Spiritual Mourning
Dear Beloved, consider a time in the
Scriptures when God’s people were told not to mourn: towards the
end of their exile in Babylon, the people of Israel gathered together and
contributed to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. After the wall was
rebuilt, the people gathered together with their families, and Nehemiah and
Ezra, the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto
all the people, “This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For
all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law”. Then Nehemiah said unto me, “Go your way, eat the fat,
and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared:
for this day is sacred unto our LORD: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the
LORD is your strength”.
So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, “Hold your peace, for this day is holy; neither
be ye grieved”.
And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions,
and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were
declared unto them. (Neh 8:9-12) The
people had heard the Word of God, understood It, that is, It was unsealed to
them, and were filled with a kind of Godly repentant sorrow. But the joy of
the LORD was their strength in their repentance, and thus the LORD commanded
them not to mourn, but to rejoice before the LORD. For in returning and rest
they were saved; in quietness and in confidence was their strength (Is 30:15)!
The heart change that they underwent was prophesied by Jeremiah and Ezekiel:
“37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have
driven them in Mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring
them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 38 And they shall be My
people, and I will be their God:39 And I will give them one
heart, and one way, that they may fear Me for ever, for the good of them, and
of their children after them:40 And I will make an everlasting
covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I
will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me.41 Yea,
I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land
assuredly with My whole heart and with My whole soul.” (Jer 32:37-41)
“24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out
of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.25 Then will I sprinkle
clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from
all your idols, will I cleanse you.26 A new heart also will I
give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.27 And
I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye
shall keep My judgments, and do them.” (Ez 36:24-27)
The fulfillment of true repentance, of the
genuine washing of regeneration and ongoing renewal of the Spirit, manifested
specifically in the aforementioned account of the Israelites during the time of
the rebuilding of Jerusalem, was essentially a fulfillment of God’s New
Covenant promises to His people. God’s Covenant had come to pass, the people
had been revived, enlightened, Spiritually awakened, and thus, they could
rejoice. They ought to rejoice.
But, dear saints, we have yet to see this
type of Spiritual revival among the majority of the true church of Christ, who
now remain in faulty states of slumber, carnality, deception, and blindness to
much of the Spiritual reality of Scripture. You say this is not possible? But
we are truly comparable to those states of the churches mentioned in
Revelations, to which the Spirit said, “I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out
of his place, except thou repent”.
We have committed adultery against the
LORD our God, and thus become a friend of the world, at least temporarily, in
so doing (James 4:4). And thus the LORD tells us, “draw nigh to God, and He
will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts,
ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be
turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight
of the LORD, and He shall lift you up”. (James 4:8-10)
When the New Covenant
promises are fulfilled before our eyes, the Lord tells us, “Do
not grieve or mourn, for the joy of the LORD is your strength”, and yet, when we have committed
adultery with the world, the LORD tells us, “Let your laughter and joy be
turned to mourning and heaviness”.
When Nehemiah heard that the remnant that
were left of the captivity there in the province were in great affliction and
reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also was broken down, and the gates thereof are
burned with fire, he sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted,
and prayed before the God of heaven. (Neh 1:3-4) May the joy of our heart
cease; may our dance be turned into mourning. For the crown is fallen from our
head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! For this our heart is faint; for these
things our eyes are dim. Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate,
the foxes walk upon it. Thou, O LORD,
remainest forever; Thy throne from generation to generation. Wherefore dost
Thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? Turn Thou us unto Thee, O
LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. But (or lest) Thou hast
utterly rejected us; Thou art very wrought against us. (Lam 5:15-22)
May our heart cry unto the LORD, O wall of
the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: may we
give ourselves no rest, nor let the apple of our eye cease. May we arise, cry
out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out our heart like water
before the face of the LORD: lift up our hands towards Him for the life of our
young children that faint for hunger in the top of every street. (Lam 2:18-19).
Saints, do you believe that the state
described in the book of Amos has befallen us?: The LORD hath sworn by the excellency
of Jacob, surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land
tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? And it shall rise
up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of
Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD GOD, that I will
cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
and I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation;
and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and
I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter
day. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD GOD, that I will send a famine in
the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the
Words of the LORD: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north
even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the LORD, and
shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for
thirst. (Amos 8:7-13) Surely this state
will overtake us lest we repent!
We, as the people of God in this
generation have drifted from our first love. The Lord is calling us to mourn
and repent. For it is better to go the house of mourning, than to go to the
house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it
to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the
countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the
rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. (Ecc 7:2-5) Blessed
are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted (Matt 5:4)!
Consider the blessed Spirit of grace and
of supplications that will be poured out upon the house of David. And they
shall look upon Him Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, and
as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one
that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great
mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of
Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house
of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart,
and their wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives
apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; all the families that
remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. (Zech 12:10-14) This is blessed familial mourning without
which there would be certain damnation!
What
is the essence of this Spiritual mourning? The LORD shall utter His voice
before His army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong that executeth
His Word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide
it? Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to Me with all your
heart, and with fasting, and with weeping,
and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not
your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for He is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him
of the evil. Who knoweth is He will return and repent, and leave a blessing
behind Him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? Blow
the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the
people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children,
and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber,
and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD,
weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare Thy people, O LORD,
and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over
them: wherefore should they say among the people, where is their God?” Then will the LORD be jealous for His
land, and pity His people. Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto His people. “Behold I will send you
corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no
more make you a reproach among the heathen.” (Joel 2:14-19)
“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in
mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you.”
(Hos 10:12)
The Spiritual mourning we endure is unto Godly
sorrow characterized by our earnest desire, our mourning, our fervency of mind,
and is to repentance. For Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to
be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. (2 Cor 7: 7-10) There is surely hope dear saints! Even
in the midst of our mourning may we expect from the LORD to carry us unto the
day when the sun shall no more go down; neither shall our moon withdraw itself:
for the LORD shall be our everlasting light, and the days of our mourning shall
be ended (Is 60:20). Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come
with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they
shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away (Is
51:11)!
“9 Shall I
bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and
shut the womb? saith thy God.10 Rejoice ye with
Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with
her, all ye that mourn for her:11 That ye may suck, and be
satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be
delighted with the abundance of her glory.12 For
thus saith the Lord, Behold,
I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a
flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be
dandled upon her knees.13 As one
whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in
Jerusalem.14 And
when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like
an herb: and the hand of the Lord shall
be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.15 For,
behold, the Lord will
come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger
with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.16 For by
fire and by his sword will the Lord plead
with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall
be many.” (Is 66:9-16)
Dear
saints, we must mourn with God until His Spirit revives His church, until His
New Covenant is fulfilled in us and among us in our time!
Sermon: Patient in Tribulation
Sermon: Patient in Tribulation
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