Blessed are...

Out of the Depths

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

In the Kingdom of God we do not rush to repentance. The father ran to the Prodigal Son, not the other way around. God is anxious to heal us and to restore us to a right relationship with Him; but God’s urgency does not preclude our pain over the rebellion that separated us from our Maker. If we do not examine our hearts and learn to weep, not only over our abandonment of God’s will, but also over our repeated failures, then the diagnosis will be incomplete. Only when we know the seriousness of our predicament, and the lengths to which God went to rescue us, will we appreciate the blessedness of walking with Him in forgiveness and in freedom.

In Psalm 130, the author is almost overcome by the seriousness of sin. “Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;” he says, “O Lord, hear my voice. Let Your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?”[1] He is filled with grief and shame; but he does not remain, locked in mourning. He moves on. “But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.”[2] The last word is a shock. We expect ‘love,’ not ‘fear.’ But the psalmist’s response is appropriate. We fear God, not because He is a God of judgment, but because He is gracious and good. We are afraid because we may take this wonderful God for granted. It is the vision of grace that makes us mourn and that leads to blessing. The law may convict us, but grace melts our hearts.



God of law and of grace,
I praise You.
You have shown me what is good and right, noble and true.
Your word of revelation holds a mirror to my life,
and I do not like what I see.
But You have also shown me the depths of Your love.
In spite of my sin, You stoop to welcome me home.
I will praise You forever.
Through Christ my Lord.
Amen.




[1] Psalm 130:1-3
[2] Psalm 130:4