2. “Blessed are those who mourn” (v. 4). Mourn for what? If the first beatitude has to do with spiritual poverty and the hopeless state of a human being before God apart from grace, the second must refer to mourning for sin. And if that is correct, then the comfort promised is the comfort of the gospel. “Comfort, comfort my people,” wrote Isaiah. Why? Because “her sin has been paid for,” the prophet answers (Isa. 40:2). That is the only true, effective, and lasting comfort for anyone, and it is just
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