SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/7/2020
10:31 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “Godly
Mourning”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 5:4
Message of the
verse: “4 “Blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.’”
The condition of this second beatitude
is mourning as the text says “blessed are those who mourn. John MacArthur explains “There are nine
different Greek words that are used in the New Testament to speak of sorrow, reflecting
its commonness in man’s life. It is
woven into the cloth of the human situation.
The story of history is the story of tears. And before the earth’s situation gets better
it will get worse. Jesus tells that
before He comes again, ‘nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning
of birth pangs’ (Matt. 24:7-8). Until
the Lord returns, history is destined to go from tragedy to greater tragedy,
from sorrow to still greater sorrow.” It
is very interesting to me that I am studying this beatitude at the same time
when what MacArthur is writing about seems to be happening, that is there are
sorrows around the world that have not been seen like they are today in over a
hundred years.
Now MacArthur mentioned that there
are nine terms used for sorrow, but the one used here is pentheo, mourn, and it is the strongest, the most severe as it
represents the deepest, most heartfelt grief, and was generally reserved for
grieving over the death of a loved one.
I have mentioned about how the OT was written in the Greek language
which is called the Septuagint and we see this word used of Jacob when he
thought that his son Joseph had died as seen in Genesis 37:34 “So Jacob tore
his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.” It is also used of the disciples’ mourning
for Jesus before they found out that He had been raised from the dead as seen
in Mark 16:10 “10 She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were
mourning and weeping.” When we studied
the book of Revelation we read the following verses from Rev. 18:11 and 15 “11 “And
the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their
cargoes any more.” “15 “The
merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance
because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,”
This
word we have been looking at for mourning, “pentheo” carries the idea of deep
inner agony and this may or may not be expressed by outward weeping, or even
wailing or lament. We have looked at
Psalm 32 before and have stated that this psalm was written by David after he
had confessed his sin with Bathsheba and her husband Uriah as David confesses
this is verses 3-5 “3 When I kept silent about my
sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and
night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with
the fever heat of summer. Selah. 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my
iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the
LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” After David stopped hiding his sin he then
states in verses 1-2 the following “How blessed is he whose transgression is
forgiven, Whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does
not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!” I did this backwards for effect.
Now
here is an important point and that is that Happiness, or blessedness, does not
come in mourning itself, however happiness comes with what God does in response
to it, with the forgiveness that such mourning brings. The truth is that Godly mourning brings God’s
forgiveness, which brings God’s happiness.
MacArthur adds “Mourning is not merely a psychological or emotional
experience that makes people feel better.
It is a communion with the living, loving God who responds to the
mourner with an objective reality—the reality of divine forgiveness!”
We
will end this SD with an example that John MacArthur writes about in the life
of David to show us how David became happy, when he became truly sad over his
sin. “David experienced and expressed
many kinds of common human sorrow, both proper and improper. He mourned over being lonely, over being
rejected, over being discouraged and disappointed, and over losing an infant
child. He also mourned inordinately over
the death of Absalom, whom God had removed to protect Israel and the messianic
throne of David. But nothing broke the
heart of David like his own sin. No
anguish was as deep as the anguish he felt when he finally saw the awfulness of
his offenses against the Lord. That is
when David became happy, when he became truly sad over his transgressions.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I
know that David was a man after God’s own heart and I have to believe that when
he disappointed God and realized that as he said “I have sinned against You,” that
helps me to understand why David was a man after God’s own heart. I desire to have that kind of mourning after
I sin against God.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to
learn to be content, humble, and have joy as I study the Word of God, and to
understand that when I sin that I sin against God.
4/7/2020 11:11 AM
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