The Sermon on the Mount: Section 42, B, cont.

Subdivision B
BEATITUDES: PROMISES TO MESSIAH'S SUBJECTS
MATT. 5:3-12
LUKE 6:20-26

Mat 5:4  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 
Luke 6:22 Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

They that mourn (πενθοῦντες)
Signifying grief manifested; too deep for concealment. Hence it is often joined with κλαίειν, to weep audibly -Vincent's Word Studies

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Isa. 42:2, 3; Luke 2:25; Rom. 8:18; John 16:20, 21. The blessing is not upon all that mourn (II.Cor. 7:10); but upon those who mourn in reference to sin. -FG

We are apt to think, Blessed are the merry; but Christ, who was himself a great mourner, says, Blessed are the mourners. -Matthew Henry

Note, The happiness of heaven consists in being perfectly and eternally comforted, and in the wiping away of all tears from their eyes. -Matthew Henry

Joy springs from such sorrow so naturally that it is likened to harvest gathered from the seed (Ps. 126:6).-FG

I. What is the sorrow that is blessed? Not the vulgar sorrow that every man feels, etc. But-
1. Sorrow at the recollection and the sense of sin-for sin rather than for the consequences-secret sins-sin seen in the light of Christ’s countenance-”godly sorrow.”
2. Sorrow because of the sins that we see around us (Jer_9:18; Psa_119:36). Sins of the world, and sins of the Church-inconsistency, etc.
3. Sorrow because of the little progress of Christianity.
4. That we are able to do so little.
5. Sorrow that makes one sometimes long to be “ absent from the body,” etc.
II. They who sorrow thus shall be comforted. There is a comfort in such sorrow, as well as beyond it. Such sorrow is blessed in its endurance, and at the close of it. It is Divine, complete, unalloyed comfort. -BI, Dr. J. Gumming

He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. -Psalm 126:6

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Mat 5:5  “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 

Rather is it an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God (Mat_11:29; Jas_1:21). It is that temper of spirit in which we accept his dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting; and it is closely linked with the ταπεωοφροσύνη, and follows directly upon it (Eph_4:2; Col_3:12; of. Zep_3:12), because it is only the humble heart which is also the meek. -Pulpit Commentary

Meekness towards God necessarily issues in meekness towards men.- Pulpit

In the only autobiographical description of His personality, Jesus said, "I am meek and lowly in heart" (Mat_11:29). -Jon Courson

The meek are those who quietly submit themselves to God, to his word and to his rod, who follow his directions, and comply with his designs, and are gentle towards all men (Tit_3:2); who can bear provocation without being inflamed by it; are either silent, or return a soft answer; and who can show their displeasure when there is occasion for it, without being transported into any indecencies; who can be cool when others are hot; and in their patience keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of any thing else. They are the meek, who are rarely and hardly provoked, but quickly and easily pacified; and who would rather forgive twenty injuries than revenge one, having the rule of their own spirits. -Matthew Henry


 The meek and quiet are observed to live the most easy lives, compared with the froward and turbulent.-Matthew Henry

Meekness implies acceptance of one's lowly position. The meek person is gentle and mild in his own cause, though he may be a lion in God's cause or in defending others.-Believer's Bible