January 7

God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. — Rev. vii. 17.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. — MATT. v. 4.

THE Master, when he said this, was fulfilling the prophecy. — “He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted” (Isaiah lxi. 1). He was speaking in the same line as when he said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest!” (Matt. xi. 28).

The words reach beyond the mourners simply over sin. They indeed are blessed in their consciousness of pardon and safety, but there is more than that here. He, the infinite Saviour, came to bring the kingdom of heaven, God’s reign in the soul. That is a kingdom of peace. The believer comes to him and is blessed in the coming. He comes with his heart borne down with earthly sorrow. Where else, to whom else in all the world can he go? Earth cannot help him. He comes to a sympathizing Saviour (Heb. iv. 15), and he is in a place of calm. He hardly knows why or how, but peace and rest are in his heart, and they are blessedness.

That is for to-day. But the “shall be” looks forward to a time when God shall wipe all tears away (Isaiah xxv. 8; Rev. vii. 17; xxi. 4). The anticipation of future blessedness touches and lightens the present sorrow.

William Aikman

I’ve welcomed tears e’er since the day I saw that by and by God’s own dear hand will wipe away The tears from ev’ry eye; And I have learned to welcome grief, For grief doth bring me grace. I would not know the Lord’s relief, Had woe with me no place.

R. M. OFFORD