise of God. You impoverished saint, who scarcely have a bit of bread to eat — remember for your comfort, in your Father's house there is bread enough, and he is making ready a feast for you, where all the dainties of heaven are served in. Feed with delight upon the thoughts of this marriage supper; after your funeral begins your festival. Long for supper-time.

Christ has paid for this supper upon the cross, and there is no fear of a reckoning to be brought in; therefore comfort one another with these words.

Showing the comforts that belong to mourners.

Matthew 5:4: "For they shall be comforted."

Having presented the dark side of the text, I will now show you the bright side: "they shall be comforted."

First observation: mourning comes before comfort, just as lancing a wound comes before healing. The Antinomian speaks of comfort but rejects mourning for sin. He is like a foolish patient who, given a medicinal pill coated in sugar, licks off the sugar and throws away the pill. The libertine is all for joy and comfort — he licks the sugar but throws away the bitter pill of repentance. If we are ever to have true comfort, we must have it in God's way and order. Sorrow for sin is what opens the door to joy. Isaiah 57:18: "I will heal him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners." The true sunshine of joy is the kind that follows a shower of tears. We might as well expect a harvest without seed as comfort without gospel mourning.

Second observation: God saves His best wine for last. He prescribes mourning for sin first, and then releases the wine of consolation. The devil does the opposite — he shows the best first and keeps the worst for last. First he shows the wine sparkling in the glass — then comes the serpent's bite (Proverbs 23:32). Satan sets his finest dishes before people. He presents sin colored with beauty, sweetened with pleasure, and gilded with profit — and then afterward brings in the devastating bill. He showed Judas the shining silver bait first, then set the hook. This is why sin has so many followers — it shows the best first. First the golden crowns appear, and then come the lion's teeth (Revelation 9:7-8).

But God shows the worst first. He prescribes the bitter medicine first, and then brings the restorative: "they shall be comforted."

Third observation: gospel tears are not wasted — they are seeds of comfort. While the penitent pours out tears, God pours in joy. "If you want to be cheerful," says Chrysostom, "begin by being sorrowful." Psalm 126:5: "Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting." One of the very purposes of Christ's anointing and coming into the world was to comfort those who mourn (Isaiah 61:3). Christ received the oil of gladness (as Chrysostom says) so that He could pour it out on the mourner. No wonder the Apostle calls repentance something "not to be regretted" (2 Corinthians 7:10). A person's drunkenness is to be regretted. His immorality is to be regretted. But his repentance is never to be regretted — because it is the gateway to joy. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Here is sweet fruit from a bitter root. Christ had the stone vessels filled with water, and then turned the water into wine (John 2:9). So when the eye — that earthen vessel — has been filled to the brim with water, Christ will turn the water of tears into the wine of joy. "Holy mourning," says Basil, "is the seed from which the flower of eternal joy grows."

The reason why the mourner shall be comforted:

First, mourning is designed precisely for this purpose. It is not prescribed as an end in itself, but as a means to something else — to prepare the ground for comfort. This is why we sow in tears: so that we may reap in joy. Holy mourning is a spiritual medicine. Medicine is not prescribed for its own sake but for health's sake. In the same way, gospel mourning is appointed for this specific purpose: to produce joy.

Second, the spiritual mourner is the person most ready to receive comfort. When the heart is broken over sin, it is most ready to receive joy. God pours the golden oil of comfort into broken vessels. The mourner's heart is emptied of pride — and God fills the empty with His blessing. The mourner's tears have helped purge out corruption, and after the purging medicine, God provides a refreshing drink. The mourner is on the verge of fainting under the weight of sin — and then the cup of strength comes at exactly the right moment. The Lord desires the repentant person, after deep humiliation, to be comforted — lest he be overwhelmed by too much sorrow (2 Corinthians 2:7).

This is the mourner's privilege — he shall be comforted. The valley of tears leads the soul into a paradise of joy. The sinner's joy gives birth to sorrow; the mourner's sorrow gives birth to joy. John 16:22: "Your grief will be turned into joy." The saints have a wet sowing season but a joyful harvest. "They shall be comforted."

Showing the mourner's comforts in this present life.

To illustrate this further, I will show you what the comforts are that mourners shall receive. These comforts are of divine origin, and they come in two forms: comforts in this life and comforts in the life to come.

First, comforts in this life. They are called "the consolations of God" (Job 15:11) — meaning great comforts, the kind only God can give. They surpass all other comforts as far as heaven surpasses earth. The root from which these comforts grow is the blessed Spirit. He is called "the Comforter" (John 14:26), and comfort is listed as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Christ purchased peace; the Spirit speaks peace. Question: How does the Spirit comfort? Answer: Either through means or directly.

First, through means: by helping us apply the promises to ourselves and draw water from those wells of salvation. We lie like weak infants at the breast until the Spirit helps us to draw nourishment from a promise. When the Spirit has taught faith that skill, comfort begins to flow. How sweet is the nourishment of a promise!

Second, the Spirit comforts directly. By a more immediate act, the Spirit presents God to the soul as reconciled. He pours God's love into the heart, from which flows boundless joy (Romans 5:5). The Spirit quietly whispers the assurance of forgiveness, and the sight of a pardon opens the heart wide with joy (Matthew 9:2): "Take courage; your sins are forgiven."

To speak more fully to this, let me show you the qualities and excellencies of the comforts God gives His mourners. First, these comforts are genuine comforts. The Spirit of God cannot bear witness to what is untrue. There are many in this age who claim to offer comfort, but their comforts are mere illusions. The body can be swollen by air as well as flesh — in the same way, a person can be puffed up by false comfort just as by true. The saints' comforts are certain. They carry the seal of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 1:22). A seal confirms — when a document is sealed, it is firm and beyond question. When a Christian has the seal of the Spirit stamped on his heart, he is confirmed in the love of God.

Question: In what ways do the Spirit's genuine comforts differ from those that are false and counterfeit?

Answer: In three ways. First, the comforts of God's Spirit are built on deep conviction (John 16:7-8). When He — that is, the Comforter (verse 7) — comes, He will convict the world of sin.

Question: Why does conviction come before consolation?

Answer: Conviction prepares the heart for comfort. Through conviction, the Spirit graciously disposes the heart toward two things. First, to seek Christ. Once the soul is convinced of sin and the judgment that follows it, a Savior becomes precious. When the Spirit has driven home the arrow of conviction, the poor soul cries out: "Where can I find Christ? Through what means can I come to know Him?" "Have you seen the One my soul loves?" "I would give everything for one glimpse of my Savior." Second, the Spirit through conviction makes the heart willing to receive Christ on His own terms. By nature, a person would bargain with Christ — he would take half of Christ. He would accept Christ as Savior but not as Lord. He would accept Christ as the one whose head is gold (Song of Solomon 5:11) but not as the one on whose shoulders the government rests (Isaiah 9:6). But when God loosens the spirit of conviction and shows a sinner his lost and ruined condition, he becomes willing to have Christ on any terms. When Paul was knocked to the ground by conviction, he cried out: "Lord, what do You want me to do?" (Acts 9:6). Let God name whatever terms He will — the soul will agree to them. Now when a person is brought to Christ's terms — to believe and to obey — he is ready for mercy. When the Spirit of God has acted as a spirit of conviction, it then becomes a spirit of consolation. When the plow of the law has gone over the heart and broken up the hardened ground, God then sows the seed of comfort.

Those who claim comfort but were never convicted or broken over sin have good reason to suspect that their comfort is a delusion of Satan. It is like a madman's joy — a person who imagines himself to be a king, but of whose laughter it may be said: "It is madness" (Ecclesiastes 2:2). The seed that lacked depth of soil withered away (Matthew 13). Comfort that lacks depth of soil — genuine humiliation and conviction — will likewise wither and come to nothing.

Second, the Spirit of God is a sanctifying Spirit before He is a comforting Spirit. Just as God's Spirit is called the Comforter, He is also called "a spirit of grace" (Zechariah 12:10). Grace is the work of the Spirit; comfort is the seal of the Spirit. The work of the Spirit comes before the sealing. The graces of the Spirit are compared to water (Isaiah 44:3), and the comforts of the Spirit are compared to oil (Isaiah 61:3). First God pours in the water of the Spirit — then comes the oil of gladness. By this we can test whether our comforts are genuine. Some speak of the comforting Spirit who never had the sanctifying Spirit. They claim assurance but never had grace. These are counterfeit joys. Such comforts will abandon people at death — they will end in terror and despair. God's Spirit will never put His seal on a blank. First, the heart must be an epistle written with the finger of the Holy Spirit — and only then is it sealed with the Spirit of promise.

Third, the comforts of the Spirit are humbling. The soul says: "Lord, who am I that I should receive a smile from heaven — that You should give me this personal token of Your love?" The more water poured into a bucket, the lower it sinks. The more heavily laden a ship is with precious cargo, the lower it rides in the water. The more a Christian is filled with the sweet comforts of the Spirit, the lower he bows in humility. The more heavily laden a tree is with fruit, the more the bough bends down. The more we are filled with the fruits of the Spirit — joy and peace (Galatians 5:22) — the more we bend down in humility. Paul, a chosen vessel filled with the wine of the Spirit, was as marked by lowliness as by joy (Ephesians 3:8): "To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given." He who was the chief of the Apostles called himself the least of all the saints.

Those who claim to have comfort but are proud — who look down on others and have risen above the ordinary means of grace — their comforts are delusions. The devil is able not only to disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) but can disguise himself as the Comforter. It is easy to counterfeit money — to plate brass in silver and stamp the king's image on it. The devil can plate false comforts in silver and make them look as though they bore the stamp of the King of heaven. The true comforts of God are humbling. Though they lift the heart up in gratitude, they do not puff it up in pride.

Second, the comforts God gives His mourners are pure — they contain no bitter ingredients. Worldly comforts are like wine that turns to dregs. There is guilt within that gnaws and corrodes. "Even in laughter the heart may be in pain" (Proverbs 14:13). Queen Mary once said that if she were opened, they would find Calais written on her heart. If the conscience of a sinner were opened and examined, you would find a worm gnawing at his heart. Guilt is a wolf feeding inside his comfort. A sinner may wear a smiling face but carry a condemning conscience. His cheerfulness is like the mirth of a man deep in debt who lives in constant fear of being arrested. The comforts of wicked people are laced with bitterness — they are wormwood wine.

But spiritual comforts are pure. They are not muddied with guilt or mixed with fear. They are the pure wine of the Spirit. What the mourner experiences is joy — and nothing but joy.

Third, the comforts God gives His mourners are sweet. Ecclesiastes 11:7: "Truly the light is pleasant." So too is the light of God's countenance. How sweet are those comforts that bring the Comforter Himself along with them (John 14:16)? This is why the love of God poured into the heart is said to be "better than wine" (Song of Solomon 1:2). Wine delights the palate, but the love of God cheers the conscience. "The lips of Christ drip with liquid myrrh" (Song of Solomon 5:13). The comforts God gives are a Christian's music — the golden pot and the manna, the sweetest pleasures of the Christian life. They are the saints' festival, the delicacies of their banquet. So sweet are these divine comforts that the church fainted for lack of them (Song of Solomon 2:5): "Sustain me with raisin cakes." By these raisin cakes are meant the comforts of the Spirit. The Hebrew word conveys all varieties of delight — showing the boundless sweetness and pleasure of the Spirit's comforts. "Refresh me with apples." Apples are sweet to taste and fragrant in smell. So sweet and delightful are the apples that grow on the tree of paradise. These comforts from above are so sweet that they make all other comforts sweeter too — health, possessions, relationships. They are like seasoning that makes all our earthly enjoyments taste better. At the same time, the comforts of the Spirit are so sweet that they greatly reduce our craving for worldly things. A person who has been drinking strong spirits will not feel much thirst for water. The person who has once tasted how good the Lord is (Psalm 34:8) and has drunk the cordials of the Spirit will not crave earthly delights with excessive longing. People who play with dogs and birds as pets are clearly those who have no children. Those who crave and love created things with disordered desire plainly reveal that they have never tasted anything better.

Fourth, the comforts God gives His mourners are holy comforts — "the comfort of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 9:31). Everything produces after its own kind. The Holy Spirit can no more produce impure joys in the soul than the sun can produce darkness. The person who has the Spirit's comfort looks on himself as someone called to serve God even more: "Has the Lord smiled on me? I can never pray enough. I can never love God enough." The Spirit's comforts stir up in the heart a holy hostility toward sin. The dove hates every feather that comes from the hawk. In the same way, there is a hatred of every impulse and temptation toward evil. A living creature resists everything that would destroy its life — it hates poison. So the one who has the Spirit's comforts living within him sets himself against those sins that would murder his comfort. Divine comforts bring the soul into closer fellowship with God (1 John 1:3): "Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ."

Fifth, the comforts reserved for mourners are filling comforts (Romans 15:13): "May the God of hope fill you with all joy." John 16:24: "Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full." When God pours in the joys of heaven, they fill the heart and make it overflow (2 Corinthians 7:4): "I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy." Outward comforts can no more fill the heart than a triangle can fill a circle. Spiritual joys are satisfying (Psalm 63:5): "My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips." David's heart was full, and the joy burst out through his lips. Psalm 4:7: "You have put gladness in my heart." Worldly joys put gladness on the face (2 Corinthians 5:12). But the Spirit of God puts gladness in the heart. Divine joys are heart-joys (Zechariah 10:7; John 16:22): "Your heart will rejoice." "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47). And to show how completely filling these comforts of heavenly origin are, the psalmist says they create greater joy than when grain and oil are plentiful (Psalm 4:7). Wine and oil may delight, but they cannot satisfy — they have their emptiness. As Zechariah 10:2 says: "They comfort in vain." Outward comforts more readily bore than cheer, and more readily exhaust than fill. Xerxes offered great rewards to anyone who could invent a new pleasure. But the Spirit's comforts are satisfying. "Your consolations delight my soul" (Psalm 94:19). The difference between heavenly comforts and earthly is as great as the difference between an actual banquet and one painted on a wall.

Sixth, the comforts God gives His mourners in this life are glorious comforts. 1 Peter 1:8: "Joy inexpressible and full of glory." First, they are glorious because they are a foretaste of the joy we will have in a glorified state. These comforts are a down payment on glory — they bring us into heaven ahead of time (Ephesians 1:13-14): "You were sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance." The down payment is part of the full payment that follows. So the Spirit's comforts are the cluster of grapes from Eshcol — the firstfruits of the heavenly Canaan (Numbers 13:23). Second, the Spirit's joys are glorious because, compared with them, all other joys are dim and unworthy. A worldly person's joy is airy, flashy, and low — he sucks nothing but dregs. Amos 6:13: "You who rejoice in a thing of nothing." A worldly spirit rejoices because he can say: "This house is mine, this estate is mine." But a gracious spirit rejoices because he can say: "This God is mine" (Psalm 48:14): "For this God is our God forever and ever." The foundation of a Christian's joy is glorious — he rejoices as an heir of the promise. The joy of a godly person is made of the very same substance as the joy of the angels. He exults in the light of God's countenance. His joy is Christ's own joy — he rejoices in the mystical union begun here on earth and completed in heaven. This is what makes the saints' joy a joy full of glory.

Seventh, the comforts God gives His mourners are infinitely transporting and overwhelming. They are so delightful and astonishing that they produce a kind of joy scholars say cannot be put into words. Of all things, joy is the hardest to describe. It is called joy inexpressible (1 Peter 1:8). You could sooner taste honey than explain how sweet it is. The most moving words can no more capture the comforts of the Spirit than the most skilled painter can put life and breath into a portrait. Even the angels cannot fully express the joys they experience. Some believers have been so overwhelmed by the sweet intensity of this joy that they could not contain themselves — much as Moses died from a kiss of God's own mouth. The glass is often shattered by the strength of the liquid poured into it.

Eighth, the comforts of the Spirit are powerful — they are strong restoratives. This is how the Apostle describes it (Hebrews 6:18): strong consolation. Divine comfort first strengthens us for duty. Nehemiah 8:10: "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Joy sharpens diligence. A person filled with the comforts of God's Spirit goes through the duties of the Christian life with energy and enthusiasm. He believes firmly, loves fervently, and is carried forward at full sail — because the joy of the Lord is his strength. Second, divine comfort sustains us under affliction. 1 Thessalonians 1:6: "Having received the word in much tribulation, with joy." The wine of the Spirit can sweeten the bitter waters of hardship. Those who possess these heavenly comforts can gather grapes from thorns and find honey in the lion's carcass. These are truly strong comforts — they can stand firm in the fiery trial and turn the flame into a bed of roses. How powerful is a comfort that enables a Christian to glory in tribulation (Romans 5:3)? A believer is never so sorrowful that he cannot also rejoice. The bird of paradise sings even in winter. 2 Corinthians 6:10: "As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." When sickness comes, the assurance of forgiveness takes away the sting of pain. Isaiah 33:24: "No resident will say, 'I am sick.'" When death comes, a Christian rises above it. 1 Corinthians 15:55: "O death, where is your sting?" At the end of the rod, a Christian tastes honey. These are strong consolations indeed.

Ninth, the comforts God's mourners receive are heart-quieting comforts — they bring a sweet stillness and rest to the soul. The heart of a Christian is in a kind of restless trembling, like a compass needle — shaking and unsettled until the Comforter arrives. Some creatures cannot live without sunlight. In the same way, a Christian is nearly lifeless unless he has the light of God's countenance shining on him. Psalm 143:7: "Do not hide Your face from me, or I will become like those who go down to the pit." Nothing but the breast quiets a nursing child. For the believer, it is only the breast of consolation that brings true quiet.

Tenth, the comforts of the Spirit are lasting comforts — just as they abound in us, so they remain with us. John 14:16: "He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever." Worldly comforts are always on the move, ready to fly away. They are like a flash flood or a bolt of lightning.

Everything in this world is passing away, but the comforts with which God feeds His mourners are immortal. 2 Thessalonians 2:16: "Who has loved us and given us eternal comfort." A Christian may not always have full, bright comfort — but there is always a dawning of it in his soul. He always has a foundation of hope and a root of joy. Something within him holds him up, and he would not give it up for anything.

Consider the mourner's privilege — he shall be comforted. David, the great mourner of Israel, was also the sweet singer of Israel. The weeping dove shall be covered with the golden feathers of comfort. How rare and wonderful are these comforts!

Question: But may God's mourners sometimes go without these comforts?

Answer: Spiritual mourners have a right to these comforts, yet they may sometimes lack them. God is a free agent — He reserves control over the timing of our comfort. The Holy One of Israel will not be limited. He maintains His sovereign right to give or withhold comfort as He chooses. If we go for a time without comfort, we must not quarrel with His ways. A sailor cannot demand that the wind blow from the west when it blows from the east. A farmer cannot complain when God withholds rain during a drought. In the same way, no one should dispute with God when He withholds the sweet flow of comfort — we ought instead to rest quietly in His holy will.

Even so, while God may withhold comfort from the mourner by virtue of His sovereignty, there are specific reasons why mourners sometimes go without comfort. First, reasons that have to do with God. Second, reasons that have to do with themselves.

Reasons that have to do with God: He sees it best to withhold comfort at times. First, to increase our appreciation for grace. We tend to value comfort more than grace itself. So God locks away our comforts for a season to raise the value of grace in our eyes. When small coins circulate more freely than gold, a king may pull the small coins from circulation so that gold becomes more highly prized. Second, God wants His people to serve Him for who He is, not merely for the comfort He gives. It is a corrupted kind of love to treasure a husband's gifts and tokens more than the husband himself. Those who serve God only for comfort are not truly serving God — they are using Him to serve their own ends.

Most often, however, when God's mourners lack comfort, the reason lies with themselves.

First, mourners lack comfort through error, and this error takes two forms. The first error is going to the wrong source for comfort. People go to their tears when they should go to Christ's blood. Making our tears the basis of comfort is a kind of idolatry. Mourning is not something that earns comfort — it is the path to joy, not the cause of it. Jacob received the blessing while wearing his older brother's garments. True comfort flows from Christ's side. Our tears remain stained until they are washed in the blood of Christ. John 16:33: "In Me you may have peace." The second error is the mistaken idea that mourners are privileged people who may therefore take greater liberty — loosening their commitment to duty and giving themselves over to sin. Christ has indeed purchased freedom for His people, but it is a holy freedom — not freedom to sin, but freedom from sin. 1 Peter 2:9: "You are a royal priesthood, a people for God's own possession." You are not slaves but royalty. What follows from that? Do not use Christian freedom as a cover for sin (1 Peter 2:16): "Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil." If we quench the sanctifying Spirit, God will quench the comforting Spirit. Sin is compared to a cloud (Isaiah 44:22), and this cloud blocks out the light of God's countenance.

Second, God's mourners sometimes lack comfort through discontent and irritability. David identifies his inner unrest as the source of his sadness (Psalm 43:5): "Why are you in despair, O my soul? Why have you become disturbed within me?" A discontented heart, like a rough sea, is not easily calmed. It is hard for a troubled spirit to receive comfort. This discontent arises from various causes — sometimes from outward grief and melancholy, sometimes from a kind of envy when God's people see others enjoying comfort while they lack it. In such moments they refuse comfort, and like a fussy child, push the breast away. Psalm 77:2: "My soul refused to be comforted." A discontented spirit is no more ready to receive comfort than a distracted person is ready to receive counsel. And where does the mourner's discontent come from but pride — as though God had not dealt rightly with him by withholding comfort? Christian, your spirit must be more deeply humbled and broken before God pours out His golden oil of joy.

Third, the mourner lacks comfort because he is not applying the promises. He looks at his sin, which humbles him, but not at God's word, which would comfort him. The mourner's eyes are so full of tears that he cannot see the promise. The power and comfort of a medicine come from applying it. When the promises are applied by faith, they bring comfort (Hosea 2:19; Isaiah 49:15-16). Faith draws nourishment from the breast of a promise. To keep us from comfort, Satan's strategy is either to keep the promise from us so we never know it, or to keep us from the promise so we never apply it. Every promise in the Bible belongs to the mourner — if only he had the skill and willingness of faith to take hold of it.

Fourth, the mourner may lack comfort through excessive focus on earthly things. When we feed too heavily on earthly comforts, we miss heavenly ones. Isaiah 57:17: "Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him; I hid My face and was angry." Earth smothers fire. In the same way, worldliness extinguishes the flame of divine joy in the soul. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon — a dense body — comes between the earth and the sun. The moon is an image of the world (Revelation 12:1). When the world comes between us and God, there is an eclipse of the light of His face. Miners say there is a kind of damp that rises from the earth and puts out a candle's flame. Earthly comforts send up the same kind of damp and put out the light of spiritual joy.

Fifth, perhaps the mourner once had comfort but lost it. Adam's rib was taken from him while he slept (Genesis 2:21). Our comforts are similarly taken away when we fall asleep in spiritual carelessness. The bride in the Song of Songs lost her beloved when she lay on the bed of laziness (Song of Solomon 5:2, 6).

These are the reasons why God's mourners may lack comfort. But so that the spiritual mourner will not be too discouraged, let me offer the cup of consolation (Jeremiah 16:7) — a few words that may comfort the mourner even in the absence of comfort. First, Jesus Christ Himself was without comfort — so it is no wonder if we are. Our comforts are not greater than His were. He who was the Son of God's love was left without the felt sense of God's love. Second, the mourner still has a seed of comfort (Psalm 97:11): "Light is sown like seed for the righteous." Light here is a picture of comfort, and it is sown as seed. A child of God may not always have comfort in full bloom, but he always has it in seed. He may not feel comfort from God at the moment, yet he still takes comfort in God. Third, a Christian may be high in grace yet low in comfort. High mountains have few flowers. Gold mines yield little grain. A Christian's heart may be a rich mine of grace even when it feels barren of comfort. Fourth, the mourner is an heir to comfort. Though for a brief moment God may seem to forsake His people (Isaiah 54:7), the time is coming when all tears will be wiped away and the mourner will be filled with comfort. That joy is reserved for heaven — and this leads to the second part of the subject.

Showing the mourner's comforts in the life to come.

Second, the mourner's future comforts. They shall be comforted. In this life, God gives the mourner visits and tokens of love — but the great comforts are kept in store for what is ahead. In God's presence there is fullness of joy. The time is coming when the saints will bathe in the river of life, when they will never again see a frown on God's face. His face will shine, His lips drop honey, His arms embrace them with sweetness. The saints will experience a high tide of joy that never ebbs. On that day the saints will set aside their mourning and exchange their black robes for white ones. Then the winter will be past, the rain of tears will be over and gone. Flowers of joy will appear. After the weeping of the dove, the time of singing will come (Song of Solomon 2:11-12). This is the great consolation — the eternal celebration of the blessed, which will never end. In this life God's people taste joy, but in heaven the full vessels will be opened. There is a river in the midst of the heavenly paradise, fed by an eternal fountain (Psalm 36:8-9).

The times we live in are dark and troubled, and it seems right to lift the hearts of God's people by speaking of the comforts He has reserved in heaven for those who mourn. They shall be comforted. Scripture most fittingly describes the greatness of these heavenly comforts through the image of a feast. Mourning will be turned into feasting. And it will be a wedding feast — celebrated with the greatest solemnity (Revelation 19:9): "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." Bullinger and Gregory the Great understand the supper of the Lamb as the saints dining with Christ in heaven. After long, hard labor, people sit down to supper. When the saints rest from their labors at last, they will dine with Christ in glory. Let us say something about this great final supper.

It will be a great supper, first, because of who hosts it — God Himself. This is a king's banquet, and therefore magnificent beyond description. Psalm 95:3: "The Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods." Where else should you find splendor and glory but in the court of a king? Second, it will be a great supper because of what is served. The provision exceeds all description. What blessed fruit does the tree of life in paradise yield (Revelation 2:7)? Christ will lead His bride into the banquet hall and feast her on the finest delicacies — she will drink the spiced wine, the heavenly nectar, with which the angelic powers are endlessly refreshed.

First, every dish at this heavenly supper will be pleasing to the taste. There is nothing served here that we do not love. Christ will prepare exactly the food His bride delights in.

Second, there will be no shortage here — at a true feast there is never a lack. The inexhaustible fullness of Christ prevents any scarcity. And it will be a fullness without overindulgence, because fresh courses will continually be served.

Third, those who eat at this supper will never be hungry again. Hunger is a sharp pain. The Lamb's supper will not only satisfy hunger — it will end it entirely (Revelation 7:16): "They will hunger no more!"

Third, it will be a great supper because of the company invited. Good company adds to any feast and sharpens the appetite. Saints, angels, and archangels will be at this supper — and Christ Himself will be both host and guest. Scripture calls this an innumerable company (Hebrews 12). And what makes the gathering sweeter still is that there will be perfect love at this feast. The shared spirit will be: one heart, and one way. All the guests will be bound together by the golden chain of love.

Fourth, it will be a great supper because of the joy (Ecclesiastes 10:19): "A feast is made for laughter." At this supper there will be joy — nothing but joy (Psalm 16, final verse). There is no weeping at this feast. What triumph and celebration there will be! Two things at the Lamb's supper will fill the guests with joy. First, the saints will think of what they have been spared — a worse supper. The devil has a supper of his own — a grim banquet with two courses: weeping and gnashing of teeth. Every bite causes the heart to ache. Who would begrudge giving up earthly pleasures now, knowing what that other supper holds? Second, the joy at the Lamb's supper will come from the host Himself welcoming every guest. The saints will have God's smiling face and His embrace. He will lead them into the wine cellar and display the banner of His love over them. The saints will be as full of delight as they are of holiness. What is a feast without joy? Worldly happiness is fleeting and hollow. This joy will be endlessly delightful.

Fifth, it will be a great supper for the music. This is a wedding supper — and what music could be better than the Bridegroom's own voice, saying: my bride, my pure one, drink your fill of love. There will be the angels' anthems and the saints' songs of triumph. The angels, those heralds of heaven, will proclaim the greatness of God. And the saints, those glorious singers, will take down their harps from the willows and join the angels in a great concert of praise. Revelation 15:2-3: "I saw those who had been victorious over the beast, standing with harps of God. And they sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, 'Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations.'" The music at this feast will be harmony without a single false note.

Sixth, this supper is great because of where it is held — in the paradise of God (Revelation 2:7). It is a magnificent palace, magnificent first for its location — it is in the highest place. Second, for its view: all brilliant beauties are gathered there. And the joy of the view is made richer by ownership — the best view is from your own land, looking out as far as the eye can see. Third, for its size. This royal feast will be held in the most spacious hall imaginable — a room infinitely larger than the entire visible universe. A single star in that universe, astronomers tell us, is larger than the whole earth. Though the guests are a multitude no one can count — from every nation, tribe, people, and language (Revelation 7:9) — the table is long enough and the room large enough for all. The highest heaven, blazing with light, hung with glory, adorned beyond all description, set above every visible sphere — this is the place of the marriage supper. It infinitely surpasses the deepest human thought. I am no more able to describe it than I can measure the sky or weigh the earth on scales.

Seventh, it will be a great supper because it never ends. Those who live for pleasure have a short feast and a long bill to pay. But those who sit down at the heavenly banquet will never rise from the table. The feast will never be cleared away. They will go on forever feeding on the sweet delicacies set before them. King Ahasuerus held a feast for his princes that lasted one hundred and eighty days (Esther 1:4). But the blessed feast prepared for the saints lasts forever. Psalm 16:11: "In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever."

Application. This is a healing comfort for God's people — the very thing to keep their hearts from giving way. They shall be comforted. They will sit with Christ on the throne (Revelation 3:21), and sit down with Him at the table. Who would not willingly mourn over sin, knowing such a reward awaits? They shall be comforted. The marriage supper will more than make up for the valley of tears. You who are now watering your pillow with tears and weeping bitterly over sin — at that last and great feast, your water will be turned to wine. You who now put sin to death and discipline yourself through prayer and fasting — you will soon dine with Christ and the angels. You who refused to reach for the forbidden fruit — you will feed from the tree of life in the paradise of God. You who are poor in this world, barely able to find bread to eat — remember for your comfort: in your Father's house there is bread in abundance, and He is even now preparing a feast for you, where every heavenly delight is served. Feed with joy on thoughts of this marriage supper. After your funeral comes your festival. Eagerly wait for supper-time.

Christ has already paid for this supper on the cross. There is no bill coming at the end — and so comfort one another with these words.